I recently made a brave decision – to fly SOLO with my toddler down to FL. I know people do this all the time (and with multiple kids, no less), but the thought of doing this on my own with a mobile, yet not quite old enough to reliably follow instructions, child and all of the necessary baby crap was just downright intimidating. We’ve flown with Hudson before, but I always had my husband (and, therefore, another set of hands) with me. And we also haven’t flown with him since he could walk. So I knew this would be a pretty different experience. But I figured it is only about an hour flight, so even if it was completely awful, at least it wouldn’t last long.
Before I jump into sharing what worked well and what didn’t on our trip, I’ll give you a little background on my kiddo because I don’t think what works well for 1 kid necessarily will for another. For example, if you have a kid that loves screens, you might have some battles to fight at home with screen time but you’ll be golden with them while traveling. Hudson is not one of those kids. He only recently became marginally interested in them (Elmo specifically) and that interest maxes out after about 15-20 minutes. So I knew he wouldn’t just mindlessly stare at the iPad for the entire trip. He’s also at the age/developmental level where he is really into exploring and doesn’t yet reliably listen to instructions such as stand right here next to me or don’t run off. He’s a very active kid. He’s not a complete tornado that runs off the second his feet hit the ground (usually), but he doesn’t stay put either. All of this factored into my strategies/activities. So what will work best for your kid might not necessarily be the same if they’re at a different phase. With that, I’m going to share what did (and didn’t!) work well for us in hopes that it will be helpful to some of you!
Luggage
I think I was honestly more concerned about the luggage/gear situation than I was about Hudson actually on the flight. When we’ve flown with him before and I had my husband along as well, I just always remember us never feeling like we had enough hands…and I was going to only have as many this time! The major adjustment I made was that I checked his carseat (which I previously haven’t done for fear of them ruining or losing it – have always gate checked it but that requires lugging it through the entire airport). Now that Hudson is in a convertible carseat, we got this really inexpensive and lightweight one for travel and the nanny’s car which I was less concerned about getting damaged or lost. We always carry it in this padded travel bag, which you can also fit a bunch of extra baby crap in with it (diapers, wipes, toys, etc…I basically packed all his stuff for the 5 day trip in here with his car seat).
I also didn’t carry a roller board onto the plane. I usually do (as my primary luggage for a short trip or for critical items on a longer trip just in case checked luggage gets lost), but I just wouldn’t have enough hands to get it through the airport. Other than that I brought our Uppababy Vista stroller (with travel bag to gate check in), diaper bag and my LV Neverfull tote. A lot of people travel with a more compact stroller, but honestly the huge basket on the Vista makes it an essential to me because it allows me to have to carry less stuff that I can throw in there. And it so easily breaks down into the travel bag at the gate for them to take as you board that I just don’t really find it to be a hassle. I wish I didn’t have to bring my huge tote in addition to diaper bag, but I was working on the trip so I had to bring my laptop, etc. The biggest issue was once we landed in Tampa and got the suitcase and carseat from baggage claim and I had to lug all of it (along with Hudson in the stroller and the other carry-ons of course), through the entire airport to the monorail to the rental car center. Even with the light carseat, that thing is incredibly heavy to carry!
Timing
On the way down, I think the timing of the flight worked out great. We took off a little after 9 am, which meant I didn’t have to wake Hudson up too much earlier than his normal time and we weren’t interfering with nap time at all (he just does 1 afternoon nap now).
On the return flight, not so much. Our return flight took off at 5:30pm and was scheduled to land right around 7pm (aka bedtime). I knew it was risky when I booked it, but the only other option was the flight right before that, which would have meant arriving to the airport, going through security, boarding, etc. right in the middle of his nap time, which seemed worse. So I went with it and just hoped we wouldn’t get delayed. But of course, we got delayed. We ended up taking off right at his bedtime which really didn’t set us up for success on that flight. We ended up landing around 8:30pm, which usually isn’t too terrible for him since he can often make it a little past his normal bedtime, but I think being overtired combined with being confined on an airplane was just a bad mix. I’ll try to avoid taking this risk when booking in the future, but of course it’s not always possible
Activities
I really did my research to gather some ideas on good airplane activities for toddlers and thought about what I know keeps Hudson engaged for longer periods of time, along with what would be compact/easy to travel with, and here are the activities that I brought along and worked well
This game is so simple, so cheap and so compact/easy to travel with. And Hudson loved it! You basically just take any container (as you might be able to see, this was previously a container of olive tapenade from our local Italian market), cut some holes in it and buy some little pom poms for your little one to push through the holes.
Yes this is a pill box. But don’t judge me. It didn’t have any pills in it (and never has – it was new). This was another really simple, cheap, compact activity that was a huge hit! He loved putting his goldfish in the little containers and getting them out.
That also brings us to snacks – bring a lot and pull them out individually as necessary if shit is hitting the fan. I brought goldfish, pouches, dried fruit and veggies, fruit bars and pretzels. And of course water. If your little one takes a pacifier, of course bring that too. Hudson usually only gets his during naps, but it’s great to use for takeoff and landing to help their ears and also great to have on hand in case of emergencies (no rules during travel!).
This one was super easy – grab an old calculator that you have laying around the house! It doesn’t take up much room in a bag and Hudson loved pressing all the buttons.
These puffy stickers were also a huge win – probably tied for 2nd place in activity that occupied him the longest with the pom pom push game (Elmo was 1st of course). I feel better about the puffy stickers since they don’t leave a mess where ever he sticks them.
I also brought colored post-it notes for him to use as stickers. I ended up pulling these out when we were delayed on our way back and I needed to occupy him in his stroller because there was no way I could possibly chase him around a crowded airport while pushing a stroller and carrying bags all by myself! These, along with watching the planes out the window, got the job done!
And of course we have Elmo on the iPad. As I mentioned, he won’t watch this for hours on end, but he will for about 15-20 minutes which can be a lifesaver. I pulled this out during takeoff and landing when I really needed him to sit still. I got this kid-proof case and these kid-sized headphones, both of which worked well!
Lastly, I will say that having a seat for your kiddo (even when they are under 2) can be pretty helpful. We ended up having an entire row to ourselves on the flight back (due to people getting rebooked because of the delay), and it ended up being a lifesaver with him being overtired and difficult. I won’t do this all the time, but when it’s a longer flight, during nap or bedtime, and not a huge expense, I will definitely consider it.
Overall, I’m really glad we made the trip. But if I’m being honest, I’ll be hesitant to travel solo with him again until he is a little better at sitting still and listening to instructions. Or if it’s a situation where I wouldn’t have to lug a car seat and could have a simple curbside pick-up (since those were 2 of the more exhausting/complicated parts). I’m really glad I figured out some good activities for him though, because we have a family trip to the Virgin Islands coming up in a few weeks with a 3-hour flight (and luckily Daddy along with us)!
I’d love to hear your tips for traveling with a toddler – either below or on Instagram!
Xo,
Shannon
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