Baby's First Flight

As with any post, I never want to appear as if I know everything!  I just like to talk about what worked and what didn't work for us throughout certain experiences (and take note for next time!)  Today, that topic is flying with toddler:)

What worked:
1.  Snacks: they were my personal life saver when Cam got cranky and wanted to let the whole plane know.  
2.  Packing reasonably: you don't want to be toting a baby and a huge, bulging carryon and purse (or worse, a piece of luggage!)  I fit only the essentials in my purse and carryon and the things I needed immediately during the flight in my purse.  This worked well!
3.  Organize: make sure everything is easy to get to.  Nothing worse then dumping out an entire bag to find what you needed was all the way at the bottom (which is usually the case with me...)
4.  Pray!  You may think I'm kidding, but I'm not.  Prayer is the first thing I try to always do before something that makes me nervous or that I am uncertain of.  
5.  Take advantage of the window.  At first Cam didn't care, and then he loved it.  I think it's worth a shot to try snagging the window seat.
6.  Make em' tired!  
7.  Easy access to important things...wipes, book, diapers, clean change of clothes (which I FORGOT!)
8.  Call before to let the airline know if you plan to have a toddler/infant in your lap.  Delta cleared the seat beside me, and made a specification that I had a baby with me on my ticket.  It will save you some extra steps at the airport.  *This is something I didn't know!
9.  Something else I was worried about...how will I change him?!  Cam almost always has a major bowel movement every morning.  I had nightmares of the diaper odor filling the plane, with a lot of mad passengers.  Our flight was at 7am, and I was a little panic stricken to say the least.  I actually googled (yes, I did) it to find out if they have changing stations on the airplane.  Turns out they do!  It also suggested that you can do a quick change in the seat if no one is beside you.  However, if your babe does it's business like my little boy...you may wanna hike back to the tiny restroom:)  I did, and it wasn't too bad!

What didn't:
1.  Technology-I guess it depends on your kid.  Cam could care less most of the time.  I packed both my iPad and iPhone within easy access and all he did was confuse Siri.  And throw them (which could cause some potential damage to the Target).
2.  Forgetting a blanket: the plane was kind of chilly, and when Cam went to sleep I would have liked to have wrapped him up.  Luckily, I had a jacket on hand.  (And scored a $2 fall blanket with foxes on it in ND before we headed home for the second flight!)
3.  Not having something new.  I slipped some of Cam's favorite snacks in my bag while we were in ND for the trip home.  He hadn't had the snack in over a month so he was very excited to have something new that he loved and wasn't spoiled with for the way home.  I imagine this would work just as well with a new/forgotten toy:)
4.  No change of clothes.  Yes I did.  I forgot a change of clothes for the first flight and by the time we reached Cade we embraced him with open arms and no pants!   Needless to say, the second time around I packed a change of clothes.

I've worked on this post for a while, so half of it was put together before our flight home.  Let me just tell you- on the way home Cam didn't sleep one wink (unless you want to count the last 5 minutes practically on the ground.)  People were rude to us, I cried twice, and nothing made him happy.  I guess sometimes there are no simple answers and all we can do is try to survive! 

What are your experiences with traveling with a toddler?  What worked, what didn't?  I'm sure we will be doing this again before we know it, Lord willing! 

Happy Wednsday, everyone!
Xo