Thoughts on Baby Travel

One of my biggest reservations about the trip to Hawaii was traveling such a long way with an (almost) 18 month old. Tabby is a good baby, but she's at the stage where she does not appreciate having her mobility limited in any way, especially for a long period of time. So I was on hyper-planning mode for Tabby and her needs, especially during the plane flights. Here's a synopsis of what worked and what didn't:

* the portable DVD player – I think this thing will be a godsend when she gets a bit older, but at her age, it was practically useless on the plane. The best thing we used it for was her music at night. I'm still glad we purchased it though, because I know it will be useful in the future.
* Magna-doodle – This was probably the biggest hit I brought activity-wise. She loved it to bits! Unfortunately the brand I bought (Parents) broke about 2 hours into the plane ride. We limped along with it, but on the way home we used a notebook and pens ($1 total cost, even in HI).
* Books – We have these two books that she is in love with and sat on our laps for many minutes at a time asking “what's that?” over and over.
* FOOD – I made sure to pack as much food as we could carry and I wasn't a bit sad I'd done so.
* new toys – I got some barnyard animals (and a barn and tractor) from the dollar bin at Target as well as a couple of funny animal-looking balls. Both of these were a big hit, partially, I'm sure, because they were new.
* the peapod – this was awesome! tiny in comparison with a play yard (pack 'n' play), but hugely successful – she happily slept in it every night!!
* P&T carrying bag – I am so happy I broke down and bought this thing – it kept our stroller all pretty and turned it into a very effective piece of rolling luggage
* car-seat bag – I was so happy we decided to bring our own car seat and happy that I bought this to carry it in and when we had a heavy suitcase on the way back, Matt tossed his sandals and a couple other things right in there and checked 'em on through

I definitely overpacked. Clothes were the biggest offended since we had a washer & dryer at the ready. But if we hadn't, I wouldn't have packed nearly enough. All the beaching and outdoors stuff we did combined with humidity necessitated many clothing changes.

There are a few other things that we brought that didn't see much use. The baby backpack was only really used on one occasion, though that was mostly because the main trail we were planning to use for a couple of hikes was closed due to a fire. The hiking shoes were also large and not much used. But I still would have packed them since we would have used them had the trail been available.

We mostly used the stroller to go jogging in the morning (which didn't happen as frequently as I would have liked) and only a couple of other times while in Hawaii, but I don't think I'd ever go without one since they're so useful in the airports and they are a free gate-check or plane-check item.

I also packed too many entertainment things for myself for the plane ride. Just my MP3 player and headphones would have been plenty. We both had plenty to do just looking after and entertaining Tabby.

One big upside is that this trip made me a bit less nervous about traveling with Tabby. It wasn't all perfect, but we got through it. And I think I learned a few things for the next go-around.