Thursday, August 26, 2010

Going to Massachusetts

Tomorrow morning Cameron and I fly to Boston to have some quality family time. DH is going to his cousin's wedding so we both get family time, which is nice. It will be Cameron's third time flying but her first as a more aware toddler. I think she was 9 months old for her last flight. 9 months old, not really crawling = easy traveling experience. 17 month old, walking = probably will be a disaster!

I got Cameron her own seat, mostly because the tickets were super cheap (I guess flying the weekend before Labor Day is the way to go). Not wanting to lug around a car seat I ended up purchasing the CARES restraint system. It was a little pricey but we have also decided to fly up to Massachusetts for Christmas and Cameron can use it until she is at least 3. Let me just say that I'm already looking forward to having TWO parents instead of one flying with Cameron for Christmas. Every time we've flown together I've been a solo parent.

I'm bringing books and food for Cameron but I can't decided on toys. I obviously don't want anything loud but I also don't want to deal with Crayons. Cameron likes to eat them and draw on non-paper surfaces. Any suggestions for good toys to bring with us?

I'll be spending a lot of time with my sister, Kristin, and her kids. We are planning a trip to the zoo and IMAJINE that (thanks for the suggestion, Drew!). My goal is to try and go with the flow (normally I'm hyper-vigilant about nap time) and hope that everyone, including me, has a good time.

Wish us luck with our travels and please send along airplane friendly toy suggestions!

5 comments:

LauraC said...

If it is something that keeps her busy, I'd say bring it. They make washable crayons that can easily wipe off with baby wipes. I would also recommend lollipops bc they take a long time to eat and can keep the kid in their seat for a long time. Also don't strap her in until the absolute minute, if you can be the last to board the plane, great!

This is horribly yuppy but we have ipod touches for both boys and toddler/kid headphones. It's nice bc they have drawing apps, music apps, game apps, and we load it with videos and music for the kids. I'm all for letting the kids watch as much tv as possible when traveling to make it easier on other passengers.

PS. Our worst all-time ever flight (even flying without kids) was when the boys were 15 months old.

PPS. I've never gotten to fly with just one kid! ha!

Amanda said...

Get something new, that she doesn't get to see until the plane ride. It will keep interest for awhile as a newbie. I know cartoons keep Holden happy now for a bit, maybe take some dvd's for your laptop or a dvd player she can watch. I'm really curious on how it goes, we are flying with Holden at 20 months but not with his own seat. god help us.

SkinnyMeg said...

I think you will be fine since she has her own seat. I didn't do that and it was the worst 3 hours of my life. Seriously! Have a great trip!!

Rebecca M. said...

Dominick and I flew to Florida in July, he was 15 months. The flight wasn't that bad - I came armed with NEW toys that he'd never seen before and his fav - the magnadoodle. He LOVES it, still does. Safe travels!

Danielle said...

I fly fairly often with Brady and we've already done a trans-Atlantic trip when he was 23 months. I actually find travel with him easier now that he's older. Since B was 4-months we've probably been on like 10-12 flights with him and I'm usually by myself.
One thing is that we always fly JetBlue so we have the TV - seriously invaluable. I second the person who said ipod touch. Eric's ipod touch is a miracle!
Get her some special treat - cookies, candy, whatever. Lollipops are great like someone else said. It distracts Brady knowing he's getting something special and I also use it as a reward for being good until takeoff.
Get some of those "magic" marker books. B LOVES those on planes. You can't make a mess or lose crayons, but they can color. They sell them in most airports. I don't recommend the "rub" ones with a stick though. They are really hard to use. It takes elbow grease.
Try to let her see out the window if you can. I'm still amazed looking out the window of a plane.
Good luck!! I'm sure it'll be fine.