Happy Monday, friends!
As I was waking up two children who didn’t sleep well at 4:45a yesterday morning, I knew I had to just take a deep breath and throw caution to the wind. We were running later than we had hoped to leave and I forgot to mention to Mark that my gas tank was on E. Like BIG E. Not my best wife moment. ? I was getting a little nervous as our meter was reading just 6 miles left to empty and as the minutes were ticking away on the clock, but I kept my cool. Patience is always a virtue, momma. Our bags were packed and we about to jet off to a beach vacation, what in the world could be bad about that?
This is the first family vacation we have taken with both girls requiring a flight. We traveled quite a bit when Maven was an only child and really had the packing-airport-security-plane activity thing down. I was quite aware that bringing two children on a flight would be a whole new ball game though. Right now I would like to say, thank goodness we aren’t outnumbered. ☺️ But really, the girls actually did very well, especially given how little sleep they had the night before. The flight from MKE to TPA was just under 3 hours. The first hour went great. Smooth flying in all sense. The girls started to get a bit antsy after that and so we had to break out all of what I had prepared for them.
Airplane Essentials
How I packed our airplane activities for this trip was geared around the fact that I knew it was early morning, a relatively short flight and with the hope that Sylvie would take a nap. I have read some very creative ideas for longer flights and would have much more available to the girls if that was the case. But, here were some of our favorites for this trip:
- Pottery Barn Kids Backpack: We use this backpack for Maven all of the time. For this trip, it was the perfect size to pack all of her own activities for the plane which essentially was all of her baby’s diaper bag necessities. She is always such a little momma.
- These Avent sippy cups have been great for Sylvie while teething. The tops are soft but the cups come with a cap so I don’t worry about any spills when in my bag. Also, I just do not like when kids’ cups have so many parts and pieces to make them work. Why do they have to be so complicated? These cups are very simple and easy to use – and I don’t lose any parts in the dishwasher.
- The iPad. Maven has a variety of apps that she enjoys playing and videos that she likes watching. She’s a whizz at navigating around this piece of technology. I do like this case because she can hold it well and it stands up, in addition to protecting the device. This is an alternative case that I would like to get in the future.
- All sorts of snacks. Squeezers, cups of cheerios, raisins, graham crackers, bananas, the list could go on. Hungry kiddos can cause more dramatic meltdowns, so I do like to keep their bellies full.
- Baby doll. See above – Maven is a little momma. She has a doll with all of the accessories and takes such good care of her. I now bring a mini doll with for Sylvie too because both often like to be doing the same things at the same time.
- Books, books, books. Reading books on planes that have an interactive element can provide entertainment and take up a little more time. Today we enjoyed Ten Little Lady Bugs in addition to some touch and feel books and books with flaps.
Finally, if you are traveling with your car seat, I highly recommend getting this Car Seat Travel Bag. Airlines do check your car seats for free, but keeping them protected is up to you. The backpack straps on these bags are golden when you have so much luggage to hold + your kiddos.
Sylvie was overtired by the last hour of the flight, so I got up and walked around with her a bit. One of the flight attendants was so sweet, so Sylvie and I went in the back to stand and walk and talk to her. It was a refreshing distraction. Syl finally lulled off into a little cat nap for the last 20 minutes of the flight and Maven had the plane in an uproar when we touched ground and she loudly shouted “YAYYYYY WE ARE IN FLORIDA!” As for us now, we are all doing great and loving every minute of vacation thus far.
I hope you all make it a great week – wherever you are and whatever your agenda may be.
XO