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Made To Mommy

Documenting my millennial mom life

Traveling Abroad With A Toddler

It has taken me a bit to write this post because I wanted to make sure I had all my mom hacks ready to share with you when it comes to traveling with a toddler. First off, it’s definitely not an easy task, even when traveling with another family member. My mom, Jadyn and I went on this trip. While Jadyn is such an easy going little human, traveling for 14+ hours was hard on her little body.

Let me take a step back. The last time I took this trip to visit my family overseas, I was pregnant with her and that was a feat in and of itself. Battling the tail end of my first trimester nausea when ascending and descending was not fun. Can’t forget to mention the whole ears popping things – ouch! And jet lag. So watching my mini me go through this new experience and not understanding what’s happening broke my heart. In hindsight, she did really well.

On the non-stop flight to our destination, Jadyn did not want to stay on the plane once we got on. The loud noises and hundreds of people freaked her out (rightfully so) and she just lost it. I made the mistake of not giving her Tylenol before we took off for her little ears. Getting a toddler to suck on a pacifier when you want them to is really hard. No matter how much I lightly squeezed her cheeks, she was not having it. After about 45 minutes of excessive crying and hysterics, she finally fell asleep. I almost lost it because people all over the plane were looking at me like “is this going to be the child that cries the entire 14 hours?”

She slept for 10 hours on the flight there.

Once we got to our destination it was nighttime (about 11 p.m.), but really felt like morning for us since our flight was a red-eye. I bet you can imagine Jadyn wide awake. We were all tired from the flight, but our eyes were so open. After we got to my uncle’s house, showers were had and then we all tried to sleep. It took Jadyn till 3 or 4 a.m. to finally fall asleep and we then had to be up at 8 a.m. to go visit with my grandparents. It took Jadyn about a week to really get over her jet lag (our trip was 2.5 weeks long).

I’m so grateful that Jadyn got to meet her great-grandparents and spend time with her cousins. I’m also grateful that I got to spend time with my family because I don’t think I’ll be making this trip again until Jadyn’s a little bit older.

The flight back was a whole lot easier. I think this is because Jadyn already knew what to expect (she’s a really smart toddler) and I gave her some Tylenol before we boarded. So when we were flying home, she was already asleep once we started taking off. Also, the flight home wasn’t full, so we essentially had an entire row to ourselves, meaning Jadyn could stretch out between my mom and I. That was just pure luck.

Jadyn slept for 7 hours then woke up for a bit and fell back asleep for another 3, so during this 13 hour flight, she slept for 10.

Here are some of my mom hacks and tips on how to survive and international flight with a toddler:

Don’t over pack the diaper bag. I made this mistake on our flight there. I packed 1 diaper for every hour of the flight (which took up a lot of room in the diaper backpack!) along with three onesies, pajamas and a change of clothes. Too much stuff!

Bring new toys. This hack I found while watching Emily Norris on YouTube. This was a definite game changer because when Jadyn was awake, she was interested in the new toy for an hour or so which gave me (and others around me) a sigh of relief.

Pack snacks. I cannot stand airplane food and kids usually can’t either. Before this long haul red-eye flight, we usually catch a bite at an airport restaurant (I know, queue the uproar because it’s soooo expensive) which tends to hold us over for a majority of the flight. Packing easy-to-access snacks is a must on a 14+ hour flight. We packed pouches (albeit not enough for the return flight home), puffs and some crackers. We always made sure to eat before the flight.

Technology is your friend. Each parenting style is different and mine includes a little bit of monitored video watching. I can’t raise my daughter in such a tech-y world and not give her the option to watch movies on a device–sometimes and in moderation. I purchased the Amazon Fire Kids Edition tablet and downloaded the Movies Anywhere app. We had access to Moana, Coco and some other Disney classics. This was a lifesaver not only on flights, but during the week-long jet lag recovery.

Bring remedies. Thanks to altitude climbing, our ears pop when we’re on a plane. Us adults can result to chewing gum to ease the popping, but it’s very hard to force a baby or toddler to suck on their pacifier or take a bottle to help with that. I always was sure to have Tylenol and/or Benadryl packed in my diaper bag just in case I needed it. I should have given Jadyn a half dose of Tylenol on the flight there to help ease the ear popping (and probably would have helped with the 45 minutes of screaming, too), but I was so anxious and panicky about her first flight that I forgot. I was able to give her a partial dose on the way back which really helped.

Buy an extra seat. If you can afford it, do it. Holding 30+ pounds for 14 hours is killer on your arms. Luckily on the flight back we had almost a whole row to ourselves.

Stay calm. As hard as it is to not freak out and feel judged by all those stares coming your way from others on the plane, stay calm. I almost had a panic attack those first 45 minutes because I was feeling so judged by those around me. Even the woman sitting next to me asked if there was something wrong because Jadyn was screaming so loudly and so much that she was afraid it’d be for the whole flight.

I’d love to know how you handle long flights and some of your hacks! Leave a comment below.

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DockATot Grand: The Vacation Lifesaver

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I have finally been able to take the time to sit down and write about our wonderful trip up north to South Lake Tahoe. Tahoe is so beautiful this time of year. You can spend time at the Lake, go check out the fabulous shops and have wonderful meals at Heavenly Village or just relax in your hotel room. I enjoyed all three. It was also exciting to take Jadyn on her first road trip (she is a champ in the car) and also share the Lake with her and dip her feet in for the first time.

The one thing I was worried about was the sleeping situation in the hotel. I’ve heard horror stories of vacations ruined because of a baby who couldn’t sleep or nap comfortably.

When I made the reservations, I made sure to get two queen beds because I figured I’d just co-sleep with Jadyn, but I needed a safe way to do that. Enter the DockATot Grand.

DockATot was kind enough to send me the Grand in the La Vie En Rose print (check out my Instagram highlights for the unboxing!), as well as the traveling case for it. I received the Grand a couple days before we left and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to see how Jadyn would react to it; she never had the deluxe as a newborn. Safe to say, I was worried for nothing. She took her two naps in the DockATot Grand the day we got it (after washing the cover, of course) and slept so soundly.

Now, while Jadyn is only six-months-old, the DockATot Deluxe is actually too small for her; she’s off-the-charts tall (28″!!), so the Grand definitely fit her a lot better. She not only napped well after exciting days up in Tahoe, but she slept soundly, too. Hotel beds aren’t necessarily the best so I was glad Jadyn had something familiar and comfortable to sleep in for two nights. Jadyn and I did co-sleep in one of the queen beds, and as a new mom, I barely slept checking on her every hour or so to make sure she was comfortable. She was. Check out her interesting sleeping position below.

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Here are a few reasons why I absolutely love the DockATot, whether a Deluxe or Grand:

  • DockATot is a multi-functional lounger, co-sleeper and playtime lounger. During downtime in our hotel room, Jadyn was able to play with her toys while relaxing in her Grand.
  • It comes in two sizes: Deluxe for 0-8 months and Grand for 9-36 months. I put Jadyn in the Grand even though she’s six months, because she’s so long (28″!!) and won’t fit in the Deluxe anymore.
  • It’s handmade in Europe; designed in Sweden.
  • The DockATot Deluxe and Grand are all natural, 100% cotton and OEKO-TEX certified.
  • It’s an ideal micro-climate for babies and tots. This rang true for us in Tahoe. No fuss whatsoever from Jadyn when it came to sleeping and dozing in her Grand.
  • For when Jadyn is in the toddler bed transition stage, the Grand will be a perfect helper.

I felt good about having Jadyn fall asleep and wake up in something so high quality and safe for her. Here’s Jadyn just lounging about in her Grand.

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DockATot offers a variety of covers to choose from, as well. The La Vie En Rose is my favorite, but there’s a cover to suit your style and your baby’s.

Thanks again, DockATot, for sending me the Grand to make my vacation sleeping situation a little easier.

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Do you have a DockATot Deluxe or Grand? Let me know what you love about it in the comments below!

 

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Thank you for visiting Made To Mommy. My name is Leigh and I am so excited to share my experiences with you! Head to my ABOUT section on the site to learn more about me.

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For collaborations, reviews, sponsored posts and business inquiries, contact Leigh at madetomommy@gmail.com

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