Packing, dreaded packing!

Sorry my getting to the airport post came first. At the time I knew it was out of sequence but the prospect of even thinking about packing for a big trip with kids was too much for me! So there are my true feelings (packing for a big trip with kids can be hard!) but with some organizing and pre-thinking, you will get there!

If you are the mother or father of small children, you know that your attention is frequently pulled away from things you are actually trying to accomplish. I read recently that a preschool child typically requires the attention of their caregiver every 4 minutes. That means I have 4 minutes to get something done so I better work fast! The best way I have learned to pack while taking care of kids involves making piles and lists. As far in advance as I can, I designate a box that I can keep out of the reach of my kids for things I need to pack for the trip. This is very helpful to me because as something crosses my mind, I can grab it quickly and put it in the pack pile. I find that if I do not act on a thought quickly, the thought goes away. If it is not something I can physically put in the box, I make sure to write it down. Then I will remember it even after I get a glass of milk/change a diaper/clean up toys/change the laundry/break up a sibling fight, you know, the everyday mommy things that little kids require.

I'll try and just outline a few things that make life on the road a bit easier (and I wish I had realized a few of them sooner).

• Even for long trips, I try to not pack more that 9 days of clothes for my kids. As much as possible, I try to have clothes be multi-purpose so we can mix and match. I find you really do not need more than 2 pairs of shoes per person (although I really love shoes!) You really need less than you think.

• Trying to keep clothes clean on the road can be a challenge! For littler kids, I LOVE the bibs with sleeves! Ikea sells some at a really good deal. I have a couple of the Bumkims brand ones that are great too (here is a link). They wash up really easy and are usually dry by the next meal. If your little one pulls off their bib, at times I extra secure them with a rubber band around the back. I know it seems kind of mean but sometimes I really need that bib to stay put!

• speaking of cleaning clothes, I like to have some laundry grains and stain treatment with me when I arrive somewhere. We always have very dirty clothes from our travel day! And hand washing kids clothes is not that bad, a hotel sink or bathtub works fine if you have no other easy options. (Did you know there are NO laundromats in Warsaw, Poland? None!)

• I have found that a lot of temporary housing does not have kid friendly tableware. For my kids, it is not if but when a dinner plate will end up on the floor and this breaks dishes. We have had to order emergency replacement dishes for sublet apartments in the past. To avoid this, I try to include a couple of non-breakable plates/bowls/cups for kids in our luggage. I bring some plastic place mats too for my kids. And I like to bring a new kitchen sponge and a small bottle of dish soap so I am ready to wash up. I like to travel with a bottle brush even after we don't use baby bottles. It helps sippy cups and water bottles get less stinky!

• I also LOVE to travel with a magic eraser sponge, and I have even started bringing a 2oz. bottle of glass cleaner. This helps get little finger prints off tvs and glass tables if you need to clean up after yourself. The magic eraser is great for getting accidental art off of walls that are not yours. (However, if you are in a fancy hotel in Japan that has textured fabric walls that your 2 year old decides to decorate, the magic eraser will have no power! Nail polish remover will do the trick, thankfully!)
  

• I frequently travel with an empty spare bag, either for souvenir or simply because I never pack as well coming home as I did to go. I find when I do not bring a spare bag I usually end up buying one.
  
  
• many of our early packing trouble of bringing too much stuff was because we had the wrong stroller and port-a-crib. We lugged a 20 pound port-a-crib as a separate piece of luggage through Israel, England, Mexico, and a lot of the USA. Additionally when we would travel by car we used to have to use a car top carrier because our first stroller would not fit in our car. Here is how phil&teds save the day! We LOVE the phil&teds travel cot because it is small enough to pack in our carry-on luggage. I put it in a roller bag with my camera equipment and then I know even if our other luggage gets lost, at least the baby can sleep that night! We also love the travel cot because it is very long, much longer than a traditional pack-and-play, and the sides are deeper, keeping our little ones who are prone to escape safe and sound. In our phil&teds travel cot bag we are able to also fit a crib sheet and a couple of other blankets so we are good to go!
  
  
• when car traveling with our phil&teds double stroller, we just pop off all the wheels to store them separately and the stroller goes nearly flat in our small car. This is lucky for us because we use every spare square inch of space in our car when going for long periods. We also love the Lazy Ted so we automatically have an infant/toddler chair when we bring the double stroller. Kids love the Lazy Ted and I think for my kids there is something very homey and comfortable for them to have their own little chair when we are in new places.
  
  
• Just in case for the stroller, we travel with a spare inner tube and a tube repair kit, and we always keep an air pump with the stroller. We have only had to replace the tube when traveling once. It was very nice to have one with us instead of searching for one in a country where I had a 3 word vocabulary.

• You may need to think about childproofing needs for your new environment, but that is a whole other post, as is travel friendly toys!

It is amazing to realize that everywhere we have gone they have these places called "stores" where you can buy things you may have forgotten. At times I get too caught up in trying to pack everything we will possibly need, but it is nice to have things on hand like a little sewing kit, shoe polish kit, basic medical supplies and spare everything just so you are ready.

Versailles, no strollers allowed

In 2008 we spent the month of January in Paris since my husband Brian had a job singing in a production of Don Giovanni. Our son Colin was just shy of 2 years old and I was about 24 weeks pregnant with our daughter. On one of Brian's days off we headed to Versailles.

In Paris we managed to see a lot of non-child friendly attractions (Museums, Galleries, Churches, etc) by adopting a strategy that would have Colin asleep in his stroller just in time to enter. That was our plan for Versailles: work hard to wear Colin out in the morning, have some lunch, then get the afternoon nap going in the stroller so we can enjoy some culture quietly. To wear him out at Versailles, Colin had a great time running around the vast grounds.

I know some parents are anti-harness, but both of our kids are runners and by runners I mean they bolt. Sometimes we would do experiments with toddler Colin to see how far he would run from us and he would rarely look back. Especially while in France we got some glares from older people when they saw our child on a leash, but young mothers would approach us dying to know where they could buy a harness for their little ones. For me it is part safety to keep my kids close and nice to let them get some get energy out.

We had a nice lunch on the grounds and then walked around until Colin was asleep in the stroller. Our plan was working so far!

On our way to the ticket kiosk, we received the lovely news that strollers are NOT allowed inside the Chateau. Vraiment. The message seems to be toddlers aren't welcome here, and most French families probably know this. Brian wanted to slap the lady (all French like) who then suggested we might like to tour the grounds instead. We had just done that for several hours, and the weather had turned beyond nasty. I was ready to just leave, but Brian wanted to see if he could get Colin to sleep in his sling during at least part of the tour. So we paid the exorbitant entry fee, checked our stroller, and started inside with a HUGE child sleeping in the sling hammock style. He was getting a great response from the other tourists.

In the Chapel, Brian sat down on the floor because dead weight Colin was taking his toll. The attendant came and tapped him on the shoulder and he assumed he was going to be told that sitting on the floor is not allowed. Instead he offered Brian his seat. We decided not to have mean thoughts about Versailles' anti-toddler policies. It is always great to meet nice people.

Colin was awake by the time we reached the Hall of Mirrors. The state rooms on the way there were housing a huge exhibit of antique silverwork. It was very impressive. Colin however does not seem to like the Baroque Aesthetic. What can I say, he's a Classicist. Almost immediately upon waking he wanted home and was only propelled through the rest of the tour by, "Let's go find the bye-bye!" (Incidentally, I do think it's great that Colin applies the term 'home' to places we've been for like 2 days).

Colin was trying to blow out the electric candles in the Hall of Mirrors. Then he became fascinated with my scarf.

Then Colin showed his disapproval of Baroque excess by staging a lay-in on the floor of the Hall of Mirrors. We were totally unfazed by the disapproving glances. If you don't want toddlers laying on the floor, allow strollers. (I understand the no stroller policy in high tourist season but January is not high tourist season.)

Almost to the bye-bye.

Colin shares his final thoughts on the Chateau de Versailles. We're glad we went all in all. We don't have to do it again now for a long time.

Airport fun

(Jane contemplates traveling on a plane. Phil&teds have asked me to write a few blog posts about traveling with kids and as an example, here are some thoughts on getting through the airport.)

Congratulations! You are going on a trip with your child/children! How very brave of you! Tickets purchased, bags packed, and now to get yourself, the luggage, personal belongings, and children from your home and actually onto the airplane! This is not my favorite part of traveling but it is strangely inevitable. I love reading and applying travel tips/ideas and I am hoping to pass along some of my favorites here. We do not do things perfectly by any means, but we are always trying and with a little trial and error, we have come to a few loose conclusions/suggestions.

Getting to and through the airport:

• Sadly, we do not have easy public transportation in our home city to the airport. This first tip may not always make sense, but occasionally, when we haven't had a spacious car owning friend available to take us to the airport, we have gotten a cheap car rental from the airport the day before so we can drive ourselves and check in the car at the same time. Sometimes when family, luggage and multiple car seats already take up most of the space in a car, we have found this to be a nice option. It can be a lot less expensive than getting an airport shuttle or taxi.

• It seems that the most harrowing leg of air travel with kids can actually be the short luggage-laden trip from curb to ticket counter. We love the sky cap and feel like tipping the nice guys who take our baggage at the curb is money well spent! If we are checking in a rental car, once my husband's ID is checked, he can take one of the kids and return the car while I take care of the check in. Airports in the United States drive us crazy because they always charge for luggage carts. I think just about everywhere I have been in Latin America/Europe/Asia/Middle East and all have had complimentary luggage carts for passengers. Come on America, help a family out!

• Once you are through the airport doors, there is that lovely detail of getting through security. How we love the security screenings! Please unpack most everything you have just neatly packed to make it through your day of travel. Worst of all, the kids have to walk through too. My kids especially at age 1-3 are runners which makes security extra exciting. Once when I was traveling alone with my two kids, I was lucky enough to be selected for an extra security screening. There was a nice lady behind me who thankfully stayed with my kids. My almost two year old daughter would have run off to board a flight to Ghana given the chance. I find it adorable too when security makes me take my toddlers' soft soled leather shoes off (they are practically socks), as if my child is the next shoe bomber. If you are traveling with a stroller be ready because you will need to fold the stroller and get it x-rayed at security. You can ask to have the stroller hand checked if you have too much to handle through the check point. Remember too that even though there are limitations on liquids you can travel with, breast milk or prepared formula and baby foods are fine to take through (Caveat: In London once, I was asked to take a drink of the contents of a bottle, presumably to prove it was not a hazardous substance. Thankfully it was apple juice, and not my own breast milk.) I always make sure to have an empty water bottle to fill up on the other side of security and a couple of extra sippy cups for beverage service on the plane. Also make sure to take advantage if the airport security has a special line for people traveling with kids, well worth it!
• One final thought: as kids get old enough, get them involved in the process. Our son loves having his own little backpack of toys to put on the security conveyor and loves taking a turn pulling a roller bag. He knows the routine so well by now, he hardly needs directing. He has flow so much he has already earned his own frequent flyer ticket.
  

Traveling with our phil&teds:

• We love traveling with our double phil&teds and could not imagine being without it while exploring the world! We have used it a few different ways in airports. If you're not checking it from the start, the stroller is a great way to get all the carry-on luggage to the gate with you. We sometimes have our older child walk or we carry our little one so as to free the doubles kit for back packs/computer bags/camera equipment, etc. When we use our stroller through the airport we check it at the gate. Unfortunately when gate checking, our stroller would frequently not come back to us at our arrival gate but would go to the main luggage carousel (despite being clearly marked as a gate checked item). Different airports handle things differently, especially when traveling internationally, just to add to the excitement of the day. We were lucky to not have our stroller damaged by a lot of gate checking. I have heard of many people whose strollers have been damaged or broken, so beware. (When gate checking I used to travel with a roll of plastic wrap in my diaper bag and we would wrap the stroller prior to gate checking to try and protect the fabric. I shared this tip with a friend who one upped me by padding the handle bar of their phil&teds with diapers and then plastic wrapping it, brilliant!)
  
• After two years of phil&teds use we finally invested in the up&away travel bag to ensure the stroller is well packed and safe while we travel. We now prefer to pack the stroller at home prior to the trip and send it safety with our checked luggage. The bag does a great job of protecting our beloved buggy. How sad would that be to get to your destination stroller-less! Since the rear wheel guards need to come off to properly pack the stroller in the travel bag, make sure if you have one of the models where the guards go on with a screwdriver to pack a screwdriver too! It may take a couple of times to see how to pack the up&away bag so maybe try it at home and don't leave figuring out how everything fits in the bag on the jet way! As I said, it is our preference to pack it up before we travel and to send the stroller on its merry way since we are typically juggling a little more than we can handle as we board the plane. Also, if you have a Lazy Ted adapter which makes a great baby bouncer/travel chair from your doubles kit, the Lazy Ted also fits with the stroller in the up&away bag, hooray!! One easy thing while traveling!

Other tips:

• If you need to travel with a full sized car seat, we have loved using a simple little strap that attaches the car seat to a roller bag which then can be used as a stroller through the airport. (Here is the link on amazon.com) The kids love it because it is a novel and fun way to ride and you get to kill two birds with one stone by transporting the car seat and keeping your child safe. The strap takes up almost no room and in my opinion is the best option out there and is less that $15! Bigger kids can hitch rides on roller bags too, just jump on and ride. Our son loved doing this from about age 3. Although on one trip home from Poland, we had to make sure he understood he was not to hop on our roller bag that was full to the gills with beautiful pottery.

• To get kids excited and show them what to expect in airports, we have loved the Usborne First Experiences book "Going on a Plane". (Here too is the link on amazon.com) We got our copy on a British Airways flight to Israel in 2007 (British Airways were very kid friendly, too bad they are not partners with the airline where we collect frequent flyer miles!) I know our kids do better with steps if we talk them through the process a few times. This little book helps your kids know what to anticipate at each step through the airport. It could be like fun scavenger hunt with older kids to find all the steps you have read about.

• Finally relax! And I make this point mostly to remind myself to relax! I feel that kids sense the stress level of their parents very quickly, and traveling is stressful. It sure does not help that usually the night before we are up late packing and start the travel day sleep deprived. Regardless, soon enough you will be on the plane. If you survive the plane ride, you will be enjoying your new destination (that is if you can get your kids to eat new food and sleep in a new place!) Sorry if I sound cynical, I do find it very worthwhile to travel with kids! With a little preparation, you will do great!

Keep adapting and surviving!

Here we are in Krakow, Poland walking to our hotel. It is a little hard to tell but we have a very large duffel bag in the second seat of the stroller instead of Jane. The phil&teds is like our pack animal!

Below: an example of the car seat strap. Our friends moved to New Zealand last year and used our tip of the car seat straps the get their two car seats and adorable twins through the airport. On the left you can see how it attaches to the roller bag and on the right, the little family ready to set out on their new adventure, rolling their kids right along with their carry-on luggage!

Here is Colin with our favorite airport toys. We really spend a lot of time playing airport. He recently told me, "we have not traveled on airplanes for awhile, let's travel!" Kind of funny, we have only been home from 5 weeks in Canada for about 2 weeks but we drove so so yes, he has not been on a plane since we flew home from Japan in August. It makes me laugh that being home for 2 weeks makes him ready to go again.