Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Toddler travel, chapter 2

Ok, so I'm a reasearch-a-holic. Thanks to my husband, who has instilled in me the importance of having all the facts before making a decision, and doing a complete competitive analysis when spending money on something.

My recent research has been geared toward having a happy trip to Europe, not just for me, Trent and Bri, but also for those around us. I remember how much eye rolling I did when I wasn't a parent and was stuck on a plane with a fussy kid. Oh how I hope karma won't bite me in the arse on this trip.

Here are some answers to some of my recent ponderings.

  • How do we transport Trent in cars? will we have to take his car seat? No. We will not have to take the car seat. Ben's parents have a car seat we can use while we're in Switzerland. And in Spain, I can arrange to rent a car seat for a week for 40 Euros from www.travellinlite.com, or if I want to go a slightly cheaper route (and less convenient) I can buy this: http://www.albeebaby.com/cotongocarse.html. I'm leaning toward just hiring one.
  • What toys are good for travel, fit into a carry on, won't roll under the seat, and are appropriate for a 1 year old? Books! Board books, specifically. And a portable DVD player with Baby Einstein DVD. Why? Because 2 nights ago, Trent was completely inconsolable. We tried everything, and the only thing that stopped his wailing was the Baby Mozard Music Festival DVD. We are SO taking that on the trip.

  • Should I wean him from formula so we don't have to pack any? I'm going to speak to the doctor about this one at his 1 year appointment (coming up VERY soon). My gut feeling is that he will do fine without it because at home he's only taking about 3 ounces per feeding anyway. I think the transition to regular milk will be easy.

  • What about nappies? do I take a 2 week supply? or can I assume I'll be able to find them in our destinations? I can most certainly buy them in Switzerland and in Spain. The only issue there is to ensure I can read the packaging so I know they'll fit him. I heard that you should calculate how many you need for the actual travel portion, and triple it in the event of traveler's tummy or other weird ailments.

  • Can I give him something to mellow him out for the journey? what can I give him? Several mums I've spoken to swear by giving their kids Benadryl. I am going to check with the doctor to see if that's ok. I'm not a fan of dosing Trent up for no good reason, so this would be a LAST resort. The thing is, it might have an adverse effect. It can make some kids hyper, which would be very bad.

  • How will I handle being "that lady" on the plane with the screaming kid that's pissing off everyone else for 10 hours? With wine :-)
Ok. I'm starting to feel more optimistic about the trip. And numerous people have told me that kids surprise you and are perfectly well behaved during long trips. Our only experience has been taking Trent to Houston, which is only 3 hours away. Though I can say that the first time we took him we were pleasantly surprised at how well he handled the road trip, and every trip since he's been a model baby.

Current outlook: Calm :-)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

One tip if you'll listen to advice from a non-parent.

Don't just stuff a bottle of milk or formula in his face to console him. I was on a short hop in first class between Austin and Dallas, and some parents in the same row as me had a toddler. She was all fine, even walked across the aisle and sat in the empty aisle seat next to me and I said hi to her. But as we began the descent, she started feeling fussy. If she had any ear problems, this would be the point where they rear their ugly head. So the parents gave her a bottle and she drank and drank and drank. We landed. She was fine, happy, consoled. Then before we parked at the gate.... *barf* *barf* *barf* Instant stinky milk barf smell.

I felt SO awful for the parents. The flight attendant just wrinkled up her nose and waved a safety card in front of her face as people deplaned. What a tard!

Jay gives his kitty a half children's benadryl before flying and he does so much better than without. We just tested him on it a few days before. It can't hurt to at least know what Trent's reaction would be while you're on the ground at home.

Have a fun trip!

Mandie said...

Thanks for sharing your experience, Julia! I hadn't considered the barf factor. I'm definitely going to talk to the doctor about Benadryl. I went to the pharmacy a few days ago to scope out the kids Benadryl, but there are so many and the box said for age 6 and over so I was too afraid to try it.