Checklist for Traveling with a 10 Month Old

My daughter is 14 mo old and we have been on 4 road trips and 4 plane rides, she travels well. Take the crib mirror for the car so she can play with that, CD's , a small blanket to let her stretch out on breaks (if you're driving) or on the plane floor. Take disposable rubber gloves (medical from Rite Aid or food ones from Smart & Final) if you are driving and have to change a poopy diaper with no access to running water. Plastic bags for dirty clothes/diapers, plenty of food/spoons etc. Have fun!

Don't forget to bring some ziploc bags for any stinky diapers you might have to change on the plane.

I usually just pack enough diapers and food to last us through the plane ride and the first day of travel. The once we get to our destination I seek out the nearest Target or Wal Mart and buy enough stuff for the remainder of our trip. That cuts down on our luggage.

Since you will be staying with your in laws, you won't have to pack as much clothing and blankets, etc. since you can wash clothes there. I would bring some of your own detergent and fabric softener if your in laws use something different.

Also, with the formula on the plane....pre-mix the formula as they won't allow you to bring any water bottles through security. But they will allow formula bottles and juice bottles for the baby. You can also bring baby food in jars and all the snacks you can fit into your carryon.

Speaking of carryons....I highly reccomend using a back pack style diaper bag to hoist around all the baby stuff.

When you check in, ask for the bulk head seats as they have more leg room. And try not to get the seats right by the bathroom....yuck!

Have fun!

We always have the following on our travel list with our daughter:
- Thermometer
- Tylenol (or whatever your child takes)
- At least 2 bottles/sippy cups
- Something for them to suck on during plane landings (bottle, pacifier, sippy cup, whatever)
- Baby books to look at and read at bed time
- A favourite toy/object
- Diapers/wet wipes/rash ointment for the plane
- Kleenex (travel packs that you can easily stuff in your pocket, purse and carry-on
- Snacks for the plane

Those are the items we NEVER forget. Now that our daughter is 4yrs old, we make a game out of what will be in her backpack every time we travel. We put new books, colouring items, little toys, etc. and she gets to check them out when we get to our gate. We still bring snacks with us (dried things like crackers, dried fruit, fruit leather, popcorn, etc.) We usually buy a bottle of water in the airport once we get thru security for her so we don't have to ask the flight attendants to bring one every 5 minutes. And we always bring lolly pops these days to ease her landing experience with her ears. If she asks for one, we give her one...but only if she asks. Oddly, sometimes she won't remember, and she doesn't seem to have ear problems all the time. So, that's good.

Good luck! And enjoy the trip!

Cheers, C.

You probably already know this but just in case...if you're flying, the pressure can be uncomfortable for the baby when the plane goes into the air and when it lands. Schedule the breast or bottle for when the plane actually seriously starts moving. It really helps.
G.

Make sure you take a change of clothes for YOURSELF on the plane or in the car, cuz you will smell pretty nasty if she vomits all over you and then you have to sit on the plane for another 2 hours! : )

Have fun! My daughter has her own frequent flier miles and at 2 years old she's a travel pro!

Hi R.,

Looks like many Mom's have your question covered. I was just sending along my own experience. I have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and have been traveling with her since she was only a month old. We would always bring her carseat and stroller with us, just to help out through the airport. There were many times that we were able to switch our seats so we could use the carseat on the plane without having to pay extra for it. Sometimes if you ask the people at the gate before the flight takes off, they can tell you if the flight is full or not. If it's not, they might be accomodating enough to move you around. It is so much easier to have the child secured in their carseat. From experience, my daughter would almost always sleep through the entire flight if she was in her carseat. Now that she is older we have to buy a seat for her, but even now, she sleeps most of the flight.

If traveling by car make sure you bring toys that your child is familiar with. A favorite stuffed animal works wonders. I have also traveled my car, as well as train with my daughter quiet often. We went on a midwest trip where we were on the road for over 1300 miles and my daughter was 9 months old. She did wonderfully. She slept most of the time we were on the road.

If she uses a pacifier make sure you bring extras. I don't know how many of them I lost while on a trip and how frantic I was to find the right ones while we were in unfamiliar areas.

I hope this helps at least ease some anxiety you might have about traveling with your daughter. Enjoy your trip and have fun!!

L.

At 10 months old babies are still very good on flights. My girls started flying at 10 weeks old and we have been everywhere. It gets hard when they are toddlers. Take some never before seen age appropriate toys. Nurse or give a bottle on take off an landing chances are she will fall asleep at the humming noise of the plane. Just take your time going through security and do not let anyone rush you. take an extra change of clothes and depending on which airline you travel on the bathrooms have changing tables above the toilets (very cool!).

Enjoy, stay relaxed and remember that she is a baby and babies are really easy. Especially only one baby.

can your inlaws also get a baby swing? maybe just borrow it from a neighbor or get one for cheap at a second hand baby store like 'once upon a child'.... also, don't forget to take some baby meds & your childs immunization card & notes for any allergies your girl may have. have fun! p.s. you may need to check w/the airline if you can bring formula (and also on the meds) on the plane, since they contain liquid.

Hi R.,
The other mothers all had good ideas. I would also recommed a portable DVD player - fully charged! You can use it in the car or on the airplane. It has saved us on many occassions when nothing else would keep my son calm. It gives you a couple of hours of peace while traveling.

Good luck!

Hello R.,

I am a mother of twin boys who enjoys traveling. Since they have been born, nine months ago, we have traveled, by plane a number of times. I enjoy a challenge so many of these times were by myself. YOU CAN DO IT! As for a checklist, plenty of snacks and a favorite toy for the ride, clothes (but not to many; especially if your in-laws have a washing machine)and your basic health care needs (tylenol, etc.) You can bring bottles of formula on the plane so that is also not a problem. Remember, if you forget something there is always a corner store. Well R., HAVE FUN and ENJOY!

Many Blessings

If you are flying on an airplane- the less you have - the better. It is a major pain getting through security with tons of stuff- everyone's shoes come off, the laptop and diaper rash cream have to come out of the bag... Keep it as simple as possible and make sure you bring 3 oz or less diaper rash cream or they will take it. A Hooter Hider is great for nursing on the plane and at your in-laws.

We always use the baby carrier when flying with our sons. It is much much easier than the stroller and encourages you to not bring too much stuff. So that's awesome that you will be using your Ergo.
At 10 months she may even sleep on the plane some depending on the time of day. We went to the dollar store and picked up a few new things for our son to play with- a new book, notebook to color, a toy car- that kind of thing. You can also get non traditional toys- i.e. a calculator (they love buttons), measuring cups that stack inside of each other, barrettes to open and close. Just don't go too overboard since you don't want to carry a bunch of stuff and really at 10 months they are entertained by just about anything. My son loved the shade on the window going up and down. I think at 10 months he surprised us by sleeping through most of the plane trip still. He's little over 2 now and an excellent traveler. I just flew with him and his 2 month old brother by myself. It went pretty well and the stewards and stewardesses were a great help.

Have fun!

We have been traveling with my son since he was about 4 months old and he is now 21 months. At 10 months, we had bottles ready, or the breast, to soothe during take off, etc. We would make sure he used a pacifier, bottle or breast during take off and landing for ear pressure. We use a small, fold-up stroller that you leave right at the end of the walkway and get it back right when you get off, it helps a lot around the airport. We also made sure to bring a big mat to lay out in a non-busy area so he could play and roll around before or in between flights to help with restless energy.

We also brought a few books, little (non noise making) toys and his favorite snacks.

We started buying him his own seat around 10 months because he was already walking and hard to hold. The comfortable car seat helped him to sleep as well. However, it's expensive.

Hope this helps

We travel often with our three. We live in SD and family is in Seattle/Portland. With all three kids I gave them a lovey and a blankie in their beds from very little. That way, when we travel they have those and understand that bed time is bedtime. I think going to bed in a new place is the hardest on babies. If you have a routine or schedule, stick to it as best you can while traveling. Weather you are traveling by air or car, bring lots of snacks!

Hi, R.,

Where are you going? Is the trip international or domestic?

How are you traveling? By plane, car, boat?

Do your in-laws have a high chair?

I have a list of things to bring that I have used many times.

Lynne E
____@____.com

i just traveled with my 15mo daughter and what we did was brought a lot of dry snacks for her (because shes not on jarred food) and toys that werent too loud (so the people around us werent annoyed). you will have to buy water or juice for her after you go thru check in but her baby food should be ok thru check in. i assume by you saying that your taking a carrier that she is riding on lap? i find that hard when they are that old because they want to move and get down. what i did with my daughter is bought her her own seat and she rode in her carseat for the flight (but however your lil one may do great in lap). also another thing i did was give my daughter some tylenol like 30mins before we took off (also make sure that you pack any and all meds in a quart size plastic bag). try to get her to drink or suck a paci when the plane takes off or lands. good luck on your trip i hope she flies well!

For the airplane, a carry-on with a change of clothes for the baby, a change of clothes for you (for spit up accidents), diapers, wipes, toys, blanket, food, and bottle (if you use them). During take off, nurse your baby (to help her ears pop) or use a pacifier. Also take along food for you and your husband. You may not be able to get it through security, but you can buy food (for everyone but your daughter) after security. Did you buy a seat for her? We found that it was much easier to travel with our girls as infants if they had their own seat, mainly to stash all their stuff. Also, if it's a long flight, try to get the bulkhead seats with an attachable crib. Ask at check in, or before you travel.

We found traveling with a non-walking infant so much easier than traveling once they could walk. If she gets restless during the flight, take her on a walk-about through the cabin. And expect getting through security to be long and awful. Have a wonderful vacation!

There are some good articles and checklists on Baby Center ( www.babycenter.com ). Also, I found a lot of great information by reading the archives on this website.

I made my checklists by going through our everyday routines...diapers, getting dressed, bath time, meals, etc. I also made a checklist of those things that I was not taking with me and would need to buy once we got there. I used these lists to pack, then would make updates while we were traveling. I then kept the revised list for our next trip. Good luck and have a great time!

I travel to my parents with my kids (3yrs and 10 mos) regularly and similarly they have a crib, carseat and stroller so I don't have to worry about bringing any of the "big" items. If your in-laws house is big it is nice to have a monitor, but you can always buy a cheap one once you get there if you don't want to pack it. I would also have them pick up one of the inexpensive booster seats with trays (~$25-$30) for feeding times. You don't want to have to travel with this if you don't have to. We have a Fisher Price one that I use at home instead of a high chair since it takes up so much less space. The other obvious things are a few of her favorite toys, any special blanket or stuffed animal, sippy cup/bottles and baby spoon. Good luck.

Some activities that you can modify for your little one...http://chasingcheerios.blogspot.com/2008/06/toddler-activ...