Flying with Small Kids: My Tips and Tricks

Gosh, I look so nervous!!!

SLEEP

   What helped me the most this trip was to fly redeye. My kids slept 7 of the 9 hour flight and that helped the time pass so much faster! A friend recommended melatonin, so that's what I used to help the kids sleep on the flight. I follow THIS BLOGGER and since she's always traveling, and I really love all of her tips. The big one that helped me was packing a large pillow for Emma to sleep on! Game changer! William was small enough so he didn't really need it, but I was very grateful I packed it for her to sleep on. I want to invest in a jet kids "bed box" since I know we will always be traveling to Sweden or the states. That way, kids can have more room to sleep on the plane! Genius, right??

JetKids BedBox. Amazing, right??!

   On our way home the plane left at 6am and that was ROUGH. At first, I thought it would be a great flight since we would have the same layover, but boy was I wrong. I only got two hours of sleep the night before trying to pack and fit everything, so our flight was already off to a bad start. When I left Joel to go through security I was bawling because I was already so tired.

   On the long flight from Amsterdam to SLC (10 HOURS PEOPLE) I didn't have an extra seat next to me, so while Emma slept and took up the two seats on the pillow, I circled that plane I don't know how many times with William. Honestly, I don't know how I survived that flight. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. If possible, in the future, I will try to find another red eye because it worked out perfectly for my kids to sleep on that long flight when they're supposed to be asleep!

FOOD TIPS

   Before our flight left for Sweden at 9pm, we ate dinner right before getting to the airport and that worked out PERFECTLY. That flight from SLC to Amsterdam is such a long flight, so they served us dinner and it was not kid friendly. I am so glad we had eaten dinner earlier and took that time to eat and not rely on the airplane food. William and Emma slept almost the whole flight, so I feel like I over packed on snacks. On the flight back to the states the kids were awake most of the time and still wouldn't really eat the airplane food, so I'm glad I packed enough snacks for that flight. I wasn't focused on having only healthy food on the flight, I just needed food that would distract the kids in case of an emergency breakdown! ;) My kids basically survived off of crackers and cookies.

LAYOVERS

   I am SO glad I brought a stroller to have for the layovers. Before I boarded the plane from SLC to Amsterdam, I handed over my stroller and picked it up as soon as I got off the flight. When I was leaving Sweden, they told me that the Gothenburg airport was too small so I had to check it in. Hence the reason I started bawling, it was the "straw that broke the camels back". I wish I would have checked to see ahead of time if the airport would allow it so I would be more prepared mentally! The worst part was walking all through Amsterdam airport carrying William and most of our luggage. That airport didn't have any strollers to use, but they did have a luggage carrier that wasn't supposed to hold kids buuuut I did it anyway because I was that tired. #rebel

RANDOM TIPS

• Kid headphones! Emma had some that fit her perfectly, so she was completely able to zone in on a movie and be distracted for quite some time!
• Have low expectations. I imagined the worst, so then it was a pleasant surprise when the kids did so good. In all our travel, not once did Emma throw a single fit. I like to call her my perfect traveling companion! William is a whole other story, that busy boy. I just tried to make sure he didn't get hurt haha.
• Before our red eye I had the kids changed into pj's, diapers changed, and made sure they were all ready for bed so they could go straight to sleep after the food was served and the lights were dimmed so people could sleep.
• Bring a large pillow for kids to sleep on! Emma slept so much better and longer. I was a little jealous of her sleeping arrangement!
• Toddler-friendly apps! For Emma, she loves:

• Medicine to help kids (and yourself??) sleep. Whether you prefer melatonin, benadryl, or some other medicine I believe it is worth it for the kids to sleep well for their sanity along with yours ;)

• If a baby is a year old or younger, you can request a bassinet for them to sleep in. It hooks onto the wall, and it is basically the best thing everrrr. Not sure if every flight has one of course, but it is worth it to ask and have your seats moved to the front with more space and that amazing bassinet! We had one when Emma was 9 months old and we flew from Sweden to the states, and it was AMAZING.
• Make friends with the flight attendants!!! They were so accommodating, especially on my first flight. They even politely asked a gentleman to move to another open seat so I could have a free seat next to me. I think that's also another reason why the kids slept so good that first flight... they both had their own seat. Next time we fly William will probably be two so we will have to pay for his seat then... but when he is this small, it meant so much to me that that man moved! The flight attendants also helped me keep an eye on William when I had to take Emma to go potty. Because those bathrooms are quite small, and I was impressed with myself that all three of us were in there at one point!

I would say, all in all, the best decision I made was to fly redeye. I still can't believe how well my kids slept on that flight, and I will definitely be doing it again in the future!!