We're Leaving On a Jet Plane... UH OH

A couple weeks back I mentioned how my family had to make a trip to New Jersey, what I didn't tell you was that we had to fly. This is where the hyperventilating started to come into play. While we were living in Maryland we used to go to New Jersey to see my family on a fairly regular basis and the car would be weighed down with crap. We would have so much stuff to bring that I would make a list for a two day trip. Ridiculous. Since I can't pack the plane full of all of our things (dumb regulations and bag fees), I started to get really worried about what I needed to bring and more importantly, how to entertain an 18 month old child who doesn't like to be confined. Hello Pinterest. I started searching for pins about traveling with kids just hoping to come up with one thing and you know what, I did!!! I read a few blogs on things to pack and what to do to entertain kids and honestly, I got even more frustrated and more confused. One person said to pack a stroller, one person said don't pack one because the airline with trash it (no thanks), one person said to get a carseat wheely thing (more on that later) -- this girl was exhausted and we hadn't even flown yet! It was time to figure this mess out. 

After asking for suggestions from my trusty facebook friends, I started to read what the blogs said again, trying to keep in mind what Macie likes and hates. I grabbed my faithful H&M bag because well, it's giant, and got to work. That is my first tip- Ditch your cute purse for the plane - you don't need it and you do need a portable toy box for the tiny traveler. My H&M bag is honestly the best ever. It's huge, it's light and it has one giant pocket with two good size side zip pockets so I can put all Macie's stuff in there super easy and leave the zippers for my stuff. I also don't feel like I'm carrying a diaper bag when I carry it, so that's a plus.

Notice how giant it is??? Please don't notice my weird faces, as though I don't know how to use my cell phone camera. 

Okay, I have the bag - now what? Fill it with food. No joke peeps - I brought along so many snacks, I was a walking grocery store. I packed fruit snacks, goldfish (well, organic sea monsters to be exact), Trader Joe O's, raisins, dried cranberries and a couple fruit smoothie packs. On the way home I threw in grapes too because my mom had some. Macie was loaded down with snacks. I also packed some crayons, a coloring book, a few of her books to read and I filled Allen's laptop with her favorite shows like Cat in the Hat, Martha Speaks and Super Why (for my own personal torture). I brought an empty cup for Macie because you can't bring liquid through security and then three night diapers (for extra security, she was sitting on MY lap the whole flight), her changing pad, wipes and a wet bag that I had picked up at Buy Buy Baby on an impulse. Let me tell you, go get one, it came in handy.

I know what you're thinking right now "flying isn't that hard, you have plenty of supplies and you have Allen to help." Yeah, that's what I was thinking too until disaster struck. Our flight was at 9:15am so we got up early, packed the car, rushed to the airport and parked. I had contemplated the stroller versus my ergo baby carrier until the last minute, but finally decided to give the ergo a shot. I didn't really want to haul a stroller and my mom has one at her house. Macie got in the ergo like a champ and off we went to the parking shuttle. Because airlines want to make life a little harder when you have a child, you have to check in at the airport and not online (gee thanks) so we checked in then it happened. Someone strolled by us with their child in a car seat wheely thing and Allen looked at me and said the fateful words "we don't have the car seat."
He decided to run back to the car and get it and I'd go through the security line with Macie. He handed me the suitcase (yup, I packed for all of us in ONE carryon) and his computer bag. I already had my trusty H&M bag and Macie in the ergo - I was loaded down. Luckily there was a very nice man behind me who threw my carry on on the belt for me. They didn't make me take Macie out of the ergo, which was awesome. They made me push on her to prove she was a real baby (hello, she was talking to them) and swabbed my hands for explosives but I didn't care. As long as she was confined, I was happy. After being cleared that I wasn't a bomber and Macie really was a baby, we were off to the gate to wait for Allen. After about 30 minutes, and a preliminary announcement that we would be boarding soon, I was getting concerned and called him. Nothing. GRRRR. Macie was getting antsy and I didn't want to let her loose in the gate so we went walking and ran into Allen.... without a car seat. He had taken the shuttle back to the parking deck, got the car and realized that he had put his keys and phone in his computer bag. Yeah, the same bag he had handed to me. Nightmare! Luckily after a panicked call to my mom, a friend of mine's mom came through in the clutch with a car seat for my parents so we didn't have to miss our flight.  Yay Lynn!!! All of this to say, you can get through security alone. I didn't think it was possible until I had to do it. 

Here's my lesson on boarding. Flying is no longer a fun adventure. It's sort of like herding cattle and children are just thrown in the mix. They no longer let you board early if you have a small child so it was another plus for Macie in the ergo. I didn't have a stroller to deal with and Macie was strapped to the front of me so it was easier to get her through the aisles of seats filled with people. 

The flight to Philadelphia was smooth enough, Macie ate a TON of snacks, made friends with every person around us and found it super entertaining to open and close the window shade - over and over and over. On the flight back - that was a different story. Just like airlines no longer let you board early, they won't guarantee families sit together or even try to make it happen. After three gates changes and two delays and no dinner for Macie due to mass overbooking and flight issues, Allen and I ended up two rows away from each other. Guess who was blessed with the lap child? Not Allen. Macie ate all of her snacks (remember the grapes and raisins?? yeah, don't pack those) and had buckets of water. This was not the smartest idea. She had not one, but two blow out diapers during our flight. It was the second one that made me glad for the wet bag (remember I mentioned that??) Her diaper had leaked - the night diaper - and her jeans were wet and gross. I was able to throw them in the wet bag and move on. Macie wasn't super interested in the books I had brought or the laptop full of movies, but she was all about the snacks and watching the people around her and her crayons.  She played peek a boo with the saintly girl in front of me for a little while too.

I feel like I let out a giant sigh of relief when we got off the plane. I learned a few things from this little adventure. The ergo was a GREAT decision (I need to give Allen credit for that decision in the end), it saved me fighting with Macie and a stroller. Snacks are a must have. I would suggest laying off the raisins because I'm pretty sure they were my downfall and led to the diaper blowouts. Speaking of diapers, the night diapers really were a good call because Macie drank so much water. When you do have to change a diaper in a plane, you don't want to bring the big ol' bag with you. The bathrooms aren't going to fit you, your squirmy child and your big bag. Bring a little diaper changing kit with you and take that into the bathroom. The last thing I learned is that flying with a toddler is possible. I'm not saying that I want to do it all the time, I'm not insane - but it's possible.

Have you flown with a toddler? How'd it go? What did you learn? Tell me your secrets for my next flight!!!