The Wishful Style Queen

That’s what it feels like when you’re travelling with a small human. As my photo from our recent week away will attest. Yeph I brought everything, and I’m very happy I did.

This wasn’t Little A’s first trip away, but it was his first flight now that he’s a fully mobile, ants in his pants toddler. Busy, busy, busy little man, places to be, things to look at, messes to be made. While I was excited about our trip, c’mon holidays are awesome,  even if it rains, but I was genuinely scared of the travel aspect of the holiday. How would he cope? Would my usually chilled out fun toddler, decide that not being allowed run up and down the plane would in fact bring out the demon in him? So I planned the entire journey out, thought of nearly every eventuality and came up with a solution(the benefits of suffering from anxiety) and thought well at least if he has a meltdown it’s not because I didn’t bring Blue Bunny(we’re original in naming our teddies) or that there wasn’t 87 different varieties of snacks.

So as they say sharing is caring, here are my top tips for what to pack when travelling with a toddler

Buggy bag – this I cannot recommend enough. After spending a good deal of hard earned money on your buggy, you will want to make sure that it was looked after as best as it could be while travelling. I have the bugaboo comfort travel bag, while enormous, it comfortably and securely holds your buggy and associated bits and bobs. Shh don’t tell Ryanair I packed it full of suncream and nappies!

Travel high chair – I picked this gem up in Aldi the Munchkin booster seat, which made meals times a whole lot easier! This bad boy also snuck into the buggy bag, although it would easily fit into a suitcase, or an overhead locker on a plane, thanks to it’s carry strap. It’s easy to set up meaning your hungry little one will be ready for their grub in no time!

Nuby snack pot – I wrote about this in my July favourites, this is now permanently in my change bag. He loves it! It was the perfect receptacle for his snacks. I honestly packed enough for the entire plane. Some ended up on the floor, most ended up in his mouth!

Clothes – travelling and changes in routine can play havoc with a grown ups tummy, so naturally it can be much worse with a little one. Pack more clothes than you think you’ll need for the first couple of days. As if your toddler is like Little A, you’ll need them. You can wash the others as you go. I packed a full change for travelling, in case of accidents and kept it in a ziplock bag for easy access.

Soother/bottle – the change in air pressure can really hurt everyone’s ears. When your little one is not old enough to understand what’s going on, have a soother at the ready – if they use one, or a bottle to give them. If giving a bottle, or breast feeding, do it just as the plane takes off. And the same again when you start to descent. If relying on soothers, have spares, as they can go flying!

Toys – Bring a couple of toys, books and their favourite teddy. Little A loves animals at the moment, so I picked up a couple of new ones in Mothercare especially for the trip. I took them out in stages, whenever he started to get bored.

Once you’ve arrived at your destination, congratulate yourself on a job well done with a glass of wine, beer, chocolate, all of the above! Bon voyage.