Travel Plans

I'm busy packing for an early morning flight home.  I can't wait to be back in my own territory.  I have packed our suitcase. It is bulging from shopping trips and new hand-me-downs from my mom.  As much time and effort as I put into packing our suitcase, I find packing the baby bag is the most important part of the trip.  Here is my no-fail flying with a toddler plan.

The baby bag can be broken down into six categories, snacks, incentives, entertainment, clothes, diapering and misc.  Here is a little bit more about each category.

Snacks:  Packing for a flight is about packing for a contingency.  You never know when you might be stuck on the tarmac or in the terminal.  I bring enough snacks to make it through most of a day.  I skip the sugary snacks because they make JAC hyper and render my incentives useless.  I stick to gold fish crackers or sugar-free fruit snacks.

Incentives:  I always carry some motivation for when things are spirally out of control.  It is usually Tic-tacs and a small bag of Skittles.  If JAC becomes very upset often I can bend down, look him in the eye, reassure him and offer two Skittles.  This incentive will brighten his mood and help us move forward.

Entertainment:  I have tried many combinations but finally I have decided less is more.  I bring two toys, two books, a package of cool stickers and some colors.  I always travel with a notebook and pack a surprise.  This trip the surprise was a Slinky from the dollar store.  If I pack more toys they seem to lose their value and end up rocketed over the seat.  Instead I try to invent funny games.  We look for pictures of dogs in the Skymall catalog.  We turn the vomit bag into a puppet.  We pretend to fish with the loose end of the seat belt.

Clothes:  I always bring JAC a change of clothes and a light jacket.  I also bring a fresh shirt for myself.  I don't know why but every time we fly I manage to get disgusting.Compose

Diapering:  I bring enough diapers and wipes for two days.  I pack most of them at the bottom of the bag and place two at the top of the bag.  I want to reach them in a hurry.  In the front pocket I pack four zip-lock bags for dirty diapers before placing them in the trash.

Misc.:  I always carry a few random items that are not kid-specific but come in handy.  I always have my phone charger.  I also carry chap-stick and hand sanitizer because JAC thinks both of these items are fun in a pinch.  I also always pack his favorite blanket just in case we need to spend the night in an airport.

What are your great travel tips?  Do you have any favorite in-flight games?  We like to write thank you notes to our flight attendants and cover them with tractor stickers.