Looking for advice from other parents. My dh and I were thinking of traveling cross country in the fall to visit my brother where he's currently stationed. He will not be there next year. We have some airline miles and my ds will also fly free as he's under 2, so we will be able to do it on a budget. I'm itching to travel, I haven't been able to do much of it since I became pregnant.
Everyone seems to think we're crazy to try to do this with a 15mo. I hate to take this trip and have it be completely miserable, but I'm not sure that that will be the case. Just looking for some feedback from others who have traveled with lo's. Thanks 
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We travel a lot - DD is 19 months and has been on at least 14 flights. I won't lie - 15 months has been the worst time for us to travel, but it is do-able. She didn't start walking until 14 months, so she was constantly wanting to move around but wasn't quite as verbal yet so that we could effectively reason with her.
Best advice is to book direct flights if possible, sit in the window seat (DD is always fascinated looking out the window and when we sit on the aisle she thinks she can get down). I always babywear through the airport because it makes security easier (you can keep him in the carrier when you go through). Bring snacks and videos if your LO likes them. She will happily watch them without sound, though I'm planning to pick up some toddler headphones for our long flights this June.
Basically, just have low expectations and know that it may not go well, but it's probably worth doing anyway
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@peachykeen: Great advice! Thank you.
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I'd go if you really want to make a trip. I have a 15, almost 16mo old so I can totally see traveling w/ her being a pain seeing how active she is! But life happens and I think you can do the best you can to plan and hope the rest works itself out
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That was a hard age to travel.
We drove from Canada to Florida when DD1 was almost a year and having a walking baby in unfamiliar unbaby proofed places was tough.There was also so much gear we needed. Travel crib, portable high chair, stroller, car seat. I'd recommend finding rentals or getting your bro to borrow from friends with kids.
Six months later we flew to New Mexico And it was much easier.
Ipad time and goldfish crackers saved the day. -
@Spinny: how long are the flights and where will you stay when you get there?
We've traveled a fair amount with first LO1 and we're starting to go with both girls more often now. Usually we are traveling to see family, but neither of our parents have baby gear at their homes, and seeing them requires flights or super long drives.
I would just pack a lot of food, lots of travel "toys" (new stickers, water pens, random tiny toys LO hasn't seen before, buckle toys, shows on Ipad, etc) and make the best of it. If it's two parents and 1 kid, you'll be fine.
eta: I mentioned the no baby gear thing because we've just learned to be minimalist when traveling. We don't take high chairs or boosters (never bought a travel version), we usually co sleep in some fashion, we pack light and buy food and diapers when we arrive, etc.
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We did nonstop to Maui (5-6 hours) at 13 months, and a trip to the in-laws at 18 months (like 2 weeks ago) that had a layover in between.
I'm not going to lie, both trips sucked but Maui was definitely worse. It was a full flight, he didn't nap, squirmed everywhere but was too young for TV shows or whatever. It was a total hot mess and he was that baby for the whole flight. On the flight back we got him to sleep for about half the flight with Benadryl. On the way there he just screamed and squirmed while I tried to get him to sleep in the Ergo.
The last trip at 18 months was better because we had the layover. We brought a carryon with a change of clothes for all of us, toys, a picnic blanket, a DVD player, and let him loose in an empty corner of the concourse to burn off energy. He could sit and eat and play on the blanket and it made diaper changes easier too. We carried our light travel car seat (Cosco Scenera NEXT) in a big backpack style car seat bag in case there was an open seat (we were able to score a seat on 3 out of the 4 legs). If there wasn't a seat open we could gate check the seat free with our stroller. Another great thing about the big backpack style car seat bag is that it's really huge so we've fit our Fisher Price booster high chair or other crap in there in the past.
I stopped wearing DS this last trip (before I had always worn him) because he was bigger and the stroller gave us a little more storage and we could use it as a high chair of sorts with a lap towel and a bib.
Even when DS was screaming it was better when he was in his car seating the plane because I had my hands free and could catch a break. At 18 months he was able to watch his DVD for like 15-20 minutes, then we could offer him some snacks or a different toy, and try to keep him semi happy for the rest of the flight with ice chips, crinkly peanut packets, etc. (We had two 2.5 hour legs each way, so nothing TOO terrible for other passengers). Keep dum dums in your purse - they are small but last about 15 minutes, can help with take off and landing, and usually my secret weapon of he's having a complete meltdown.
The best toys were dollar store slinkies and this light up ball that strobed when you bounced it. DS basically played fetch by himself for 20 minutes at the airport chasing that light up ball and it was super.
We may travel again to my ILs when DS is 23 months old and we are probably buying him his own seat because I will have a 3 month old and do not want to risk having to lap infant two kids. It was just so much easier with him in his own space.
We had a 3 hour time difference on both trips and in general we found that they are so tired and out of it, adjusting isn't too terrible. We usually try to split the difference on the time change and that way the wake up isn't too jarring for all of us. Last trip the ILs were 3 hours ahead, we put him down at 930pm EST when his regular bedtime is 730pm PST and he slept until 730am the next morning.
We bring whatever he sleeps with. So his blanket, lovey, sleepsack, white noise machine. He also sleeps in a blacked out room so we carry blackout curtains and thumbtacks. ILs had a PNP and he naps in one at daycare so that wasn't an issue.
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We took B to England at 14 months (8 hours) and it was fine. We flew overnight so he slept the whole way there. On the way home he was mostly awake but kept entertained by walking up and down the aisles and watching tv. I would totally do it!
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We went to Europe with LO at 17 months. It was great! He did really well and was interested in everything. The only downside is that we couldn't go out to do many things past 10 pm but that didn't bother us much.
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@Anagram: The flights are 5/6 hours and we'd be staying in a hotel. My brother does not have children and wouldn't have anything baby related.
After reading these responses I'm on the fence. My son is 8 months now so it's hard to think of what he will be like in 15 months. He doesn't sit still now, so I'm thinking it will only be worse when he is walking. There is a lot to think about! Thanks for the feedback
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I traveled a lot with DD1, and our worst flights were at that age. That said, toddlers are unpredictable. I would be as prepared as I could be with distractions and schedule things around LO's schedule, but I would go. It might be bad, but it might be great! If you don't have a chance to do it later, I'd gamble.
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i think @rattles: said it really well. you can't really know how it's going to turn out, so if you really want to go and won't have this opportunity later, then go for it.
i do agree with the others that 15 months can be a tough time because they want to be so mobile.
we took our 20 month old on a 19-hour flight to seoul and i about wanted to kill myself. that was more of a trip for my parents than for us.
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We took LO to England last month at 22 months. It went really well. Travel, like anything with toddlers, is unpredictable, but if you really want to do it and won't have the opportunity again, I would say do it!
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We did 3 lonG road trips last summer, when DD was 15 months (6 hour, 12 hour, 9 hour) and she did amazingly well. I was nervous at first, but with some preparation and a good sense of humor, it went really well. I would make sure you're prepared to be flexible and say go for it!!
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Our one-week family vacation at six months was horrible, for a variety of reasons. We drove to Bar Harbor, ME. Our son decided he hated the car that week. He was also generally hating life because he was pissed that he couldn't crawl yet. So he was super high maintenance and fussy and wanted to be held/entertained all the time. Plus there was an unexpected heat wave, and the house we rented did not have very good air conditioning. And there were NO TREES on the property, and the baby was too young for sunscreen. At night, the plan was to sit outside and build a fire by the water after our son went to bed, but the mosquitoes were terrible. So we were trapped in a dumpy rental house while the baby slept. Basically, the whole trip was overwhelming and my husband and I were miserable.
Then last summer at 18mo we spent a week at a family resort in the White Mountains of NH. By then our son was walking and talking. He enjoyed exploring a new place, and there were lots of trains in the area which he LOVED. There was hiking/mountaineering for my husband. And there was a gorgeous veranda and cocktails plus a spa for me. It was a much better trip, and it restored our faith in vacations!
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I'm not going to lie and say I will be a cake walk. But it's not that bad. We've traveled a fair amount with our son (now 18 months) and it's really not that bad. It seems worse when you're in it but once you land it's like "ok that wasn't so bad".
1) I think it depends a lot on temperament. Somehow after being a difficult infant, he's really easy going toddler. He enjoys being around people and tends to be better behaved in public than at home. We are currently in Israel and it was a 10 hour flight to get here. Granted he slept a good chunk (thanks, Benadryl!) but he was awake about 3 hours of the trip and many rows around us had no idea we had a kid with us. How is your son at the grocery store? Church? Classes with other kids? New situations?
2) if you can swing it, GET HIS OWN SEAT and bring his car seat on. Trying to hold a toddler down on your lap is pointless. But if my son is in his car seat he knows "ok I'm strapped in. I'm not going anywhere. Pass me the snacks and an iPad, I'm good to go". Especially for a 5 hour trip (we did that at 15 months to Mexico) it was pretty easy. Again, has to do with each kids own temperament.
3) Hotel I think is the hardest part. We will not share a room with him. Period. We get a suite with a bedroom that has a door. Or right now we got two adjoining rooms and he sleeps in one. We sleep in the other wth the door open and a video monitor. He has high sleep needs and takes a 2-3 hour nap every day. And goes to bed at 7pm. So we would be sitting in the dark in silence for a ridiculous amount of time. If you have to share a single hotel room, Id be most nervous about that. Otherwise I find hotel stays with a toddler pretty easy.
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