Then came love, marriage, and children. Life was not to be so simple anymore. My husband still to this day works for various Broadway shows and therefore, we travel a lot. Well, he travels to work and I meet him there with our children. Hence, learning how to travel with children by myself was developed. Fortunately, experiences from living on the road helped.
Boston 2003:
We went to Boston, MA. for over 3 mos while my husband worked there. This was my first experience travelling by air with my oldest son who was 18 mos. at the time. And, this was where my research began.
- I wanted to find a place to live that was not a hotel room and not break our budget.
- The area needed to be close enough for my husband to commute and yet in a kid-friendly neighborhood.
- Where was the closest grocery store considering we had no car?
- What areas would be fun to visit for an 18 mo. old?
- The toughest part.....finding a way to pack efficiently and for an 18 mo. old 5 hour plane ride.
Most necessary item to help pack - Ziplock bags. I know, I know....they aren't environmental AND I do reuse them and wash them out, etc. I just hadn't found anything at that time to keep those bottles or juicy fruits from leaking into my backpack (I will mention something about this product) and either ruining the clothes I packed or other things in my backpack.
The ziplock bags are amazing in keeping the wet in and not spilling into your suitcase. I used ziplock bags for bottles of shampoo/conditioner, filled baby bottles, hairspray, gels, just about anything liquid so I needn't worry about my other things.
- Make sure you label the ziplock bags so you can reuse them. Sometimes you will have to wash and dry them. Other times you won't. They definitely saved me a lot of grief when opening my suitcases to find I didn't have to do a pile laundry right away because something leaked during the flight.
- For dry items, there are now these great cloth snack bags that can be purchased. They are great for sandwiches, cereal, etc and great for our environment. I haven't seen an eco-friendly waterproof bag yet.
- Suggestions: I have heard that you can make your own waterproof snackbags (they sew the ziplock bags onto fabric, but I do prefer being able to see what is inside quickly so I can sort when I unpack or scrambling through my backpack for something for my son to nibble on ) It seems like a great idea and you still have to wash them if you want to reuse them. They are just prettier. However, pretty is last on my list when I'm travelling with children and my version of sewing requires duct tape minus the needle and thread.
- Backpacks are the best. I acquiesced to the backpack after having my first child. The ones I saw were not chic and didn't have all the compartments that I wanted. But again, need I digress? I had a child and needed both arms available either for stroller, carry on, car seat, and/or all. The one I used was by Eagle Creek, but I haven't seen them around for awhile. There were several compartments and even a compartment where I could store the cushioned changing pad which was in the area right up against my back...made it quite comfy for me as well as my child. I liked Eagle Creek because it lasted me through my second child. In fact, I think it's still good (after 8 years of abuse). I just don't need all those compartments anymore.
