Flytographer Captures the best moments

This mama isn’t afraid anymore of travelling with kids…well OK, maybe a little afraid. It can be scary packing up a family, boarding a flying vehicle and crossing over different time zones. But man, are the payoffs amazing!

Once you get over having to pack up a portable version of your house ( diapers, snacks, toys, books, clothes, multiple pacifiers, strollers), you can start to get excited of having a “vacation”. HA! Let’s be honest, there is no real vacation from parenting – ever. But sometimes parenting in a different locale can make things much more rewarding.
Being as prepared as possible can make it easier as well (but not perfect because…seriously what is perfection in motherhood?)
Some tips that have helped:
– in their carry on backpacks pack a large Ziploc bag with a spare change of clothes, underwear, bathing suit and pjs….JUST in case your checked luggage doesn’t make it at the same time as you. The kids can still hit the beach or pool while you make the calls to track down the rest of your stuff!
– get the kids their own, size appropriate luggage with wheels. We usually are able to pack 5 of us into two suitcases for almost 2 weeks of travelling, but that also meant having to organize and pack everyone and puts the workload back on me! Now with their own carry on luggage, they are learning to pack for themselves and to keep their belongings together. Plus this way I’ve got the extra space for all those special souvenirs mama buys!
– Drugs. Pack them all: Benadryl, Advil, Pepto bismal, Gravol, Bug Spray, After Bite and anything else the travel doctor may advise.  Even though its often easy to find what you need in big cities or at the resort gift shop, its a lot easier to pull out what you need from your suitcase in the middle of the night to help a fever.
– When the kids were younger I would always over pack their toys and activities. But every single time, the kids never touched them. Like ever. So now, we pack a book or two and i pads and maybe some colouring sheets and pencils and a deck of cards. 
– headphones for each kid. Life saver.

-Since air travel has changed and not every flight has seat back entertainment (whyyyyyy????), our kids have to share i-pads, so we make sure they agree on and download shows for the flight beforehand. We also pack earphone splitters so they can each use their own headphones.

– I always bought and packed beach toys and goggles from the dollar store before we would travel and then leave them behind for other kids to use. But I also discovered that most resorts have these toys ready to use, and if not we would pick them up from a local store or gift shop.

– locate and have the information for a local hospital, clinic and doctor to where ever you are heading. After all , this mama needs some peace of mind

– But sometimes mama, you need to survive and just pack everything and the kitchen sink!

What tips do you have to make travel easier with kids? Leave a comment below 🙂