Help! Overseas Travel with Two Children Under Three

We flew cross country dozens of times with our son before moving when he was 2.5. Bring the carseats and use them on the plane. They are used to them and won't mind being buckled in so much. Besides, the adult seatbelts are completely worthless on a toddler and won't restrain him at all. My son slept much better on the plane in his carseat than the once or twice we were insane and flew without his carseat (the only hell trips were the ones without the carseat!).

Bring a small inflatable ball to kick around in the gate area while waiting to board. It's perfect for layovers. When deflated, it takes only a small amount of space in the carryon. Or just leave it in the stroller basket. I would leave a few small 'airport toys', diapers and wipes in the stroller basket. They would stay in the basket when it was folded and gate checked. It's a few less things to carry onto the plane and yet were very convenient inside the airport.

For the 2 year old, bring a portable DVD player with headphones, books with flaps (keeps the fingers busy longer), magna doodle, colorforms (they also stick to the window!), color wonder markers and/or fingerpaint, lacing cards, small matchbox cars (ones with moveable ladders or car doors are better), small containers of snacks -- raisins, goldfish, mini-marshmellows, small pretzels, etc. You can hit the dollar store for a variety of cheap new toys and you wont care so much when parts get lost on the plane. Only pull out one toy at a time on the flight and try to get him to play with it for as long as possible before pulling out the next one. Also don't forget about the onboard 'toys'.... toddlers love those crinkly clear plastic cups they serve water in. Just ask the flight attendent for a few of them and they will happily give them to you. Kids also like to look at the magazines in the seat pockets... and like to rip them up. Let them! Or bring your child's safety scissors to practice cutting on the magazine/catalog.

The best thing to pack is a good attitude! Yes, it's hard. Yes, at least one thing wont' go as planned. Plan on delays and cranky kids. As long as you keep up the "this is a great adventure" attitude, your kids will behave accordingly and you'll be alot less stressed!

I hope your family has a great trip... for the airplane make sure to have some of those Dum-Dum suckers with you. kids do not understand the pressure in thier ears or how to get rid of it, so by having suckers they just think they're getting a snack but the sucking and swallowing will automatically relieve the pressure (ear popping)at take off and landing. Pasifiers and bottles work for younger babies. Now you know the secret of why babies/young children cry/scream at take off and landing. Simple suckers save a lot of stress for everyone~!
Enjoy,
K.

A portable DVD players (or laptop with the same capabilities) would probably be your best friend! Also, I had a flight attendant once tell me to pack twice the amount of food/formula/snacks & diapers than what you will need for the length of time door-to-door (here to DR). It can make any delays much more tolerable. And... pack ziploc bags for dirty diapers to help control the smell. One other tip I got once was packing the kids outfits in individual bags... so you can just grab a bag and have the outfit for the day... rather than having to rummage through the suitcase! Good luck!

Make sure you bring EVERYTHING that you could need. If you are staying in Punta Cana, it is a bit difficult to find a grocery store. You can walk to town (depending on where your resort is), but I only remember a bank and kind of a flea market area to shop for gifts. Punta Cana is GORGEOUS if that's where you are going. Enjoy!!!

We took our oldest daughter to the Dominican Rep. when she was 7 months old. We stayed at a very nice time share/condo resort. I was told not to drink the water there though (by the staff) It made me nervous even using the water to wash out the bottles!? Luckily, we brough sterilizer bags to use in the microwave. Just something to keep in mind. As for the plane, a portable DVD player was a big help for us. Plenty of snacks and new toys. I tried to bring things that were small and light weight like stickers & colorform type stuff. The best of luck to you - I know traveling with little ones is very stressful. Happy Holidays!

I have experience w/ this..I have a 17 month old baby..get a portable dvd player..it works really well..both kids would probably enjoy it..we took our daughter to France this summer, she was 12 months..she watched baby einstein videos when she wasn't napping..the trip went very smoothly, there and back..make sure baby has something to suck on, like bottle or pacifier for take-off and landing..

I agree with one of the other moms: bring the carseat for the 2yr old. It will make things so much easier. Ask about a bassinet for the baby. When we flew to Italy my 6 month old slept on the floor in bassinet for a good portion of the trip.
Bring disposable spoons, pudding, finger foods like Cheerios, Goldfish, cereal bars, apple sauce. For activities bring: paper, crayons/markers, let them(children) go through your purse or wallet-they love that, DVD player if they watch them, blanket, small bag with small toys like Little People, Little People animals, etc. My daughter occupied herself on many trips while waiting to board, flying, anywhere we were. Have different ones for the return trip!!
Bring sippy cup and bottle. I breastfed them as babies during flights so I didn't have to worry about formula or water. That worked wonders for the ears popping too.
People on the plane are really nice. The plane is louder than you think and drowns out the crying/screaming. People have complimented me on how well my kids did and I thought they were disturbing everyone!!!
Have fun

Well I just returned from Australia with my 3.5 month old. Here are the two main points--check the TSA website for security updates and check with your airline about their policies and procedures for travelling as a family.

Our biggest headaches came from security (big shock there). Every airport has different standards. The TSA website states that you can take liquids on the plane for baby formula, breast milk etc. However, one airport let us carry water in the baby bottles and another made us dump it and buy water inside the terminal (I think he was getting kick backs from the water vendors :). You have to pull EVERYTHING out and send it thru the machine in the little plastic bins, so it was easiest to keep all that stuff in smaller separate bags that could be quickly pulled our and then re-packed. We also had a laptop and DVD player that had to be sent thru on their own, so we were quite the gypsies at the checkpoint. Also note--they made me take the BABY's shoes off too (like I can hide anything in a pair of Robeez).

The airlines have really changed their policies as well. United no longer lets families board first, so you have to keep all the kids in line and elbow all the other passengers to get to where you are seated etc. It ended up not being a big deal (most passengers are TOTALLY sympathetic and will help out), but it did add a lot of anxiety to boarding for me.

While we were in AUS, everyone was really laid back and helpful, but getting back into the US was no picnic. Waiting in line at Immigration and Customs was a treat as Jr. was hungry and needed a diaper change--no restrooms until you are all the way through (at least at LAX). Then we had to clear security AGAIN and throw away more bottled water.

One other thing to be prepared for is that every airline has different procedures for your strollers and car seats. Our stroller was completely destroyed on our trip home and we just had to eat the cost of a new one.

Babywise, the little guy did great and fared much better than his parents in the long run. We kept some toys, books, and pacifiers handy to keep him occupied and the flight attendants were VERY helpful if we needed anything.

Boy, as I read this it makes it sound like the trip from hell, but we had a really good time and the amount of time you spend at the airport and on the plane is so little compared to all the good times on vacation, that it is worth the little headaches.