Need Some Suggestions for Traveling

We traveled with our 2 y/o several years ago, and my brother and SIL traveled several times with their current 2 y/o. We have had the luck of our children SLEEPING the majority of the trips. With my 2 y/o, I took an airline-approved car seat on board so my son was more comfortable, because at that time he was always falling asleep in his car seat on long road trips. I am not sure what my brother and SIL did when my nephew was younger and didn't need a purchased seat...I am guessing they held him as he slept or laid him in an empty seat.

Also make sure you have a variety of books, small toys, and snacks. I took Matchbox Airplanes and cars and books about flying (among others.)

I wouldn't stress about it. Just ask the attendants to assist you if needed ~ that's what they are there for! :)

Good Luck and have FUN!

I won't be too concerned the plane ride might be the most entertaining thing for him. We took our 18 month old to Florida and she watched out the window the whole two hours. That being said we did take a magna doodle and some coloring books just in case.

We have traveled extensively with our children now 11 and 9 years old. First, get a "leash"/harness so you can let him walk freely without fear of him running off. Put it on him in a mall situation previos to travel so he can get used to it. Secondly, hold him in the airport as little as possible. Let him walk until he is ready to drop. This will be good for you too. Good luck

If you can, I'd get a diaper bag and use that as an "activity/snack" bag (we call ours "the booty bag"). We have one we keep in my car that has a couple of 8 oz. bottles of water, a ziplock bag with straws, another with spoons, a few single serve containers of applesauce, a ziplock bag with goldfish or some other snack in it, a few diapers, a travel sized thing of wipes, a change of clothes, and we usually keep a few of the "happy meal toys" in there that we've gotten from any happy meals, maybe some peanut butter crackers, a sippy cup or two. Maybe even get a portable DVD player with a chargeable battery and a favorite DVD or two.

Good luck!

Of course, you can put in it whatever you think is appropriate for the trip.

I work for an airline and travel for free so I traveled with my children alot when they were little! Take a few favorite toys and small edibles like cereal. And a blanket he is familiar with . I think the most important thing is for you to relax, because they feel your stress. Ask the airline employees to help you if you need it, but don't take anything more than is necessary to the gate, you can check more than you think. Go on line and verify with your carrier what the rules are for check in luggage with a lap child.
Good Luck.

I'm sort of in the same shoes as you. We're traveling at the end of Feb to Hawaii with our 14 month old son (then 15 months). We have family there and also went when he turned one year. The flight went soooo much better than I expected. I was expecting the worst (especially since we were taking him as a lap child for 13 hours of air time). I took TONS of toys/snacks/medicines.... but ended up not needing much of them. We also took along a little dvd player with some baby einsteins as a back up and I think he watched maybe one or two episodes the entire trip. Anyway, just wanted to be encouraging that it probably won't be that bad. Here are a few things that I did find helpful:
-Take along lollipops for take off and landing. I've read to offer your baby drinks to help with the air pressure, but they're not going to be sucking on a sippy cup for 15 minutes of assent/descent. Oh and make sure you have some wipes handy for the excess saliva that goes along with the lollipop :)
-We ordered a seat back organizer that is meant for a car, but we took it and attached it to the back of the airline seat in front of us (we sort of strapped it around the food tray). It was really helpful because we could keep some toys, snacks, drinks, and wipes handy without trying to strain to get under the seats every 10 seconds... we just stocked it as we boarded and all the stuff was within arm's reach the whole trip.
-Also, take along some of his favorite foods (that are also portable) because the food on the airplane and in puerto rico might not be what he's used to.
-One more thing. My son loves balls and balloons. I found one of the punchballs (you know the ones that you blow up and it has a string that you hold on to and can bounce it against your hand...) at Walgreens and that was great to have because you can just blow it up when wanted and he has a portable ball to play with, but it won't get away from you because there's a string attached.
Good luck! That might have been more detail than you wanted :) I'm sure it will go great. I know I'm not near as stressed about flying next month as I was two months ago now that I've experienced traveling with a mobile toddler.
Have fun!

I have flown with my kids quite a bit over the years and have a few suggestions of my own plus some I've seen on this site before. First, try to have some "new" toys that he hasn't seen before that will keep his attention. Other moms have wrapped these in wrapping paper like a present. Having the child have his own backpack/carry-on with these items and at least one change of clothes will be helpful. Yes to the lollipop and/or sippy cup. Also having many different snacks will be helpful. I also agree with letting your son run as much as possible before getting on the flight. I really like the idea of the car organizer, too! What I would do was to take along those plastic chain links - I attached them to the toys, sippy cup, etc. This way you aren't trying to locate dropped stuff on the floor of the airplane (hard to pick up,plus the germs!!!ick) We have also taken a laptop with DVD's for the kids, but since your son is 1, he may not watch them for any length of time. Now, I know giving kids Benadryl is controversial. I always had it with me if I felt I needed it. Sometimes, even if a child is really tired, the strange environment will prevent them from falling asleep. I chose Benadryl over any sort of cold medicine. Plus, make sure you have some children's MOtrin/Tylenol, Vix vapo rub, thermometer, etc. in case your son would happen to get a cold or such - even while you are in Puerto Rico. This way you have it and won't have to go looking for it if you need it in the middle of the night (or middle of the flight). Lastly, like other comments, trying to relax is key. Usually, the anticipation is worse than the actual flight. Try to enjoy yourself and good luck!

A lot of parents I know will have a regular toy bag and a "travel toy bag" That way the toys in the travel bag are always "new" this will keep them occupied longer then just packing his "favs" that he plays with daily. Normally that would work for toddlers - the 1 year old it may work - but remember his attention span is about 1 minute :)