We spent last week in San Francisco (and lived to tell write about it!). It was the first time we’ve flown with Alma (16 months), and we definitely experienced some ups and downs. We are far from toddler travel experts, but I thought I’d share what worked (and what didn’t) for us. I’ll write more about our trip in a few other posts: getting around on public transportation, and things to do/places to eat (vegan) with toddlers in SF. For now, I’m focusing on…
Air travel
We decided not to take Alma’s car seat with us, so we packed one rolling suitcase, a lightweight stroller, a pack n play, a back pack, a laptop messenger bag for Andrew to take to work, the Ergo, and my timi & leslie
Logistically, to get from the car to the ticket check, and from baggage claim to our air bnb condo, I carried Alma in the Ergo, while pushing the stroller, which housed the pack n play in the seat, and my diaper bag clipped to the handle. Andrew carried his messenger bag and back pack, while rolling the (very heavy) suitcase. Phew! This set up worked really well, and wasn’t too burdensome.
turns out you cannot pack your toddler in your checked luggage
Flight to SF:
We arrived at the airport about 1.5 hours before our plane was scheduled to depart, and it was just barely enough time. Next time, we’ll leave 30 minutes earlier. We basically woke Alma up, changed her, and jumped in the car at 5am, and the poor girl didn’t get any time to run around before we boarded the plane. We were among the last few people to board!
Since our flight was very full when we purchased the tickets, we didn’t get to pick our seats. We found out the night before the flight, when we checked in on-line, that our seats were not together, and since we were nearly the last to board, it was too difficult to ask anyone to switch with us. So I sat with Alma, next to some very nice college-aged boys, and the flight went pretty well!
I was worried about her ears hurting during take-off/landing, but it didn’t seem to be a problem. She wasn’t interested in nursing or snacking (even lollipops!), though I did my best to offer them to her.
Flight back to Portland:
We got an e-mail the morning of our departure day letting us know our flight would be delayed. They estimated a 45 minute delay, but it turned out to be closer to 1.25 hours. (We also saw that our seats were separated again – boo!) It wasn’t terrible, though, because we had time to grab some lunch at the airport, and Alma got plenty of time to run around.
SF airport had a small kids corner in our terminal, but it was mainly geared for older kids. She liked the tornado feature, though. (Info from SFO website about kids spots: they are located post-security near Gate 87A, Boarding Area F, Terminal 3; and post-security near Gates 54A and 58B, Boarding Area D, Terminal 2).
kids spot at sfo
What Alma really loved, though, was walking/running on the moving walkways. We found a few that weren’t getting much, if any, traffic, and we played a game of “run-run-run, stop!” I have no idea if this is “allowed”, but no one said anything to us! Obviously, this wouldn’t be appropriate for busy gates, but I think we only had to step aside for one or two people (who were not in a hurry). Andrew and I switched off running around with her while the other waited in the gate area to make sure we didn’t miss the boarding call (and to get a little break!).
When it was time to board the plane, Alma fell asleep while nursing in the Ergo as we waited in line – all that running around did the trick! Luckily, we got to our seats before everyone had already gotten comfortable, so a few people offered to switch seats with us, and we got to ride together. Much better!
Alma slept for another 20 or 30 minutes, then woke up crying. I wonder if some pressure in her ears built up as she was sleeping, or if she was just disoriented. A few minutes of nursing and snuggling did the trick, and she was pretty happy for the rest of the trip. We dug into our bag of tricks, and thankfully, the flight was over before we knew it! If you’re wondering what toys we packed for her…
(Sorry, no pics of Alma on her first airplane rides – too much going on!)
Activities:
I brought along a lot of activities for Alma, because she typically doesn’t spend more than five minutes or so on any one thing. Here’s what I packed in my carry-on for her:
- color wonder markers & drawing pad
- curious george magnetic tin
- painters tape
- rainbow wikki stix
- travel doodler pro
- ipad loaded with games and a few videos & headphones
(post coming soon covering our favorite toddler apps) - random little toys: mini slinky, long beaded necklace
- window stickers (melissa & doug)
- books
- snacks
loved them at home, not so much on the plane
I stuck the painters tape, slinky and necklace in a different pocket from the rest of the toys, and totally forgot about them. I think Alma would have had fun them, and with the tape, especially (the idea for her age is just to put a few strips on the tray table and let her try to peel them off/stick them back on again).
The window stickers were not as big of a hit as I thought they would be. She liked them, but it was too hard for her to get them on and off. The rainbow stix would be best for preschoolers, or older toddlers, I think. Alma just tried to eat them. She wasn’t very interested in books, but she did snack a little (much less than she eats normally, though!).
Most of the time on the plane was taken up by standing on my lap and jumping/looking around for Daddy (on the flight to SF, anyway), playing with the cup of ice and napkin from the beverage service, opening and closing the window shade, and trying to play with our seat mate (who was friendly and understanding with her).
We experienced some typical travel situations (getting seats split up, delayed flights, etc.) and it all worked out in the end. I hope this post was helpful for those of you gearing up for toddler travel!
**Edited to add links to sites I found useful in preparing for our trip:
- Flying with Babies, Toddlers, and Kids – Delicious Baby
- Travel Toys for Toddlers – Delicious Baby
- Air Travel with Babies, Toddlers, and Kids – Kim’s Finds
- Toddler Air Travel: What to Know Before you Fly – What To Expect
- Dos and Dont’s of Air Travel: Toddler Edition – Wired
- Toddler Travel – Young House Love