Last weekend we went to Ilocos to celebrate my
Lolo's (grandfather) 90th birthday. It was Audrey and Antonino's first out of
town trip. My Lolo is based in Ilocos Norte but for this special occasion, he
treated us to a vacation at a resort in Ilocos Sur. This meant that getting
from Manila to the resort involved a one-hour plane ride and a three-hour road
trip. For the longest time, Joey and I have been really intimidated by the
thought of traveling with twin toddlers but of course, we couldn't miss my
Lolo's milestone birthday.
Our flight to Ilocos was at 12 noon on a Friday. The drive
to the airport took a little over 2 hours but was manageable because it
coincided with the twins' morning nap time. Check-in for the flight took a bit
longer than usual because of all our luggage. Once we were at the boarding
gate, we let the twins run around a bit hoping they would get tired and fall
asleep during the flight - they didn't. They also refused to drink their milk
during takeoff which got me worried they would get bad ear pain. So Joey and I
offered them their favorite wafer snacks to get them to chew. I guess it
worked because they didn't show any signs of discomfort. Whew, takeoff, check!
Now on to the rest of the flight and road trip...
Pre-kid days, an hour-long flight meant getting to nap for
an hour and feeling refreshed once you arrive at your destination. With kids,
though, you have to stay awake and play the role of entertainer and snack
dispenser. Same with the three-hour road trip. Luckily, both trips went better
than expected. Well, except for that one time I had to do an in-flight diaper
change, but that story deserves its own post.
The twins stayed on our laps during the plane ride, and in
their car seats (asleep most of the time) during the car ride. Of course there
were difficult moments when they would wiggle, cry and get cranky but we
survived thanks to our bag of tricks! I'm not saying this is guaranteed to make
traveling with toddlers easy breezy, but I can tell you that these things made
our air and land trips more manageable for everyone. The experience also made
us more confident to plan more adventures in the near future.
Note: This is a list of things to keep your toddler
entertained during a plane or road trip. Of course it's important to
keep your diaper bag stocked with everyday toddler essentials like diapers,
wipes, milk, etc.
5 Things You Need for a Plane/Road Trip With Your Toddler.
Snacks
I'm sure it's no surprise that I put snacks on top of the
list since Joey and I have this running joke that I should call myself Snack Mama
instead of Starter Mama. I loaded up our carry-on bags with Audrey and
Antonino's favorite snacks. We ended up bringing twice the amount of snacks we
normally carry which was great because they helped keep the twins still
whenever they got fussy and I didn't have to worry about running out when the
captain announced that we would have to wait around 5-10 minutes because we
were second in line for takeoff.
Sunglasses
For both adults and kids, it's really uncomfortable when the
sun suddenly gets in your eyes. Because of this, I made sure to pack Audrey and
Antonino's sunglasses. We love these sunglasses from Babiators. Aside from
providing 100% UVA/UVB protection, they also fit the twins' tiny faces
perfectly. I also feel like they were made to withstand rough toddler hands.
Its soft, flexible frame withstood lots of bending, twisting and pulling.
Stuffed Toy
As I shared in the twins' 18th month update, they both love
their Mickey and Minnie stuffed toys so bringing them along was a no-brainer.
If your kids love cuddling their stuffed toys, it really helps to have them on
hand especially when they're getting sleepy. Also, based on experience, their
stuffed toys were able to help comfort them when the plane ride got a bit
bumpy. Tip: If you can, get a duplicate of your kid's favorite
stuffed toy. This is what we did to make sure that we had another set of Mickey
and Minnie stuffed toys at home in case they get lost during the trip.
Magnetic Drawing Board
We packed an assortment of small toys for the trip so we
could periodically pull out a new toy for the twins when they needed a
distraction. The twins scribbled on and erased their drawing boards on repeat.
I love that I didn't have to worry about them dropping crayons (the pen is
attached to the board) or making marks on the plane and car seats.
Stickers
These worked best at entertaining Audrey and Antonino during
our air and land trips. They bought us about 30 straight minutes of peace. They
loved peeling and sticking their alphabet and animal stickers on their clothes,
on our arms, on the airplane tray table, and on their seats. The best part is I
got them for only P30 a sheet at Landmark. Look for puffy stickers because they
peel of easily, can be reused, and don't ruin surfaces unlike regular stickers.
Bonus toy: A paper cup! During our flight from Manila to Ilocos, Audrey
kept waving at one of the female flight attendants. She would always wave back
and smile at Audrey. Then, when she was distributing snacks, she gave
Audrey and Antonino a paper cup each to
play with. How thoughtful of her, right? It gave Joey and me enough time to
finish our food.
What are your must-haves for entertaining toddlers during
air and land travels? I would love to hear them in the comments below.
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