Hellobee

Many mamas have already put together great posts about what to buy for airline travel with children of various ages, but while packing for our seventh or eighth plane trip with my son (and my third set of solo flights), I was pleased to note how many things I bought have been useful in various ways as Javi has gotten older.

School lunch container -> Car snack container -> Disney snack container -> sharing food with friends -> snacks for flying

I wish I’d found this product sooner, honestly. It’s the first of the many food carriers we’ve tried that is compact, holds multiple types of food, and doesn’t leak. I liked the one we bought for LL’s school lunch so much, I bought another one for my husband and me to pack our own snacks when we drove to the beach. We are big on peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast and on-the-go lunches, so we put at least one, sometimes two full-sized PB sandwiches in the big compartment, plus raisins or blueberries in one locking container and nuts or granola in the other. In a pinch, I can fit a cheese stick alongside the sandwich.

The other night my sitter wasn’t feeling well, so I sent her home with some dinner (including sides!) and she loved the container so much she bought one for herself. Now, as we plan a three-hour drive plus two subsequent plane rides, I’ll pack one for myself and one for my kiddo.

2) Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Backpack in large size

Beach bag -> Checked bag -> Mama’s carry-on bag

I was so happy with the quality of the mini backpack that a year later, I bought another one in the large size for our beach trip. At 18 months, it served as my son’s luggage, fitting all of his clothes and gear for a week at the beach. At two years, we sent it as a checked bag when we spent a month at my parent’s house. Now, with an almost three year old, it’ll fit all of his (and my) airport supplies – a couple of changes of clothes (potty training means we need more clothes than we used to), his nebulizer and meds, a spare shirt for myself, an extra blankie, and some wipes. My wallet will tuck into the top pocket while my water bottle (coffee cup?) will slide right into one of the side pockets. It’s obviously too big for him to carry, but he knows it’s his bag and that taking it out of the closet means we’re ready to go on an adventure!

3) Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Backpack in mini size

Daycare bag -> Spare diaper bag -> Travel bag of his very own

A gift he received for his first Christmas at five months of age, Javi used this bag as a daycare bag for the first year, then it stayed in the car for the second year with a spare change of clothes and little pack of wipes for those times we didn’t want to lug the whole diaper bag. Now, at almost three years old, he can pack it with a few toys, some crayons, and a little notebook and be proud that he has his very own travel bag to manage.

4) Camelbak Kid’s Eddy water bottle

School water bottle -> car trip water bottle -> adult water bottle -> general-use adventure water bottle

I don’t like having to buy items specifically for travel and my son seems to appreciate having familiar things to use when we’re on an adventure. The Camelbak water bottle is a champ for all situations. We initially bought one for school, then another to have as a spare. While I eventually bought my husband the larger size and one with a filter for myself, these little ones get the most use with all of our family members. Put a carabiner on the top hole and you can clip one to your purse, work bag, backpack, kid’s bike, stroller, baby carrier… really, anything. For expediency through airport security I take both small bottles empty then fill them at the water fountain right before we get on the plane. We’ve now had the same two bottles for almost three years; I replaced the bite valves once for about ten bucks.

5) Coach baby bag in leather

Diaper bag -> Work bag -> All around workhorse travel bag

While not technically a travel purchase, this is my most versatile and useful piece of luggage, child-related or otherwise. I carried it as my main diaper bag for a year, then gleefully retired it from kid duty when my son started to need less stuff when we left the house, but pressed it into service as my work laptop bag. It is an AMAZING work bag: the treated interior means I don’t have to worry about my last-minute snack purchases ruining the fabric, the bottle holders on each side are great for a water bottle and coffee cup (or cell phone), and the handful of interior pockets help me keep track of pens and cords and chargers and change. My Macbook fits easily inside and leaves plenty of room for my cell phone, a scarf, some extra flats, and a pad of paper, all zipped in so nothing falls out if I tip the bag over while it’s stowed under the seat. Paperwork can go into the one exterior zipped pocket and I can wrangle boarding passes and visitor badges in the snapping exterior pocket. I have yet to go through an airport without it.  Bonus: the cross-body strap on mine is easily adjustable so I can shorten it to hang over a stroller handle without dragging.

6) Uppababy G-Luxe Reclining Umbrella Stroller

Backup stroller for the infant -> Backup stroller for the small car -> Primary stroller for a toddler

Though this is not my favorite of our strollers (Bumbleride Indie wins that award), without a doubt we’ll use it the longest and in the most variety of situations. Lightweight, easy to fold (two-handed, but easy), and able to stand upright once folded, my husband declared his preference for this one above all others pretty quickly. Initially we kept it reclined to keep my infant settled when we didn’t want to lug the infant seat with us, then we stowed it for a while and didn’t use it much unless we had to stash it in the car with the smaller trunk, then more recently, with a couple of flights and a looming trip to Disneyworld, we brought it back out of the closet and have been using it a lot. I anticipate we’ll keep it for the next few years of light use with our growing pre-schooler.

It’s fun to think back on all the trips we’ve taken and remember how stressed I was early on and how well things tended to go, overall. Next I’ll share some of the process kinds of things we’ve done since pretty early on that have served us well (plus a few I wish I’d figured out earlier)!

What’s on your travel gear workhorse list?