Planning plane travel and vacation with 3 young kids
Remember I mentioned that I wanted to write down a few things to remember for the next time we travel? There were a couple of things we did, and a couple of things we didn't do, on our trip to DC, and I'd like to remember them for next time around. Here they are...
1) Pack light
M was mostly in charge of the packing for the trip, because he has the brain for it. Our trip was going to be 7 days long and he only packed 4-5 outfits for each of the girls. I was kind of like "eeehhhhhhhh" at first but I'm really glad he did it that way. With three kids to manage in crowds and security at the airport I was super glad we didn't have much luggage to carry too. (We also had three carseats to check since we needed them for the rental car when we got down to DC.) We were able to fit M's and my clothes in a single suitcase, and all three girls' clothes in one more suitcase. Even with a limited number of outfits there were things that they didn't end up wearing. So we could have packed even less! The weather had something to do with this... see number 2.
2) Plan for any kind of weather
The forecast really fooled us... before we left they were predicting cool temps (50s and 60s) for our week in DC, but it ended up being in the upper 70s and low 80s for the majority of the week. Since we had only brought 1 warm weather outfit for each person, we ended up just wearing the same thing over and over. The girls didn't seem to care. We did laundry once at my sister's place (thanks!) and for the rest of the week we just endured a slight amount of grubbiness. Frankly, the lack of luggage to cart around made everything worth it.
3) Invest in an umbrella stroller (even if your kids are older and you think they can walk)
We debated over whether to get a small, portable-ish umbrella stroller for weeks before we left on the trip. We already own a single *and* a double jogging stroller, plus a sit & stand double (all too bulky to drag around an airport and bring on a plane), the kids are old enough that buying an extra stroller in addition to those three didn't make much sense to us. I mean, they're only around $20 but... still. We also weren't sure if we would have the extra bag to check on the plane.
But... we ended up making a Target run on our second day in DC after my arms nearly fell off and I was having elbow spasms from carrying C around the airport one day and the Air & Space Museum the next. We broke down our tightwad barriers and boy am I glad we did. C is not a lover of strollers and, being our snuggler, prefers Mommy's or Daddy's arms to all places in the world, so it took some fighting with her at first, but after a few days she began to really enjoy her little chariot. Plus the older girls took some turns in it too on the days where we really had a lot of walking. N is still only about 45 pounds so that worked out okay.
1) Pack light
M was mostly in charge of the packing for the trip, because he has the brain for it. Our trip was going to be 7 days long and he only packed 4-5 outfits for each of the girls. I was kind of like "eeehhhhhhhh" at first but I'm really glad he did it that way. With three kids to manage in crowds and security at the airport I was super glad we didn't have much luggage to carry too. (We also had three carseats to check since we needed them for the rental car when we got down to DC.) We were able to fit M's and my clothes in a single suitcase, and all three girls' clothes in one more suitcase. Even with a limited number of outfits there were things that they didn't end up wearing. So we could have packed even less! The weather had something to do with this... see number 2.
2) Plan for any kind of weather
The forecast really fooled us... before we left they were predicting cool temps (50s and 60s) for our week in DC, but it ended up being in the upper 70s and low 80s for the majority of the week. Since we had only brought 1 warm weather outfit for each person, we ended up just wearing the same thing over and over. The girls didn't seem to care. We did laundry once at my sister's place (thanks!) and for the rest of the week we just endured a slight amount of grubbiness. Frankly, the lack of luggage to cart around made everything worth it.
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| N was wearing her "Mary and Laura Dress" for the third time in this picture. |
We debated over whether to get a small, portable-ish umbrella stroller for weeks before we left on the trip. We already own a single *and* a double jogging stroller, plus a sit & stand double (all too bulky to drag around an airport and bring on a plane), the kids are old enough that buying an extra stroller in addition to those three didn't make much sense to us. I mean, they're only around $20 but... still. We also weren't sure if we would have the extra bag to check on the plane.
But... we ended up making a Target run on our second day in DC after my arms nearly fell off and I was having elbow spasms from carrying C around the airport one day and the Air & Space Museum the next. We broke down our tightwad barriers and boy am I glad we did. C is not a lover of strollers and, being our snuggler, prefers Mommy's or Daddy's arms to all places in the world, so it took some fighting with her at first, but after a few days she began to really enjoy her little chariot. Plus the older girls took some turns in it too on the days where we really had a lot of walking. N is still only about 45 pounds so that worked out okay.
So now that we have it, and I'm pretty sure that we will get some more use out if it.
4) Plan a rest day (or two)
I sort of knew going in that the girls would get exhausted by the schedule of sight-seeing we had planned, but we had so many things that we wanted to see and do in DC that it was hard pass up those opportunities and "take a day off". So we ended up pushing through and doing everything, and perhaps enjoying things a little less in the last few days when everyone was at the end of their ropes.
It was Tuesday of our trip (a half-rest day) when we managed a quick swim session. It got me thinking about how staying in a hotel and swimming in the pool is enough of a novelty for these girls... we should have spent a day just doing that. I think the next time around we probably will. Just stay put, lounge around in pjs, watch TV, go for a swim, take some naps. Next time I will plan to give up on trying to "do it all" in favor of more rest, so that the things we do end up doing will be more enjoyable for all.
*****
I should probably include something about how to keep kids busy on a plane, but we found with such a short flight (barely an hour from Boston to DC) it wasn't really a problem for us. The older two girls were so enraptured to be flying on a plane that they were glued to the window almost the whole time. Jet Blue also has little TV screens on every seat so the girls were able to watch some Disney channel (with no sound since we didn't buy the headphones, but they didn't seem to care!) which made this pretty much the best day of their lives. The only moment where we might have had a problem was when we were taking off, and C was too short to see out her window. She got a little upset and kept asking to unbuckle her seatbelt so she could kneel on the seat and see out. A meltdown threatened but I just gave her a coloring book, and since she is currently obsessed with coloring, it was enough to pacify her.
How about you other Mamas who are more seasoned air travelers than we are? What are your tips?
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