We decided on one carry on roll behind suitcase, the kids roll behind "Batman" school bag, and a backpack for Daddy in lieu of a diaper bag. We had to ensure they had everything including the special items needed for our little guys food allergies and asthma. It was important that Dad was able to keep his hands free to hold our three year old's hand during travel. Dad would carry a backpack and the rolling suitcase, and our five year old was a proud big-boy rolling his own "Batman" suitcase through the airport.
What we packed:
Medical & allergy items:
*Nebulizer & albuterol
*Inhaler
*Small zip lock of tylenol, bandaids, childrens Advil, & Childrens Zyrtec
*Epipen
*Similason Kids Ear Relief drops (These ear drops work great for ear trouble after swimming) - I've posted a link below to a similar Similason product for adults.
Clothing:
*4 Shirts for each child
*1 Pair of pants (plus the pants worn during flight)
*3 pairs of shorts for each child
*6 pairs of socks & 6 pairs of underwear
*Two bathing suits and a few swim diapers
*One light jacket for each child (worn during flight)
*2 swim vests
*Tennis shoes (packed), crocs worn during flight
*Sanitizer hand wipes (used to wipe down the arm rests and trays on the plane and anytime hand washing is not an option.)
By rolling all of their clothes, Dad was also able to pack everything he needed in the same carry on suitcase. Diapers and wipes are stuffed in every open space and all the side pockets!
To help keep daddy's hands free in the airport, they carried one booster seat (hooked to the roll behind suitcase) and rented an additional toddler car seat from the car rental company. Usually we would have the car seats in a gate side check bag. It was worth the extra few dollars to rent a car seat and travel lighter on this particular trip.
Toys & flight amusement:
*Ipad with a few downloaded kids movies (you can also load movies on most phones)
*Crayons, coloring books, and a blank travel drawing pad
*Animal crackers, cheese crackers, 4 juice boxes
*One fun superhero cape for each child - it's hard to be in a bad mood during a rough travel day if you are with a Superhero!
*Two children's books
IMPORTANT TIP - place all juice boxes and liquid medicine in Zip Lock bags at the TOP of your easiest-to-open carry on bag. The last thing you want to do is dig through your bags in the middle of security when traveling with small kids. Small juice boxes ARE usually allowed through TSA at most airports for children under 4 years of age.
Whew! We packed all of those items in one carry on suitcase and two smaller carry on backpacks. The boys took off and this mommy was teary eyed watching her boys excitedly go through security. One last wave and they were off for the first of many special trips with daddy.
*UPDATE - Security at several airports have changed the rules for carry on liquids. On my family's return trip they had to throw away the carry on juice boxes and toiletries in the TSA line. Call your departure airport to inquire prior to packing juices and non-medical liquids in your carry on luggage.
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| Excited boys! |
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| Batman on board! |
