In March, I flew to Florida with my tubie. It was just me and her. It was her first time flying so I made sure it was a nice short flight in case things went terribly wrong. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous about how things would go. I mean, it can be stressful flying with a typical toddler, mind you a tubie toddler.
When you have a special needs babe, traveling can feel daunting. See my post on 22 Tips to Keep Your Sanity as a Tubie Mom. There are so many more factors to consider and things to remember. What makes it even more overwhelming, is that every “typical” worst case scenario related to flying with a toddler is multiplied because it won’t be typical… it will be tubie-cal (haha 🙂 )
Things went… good. We had some meltdowns. We had some hiccups, but we survived. And, we plan to make another trip in the upcoming months.
So, if you are thinking of traveling with your tubie but are weary of how to even do it. Here are some things I learned that might help you.
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Pack extras
This sounds like a no brainer but what I mean is pack extra feeding supplies but don’t overdo it. I packed enough + one more day. If you pack too much, it can get cumbersome toting it all around.
If you’ll be gone for an extended period of time (think one or more weeks), I would consider shipping the bulk of your feeding supplies beforehand and just bringing a couple of days worth with you.
Prepare with a Book
In the month leading up to our trip, I purchased a book about flying. Maisy Goes On A Plane . This story is age appropriate and cute. It shows all the different “steps” to going on a plane and I believe it helped lessen some of the unfamiliarity for L. She’s about 2 by the way.
Get the better seats
So, flying on Allegiant, they charge next to nothing for their flights, but they charge for everything else. Still, if I don’t check any bags in, I can get away with some cheap airfare. One thing I splurged on on the return flight was extra legroom. Since L is under 2, she flew free in my lap. I will NOT be doing this again but if your babe is still quite small and not so squirmy, go for it. If your babe is like mine, get the extra legroom seats. It made our flight more comfortable, and I actually had room to reach down and grab things from our diaper bag underneath the seat in front of us.
Sometimes I even let her stand in front of me to stretch her legs and get her squirmies out.
Get to the airport early
Another seemingly no brainer but here is why. Security will flag your bags and have you step aside to check everything. I mean, everything. They had me remove all of L’s Nourish pouches and medications to be scanned and tested individually!
So, imagine, two pouches per day, five day trip, plus one extra days worth, meant 12 bags that had to be removed and tested. Plus four liquid medications, opened and tested for vapors.
Fortunately, we traveled through a regional airport that is tiny tiny, so lines were very short. Still, this process took at least an extra 15 minutes. I wasn’t counting because lucky for me, L was screaming bloody murder the entire time and could not be consoled.
Even if this process didn’t take that long, the process of taking things out and putting things back in the bag did. Which brings me to my next tip.
Put all medical supplies, food, and medications in clear plastic bags.
I put all of the Nourish pouches together in one clear trash bag, medications in a large ziploc bag, and all feeding supplies in another clear trash bag. I then placed everything in one of our rolling carry ons. Airlines will allow a carry on size luggage for free if its containing medical supplies. Don’t get stuck pulling out multiple things from different bags, you’ll thank me later.
You want to make sure you carry these items on in case someone loses your checked bag or it gets delayed. By placing them all in bags, you are 1) protecting them from those germy gray bins, and 2) making it easier to remove/put back during security check points.
Bring a letter of medical necessity
I requested a letter stating of L’s diagnoses and need of medications and feeding supplies to be carried onto the plane. We didn’t need it, but I would hate to think what would happen if you did and didn’t have it.
Bring your pump bag
I used our owl backpack both as our on-the-go bag and her overnight feeding station. I did not want to lug around an IV pole, so I just got a command hook and hung the bag near our bed. You could also just use command hooks and/or velcro to adhere the pump wherever you need. Cheap and easy enough.
Pack the best diaper bag possible
Here’s what I mean, airlines allow you to bring a diaper bag at no charge. So besides the usual diapering necessities, you also need to pack tubie accessories. I used a large backpack like this one, so I could put our small lunchbag (medications, ice pack, and blenderized food pouches) at the bottom plus all of our necessities.
I packed
- 5-6 diapers (you never know if you get delayed or they’ll have a marathon of accidents),
- a SMALL pack of wipes (meaning, a half used pack because full ones are 1) hard to carry when holding babe in the other arm, and 2) the security is going to check this too and if it’s smaller, it’s easier and faster to do),
- a change of clothes for both you and babe. In case of a pukery hits or a messy diaper. We don’t normally have pee leakage during the day, but what do ya know. It happened while 30,000 ft in the air. And, lugging the full pack of wipes, diaper, pee pad (my disposable changing pad), trash bag for wet clothes, and babe on my hip was no feat maneuvering the tight rows on the plane.
- Heck, pack a small diaper changing wristlet or something. It has to have been better than what I did.
- Emergency g-tube Kit (see the kits I have here)
- Pencil box with our g-tube supplies (see mine here), it includes 60ml syringes, extension, and medicine syringes, so if I need to feed L, I can easily with this box
- Tons of snacks (if your child is oral). Keep these in a larger ziplock, because security might want to check this too (oddly they did for us). I also used these Ubbi snack cups that have a lid so things did not spill out when tossed around.
- Something to drink or suck on (e.g. bottle, Paci), this helps to relieve ear pressure when flying
- Sanitizer, Lysol wipes
- Toys: iPad with downloaded videos from YouTube or games, Buckle pillow, Quiet Book, and the Melissa and Doug Water Wow books (these books are like the best investment EVER, tubie or not, all you need is water and they are reusable!)
Baby wear if you can
Of course depending on the age of your tubie, this may or may not be pertinent. But this was a life saver, because I could calm L down by holding her without actually holding her, and my hands could carry, pull, and push everything we needed.
This was a life saver while moving through the airport, especially the security check point. Because you have to place the stroller up on the machine, and trying to unload all your belongings plus holding a toddler would have been an absolute nightmare. I baby wore her until we got on the plane.
Bring a lightweight stroller + Mommy hook
Boy, oh boy, did I research this one to death. I heard of these amazing lightweight compact travel strollers that fit on the plane! But…. after hours and hours of watching videos and reading reviews, I came to find out US based airlines DO NOT let you bring strollers on board regardless of how small it is. The international flights are more family friendly and allow this practice.
I ended up choosing one that was lightweight (11lbs) and was still fairly compact and had alllllll the best things (e.g. extra large canopy, easy but deep recline, adjustable foot rest, stand up fold, and one handed folding / steering). I chose the ZOE XLC in Navy. Not only is it good for travel, but I plan to use this as my daily stroller and keep my umbrella as a backup.
Having a stroller may sound cumbersome but I was able to toss some of my baggage on it while baby wearing L. I also put her in it to nap while we waited to board and she slept like a log. Plus, I just plain needed it while in Florida so it was a no brainer.
Use a mommy hook on the stroller to hang your pump bag to feed baby on the go.
Accept help
There will be many times when you will need that extra pair of hands, picking up a dropped toy, putting up your carry on, even pushing your stroller in front while boarding. I was pleasantly surprised how many strangers offered to help me lug everything, and it definitely made things easier.
Breathe, breathe, breathe
There will be trying moments and moments that will wreck your nerves, but you will get through it.
The things I kept thinking of during some of these moments were: the fact I will never see these folks again, so I don’t care if my child annoys them with her squealing cry or bump of their chair (I, of course, try to minimize as much as possible); and second, the joy of getting to visit my family in Florida.
Take lots of deep breaths. There will be a lot of learning moments. You learn only by living. So don’t just stop living because it is uncomfortable to learn! I don’t ever want L to feel like her “special need” is a hindrance to doing things, so I refuse to do the same.
Just think, when you are done… you will have single handedly traveled hundreds of miles as a bad ass tubie mom. 🙂
What are some tips/tricks that you have learned for traveling with a tubie? Leave a comment below and share the wealth 🙂
xx, Mary