FLYING ACROSS THE OCEAN

with only 10 days before our big trip to Europe, I started planning and packing well in advance, at least in my mind. we had a little rehearsal of air travel with the little one during our trip to Chicago (my post about it here), but that was a 2-hours flight, and I traveled with my husband, which was a huge help. now it is an 8 hours flight to Barcelona solo, and it’s a different game. I worry about thousand little things and want to prepare the best way so that for Leo and me this flight, and staying in a foreign country for 2 weeks, would go as smooth as possible.

I already know that traveling with a car-seat-on-wheels (we use Graco Snugride w/ Snap&Go), as well as having a baby carrier (ours is Beco Gemini) is a must, and I wrote about earlier. I also found it helpful taking Rock’n Play bed (Fisher Price in our case) with us and use it instead of the standard kids beds that they offer at most of the hotels (for a little baby like Leo, spoiled with an electric swing day bed and hanging cradle for night sleep at home, laying down on a flat non-moving surface all the time is no fun, which means more work for mommy!) but apart from stroller system, baby carrier and travel bed, what else do we need? here is the list of little “helpers” I came up with in attempts to find a balance between necessary comfort and still trying to travel light:

– Inflatable boppy pillow. I am a huge fan of a boppy pillow in general. while I can definitely go on breastfeeding without it, it does make everyone’s life easier and more comfortable. plus my baby loves falling asleep on it while I can keep him close and have my hands free and painless. so it occurred to me that it could be a great solution for the flight, in case I am not lucky to get an extra seat next to me, or if Leo is too cranky to sleep on his own in a bassinet. there is only one brand of inflatable pillows that I found, and it’s Best Friend (prophetic name!). I really like it: compact, easy to use, very comfortable, and looks stylish if you get a different linen cover from the one they send as default *)

– Travel bed. We got Brica travel bed as a gift from one of the mamas in our neighborhood, and we love it. Works great for short getaways on the weekend, whether it’s a sleepover or just a day visit. I don’t really use it as a night bed though; more it’s nap bed or temporary station for Leo if I need to put him down while on the go.

– Collapsible bathtub seat. Only necessary for little babies, up to 6 months old or until they can seat on their own in a bathtub. You can probably go without it even for little ones, using sponge bath or taking them to shower with you. But why to deny the pleasure of the soothing bath during the trip, especially if your baby loves it as much as Leo does? And especially if this collapsible bathtubs seat cost only $16 and takes very little space in your suitcase. ours is by Summer Infant.

UPD: I am finalizing this post already in Barcelona after all the products where tested, and I must say they are all very much loved and appreciated by both Leo and I. Leo did sleep like a trooper on the plane in the bassinet I requested for him in advance (note: for international travel you can pay extra 10% of your airfare to get a seat with the bassinet option, which will be the middle of row 16; call your airline in advance to double-check and make reservations) but inflatable boppy pillow came very handy for the time during take-off and landing while bassinet can’t be used. Travel bed is just helpful both in the apartment where we are staying (I use it as his day bed as well as a safe place I can leave him for a short time if I need to take a shower or bring something from another room). and yesterday we both had a blast taking bath together in a big tub (luxury we don’t have at home, alas), both sitting comfortably and independently. (I even managed to have my Cava glass with me!)