Lots of my friends are posting their travel tips so I thought I’d throw my iron in the fire. We travel several times a year with both kids and I have done a solo trip with both kids when Bode was around 5 months old and Dagny was 23 months. So.
To start off I thought I’d post a checklist of things to do before you leave the house for an extended period, i.e. more than a couple of days.
1. Take out the trash. All of it. Diaper pail too if you have one.
2. Run the dishwasher, empty it if you have time.
3. Unplug your video monitors and stuff like electric blankets, space heaters, etc.
4. Check your oven. It sounds weird but I just came home to a week old pan of sweet potato fries in my oven.
5. Check your washing machine. Wet clothes do not ripen well in the washer over the course of a week.
6. FLUSH ALL TOILETS. If it’s yellow do you let it mellow? After a week in the pot, it’s no longer mellow. TRUST ME ON THIS.
7. Double check that you have everyone’s ID or birth certificate. Everything else you need can be bought at your destination if necessary. But you don’t want to remember that you forgot your lap child’s birth certificate halfway to the airport like I did.
So, yeah…more on my harebrained travelling adventures with 2 toddlers when the inspiration strikes. In the hopper: my thoughts on travelling with strollers/car seats. Travel-saavy friends, I’d love to discuss this further. Message me on FB if you feel like sharing your approach. TN, I’m looking at you 
What do you all think? Do you like using a stroller in the airport? Do you check it and use a baby carrier like the Ergo or something similar? Do you like to bring your carseat on the plane? Have you ever used CARES, which is what we’ve been using with Dags lately? Leave all of your pearls of wisdom in the comments.
What’s CARES?
I have only traveled on an airplane once with G, at about 6 mos. He did awesome. I took the umbrella stroller and checked the car seat. I can’t imagine taking him on a plane now. No way he would sit still.
Car trip was better than expected, but we made lots of stops and let him run around. Not to mention a portable DVD player with his favorite movies, Cars. Oh, and snacks….snacks are goooood.
CARES is a travel harness that slips over the airline seat to give a 4-pt restraint. For kids over 22 lbs and it stuffs into a small bag, it’s very compact. Here is their website: http://www.kidsflysafe.com/ and you can buy them on Amazon as well: http://www.amazon.com/CARES-Child-Aviation-Restraint-System/dp/B0012E4FV8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336012081&sr=8-1