"Maybe you should stop taking crazy pills", a kind Air Canada employee joked with me after I told him we were flying to Australia with our 16 month old, and that I would also be 6 months pregnant. The reason we decided to fly all the way around the world is simply because of family. My Dad is Australian and I have dual citizenship. My husband has also never met some of my relatives like my grandma and we decided it was now or... maybe never. So just like that we booked our flights! And so, I thought I'd use my 'blog' here to share our experience and some tips for anyone interested in flying with a little person.

Pre Trip:

1. BOOKING - there is this awesome family who travels with their kids all over, and some how affords it all! HERE is their secret. Unfortunately we didn't get started on this in time so I can't personally sing it's praises, but after forking out a butt load of $$$ I know I will be going this route in the future!

Initially the idea of Rain being able to fly for 'free' still (under 2 years old fly free, or depending on the flight- ours for example- you may only need to pay a small 10% fee), our first instinct was to take advantage and just fly with a lap-toddler. LONG story short, the thought of flying 20+ hours in a small space, while pregnant with a very mobile and energetic 1 yr old on our laps brought a lot of worry and stress. It literally consumed my thoughts for the 3 months pre-trip, and finally resulted in us just purchasing her a seat after all. Actually, it was gifted to us by our blessed parents! Thank God for grandparents who love their grand baby and generously offered to help us out. TIP- take these kinds of gifts when offered! Which leads to tip 2...

2. PREPARATION- be prepared for anything (within reason lol). We were planning on flying with a lap-toddler all the way until the week before our flight- talk about cutting it close! With this in mind, you better believe I was Pinteresting and blog searching in all my spare time! I found some really helpful stuff and cool gadgets to help make flying with wee ones much easier! We have a large baby jogger stroller intended to grow with our family... which was expensive and bulky... so we decided to down-size to a smaller stroller to be sure we could push our daughter all the way to the gate and check it smoothly. We ended up finding this baby at a liquidation place. Mountain Buggy Nano is so light, super compactable and came with a snug cover bag to put it in once we checked it at the gate. I knew we'd be outside a lot on our trip and the possibility of her snoozing in the stroller was high so we also ordered this Skip Hop universal Sun Shade- bliss! Another reason for finally purchasing Rain a seat was because I desperately wanted to be able to use her car seat on the plane (she's used to it and might sleep better- also avoids having to pick her up during any turbulence... rules... rules). Bringing your carseat onboard/gate check is not allowed unless you have purchased a seat! So the hope of an empty (free) seat was possible but NOT with a carseat. Our Diono Radian rXT car seat is super convenient for flying! The base actually folds up and is rated for aircraft use (also a must to be allowed to use on board), you can also purchase straps for it to wear as a backpack! We purchased the Jeep car seat travel bag to put it in because I initially thought we might have to check it if we couldn't have an empty seat. (This thing is huge and will fit any bulky carseat! And you're welcome to borrow ours! haha). Another thing we did was get a head start on training Rain on using headphones with her iPad shows and movies. She's super into Veggie Tales and the Wiggles and I know I can kill a few hours on our journey with screen time. But we were aware that flight attendants and fellow passengers might not be appreciative of the sing alongs, so these KIDROX headphones were the obvious choice! They are comfy, super flexible/nonbreakable, and volume-limiting for delicate, young ears. It also comes with a foam clip-on that sizes them down for wee-wee ones.

3. SNACKS- I think I've read everywhere that snacks are the most important thing when travelling with kids! So pack as much as you can carry! Babies and toddlers are also exempt from the liquid rules, i.e. you can bring full bottles of milk! Icepacks are also allowed in carry ons to keep said milk cold. We packed all her favourites: cheddar bunnies, grahams & fruit snacks, her Sili Squeeze to fill with yogourt or smoothies, apples, strawberries, blueberries, granola bars, homemade muffins, and these Boon SNUG containers for easy access, but no spill/ dumping!

4. CARRY ON- First of all: PASSPORTS, for some reason, when I have a nightmare, it's always about forgetting my passport. I have no idea why, I rarely travel and have never done this before... random. But alas, I have a friend who has done this... as well as a friend who misread the expiry- so check, double check and get a friend to check! And a huge problem we did run into on the way home was that I did't have a Canadian passport! If you have dual citizenship (which is what I have and was travelling with an Australian passport) you can NOT get into Canada without a Canadian passport. Luckily I was able to apply for a one time acceptance back in to the country (I did this at the airport once I was informed of this new rule... which made us miss our flight by 10mins and we had to catch the next flight 24hrs later). You should also have your child's documents- birth certificate long form. You may or may not be asked for this... however I also read if you're travelling without your partner- you'll need some documentation of their permission (Look into this). We brought a carry on and her diaper bag which we had previously switched from the fashionable mom-bag/diaper-bag to this Hap Tim backpack, it's uber spacious and has compartments that make you throw your hands up with organizational Praise! Delightful, fast and easy wipes with one zip of a side pouch! We dressed Rain in her pjs for comfort and also because it was an overnight start. A change of clothes for her and for us. Hand towel for mopping up spills (wipes are already wet... so), iPad, charger, & headphones for all of us. My mom made this epic activity book for Rain with felt and a billion other things, twistable crayons (Rain likes to just snap regular ones in half), small (quiet) brand new dollar store toys (wrapped for the excitement and additional time bought unwrapping), & her favourite blanket. For us: neck pillows, compression socks for my preggers-self (circulation is a big deal and sitting for a long period of time while pregnant could be asking for problems!) Baby + regular Gravol for sleep, Dimetapp (this was recommended to me by a doctor who suggested giving Rain a dose 1 hour before landing for her ears) Tums, Tylenol (rather than Advil= safer for preggers), SANITARY wipes- I read that this was a must for wiping down the seats and anywhere children might touch or straight up lick! Ain't nobody got time for sickness and grossness! Poo bags (like the doggy kind: for diapers), bum cream (lather on prior with fresh diaper to avoid rashes!) Nasal spray (also read this is good for babies on flights). For long haul freshening up: Deodorant & toothbrush/toothpaste. WATER BOTTLES - take through customs empty and fill before boarding. Jet leg is largely due to dehydration. Also ziplock bags for any liquid and also for organizing and containing garbage accumulation during flight. A small first aid kit was also suggested to me: bandaids, nail file, Visine, burn cream...blah blah. Lastly, try to somewhat memorize where you put things, also strategically packing things in places of most use. We didn't like getting up to get things out of the overhead compartment and it was just a huge pain searching around for things. So make the most used things easiest and fasted to locate and grab. The more organized you are, the smoother the whole flight experience will be.

5. JUST INCASE- Write yo' name, address etc. on back of carseat with a sharpie (says Air Canada), and on everything else haha. Make sure you have travel insurance and look into whether or not you need to purchase and ETA Visa (for our trip Peter did). My pregnancy papers and documents (from my midwife) were also something I was told to bring.

6. BEFORE BOARDING- let babes run around and get all their energy out! BREATHE and be calm and mentally prepare for 'the worst', or in other words: just have low expectations! Then you will hopefully be pleasantly surprised when things go just fine!! Also be SUPER kind and in control- this makes flight attendants want to help, and like you! Welcome all kindness from fellow passengers! I read somewhere flying with a baby/toddler is like labour (BAHAHAHAHAHA) in the moment it seems overwhelming and like death... but then it's all over and totally worth it and once you're at your destination you'll forget all the pain! And you know what- Rain blew us away! She travelled like a champ and slept and behaved amazingly both ways! Praise the Lord!

7. ON BOARD THE FLIGHT- Timing. Don't pull out all the tricks right away. Save things as you need them/ when kiddo becomes bored and needs the next thing. We left the iPad for last. Rain loves the Wiggles and it's pretty much a no-fail for us- so we wanted her to exhaust everything else before pulling out her favourite shows we knew would keep her attention for a long time!

Sleeping- to get Rain to sleep it was half & half on her own and with help from us setting the environment. There were times when she naturally fell asleep by herself... we looked over and boom: she was out! Other times we got the flight attendants to warm up her bottle in hot water (do this while everyone is boarding; the moment the seatbelt lights come on they can't help you until you're up in the air... which might defeat the purpose of needing the bottle to help with baby's ears), and block out any distractions- like the tv screens in front and beside her. To do this we made a little tent from a blanket, tucked into the seats behind/ above her head and in front of her. I think there was one time she cried after the bottle was done and we just waited it out: "shhhh"-ing and "night night"-ing until she fell asleep. of course this sucks but, they're babies and they cry. It only lasted maybe 10 mins anyway and was worth it once she was out for 7 hours!

Well, that's the most of it. If you have any questions about flying with toddlers, please ask and I'd be happy to help if I can. I'm no pro, but after flying one of the longest long haul flights around the world, I feel like I might know a thing or two. Happy and safe travels!