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Published: January 12th 2017
Travel with little kids requires a lot more "stuff" than when we travelled before kids. It's amazing how someone so small can require twice as much packing space as someone four times their size, and the smaller they are, the more they need. Anyone who has travelled with a baby can attest to that! Of course, they need their own little sets of clothes, and lots of them. The smaller they are, the bigger the mess they make at mealtimes. Hence the need for exponentially more clothing. And then there's the diapers. In the BK (before kids) days, we travelled with just one large backpack and one small backpack each. We brought along the very same ones on this trip but added to it a huge wheelie suitcase full of cold-weather clothing for South Africa. The plan was to ditch both the clothing and the suitcase after we moved on to Asia. Well, we ditched the clothes but instead filled the suitcase cram-full with diapers. Ok, there are a few other things in there too, but mostly it is diapers. I still have a dream of ditching it in the future but I'm not sure if it'll ever happen. And then
there's the toys. They each have a drawstring bag of small toys and their favorite stuffed animal each. Since Christmas, they have also accumulated several more bulky toys which will unfortunately have to be discreetly ditched when we take our next flight.
So, besides the obvious things like clothes, diapers and toys, I've compiled a list of the five most useful things we've added to our repertoire of "kid travel stuff must-haves."
1. Special Pillowcase
Before we left home, I came up with the idea of getting each kiddo a special pillowcase that they could use wherever we went. I didn't want to use the ones they had at home as Kyla's was part of a cute set and I wanted to keep it together for when we get back home, and Jake's was just a plain blue one and therefore not very recognizable (second child!) After spending countless hours scouring Etsy, I found the perfect combination of soft comfy material and adorable patterns, and they even embroidered their names on them. They were a big hit! Every time we move to a new hotel, I quickly put their pillowcases on and put them onto
their new beds along with Foxy and Bun Bun. It makes them instantly "at home" and they have never (so far!) argued about who gets which bed! Parenting win!
Amelia's Room $15.50 each
https://www.etsy.com/listing/264622969/cute-under-construction-boys-pillowcase?ref=hp_rf
https://www.etsy.com/listing/262383302/fancy-colorful-elephant-pillowcase-very?ref=hp_rf
2. Bulldog Clips
These have proven invaluable. At home Kyla and Jake had blackout blinds at their bedroom windows to ensure the maximum amount of night time sleep possible. When traveling, you never know what you'll get. We have had quite a few rooms with paper-thin curtains. That's where the bulldog clips come in. I use them to clip up towels, blankets, sarongs and basically anything I can find to the original curtain to help keep out those pesky rays of sleep-depriving sunlight.
3. Plastic Cups
We bought these plastic mugs when we first arrived in South Africa. We were stocking up on basic cooking and camping supplies and figured the kids might like them to drink from in addition to the straw cups we brought from home. Well, they have never actually used them for drinking out of but, much to our surprise, have used them for just about everything else:
*
Night light - We placed them over our flashlights to create a soft nightlight when in Africa. In Asia we haven't needed them for this as we just leave the bathroom door ajar with the light on.
* Cereal bowl - In Africa we usually ate dry cereal in the car while on safari. These cups made the perfect cheerio holder!
* Pool toy - The kids always want these at the pool to play with. Who knew a cup could be so much fun?
* Watering Can - Like most preschoolers, Kyla and Jake love to water plants. In the absence of a real watering can, these make a pretty good substitute.
* Sand castles - No bucket? No problem! These make really cute sand castle turrets!
* Hair washing - Hotel shower a bit feeble? Water pressure not enough to wash off the shampoo from little people so far below? It's pink and blue cup to the rescue!
I can't imagine life without these!
4. Crazy-Bulky Pool Floaties
I'm not a salesperson by any stretch of the imagination. I probably couldn't even sell water during a drought. However,
I could sell these floatation devices! They are called Puddle Jumpers by Stearns and, despite taking up half of our luggage space, have been an absolute life-saver in both senses of the word. On the one hand, they have given Scott and I a certain level of freedom, knowing we can take our eyes off the kids for a millisecond when around the pool or ocean, and allowing just one of us to take both kids to the pool or ocean at the same time. On the other hand, they are actual coastguard certified lifesaving devices. I feel quite confident letting them swim into very deep water in the ocean and even in waves (with Scott or me right beside of course), something I'd be too nervous to do if they were only wearing the blow up arm bands that most kids seem to have. Yes, they are bulky to carry, but they are worth it for both peace of mind and also the fun they bring!
Amazon for about $16
https://www.amazon.com/Stearns-Puddle-Jumper-Jacket-Starfish/dp/B00HN94EEY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484039266&sr=8-1&keywords=stearns+puddle+jumper
5. White Noise App
As I said in a prior blog, I wasn't especially keen to have my kids playing games on
the iPad. I will admit they are nice for long travel days or rainy days though. However, one thing I'd find it hard to live without while on the road is the white noise app that I downloaded on my sister-in-law's recommendation. It's called Relax M. HD and was completely free! You can choose from a whole plethora of soothing sounds and combine them to make your own favorite mix. I have a mix of rainstorms and ocean waves. It really helps to get the kids to sleep (and keep them asleep!) especially as we are all sharing a room. On the odd occasion that we have gone to bed and forgotten to put it on, it is so deathly quiet that I feel I daren't even turn over in bed for fear of waking them up! I think I'd be in a complete panic without it!
So that's my list of travel essentials for kids. I'm sure the list could go on forever (I didn't even mention the forehead thermometer!) but these five are some of the less obvious but most hard to live without!
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Thomas Tomasi
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Bull dog clips
Hi everybody I have abag of clips on the top of the frig. Want some?