Going on holiday with my toddler for the first time

[Twinkleshinebright]

Hey 👋

We’re going to Jamaica this summer with our LO (21 Months old). As incredibly excited I am, as the time is approaching I’m getting more and more nervous!

I haven’t really travelled myself so this is a big step for not having really travelled to now travelling with a toddler.

I know going on holiday with a toddler is naturally going to come with it’s stresses but if anyone has any tips/ hacks/ safety information that can help with travelling as safely, comfortably and to be as prepared as can be, it would be very much appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

Take travel sized paracetamol/ibuprofen on the plane. I unfortunately got caught on London to Australia flight (?14hrs) with a teething toddler and no pain relief once, was hell. Make sure you have a change of clothea for them and a change of top for you on the plane. Dont worry about what other passengers think, ive flown Europe to NZ twice a year with kids for 8 years now and everyone has been incredibly kind and helpful. Get toddler outside as much as possible in daylight when you arrive, the more their body gets daylight the quicker jet lag subsides in my experience.

@MistyFrequencies Thank you! this is super helpful x

I've only travelled to Europe but did many trips as a solo parent. When dc1 was 13 months (till probably 2.5) I used reins so he could get down and toddle around but couldn't escape! Made him think he was independent.
Also make sure you have things that are comforting, familiar toy, book and blanket. Don't worry if they only decide to eat a few foods it won't harm them. One holiday dc lived on bread, bananas and yoghurt.
Sometimes routines help them but you can also be flexible. My favourite time of a holiday in ibiza was site seeing in the morning then we'd have a walk and dc would fall asleep and I'd find a street cafe and watch the world go by/read/rest and relax. Dc got sleep, I got a break and we kept to a loose routine so no cranky child.

If your toddler uses a dummy get one of those clips
Take changes of clothes for the plane

@Pleaseleavemealone0 Thank you for your advice 😊. I thought about Reins but now I definitely will!
Definitely, wouldn’t get away without bringing our lo comforter 😁. Thank you so much for the all reassurance.
Sounds lovely! We’re definitely looking forward to taking our lo out and about, it’ll be great for sensory too

@Unexpectedlysinglemum Thank you ☺️.

Did anyone’s lo have any travel vaccinations? If so, did they get poorly afterwards?

also, can anyone recommend a good bug repellent?

Are you in the uk, if so boots do a good jungle insect repellent, works well but isn’t the best smell.

few new toys for the plane can work, drip feed the toys to them

we’ve just come back from a holiday with toddler who is 30 months so a bit older than yours. My biggest advice is don’t have set expectations, I wanted to get out see the sights, but for my toddler this would have been incredibly boring, prob loads of winging so wouldn’t have been fun for anyone, (think ancient history sight) so we accepted that we needed to focus activities on toddler friendly ones.

I don’t want to be negative when you’ve got such an amazing hol planned, but I’d recommend managing expectations- ime holidays with little ones are nothing like they were before, and the first one I had was a bit of a shock realising this!

Depends on how your toddler is, if they sleep etc. For me it was just bringing non sleeping child into a situation without all the usual comforts that helped me cope with it. Struggles finding what she would eat, where she would nap, etc. Hopefully you have a more portable one than I did! But keeping things simple while you find out what works is a good idea.

You won't need travel vaccines for Jamaica. Ours had them for Kenya but it's no biggie.
For insect repellent, use jungle formula.

It's likely jet lag will be a big issue. Keep the room dark until a reasonable time so even if LO is awake their body clock resets as fast as possible. Likewise force yourselves to stay awake until bed time the first couple of days or it'll take longer to straighten out.
On the way back you'll be on a night flight. It's likely LO will sleep much better than you and will be raring to go while you're struggling the first few days back.
Consider travel sickness medication too, all your pharmacist what works best for their age.

Off to Thailand soon with 4 month old and 3 year old

been long haul loads with the 3 year old - loads of snacks and stickers books and new little toys they’ve not seen before
loads downloaded on the tablet for them to watch

I found pull ups easier to manage on a plane

tbh I just see the plane journey as one day and if it’s good great if it’s bad you’ll get through it and then when you arrive your in Jamaica and will have an amazing holiday and the flight will be forgotten about

Don't leave their favourite teddy in the bed. Cleaners just scooped up the linen teddy and all, and we never saw him again. 😭

@Lola2321 Thank you, I did look in savers for jungle spray but it said something like 4yrs and up but I’ll be looking in boots as I’m sure they’ll have a much bigger selection 😌.

that’s a really good idea to drip feed the toys, thank you!

I get where you’re coming from, the nerves are kicking in so our plan is to take it day by day and see how lo is feeling before making any commitments to plans. I hope you and your family had a lovely holiday regardless of the plan changes.

@Beginningless Not at all, I appreciate your honesty! I totally get where you’re coming from. Although my lo is a good sleeper generally, when we stay other places like her grandparents for example it takes her a couple of days to settle for sleep there. So with such a long flight, environment change and the heat etc. I am wondering how long it’ll take for her to settle when we get there. But the plan is to take it day by day and like you said no expectations.

thank you for your advice ☺️

@Duechristmas thank you for your advice ☺️

@Duechristmas thank you for this, super helpful! This is one of my big concerns so I will definitely be doing this.

thank you, I will be having a good look for some travel sickness medicine.

thanks again for all your advice! ☺️

@Fupoffyagrasshole if you’ve already been on your holiday, I hope all went well & you had a lovely time!

100%! Lots of snacks is a must 😁. We’ve been downloading lots on her tablet & the new toys is definitely a good idea, thank you.

thank you, that’s lovely reassurance & I’ll definitely be thinking of this when flying

thanks again for all your advice! 😊

Take snacks, lots of snacks for the plane journey. I'm cabin crew and cannot get my head around the fact that parents don't bring any snacks onboard for their children. You'll most likely only get one meal and then some type of sandwich/afternoon tea.

Which airline are you flying with?

Yes to downloading everything possible onto an iPad/tablet.

Sticker books and colouring in for the journey too.

As someone said the flight home will most likely be a night flight so you'll find your LO will probably sleep. Take their pyjamas on the flight home and maybe a blanket as sometimes aircraft can be chilly on night flights.

Also yes to the calpol. We do have it onboard but trying to source some in Jamaica won't be easy, or the hotel shop will charge a small fortune for it.

And if all else fails give them an antihistamine for sleep .

And don't be afraid to come to the galley if you need some space with your LO to stretch, I've had some great conversations with struggling parents on long haul flights. They're always welcome in my galley, being a parent myself I totally get it's not easy long haul flights with small ones.

It's a beautiful country, I've been many times with work and I'm sure you'll love it!

My daughter deals with the jet lag way better than I do btw.

Good luck and have a great holiday.

@MyMiniMetro oh my goodness! I’m so sorry this happened to you! Thank you for letting me know, I would have never thought of this. My lo will not sleep without her comforter so if this went missing it would make things so stressful!

I hope your lo wasn’t too upset & you was able to enjoy the rest of your holiday!

@MrsRolandRat Thank you so much for this response! So so reassuring hearing these things from a fellow parent + someone who is working in the business!

I’m shocked to hear that too. I’m thinking to bribe my lo with snacks throughout the flight 😉😉.

British airways

100%! we have and will be downloading up until the flight to make sure there’s plenty of selection 😄.

ok, thank you. I’ll make sure to pack something nice and warm for her for the return flight.

Yes, definitely will be packing some calpol😌. I hope this isn’t a silly question but is there limits on medication? Because my worry is , I Was planning on bringing calpol, travel sickness and antihistamines and I’m sure I’ll think of other ‘in cases’ for lo. But my lo has also been diagnosed with eczema and myself some medication for some recent health issues, so I worry this is a lot. Should I bring some proof of prescriptions?

thank you, this is super lovely and reassuring! 100% Unlikely, but here’s hoping I end up on your flights 😁 or atleast some people with your kindness.

we’re super excited! Somewhere we’ve been planning to go for yearsss even before lo was born so we’re so excited we get to do this and experience this with our lo.

thats good to hear, I hope my daughter is the same 😁

sorry, if you don’t mind another question too, what’s the rules with bringing a car seat and travel cot please?

thank you very much! this advice was so so helpful and beyond reassuring! X