Top tips for travelling with toddler please!

[artifarti]

Next week, we are going to Sardinia for a week with DS who has just turned 1 yo. It is the first time we've been away with him since he was born because we're chickens and we're really looking forward to it. But obviously things are going to be slightly different to holidays pre-DS!

So any tips much appreciated especially re:

The flight - it's not a long one but DS does not like sitting on laps!

What to take/what is a total waste of time that has just been dreamt up by marketing men to get gullible parents like me to part with their cash.

Eating out in the evenings. I know Italians love children and it always sounds so easy but in reality will we be in our appartment eating cheese on toast in silence every night?

Generally entertaining a 1yo whilst managing to have a vaguely good time ourselves.

(We are staying in an agriturismo not far from Alghero BTW)

Any tips much appreciated!

You are brave - we are not planning on travelling abroad with our LO until she is three :-) We are big chickens! (We travel without her and leave her with her much loved grandparents).

However, I have read a few things:

• On plane, give him some new little toys
• If he likes children's programmes then get a small DVD player to play him a few children's DVDs
• Walk up and down the aisles with him regularly
• Will you stick to your sleep routine on holiday - if he is in bed by 7pm then does the hotel have a babysitting service so you can go downstairs to eat (I am not brave enough to do this myself at my DD's tender age but plenty of people do) or book a nanny (there are services in different countries) - is there a balcony you can sit on and eat a nice meal on whilst baby is sleeping?
• How will you travel with him in Sardinia? - Car? Travel seat booked?

As far as the flight goes, I would buy something new (but not expensive) that ds has never seen before. Books always worked well for my ds, even though it meant reading it over and over and over again! Also, some little snacks like rice cakes, raisans are useful form of distraction.
Travel highchair was a waste of money for us.
Bring a lightweight buggy that reclines. Most evenings our ds would fall asleep while we were out so its handy to have.
Don't know if your ds has a dummy but they are good for take off and landing, to stop their wee ears from hurting.
We brought our own sheets for ds so the smell was familiar to him too.
Thats all I can think of at the moment artifarti. I'm sure you'll have a lovely time and it will indeed be different to any other hols you've taken! xxx

What time is your flight? We took DS to Isles of Scilly at the same age and he managed to fall asleep ... during a 15 min flight! Take some familiar toys and books too - small ones obviously. TOK's buggy tip is a great one.

Bring along familiar foods just for baby.

Thanks for the tips, everyone. We are not staying in a hotel so, alas, no baby-sitting for us, so the buggy tip is a good one, in the hope he'll snooze long enough to let us eat. Our flight is at 7.30am (ouch) and so he may be ready for a nap [fingers crossed].

May I recommend In the Night Garden magazines (you get them for other cbeebies programmes too). They come with stickers and a free gift, have novelty value and then, unlike books, you can just chuck them or let them get ripped up. We get one for DD for any train journey over an hour or so.

If he has a gro-bag, then take it with you when it has been used at home for a few days. So it smells nice and familiar. We do the same with the cot sheet.

Oooh wobbegong, DS looovvvveeesss ITNG, so you may have just answered all my prayers...

Whatever you do, don't try sedation. I had this conversation today oddly enough. I had to fly (just she and me) from Muscat via Dubai to UK with DD aged 15 months. I asked her paed to give her sedation he agreed but with the caution to try it first because - and you must adopt a Swedish accent here 'a few, very few percent of children find it a stimulant'. Did not take the good advice and try it in our villa in Madinat Qaboos, only to find that girly could march the length of airoplane several hundred times over a 12 hour flight. Mt best advice from our persepective ahving an extremely well travelled child is this KEEP THE ROUTINE of sleep and feed times.
Good luck and enjoy your holiday.

Hiya Arti. We've been away twice this year - we went to Madrid when DS was 8 months and the Maldives when he was just over 1 year. He was fantastic on all of the flights, much to my surprise, and great while we were away.

We had a seat for him on all flights, apart from one short connection from London to Gatwick. Who are you flying with? BA are fab, and will try and make sure you have an empty seat even if you haven't bought one. We brought a blow up travel cushion and his blanket, and he lay down between us for sleeps.

I had loads of snacks for him, including milky bar buttons (bad I know, but not as bad as screaming), bananas, rice cakes, etc etc.

He's not particularly attached to toys anyway, but I had a couple of board books and a few toys like linking ring type things.

We took a lightweight reclining pushchair, and pushed him around in the evenings until he fell asleep, and then we ran into the nearest bar restaurant. In the Maldives, we tried to wear him out with a swim in the afternoon, and plenty of running around.

Make sure you have plenty of nappies for the flight, every time we got on a plane, DS needed to be changed immediately!

We did take a chair harness thing, which was very useful and barely took up any space.

Have a fantastic time!

If you're bf then bf on the plane will sort out ear problems from the pressure changes and might help with sleeping.

Yes, lightweight pushchair, snacks. We have just been away with an 11 month old and these were the best things we took! We didn't fly but did go on the train so a longish journey in a small space. Luckily the place we stayed had some toys, take a few favourites/new things. And let him play with things which are in the apartment like saucepans, wooden spoons, coasters etc (as long as not breakable!)

Agree with mybox - make sure he has something to suck on takeoff and landing, breast, bottle, dummy and/or thumb all appropriate as he's too young for boiled sweets or lollipops. You can always put water (or diluted juice if you agree with that) in a bottle if it isn't a good time for a milk feed.

Unfortunately DS slept really badly when we were away - if this happens, take it in turns to give each other a lie in by taking him out of the bedroom to play, because I ended up knackered and it has taken me until today to feel caught up on sleep (we came back on Saturday!)

Hope you have a good time!