Top 12 things to bring when travelling with a toddler by plane

On COVID-19's third summer, I opted to bring my son along to my aunt's 80th birthday party. Since the party was in Michigan, we had to fly (we could have driven across the continental USA, but that's way too long for a toddler). And I have learned a thing or two about flying with a toddler. Here I share what I think are the top 12 things to bring when travelling with a toddler by plane.

Car seat, travel cart, and gate-check bag

For this trip, I opted to take the Clek Foonf over the Diono Radian 3QXT because the Foonf has adjustable recline settings in its rear-facing mode. I was a bit concerned that he'll find the Radian too upright in the Toyota Highlander we would be using while in Michigan. He was not comfortable riding in the Radian installed in a Toyota Prius, most likely because of the steep angle, and so I decided that having recline angle options would be better.

Due to space constraints and the challenges of multiple installations in such a short amount of time, I decided to temporarily set the Foonf in the forward-facing mode for the aeroplane ride and for the road trip from the airport to the house we'd be staying in. However, once we were settled, I switched the Foonf to its rear-facing mode for maximum comfort.

Having the Foonf installed in the aeroplane seat made a world of difference in travelling. On our flight to Michigan, my son sat on the Foonf (as I was able to get a window seat for him; the perfect spot for a Foonf). I did not have to worry about him during the turbulent parts of our trip because he was securely seated in the Foonf. On our flight back, however, I couldn't get a window seat, so I had to check in the Foonf, and my son had to sit on his aeroplane seat directly and buckled in with the lap belt. He was squirming during the turbulent bits of the flight, wanting me to carry him. He was also standing up a lot and trying to get out of the lap belt. In short, the return flight was a bit more chaotic. 

Lugging the Foonf around the airport is not practical because it's a heavyweight (at 33 lbs). Fortunately, the Britax car seat travel cart is compatible with the Foonf because I can use the LATCH to attach the Foonf to the travel cart. My only pet peeve is that because of the Foonf's weight and the light frame of the Britax travel cart, I found attaching them to be a bit challenging.

I anticipated that I would be unable to use the Foonf during a flight, so I decided to bring the Gorilla Grip gate-check bag. It's a huge drawstring bag that can hold the Foonf, its anti-rebound bar, its rear-facing base, and the Britax travel cart. 

Lots of diapers and wipes

We're not flying internationally, but still, we might end up staying longer than expected at the airport due to unforeseen circumstances. I brought two days' worth of diapers and wipes as carry-on luggage... and the diaper bag was filled to the brim.

Toddler carrier

I've been a fan of baby carriers since my son was born because these help me prevent RSI in my arms and wrists (my left wrist has been fractured twice; I don't need to add more stress to it). So I invested in an Artipoppe Zeitgeist toddler carrier after my son outgrew his Ergobaby Omni 360. I bring the Artipoppe with me everywhere I go with my son because he still loves being carried when he's stressed or exhausted. 

On this trip, I found it helpful when my son was intimidated by the Belgian draft horses and the Percherons pulling the carriages all over the island. He refused to stand beside me while waiting for the carriage ride, so I carried him.

Stroller and stroller bag

My son takes naps in the middle of the day, so I decided to bring his Graco stroller along. It doubles as a bassinet, which makes napping on the go possible. In fact, in the photo below, he was sleeping in the bassinet while we were waiting for the check-in counters to open.

And when we were on Mackinac Island, he also napped after an exhausting day of horse-drawn carriage rides, collecting and throwing rocks, picking flowers, and walking. But the adults couldn't stay stuck in one location because we needed to eat an early dinner before boarding the ferry back to St Ignace. And so my son napped in the bassinet/stroller while we walked to a tourist spot and then to a restaurant. He woke up after almost two hours, just in time for him to walk on the pier towards our boat.

Just before entering the plane on our flight out, I packed the stroller in the stroller bag and dumped other things in it: my son's extra diapers, extra shirts, sleeping bag, and blanket. These items were too bulky to be placed in the diaper bag (my son's carry-on bag) but were things we might need while waiting to board. I gate-checked the stroller bag and didn't have any issues (except that we brought too many carry-on bags). But on our flight home, I decided not to use it since we didn't have long wait times, and we used up most of the diapers we brought; the leftovers fit well in my suitcase. As a result, I could gate-check just the stroller and didn't feel we had too many bags.

Milk cartons and fruit snacks

The Horizon milk packs were such a lifesaver on this trip! The TSA allowed me to bring them in my son's diaper bag. I bought these for this trip because I didn't know if I would be allowed to bring my son's milk in my Hydroflask bottles (I didn't want to dump about 64 oz worth of milk in the garbage bin!). My son had a grand time drinking the Horizon milk with its special retractable straw in the aeroplane.

My son is not a big fan of veggies but loves fruit. And so my dad and I typically cut strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries and put them in containers so when my son asks for food, he can eat something. On the other hand, my mom loves to prepare banana slices for my son's breakfast. For this trip, my son ate fruit we had prepped in-flight, and that's on top of all the cheese slices, the fruit pack I bought during the flight, and the cookies and pretzels that the flight attendants kept passing around.

Drawing book and crayons

I've read many social media posts about parents bringing "quiet books" to keep their kids occupied during their flights. I opted to skip these books (they're pretty expensive) and just brought my son's drawing book and a pack of crayons. During our flights, he could use these to doodle for a few minutes. But most of the time, he imagined that the crayon he was holding was a train and the paper was the railroad (choo choo! choo choo!). Although he didn't stay quiet (my dad heard my son's choo choo train sounds two rows in front), the drawing book and the crayons kept him happy for a major chunk of our trip. They also helped entertain him when we were on our road trip to and from St Ignace.