"If you are planning a holiday trip with your baby or toddler, make sure to plan ahead. Here are fifteen sure-fire ways to make traveling easy and fun."
1. Before your trip, visit the dollar store and stock up on coloring books, paint with water books, and age appropriate toys for your toddler. And save them for a trip. There is nothing better than something new!
2. If you have a small video player, stock up on age appropriate movies for your little one. Baby Einstein has some great videos for a younger baby.
3. If you can plan your plane schedule around your child's nap time, your trip will be a breeze.
4. When traveling on a plane, feed the baby while the plane is taking off and landing. This keeps the Eustachian tubes open so the baby’s ears won’t hurt.
5. When traveling on a plane with a toddler, it's sometimes difficult to sit still during takeoff and landing. Give him a Sippy cup and some goldfish crackers and play a counting game with the crackers. It will be fifteen minutes of fun, instead of fifteen minutes of tantrums.
6. Always take a change of clothes, extra diapers, wipes and socks for your baby or toddler. Spills happen in the blink of an eye.
7. Remember to take a change of clothes for yourself on the plane. There is nothing worse than meeting the family smelling like formula.
8. Bring lots of healthy snacks for your toddler whether you are traveling by car or plane. Buying them at convenience stores can get very costly.
9. Bring extra formula for your baby when traveling. One spill could result in lots of tears.
10. When staying in a hotel, bring along the lullaby CD that you play at home. Most hotels have CD players or you can request one. There is nothing more comforting than the sounds of home.
11. And don't forget to bring your toddler's favorite lovey and bedtime book along.
12. Try and stick to your bedtime rituals while away the best you can. Consistency makes everything easier.
13. If your toddler has a difficult time falling asleep in a different crib or bed, let him listen to your IPod. He will be snoring away before you can count to ten.
14. If you are staying in a hotel and are going to hire a sitter for the evening, ask that she come and meet your children a few hours before you leave. It is worth it not to have that dreaded phone call to come back.
15. Don't forget to bring along extra batteries, photo card for your camera and protein bars for you.
Blythe Lipman is the president of Baby Instructions. She is passionate about babies, toddlers and their parents. After working in the field for over thirty years, she wrote her third award-winning book, HELP! MY BABY CAME WITHOUT INSTRUCTIONS. You can hear Blythe's weekly radio show on Wednesdays, 11am EST @ www.toginet.com. You can contact Blythe at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Become her Fan on Facebook and Twitter