HUCK'S 30TH FLIGHT AND TODDLER-TESTED FLYING TIPS

my entire family is flying in tonight from portland, medford, and salt lake city for the week. they're all landing in various airports sometime early tomorrow morning, and then cabbing their way over to my little apartment like a flock of lovin seagulls. it's pretty fantastic to imagine. my house is a wreck and i have thirty million emails i've been avoiding (does anybody else get serious ADD the minute a gmail window opens?), and i only just now moved the turkey to the fridge to thaw, but i have a real good feeling about this thanksgiving. me and my empty uterus, we're going to kill it this weekend.

in light of the fact that all of my family members are spending their nights tonight floating in the air somewhere over the midwest (related: you're sitting in a chair... in the sky), i figured today would be as good as any to immortalize, with fondness, the final days of huck's lap child status. (shed a tear.)

about two weeks before his second birthday i had the honor of escorting sir huck the great on his 29th and 30th trip on an airplane. who is this kid and what is with his jet set life. i do count each individual leg of a trip as a separate flight, (1) because, it is, and (2) because, if you had to coordinate nursing on take off and landing and find appropriately quiet ways to entertain your kid in between times so they don't annoy fellow passengers or leave permanent marks on other people's belongings, then you would too.

i have no idea how this kid managed to log 30 air plane rides in just two years except to say, done none of my family live in places where direct flights come very cheaply.

okay okay so, here's what's grand about flying with an almost-two-year old and here are all my bestest tricks for making it go as smoothly as possible.

do bring your stroller to the airport. you can check it at the gate for free, and you're guaranteed a place to hang your bags when you're cruising through the terminal. also you're not in danger of losing your toddler, cause he's strapped to something. 

don't think that just because your stroller is being checked at the gate that you shouldn't still bring your stroller bag. you can stuff that stroller bag with any old thing... car seat, pack and play... um, your own luggage... and then you can check that sucker for free. nobody will care that you have your stroller with you and that your stroller bag somehow weighs a million pounds. at least, nobody's cared with us yet, and we've done this every flight.

don't bring too much with you as carry-on. you won't need most of it anyway, and it's a lot to juggle if your kid starts squirming. plus you want all the leg room you can manage, so think bare minimum and remember that most airplanes are stocked with any essentials you might need in a pinch (wet paper towels, snacks, water bottles).

do bring special toddler approved headphones. they have volume limits so your kid can't accidentally turn the sound way up and damage his ear drums, and also they are hysterically cute. he can wear them to drown out ambient noise if he needs a break, and he can also wear them when watching movies on your phone or laptop or ipad and not bother your neighbors. 

do let your kid watch tv at home from time to time so he knows how to sit still and enjoy a movie. if your kid's never sat through a movie before, chances he's going to sit through one now are that you need him to are probably not so great. 

do plan a diaper change halfway through the flight. it's a fun excuse to get up and stretch your legs and it breaks up the monotony of sitting in one place for too long the young dude. once you've finished changing a diaper in that cramped bathroom you sort of saunter out of there like a hero. 'cause you are a hero. that's crazy that you just pulled that off in there.

do nurse your toddler till he's two. i'm just kidding, i'm not trying to start a fight here. no, but if you want to, you should, because then you can nurse during take off and landing and if you're lucky, he'll fall asleep on you and then you can read a magazine. yesss! (for the record, though i've only done it a very few times, i've never once encountered a single person who's given me a hard time for breastfeeding my toddler in public. hooray for the human race!)

do wear something drapey and layered if you are planning to nurse in the air, so you're not side-boobing your neighbor too much. 

do bring a scarf or cardigan that can double as a pillow, blanket, swaddler, arm propper, or mess cleaner upper. always always travel with a giant zip lock bag. 

finally, when in doubt, the reverse cam on your phone is entertaining for at least three minutes. sometimes that's all you need.

i will say, it doesn't hurt that my kid is literally the greatest.  he was just born a great traveler and i can't probably take any credit for it. (though being his mom means that i'm allowed to when my ego needs the boost. right?)

there. those are my tips. 

happy holiday flying to you!

update:
you can get those orange headphones HERE!