A week from today Beli and I will be traveling overseas to the Midwest to visit family and friends. Now I know what you might be thinking, "
you are flying alone with a toddler?" And while at first I was nervous about the idea, now I can say with confidence, "
yes I'm ready." And it's thanks to the many forums I visited online offering advice about flying with a two year old. Here is my list I put together as I want to make this a positive experience for the both of us. Can you suggest other ideas I might have omitted?
1. Have a positive and flexible attitude about the flying experience
2. Be prepared, for anything
3. Bring many of her favorite snacks
4. Wrap a little present for her to open when the situation in midair gets desperate
5. Don't forget her favorite medo (bear)
6. To be considerate of the other passengers I thought of bringing along ear plugs. Do you think this is a good idea?
7. Reduce intake of sugar, candies, etc..
8. I'm debating stroller or toddler leash? I know I might get strange looks with the latter one but safety comes first.
9. Dress for the journey, I found this tip interesting, via
Good Little Traveler: Honor the journey, weight it with preparation, excitement and then dress for the occasion. Wear clean clothes that aren't ugly t-shirts, from personal experience dressing yourself and your children in matching, comfortable, nice clothes ( no stains or holes) results in at least two positive results:
A. Your fellow passengers' first impression of you, as with a job interview, is that you respect them, and the journey, and that you are not taking the experience lightly.
B.Your children will have tangible evidence that traveling by air is something special.
Agree or Disagree? I'm more of a comfort kinda girl.
Our itinerary: Croatia to Germany 1 hour flight with a 3 hour layover then 9 hour flight to Chicago, go through customs, then hop on connecting flight to Des Moines, 1 hour flight, then drive for 1 &1/2 hours to parents home. Iowa see you soon!
Now back to packing and planning that birthday party for Beli.
The first hour of the 17 hour trip she refused to sit on her own seat but then she began familiarizing with her surroundings and later she was even running down the aisle with another little girl she made friends with!
I'll be writing another post about my experience at the Chicago Airport because the gentleman who helped us get through customs deserves to be mentioned. As a parent traveling alone with a child, it's people like him that make flying a positive experience.
It has been a bit difficult to adjust to the time change, but plenty of afternoon naps should do the trick right? 
Sunny weather, 80 degrees, it's warmer compared to Croatia!
Greetings to everyone and thanks for the advice about traveling with a toddler, the tips were very helpful; Beli was happy and so was I. Stay tuned for the Mexican children's party tomorrow, then next week I will be seeing Suze Orman with my older sister, (shown here holding Beli), we're also planning a trip to Texas, then our good friend Nando is traveling from New York to visit us. So yes, it will be one busy month. Hope you can join me on my adventures throughout the Midwest.
