Upcoming 10 Day Trip to Utah

Have you tried Lakeshore. It is store that contains all kiids of developmental toys for children. I would look there for the book you are looking for.

It is located in the shopping center across from North star mall.

As far as activities, If he likes to color, go to Target or Michaels and get him some of those small coloring mats or books that work with a water marker. There is no mess, and they dry quickly so you can reuse them time after time. I just put the pen in a ziploc just in case it leaks. They have Elmo, Dora, My little pony, all kinds of them. There is a better selection of the book type at Michaels. The kids don't have to be great at coloring, because no matter where they put the marker on the page the color will appear. These are better than those magic marker ones, because with those there are certain areas they have to color and the kids get frustrated when their marker doesn't work all over.

Hi L.,
I'm N. and I have 2 little boys. My oldest flew a lot with us out of the country before the age of two.He was very well behaved. I dressed him in pajamas or light sweats, that way he was comfortable and ready for a nap. I carried lots of little snacks for him and at the discovery store or at toys r us the brand Imaginarim have lots of toys that you are looking for with the teaching of the motor skills.
As for the blanky, I would bring them all in a carry on on the plane. You dont want to be far away from home with him missing somthing that you cant run and get. use it as a last resort, try the new one, but you always need a backup. And a carry on insures that nothing will happen to them.
Hope this helped.

I recently took my 2 year old on a plane ride from Houston to Savannah. I brought a DVD as a last resort, but never even used it. Mainly, I brought her favorite toy and books, snacks, juice, and some special treat that we would give her upon take-off and landing for her ears. My little girl loved the plane ride, but still reminds me that her ears were hurting but "the skittles helped."

I traveled to Orlando with 18 month twins a year ago. A few pointers I will give you.

One go to the Dollar store and buy a few new toys and book the toddler has never seen. This will hold his interested because it is new and not the same old boring two. Also I bought them both a magnadoodle for the return trip. They played with a friends in Orlando and loved it. Keep snacks and lollipops close by as well.

hi, I know when I took my son on the plane for the first time I was the same way and I had to get him used to a new stuffed puppy that he all ways carried around with him I of course had to wash his new puppy a few times so that it would have that same great smell and fell as the old one and every time I would wash the old one I would tell him that puppy has to take a bath and give him the new one to play with and gradually he got used to the new puppy. try that before you leave so you can take the new ones and the old ones can be waiting safely at home for him. as far as the plane ride I get cold too but my little one stays fairly warm so I dressed him in layers, oh yes and the best thing to avoid the ears from popping save his bottles for take off and landing. as far as activities I like the little einsteins videos if you have a portable dvd player or you can get a video now player "Kid friendly personal dvd player" they have lots of nick jr. pvds to chose from or get any of the baby einsteine toys we just love them. good luck and have a great trip.... P.S....You should also sleep with the new blanket and lamb for a couple of days too that way it will have your sent and this will give the effect that the items have been around for a longer time.

1ST OF ALL YOU NEED TO GET RID OF THE LAVENDAR BLANKET,
BOYS DO NOT HAVE LAVENDAR!!! NOT A GOOD SIGN!.......
THEN GO TO TOYS R US, THEY HAVE ALOT OF ACTIVITY BOOKS, ETC.
FOR HIM TO DO, DVD'S HE IS STILL A LITTLE YOUNG FOR THAT!
BRING SOME BOOKS, YOU COULD READ TO HIM!
WHERE PANTS ON AN AIRPLANE, IT IS QUIT COOL !
BUT GET RID OF THE LAVENDAR BLANKET, PEOPLE WILL THINK YOU
HAVE A GIRL OR JUST................

I have a 16 month old as well and have been dealing with the blanket issue for a while now! I say take the duplicate act as though it is the real deal and only pull out the real one if he panics! I think this will definitely get him attached to it before daycare begins!
As for entertaining I would get a stack of flash cards with all the words around the house on it! I got these for my daughter about a month ago and she can play with them for hours! They are available at Wal-mart or toys r us.

Hope this helps!

Hey L.,

We just did that same trip! But we had an 8, 6, and 2 year old. And a very long layover! I have to say I can understand how worried you are. My son (2) also has a blankie home made from his Auntie that could not be reproduced. (I tried) I ended up cutting his in half and sewing the sides to have an extra. If it were me, I would let him have the new one for the trip. My son loves the smell and the worn feel of his blankie. You might need to let him break it in.

Also, for the plane we did reuseable sticker books. Nemo, Cars, Thomas. He loved these. They were hard for him to get out on his own. But, I would pull them out and he would stick them on. And because they are reuseable you can take them off and move them around. He played with these for along time. He liked the colorwonders as well. I also bought him some new small toys that he got to open. The novelty of having something new was great. He also got his own back pack with plenty of snacks.

As for weather, I dressed him in a t-shirt and sweats. Then I brought along some shorts in his bag in case he got hot and for when we arrived. Make sure everyone has comfy clothes. You never know what can happen. Good luck. There are so many fun things to do in Utah, you won't get bored. We just moved to TX from Utah, we were there for 15 years! We loved it. Take Care

Hey L.,
You can find a book with buttons,zippers, etc at onestepahead.com. It is a great place to buy stuff for babies and toddlers.

We used to fly a lot with my daughter. I used to occupy her on the plane with playdoh, coloring books, and reading books. Also, I had her sippy cup and snacks. We used to count the goldfish or whatever I had. If your son likes small toddler puzzles, bring them too. My son love little cars. Bring little cars or airplanes for him in the diaper bag. That might occupy him for a while too.

As far as dressing him for the plane, I always put my baby in pants and a short sleve shirt. Bring a sweater or light weight shirt in case his arms get cold. I would also bring the diaper bag with an extra change of clothes.

Good Luck,
D.

Dress him in layers, your body heat may make him warmer, take spare clothes for both of you on the plane. why not take old and new blankie? also pleanty of snacks and drinks

Since we're a military family we travel ALOT! I've been to Utah and thought it was very nice, I'd like to go back some day when we have time to really explore. As for the blanket what I had to do to get a duplicate of my daughters "silky" blanket was call the manufacturer and order a couple so that we wouldn't have any problems. When we go on a plane though we make "Silky" a fabric nametag that says "I am very special to Megan, if I get lost please return me" and then I write our address and phone number down. Then I stitch it loosely to a corner so that I can cut it off later. She's always been okay with that. As for the entertainment...we have a huge sticker book that she works on. I just went to the dollar store and bought about 20 packages of stickers and a pretty scrapbook and let her sticker to her hearts content. There's something about stickers that keep kids interested. We also carry the Crayola washable stamper markers or the color wonder markers and paper. Meg has always been into animals so we also invested a dollar and bought some plastic animals from Walmart and she'll play with those on the tray table. I have found though that after about an hour and a half on the plane and she's ready to take a nap...not sure if it's the pressure change, the excitement or the sound. I always take her favorite snacks though. Airplane snacks are definatly not geared torward kiddos. I would dress him in jeans and a short sleeve shirt if I were you and then take along a baby blanket. Each airline seems to be different to me, as far as cabin temperature but we always dress in jeans for safety reasons.
I would like to make one other suggestion though...since you're flying. When you take off see if you can get your son to drink something during the ascent and descent to help pop his ears. It's always helped us before Meg was big enough to chew gum. Sorry about rambling...my little girl was sick all night last night so neither of us got much sleep :) Hope something I said helps.
Liz

Take a bottle/sippy cup for the pressure upon take off and landing. I would not take the chance of a duplicate blanket for a first plane ride. Take the original one and provide him with as much comfort/security for him. Remember, children will sense if you guys are stressed. Elliott fell asleep both upon take off and landing. It is difficult to predict how your son will react. Keep the "entertainment" to a minimum noise level, it will keep the stress level down and you won't have another passenger tapping you on the shoulder asking you to please turn down the volume. People on airlines are bold and some are very impatient with kids. We never experienced it traveling with our son, but those people are there. Dress him in a short sleeve shirt and long pants.

Enjoy your trip!

L.,
That's a tough one. I would probably risk it and take the original, b/c trips are stressful enough with little ones, and every little comfort from home is worth its weight in gold. That said, you also have to be prepared to deal with the fall-out if you lose it, but such is life. Our children have to learn to deal with life's mishaps as they come, even when they are painful. You'll most likely have it in your mind as a priority, however, and it won't have a chance of getting lost.

I found a great activity for a plane trip when I was traveling with my two little ones. Wrapped gifts. You can go buy a few cheap little toys, or even some of his own that he hasn't played with in awhile, and wrap them in wrapping paper before the trip. We would let our son open one about every half-hour, which kept him entertained the whole trip. Don't forget to save some for the return trip! We also got a travel magna-doodle, and tons of books.

For the airplane, remember there are always blankets on board, but dressing in layers (does your son have pants that zip off into shorts?) is best.

hi L.,

I just recently took a trip to Minnesota (to avoid the 24 car ride) with my 4 month old. I'll give you fair warning. It is not going to be easy. You definitely want to make sure that you have things with you that you know will comfort your baby and make your baby happy.If you have any doubts at all about the duplicate, take the original and be very careful not to lose it. Your baby could be overwhelmed with all of the new experiences, smells, sights, new people, not to mention his bed. If you know his blanket comforts him, take it. Worry about getting him used to the other blanket when you get back home. Also, I'm not sure if anyone warned you about your baby's ears on the plane. Ascension and descension of the plane can make your baby's ears pop, which can be painful. A good way to avoid that is to make sure that your baby is sucking on something at those times (ie: pacifier, bottle, your finger..)
I hope this helps. Enjoy your trip.

The Blanket- if it was me I would take both and let him get use to it before Daycare. My son who had a favorite Blanket when he was a baby. It was his life support seemed like and it went everywhere with us. When it finally started falling apart at age 4 he realized that it was time to give it up- it was hard for him. Thankfully my mother in law made him another one, it wasn't the same though, this time he decided to just keep it at home. Which I was glad, after 4 years of taking this blanket everywhere I wasn't looking forward to continiuing that. Blankets are what I believe a sense of security for children, comfort so definatly let him adjust on his time. You won't lose it because you have already realized it is important to him. As far as entertainment - anything to keep his hands active- books with open flaps and such, snacks is good to help with his ears. You might be lucky and he'll just sleep on the flight. Dressing him- keep him comfortible, sweats pants, t-shirt with a sweatshirt that you can take on or off. I always travel in sweats- it is just alot more confortible for kids too. Hope this helps.. C.

Hi L.,

Being over preapared is my motto...take both the trusted one and the back up. Try to introduce the back up blanket during the trip but not while on the plane (encloseed space and crying baby, not a good thing)

When I have traveled, I found it great to have a bag of tricks...something to swap out every 10 minutes or so once bordeom sets in. I think your thought is a great one for a hands on activity. If you can't find one, try to make something up or take a small shirt or toys that has them on it. Maybe also include a few favorite books, little toy (hand powered, no noise), stuffed animal, blanket/pillow, snack, sippy cup, stickers and paper (my boys like to tear paper into pieces, so no scissors involved.), play doh (if you're up for it).

Hope that helps. Have a safe trip.
A.

We traveled with our daughter to D.C. when she was about one year old, then to California when she was about 16 months old. Both were via plane.

We found my husband's laptop (or a portable DVD player) to be useful to keep her distracted when she got restless on the plane. It really worked for us, as she is very active, too,I guess like most kids.

Another suggestion, if you are looking for toys is to bring along some new type of toy that he isn't already used to. I don't remember exactly when, but sometime between one and 2 she came to like wooden puzzles alot. They are about 5 bucks at Target.

Hope that helps. We also bought one of those covers for the car seat that has wheels that you can push through the airport. Its not a necessity at all, but if you feel like buying it, it was worth it for us, absolutely. Have fun in Utah!

I often travel with work and take my kids with me. Both have been traveling on planes since they were 2 months old. They are now 2.5 and 7 years old. For your little one, I would suggest dressing him for the weather when you arrive in Utah. He will have his blanket on the plane to cover him from the frigid temperatures. Have you checked Barnes and Noble for the toddler activity books? I have also found these at Scholastic Book sales ( I think you can purchase from their website also.) and the The Right Start store. I do not know if Houston has a Right Start, but they do have catalog and internet sales. It is similar to the One Step catalogs but the stores have lots of toddler books and even in different languages. On trips over two hours I also bring a Leap Frog toy. Most have head phone connections so you are not disturbing other passengers with all the pinging noise. A telephone toy is good to have also. I have one that is also a book that I carry in my diaper bag (from the Right Start store). My 2.5 year old still plays with it. It makes noise but not very much. You can always put duct tape over the speaker to muffle the sound also. Also have about three or more different snacks and a juice box or cup (because there is apple juice on the plane)(crackers, pretzels, etc.) because he will probably not enjoy what is served on the plane. For take-off, I give my kids Starburst, jelly candies, or gummy bears. Limit to no more than two so you do not have a sugared up toddler. This is not a pretty sight! Good Luck!