5 HOLIDAY TRAVEL TIPS
from The Mom Squad

1. Have a PACKING LIST
When it comes to packing for an extended trip, it’s easy to forget a few things here and there.  Our best advice?  Make a list – or better yet, print a checklist (this ensures someone else has wracked their brain thinking of every little thing) or download a packing application!
Our favorite resource for travel lists: www.travelmamas.com 
They have various lists (airplane travel, school-aged children, packing for babies…) as well as lists of places to rent baby gear!

Our favorite packing app: www.babypackandgo.com ($.99 in iTunes)    
This app has great packing lists specifically for parents (TONS of baby items in the catalog to add to your list as well as the option to customize!)  Also has a “task reminder” feature that can help you schedule feedings, diaper changes, naptimes, and etc.!

2. Know where you’re going!
There is nothing worse than getting lost in an airport or missing your exit during the busiest travel-time of the year!  For this reason, we suggest you take a little time to check out the airport you’re traveling through by visiting http://www.byebyewithbaby.com/ and entering the airport name (or code.)  You will find a link to the airport’s website, the locations of changing tables, nursing rooms, and play areas, as well as information from other parents who have visited (hints that may make your travels easier!)  If you’re driving to your destination, get familiar with your route – research and plan stops along with way (if possible) so that you aren’t scrambling to find a clean bathroom in the middle of nowhere!  Our website can help you find clean gas stations, nursing rooms, and diaper changing stations along the way- when every minute on the road counts; take advantage of making a multi-purpose stop!

3. Pick up items AT YOUR DESTINATION
Travels with two children under the age of three taught me very quickly that the back of my SUV, while seemingly huge – becomes a Tetris game once loading the car begins.  For this reason, we started packing one diaper-bag’s worth of items (three diapers, travel wipes, a pull up for my oldest, and a few snacks) then stopped in once we arrived wherever we were going to get the full week of supplies.  Diapers, wipes, baby food jars, toddler snacks, apple juice… even formula if need-be!  You can search our website to find a grocery-store at your destination – if you can head out to shop after you unpack, you could even pick up items you may have forgotten!

4. When it comes to TOYS, think like a KID
Ever notice how much your child adores a wooden spoon and a plastic bowl?  This serves as a great reminder that just about anything can be a toy when they use their imagination!  We usually pack one or two toys for each child (put in their respective backpacks) for in the car play and while we are on vacation.  Packing a bag full of toys usually leads to lost or misplaced toys – so pack lightly (let them choose which two they want to bring!)

5. Portable DVD / Movie Player / Game Systems
I go back and forth on this topic all the time – while I know parents survived for many years without playing movies in the car, we live in a world where these things have been made possible for a reason!  For long drives (and flights) – I absolutely see purpose in playing a movie to keep a child’s attention directed at something other than “are we there yet?”  While I feel like my two are too young for a handheld game system, there are a few apps I have downloaded on my iPhone that I’ve used to stop the screaming when we were stuck behind a train and my patience was wearing thin!
Our new favorite iPhone app for kids: We Wish You A Merry Christmas Lite (free in iTunes)

If you need help to ease your travel woes, don’t hesitate to email us!  themomsquad@byebyewithbaby.com  We’ll find a solution somehow – together, we’ll make traveling a breeze!

Tags: baby app, diaper changing table locations, family travel, grocery store finder, holiday travel, iphone app, nursing room finder, packing app, packing list, portable dvd player

To make your travels easier – some products we’ve raved about in the past:

Dipe ‘N Go
www.dipengo.com
The premise is simple!  A take-along changing station that you can keep in the back of the car.  You can attach it to the inside of your vehicle and have a clean place to change diapers wherever you are!

(image from www.nourishwater.com)

Nourish Water
www.nourishwater.com

  

photo from www.packinsmart.com

Packin’ Smart Containers
www.packinsmart.com
They are designed to securely stack together (you twist them so they interlock) – and you can dispense LIQUID and dry contents!  They are dishwasher, freezer, and microwave safe – BPA free, Phthalates free, AND PVC free.

The Ouch Pouch
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PillowSewCute
These small, adorable pouches have a see-through front window so you can easily locate the item you need.  They open and close with a simple snap, so moms on the go can balance a baby and reach for what they need with only one hand!

The Little Lasso
www.thelittlelasso.com
The Little Lasso simply prevents the constant bending over to pick up what your child is dropping on accident OR ON PURPOSE!  Uses for the little lasso include sippy cups, water bottles, and toys!

Tags: family travel, travel, travel must haves, traveling, traveling through airports, traveling with baby, traveling with kids

I had all members of the Mom Squad searching high and low for a solution to the girl-cessories packing conundrum we all face: do we throw these clips and bows into a Ziploc bag and call it a day?  Luckily, (and as usual) a mom came to the rescue with this cute and functional clutch meant to serve the exact purpose I was setting out to find!

Introducing the Clippie Clutch!

Okay, seriously now – can you think of a better way to keep all those outfit-coordinating accessories organized than this?  You can keep sets together, find what you’re looking for easily, and it all folds up into a little clutch… simple & perfect!

Favorite seller: Snugglebugkids
http://www.etsy.com/shop/snugglebugkidz     
Esty feedback rating: 248, 100% positive
What she sells: clippie clutch, handmade tees, dresses, hats, headbands, bows and more
Custom requests: yes

After learning a bit about Melena (Snuggle Bug Kidz owner) – I very quickly realized that she is not only artistic, but creative by necessity and with a purpose.  With the birth of her first daughter before reaching full-term, she made preemie clothes as there was no retail of such items near her.  A few years later, her second child was born with Plagiocephaly (a cranial abnormality corrected with a “CranioCap” orthosis,) and a Melena wasn’t content with carting around her daughter in a “plain white plastic helmet,” so she began creating CranioCap covers.  These covers turned what was once plain and ugly into something fashionable and unique – all thanks to a mother’s inspired thinking!

Melena's from Snuggle Bug Kidz & family

We won’t be surprised to find more ingenious ideas coming from Snuggle Bug Kids, we’re certain there are more great things to come!

We know how obsessed you all are with clippies and accessories so here’s GREAT news… Snuggle Bug Kidz has extended Bye Bye with Baby readers a 15% discount on ANYTHING in the shop (the clippie clutch price includes shipping!)  Trust us, you’ll be glad you’ve got this organizer handy when you’re getting everyone ready for pictures or heading out (And mothers of little boys out there check out the winter hats & the little man tie shirt!)

To use the discount, simply write “FREE 15” in the comment line when you checkout and they will reimburse the 15% discount via paypal!

Tags: bow organizer, bows, clip organizer, clips, family travel, packing, packing organized, travel, traveling

Hey everyone and welcome to our blogging week of travel must-haves!  We often share things we think will make your family travels easier – this week is no exception!!   We’ve compiled a list of some of the most inventive, fun, and functional items that we’re sure you guys will love as much as we do! 

We have stumbled upon these items on our own research and asked if we could feature them – so please, if you like something we’ve shared let the creator or boutique owner know that you read about them on www.byebyewithbaby.com (and follow them on Facebook or Twitter to get updates on sales and promotions!)

There are several giveaways and discounts mixed into our week-long exposé so we decided the easiest way to give everyone a fair shot at reading about the featured products and entering whatever giveaways they’d like – we’ll be keeping all giveaways open until the end of the week and draw all winners at the same time.  You can enter every single giveaway, there is no limit on how many you can win (all winners will be drawn with random.org.) 

As always, the instructions for entering the giveaway will be in the closing of each blog feature.  Please follow the directions closely so that your entry will count!  Some days we will be posting more than one blog with a featured item – for this reason we will try and limit our postings on facebook (mostly we’ll just remind you to stop by the blog and browse our favorites!)  We don’t want to SPAM your Facebook walls or twitter feeds… however we DO know how easily it is to get sidetracked when you’re a parent!

Thanks for joining us – it’s going to be a great week at www.byebyewithbaby.com!

Tags: bye bye with baby, diaper changing locations, family, family travel, Nursing Room locations, places to change a diaper, roadtrip, travel, traveling, traveling through airports, traveling with kids

On our drive home from the annual river camping trip (listening to the sounds of my kids heated competition over who can say “Mooooooom” the loudest), I tried to zone out as best I could to fight the urge of yelling into the backseat– thinking about our trip and what I’d most likely blog about when we got home… 

(a moment of clarity when they were finally asleep!)

I started to blog about how confusing it must be to try and explain to my young daughter that if she HAD to pee in the river, it was okay in that instance… She already jumps out of the pool and bee-lines to the bathroom when she has to go (announcing to everyone around as well) – which is not a BAD thing, my kid refuses to pee in a pool – that should be a good thing!  But, when we’re all down swimming in the middle of a river and she makes one of us hike back up the trail to the “camper-house” to potty… it makes me want to say “just PEE IN THE RIVER ALREADY!”  Don’t worry, I held that little hand up and down the trail three or four times (as did her GiGi and her Daddy) every single time she had to potty, I’m pretending it’s a sign she is being courteous to others.

It occurred to me that the biggest PIA (pain in the backside code name, if you will) wasn’t the potty patrol, but carrying hoards of water accessories to and from the river!  Not to mention holding a strong-willed one-year-old’s hand while he just HAD to walk down the hill himself and death-gripping the three-year-old’s lifejacket from behind juuuust in case she slipped and started tumbling toward the river.  There were three adults for most to-and-from trips, yet six arms were never enough.

I recounted seeing many parents in similar not-enough-arms-to-handle-this situations… how was there no solution?  Could the problem be that we were hauling too many unnecessary items?  Let’s see, two tubes to sit in, a cooler with drinks for everyone, three noodles to help everyone float around and play, two water footballs… that doesn’t seem like an over extravagant set up to me.  So now I’m in problem solving mode.

If the hill wasn’t steep (for instance if we were going to the beach) – I’d undoubtedly opt for the aide of a wagon! It helped tremendously on our winter vacation to have two kids seated and a little room for extra storage.  I’m a huge fan of this version (the Radio Flyer Deluxe Family Wagon) as it has little seats with clipping belts, an attachable sun-shade, cup holders, the seats fold down flat if your kiddos opt to walk (you can just pile up all your extras in the wagon and pull it!)

Radio Flyer Deluxe Family Wagon

Since that wouldn’t have worked this past week, I continued to mull over a solution.  One of the Mom Squad ladies lives on the beach in Florida (she has a three-year-old daughter and TWIN one-year-old boys) so I asked her what she uses… enter the Wonder Wheeler carts and my most favorite find yet!  These carts are SO reasonably priced and fit ALL of your stuff (lawn chairs, umbrella, toys, inflatables, YOUR ICE CHEST, — literally EVERYTHING you need) and can be wheeled with ease.  Here are two different designs; can you believe how amazing this is?

So now I know for next year – instead of hiring a nanny to help us carry things or praying to grow another arm, I’ll just invest in one of these carts and get all the help I’ll need!  (You can click the photos to go to the website where I found them!)

::Michelle
The Mom Squad

Tags: beach, beach tote, camping, camping trip, carry all, family, family travel, kids, river

We have entered a new phase of life – POTTY TRAINING!  I read a few articles, watched a few videos (Pull-Ups has a free video with some pretty helpful tips, get one here)  and never really had any issues – my 19-month-old (at the time) picked up on it right away.

Then came the idea of sitting in a car for a 3-hour (or longer) road trip- I was at a loss!  I was insistent on NOT putting a diaper on her EVER AGAIN after we made a big “diapers are for babies” ordeal to start her on the path to being a Big Girl.  She was sleeping in pull-ups at night for emergencies only but was already calling them her “special nighttime panties” – and I didn’t want to confuse her association, that was exactly how I wanted her to see pull-ups (nighttime use only!)

After a few EMERGENCY– pull-into-WHERE-THE-HECK-EVER-YOU-CAN stops just being out near our house and one disastrous accident on the way to Ikea that resulted in a 3 year old (who looks like a 5 year old) walking around the store in a pull-up and no pants, I knew I needed some sort of backup plan… I was introduced to the travel potty (enter angelic singing and a glowing light surrounding a tiny plastic, foldable potty that fits underneath the car seat!)

So many advantages to having a travel potty on hand –

• The quest for a clean bathroom is postponed for another 6-12 months!
• It provides a potty in places that otherwise don’t have one (neighborhood park, etc.)
• Makes roadtrips less stressful knowing you can pull over immideately when the potty-dance starts!

We’ve been taking suggestions and finding locations for pit stops along the way and found some pretty neat toddler-friendly places (like a toddler training bathroom at a gas station!) – but for the most part, there are few things that cater to the little guys!

Here is a Travel Potty by Cool Gear – it retails for $24.99 on diapers.com – and I prefer this one over the others because it folds up to size of a small briefcase AND you insert a storage bag, snap the lid down, and your child can potty in something you don’t have to clean out!  You just remove the bag and dispose of it!  This model even has two storage compartments on the sides (nice to keep wipes, extra undies, and etc!)

Do you have a potty training toddler that you’re traveling with this summer?  Have any ideas or suggestions we can share?

::Michelle
The Mom Squad

Tags: clean bathrooms, diaper changing, family travel, family travel advice, potty training, potty training and traveling, toddler, travel potty, travel potty for toddler, traveling