levi's tips and tricks for traveling with your mama

My kid has more frequent flyer miles racked up than most people twenty years his senior. He’s now been on eight flights and within the next month will have another nine flights under his belt.

After I traveled overseas with Levi on my own when he was ten weeks old, I wrote a post called Tips and Tricks for Traveling with an Infant. (If you need some travel tips for the holidays, you can check those out here.) But this time around I asked Levi if he could give us some insight from his perspective. He is, after all, an excellent world traveler.

Without further adieu, here are Levi’s tips and tricks for traveling with your Mama:

1.     Giggle at everything. This will help mama to not get stressed about the heavy bags and the long lines.

2.     Clap when you see the food come out. Long flights are no time for meal-time dramas, so make sure she sees that you’re excited to eat… and then eat quickly and heartily.

3.     Time your poos for layovers. She will be so happy to not be trying to change you inside the mouse hole that they call an airline bathroom. Or, at least if you do have to poo while on the plane, just keep your hands out of it when she's trying to change you. The less stress you cause in that little closet, the better. Trust me on this one.

4.     Give her extra cuddles. Most likely she is tired from all the planning and packing and cleaning during the lead-up to the trip, so getting more cuddly than usual will remind her that it was all more than worth it.

5.     Put up with her taking lots of photos… and ham it up a little. Documenting the memories is important to her, so have fun with it. I know she takes enough to fill up a bazillion memory cards, but humor her. Having great photos really does make her heart sing.

6.     Don’t be clingy. Let her hold you when she’s up for it, but spend just as much time with Daddy too. She loves her time with you, but she also loves seeing you love your time with Daddy. And apparently she sometimes needs her space too. At least, that’s what Daddy tells me.

7.     Cry if you really need to, but refrain from protest crying and tantrums. Mamas don’t like tantrums or protests on the best of days, but those things will stress her our way more if you’re in a confined space. So just skip it and keep reasonably quiet.

8.     Charm and befriend the flight attendants and the other passengers. When they give Mama compliments about how wonderful you are, she will beam with delight… and relief.

9.     Fall asleep in her arms. I know you normally think you’re too big to sleep in Mama’s arms these days, but she will love the feeling of you breathing deeply on her chest. Give her this little piece of heaven; she deserves it.

10.  Be easily entertained. It’s unrealistic to think Mama can bring along all of your favorite toys, so entertain yourself with new “grown-up things” like the inflight magazine, seat belts, and the channel buttons on the arm rests.

Dear friends, aren’t Levi’s tips great? The best part about his tips is that he speaks them from experience and—so far—has abided by all of them. What would your child add to Levi’s list?

proud mama of a wonderful frequent flyer,

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010 
do not reproduce without written permission