Travel Holiday

I received this note from a reader and thought my response might be helpful to a number of you.

I am traveling to India with my 2 year old for a couple of weeks. The flight is crazy long—it adds up to almost 30 hours of travel time. Any recommendations? We plan to bring his car seat but it is really big—do you have any thoughts on travel seats that can be used in a car once we get to our destination?

Thank you
- Jennifer

Dear Jennifer and other travelers,

India! With a 2-year-old! What a great adventure you’ll have. It isn’t cheap, but from what you describe, you’d be a really great candidate for the Sit N Stroll car seat that can convert to a stroller—definitely for this trip, and possibly others you have lined up. I got mine for travel, but I’ve found it very helpful with wily toddlers for running around town, too, just doing errands and quick outings to the post office or bank. More on that below.

When you have crazy-long travel times like that with a toddler, with very long flights, airplane changes, and layovers, there are two pieces of gear that can really be helpful to have with you—though you might normally assume the lighter you can travel with kids the better. For this kind of seriously long travel by plane with a 2-year-old, I suspect you will be glad to have:

1) The car seat, which will make your 2-year-old much more comfortable for long periods of sitting than the adult-size airplane seat (which, let’s face it, is not built for comfort!), and the 5-point harness with buckles will also help keep him contained, unlike the airplane easy-lift seat belt which he’ll be out of in a blink if he decides to bolt. Not fun on a long flight! Plus, if he’s used to riding in a car seat already and understands that it means staying put in the car, the consistency may be helpful for the long-haul. Since it fits him better and hopefully has some side wings, it will also make sleeping during flights much easier for him—extremely important for any child during 30 hours of travel!

2) The stroller, which may be essential to getting between gates in time at large airports, and/or helping your child nap during lengthy layovers. A reclining travel stroller can be really helpful for this. Especially at age 2, the airports will be so exciting, and where you’re headed strangers will likely be so friendly that it may be hard for him to disengage and get the rest he needs. A stroller can help provide a buffer while you stretch your legs and get some activity pushing him around the terminal. Once he’s asleep, you can clip a blanket to the front of the stroller’s canopy (with your trusty binder clips, as recommended in Travels with Baby!) to keep bright lights off of his face and strangers at a respectful distance. Also, being able to keep your son safely strapped in to a stroller until you’ve managed to get all your items and shoes onto the X-ray at security, then collected again on the other side, or until you’ve finished using the restroom (!) can be very helpful with a 2-year-old!

Suggestions for gear:

The Sit N Stroll gives you one piece of gear to keep track of that can serve both purposes of car seat and airport-friendly stroller as you travel. The wheels are small and glide smoothly through airports and across even surfaces, but it probably won’t be rugged enough to use on walks around town where sidewalks are often rough or missing, etc. Once you get to India—you’ll want your regular stroller or possibly even a backpack carrier (Ergo travels well!) in some cases (not sure what’s on your agenda!) once you have arrived. But with the Sit N Stroll, you can simply check your stroller through or backpack carrier, etc., and just take the Sit N Stroll with you through the airport. The Sit N Stroll also has a retractable canopy that can be quite helpful during long flights in shielding children from other people’s reading lights, flickering TVs and movie screens, and turbulent air currents (you can read more about the Sit N Stroll in my detailed review here).

If not the Sit N Stroll, you might want to take a look at the GoGo Kidz Travelmate, which is like a hand cart that attaches to toddler-size car seats, so you can keep him strapped into the car seat as you wheel her through the airport and to the gate. Some drawbacks in your case might be that it will not provide the napping benefits of the Sit N Stroll or a stroller, both of which have canopies and will provide at least a little recline to help with the snoozing. It also puts only the distance of roller blade wheels between the car seat and floor, and there may be times you would like to have him up higher than that… particularly near baggage claim where the suitcases fly and outdoor areas or restrooms that aren’t so tidy.

A third option that may work for you is to use your existing car seat with a PacBack backpack-style carrier and gate-checking your existing stroller as you board each flight. Just be aware you will have to unbuckle it from your car seat upon boarding and deplaning, and will still have two separate items to manage as you travel.

Other concerns and considerations:

Size - Since you mention your car seat is “huge,” you may also opt to go with the Sit N Stroll over other options that will work with the car seat you have. It will be much easier to fit in the smaller cars and taxis you’re likely to find along the way, and a huge car seat is never much fun to lug around and is seldom practical in the small cars abroad! I have a recommendations for other easy-traveling car seats on my site at http://www.travelswithbaby.com/gear/car_seats_et_al.htm.

Seatbelts - Even with a car seat in your hands, don’t expect to find a seat belt in the back seat of every taxi you hail in India. Many older cars and smaller vehicles simply do not have seatbelts in the back seats. To get around this, aim for the newest looking and largest taxis you can find, and always point out your car seat quickly to the driver who will likely know you’re looking for seatbelts. If it’s in the budget, you might prefer to arrange a car and driver to meet you after your extended hours of travel who knows in advance you’ll need to install a car seat and will have an appropriate seat belt or even LATCH.

Safety - While there is no car seat law in India, and car seats are still fairly uncommon (and financially out of reach for countless families), I think you will be very glad to have your toddler safely in her seat as you navigate through the traffic, so it’s worth the effort to bring a car seat and use cars where it can be safely installed. Hope this helps!

Safe journey,

Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning guide Travels with Baby
The Ultimate Guide for Planning Trips with Babies, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children

Last week, Eric at TravelBlogs.com posed a question that caught my attention. He started an interesting debate between six travel bloggers on whether or not they would haggle over a “tourist price” they were told to pay for food from a street vendor in an “unnamed Asian country” (click here to read the full post).

While the discussion centers primarily around the privilege of being wealthy enough to travel to and through some countries in the first place, and having the advantage of earning much more before travel than many of these vendors would in several years, the discussion made me realize was how long it’s been since I’ve frequented street vendors abroad for food—one of the big changes that comes from traveling with babies and young children.

In my life before kids, I certainly did eat more adventurously during travel—at seventeen and eighteen I frequented food stalls in Asia, thankfully with little consequence. Yet I also somehow contracted Giardia at the end of a trip to Eastern Europe, and I certainly wouldn’t wish that on any child, let alone an adult. After a “last supper” in Athens, I suffered the worst food poisoning of my life, and from a charming restaurant in the touristic Plaka district no less. Food- and water-borne illness can happen anywhere, but the odds are much higher in certain regions, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly when you visit with small children. In fact, rule #1 in my section on Food and Water Safety in Travels with Baby is to:

Avoid foods from street vendors – as friendly and generous as they may be to your child and family, they often have little or no refrigeration available for the foods they prepare, and likely do not have a place to wash their hands with clean water and soap.
This is not to say that you can’t take a baby or toddler to exotic and even underdeveloped regions of the world. I have myself, and with thoughtful planning and smart strategies for how you’ll handle sensitive issues including food and water safety, particularly for your child, you can too.

For more tips and advice on traveling with babies and young children to remote regions, see the sections in Travels with Baby on “Going Farther Afield,” with important information on Vaccinations and Travel Shots for babies and breastfeeding mothers, Malaria Prevention for Young Children, and much more on Food and Water Safety.

You can also read a brief excerpt from the book with more tips on food and water safety in my column at Examiner.com (click here).

Safe journey,

Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning guide Travels with Baby
The Ultimate Guide for Planning Trips with Babies, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children

Last month, I had what many would call the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to stay at the world class Miraval Life in Balance Spa and Resort in Tucson, Arizona. You may have seen it featured on Oprah (it’s reportedly her favorite destination spa in America), with brave women tackling the inventive challenge courses—including climbing a telephone pole in harnesses and taking bold leaps of faith from the top, learning to eat (gourmet cuisine) mindfully, and learning a lot about themselves through a unique program working with horses.

At seven months pregnant, I knew I would miss my chance to leap off the telephone pole (a great disappointment to my inner-thrill-seeker), but I figured that between the spa treatments, gourmet inclusive dining, and workshops, I would find plenty of other ways to amuse and improve myself at Miraval. What might come as the biggest surprise to some of my readers is that my “leap off the telephone pole” was actually spending the night without either of my children for the first time.

I actually had this opportunity one year ago, and had to turn it down because I just wasn’t emotionally ready to leave my girls, and the thought of boarding an airplane without my family simply broke my heart. I had a serious guilt complex about the hours I’d already spent away from them finishing the book Travels with Baby, and I felt like any amount of time or money I spent having fun should certainly be with them.

This time, however, I was ready for it. All of it. Best of all, I was able to work my “Mommymoon at Miraval” into part of a family vacation to visit nearby relatives, and we all traveled together in true Rivoli style. Knowing that my daughters were having the time of their lives with cousins, Daddy, aunts and uncles, chocolate lab and Chinese water dragon gave me no guilt as I gratefully received my “desert rain pre-natal salt scrub” on arrival (highly recommended!), followed by a steak dinner and four desserts in the dining room, all on my first evening at Miraval (life’s full of tough decisions, dessert shouldn’t be one of them).

As I lay luxuriating in the glorious feather-stuffed bed later that night, enjoying the novelty of complete quiet and the company of a great novel, my book suddenly bobbed on its perch reminding me that one of my children was in fact there with me after all. He sent occasional kicks and jabs to remind me of this throughout my mealtimes and meditations, even to the abhyanga massage therapist who had gently slathered relieving sesame oil to my stretched abdomen (it’s the best stretch mark relief I’ve found yet). I didn’t mind my baby’s reminders at all. I giggled out loud in the middle of my mindful stress management seminar as my shirt leapt in response to a question. It was fun to be on an adventure with my unborn, yet unknown child, and incredible to so freely focus on the wonder of being pregnant again.

Keeping up with my two young children at home has rarely given me a moment to contemplate who this other little person will be, let alone how far along in the pregnancy I am (one blink and I suddenly jumped from 20 weeks to 30). Of course, it was also nice to have the quiet, the space to step back and breathe and see my life from outside the whirlwind of motherhood that’s engulfed me these past 5 years. I’d always figured that if I did eventually get away by myself overnight, alone, I would spend the time locked in a motel room or cabin working on my next novel. I wouldn’t waste a moment sleeping, and would instead stay up all night, a joyous Penelope just weaving fiction as I haven’t been able to do uninterrupted in quite some time.

Instead, I dreamt. I slept and dreamt as I also haven’t done in quite some time. I would wake up from one dream, smile at the realization that I’d had a dream, roll over and dream some more. Unlike at home, where one ear is always perked for the call of a child, I never had trouble going right back to sleep again. I’m not sure if it’s something they put in the pillows at Miraval, but what they’d put on my pillow that first evening has become a treasured bookmark in the novel I’m reading at the end of each day: an inspiration card that reads “Sleep to dream.” Did I ever.

I was hoping, like most people who get the extraordinary chance to visit Miraval, to reconnect with my spirit in ways I haven’t been able to in recent years. Dreaming, something that once was an integral part of my being, my creativity, and even my decision-making process, was an added bonus I hadn’t expected.

For expectant mothers, especially those with one or more children already to care for, I think it’s extremely valuable to have some time away from the hubbub of everyday life and home and reflect on the journey thus far, before the new baby arrives. For tips on creating your own meaningful mommymoon, be it for a weekend or an afternoon, see my latest article at Examiner.com.

Here is a roundup of the most recent articles and posts I’ve written with tips to help parents preparing to fly with babies, toddlers, and young children—and also while pregnant.

If you or anyone you know is planning to fly overseas with a baby in 2009, you’ll especially want to read (or share) the first article here on booking overseas flights with children under 2 years.

Before booking an overseas flight with your baby, read this

How late is too late to fly during pregnancy

Tips for entertaining toddlers and young children in the airport

Entertaining children on airplanes—before they even leave the ground

Flying with toddlers…without car seats (CARES)

A closer look at CARES, the flight safety harness for children

Changing diapers on airplanes…without a changing table?

Families go green at airport security – using the new security lanes

For more help planning and preparing for flights, see Part 5 of Travels with Baby.

You still have until 11:59 p.m. tonight PST to purchase your $10 tax-deductible raffle tickets for your choice of great prizes in The Passports with Purpose travel blogger fundraiser. The fundraiser benefitting Heifer International has already exceeded its goal of raising $5,000 to help families in need. But Heifer does not simply help feed families in need; its programs help families around the world and in more than half of the states in the U.S.A. to become self-reliant for the long haul.

With livestock resources and training to support oneself and one’s family, parents and children benefit from better nutrition, stability, and often the ability to enjoy other opportunities—such as school—that may have otherwise remained out of reach for many. To me, that is the best gift you can give a family in need, and exactly the kind of change we should all wish to see in the world, including ours here at home. Better still, families benefiting from Heifer’s programs agree to share offspring of their “gift animals” and their training with other families in need, making them equal partners in Heifer’s fight to end world hunger.

It really makes you think when you realize that a $20 donation alone—the cost of two of these raffle tickets—can buy an entire flock of chickens, or ducks, or geese for a family, and will give them a solid source of protein plus added income from selling extra eggs. But the $20 donation doesn’t even end there, because as that flock multiplies, it will create even more flocks for more families in need.

Purchase your $10 Tax-Deductible Raffle Ticket for a Great Prize:
The long list of travel bloggers behind Passports with Purpose have put up an amazing list of prizes for travel enthusiasts, which you can view at this link and select the prize codes only for those prizes you’d like to purchase a raffle ticket for. Choose from great travel gear, cameras and gadgets, cooking lessons and cultural tours, or gift certificates for lodging and travel. Take a look, note the prize codes that interest you most, and purchase your raffle tickets for each at the Passorts with Purpose page here at FirstGiving.com.

As the blogger behind “Travels with Baby Tips,” I’ve put up three prizes that I know traveling families with small children can appreciate. Each of the following prizes also includes a signed copy of my book Travels with Baby. Thank you once again to my generous sponsors!

PRIZE 1: $100 Gift Certificate to Babies Travel Lite

Prize ID - K05. Buy a $10 tax-deductible raffle ticket! You can use your gift certificate for Babies Travel Lite’s worldwide delivery of baby and toddler supplies (diapers, formula, shelf-stable milk, sun block, snacks), or spend it on their great travel gear like the Gogo Kidz Travelmate and Peapod Plus travel bed. Read more here. Sponsored by Babies Travel Lite http://www.babiestravellite.com/. $100 value + a signed copy of Travels with Baby.

PRIZE 2: CARES, the FAA-approved child aviation restraint

Prize ID - K04. Buy a $10 tax-deductible raffle ticket! CARES (a.k.a. the flight safety harness) converts the airplane seatbelt into a 4-point harness for children 1 year (22 lbs.) and older. Winner of the 2008 Good Housekeeping Good Buy Awards. Read more here. Sponsored by Kids fly Safe www.kidsflysafe.com. $75 retail value + a signed copy of Travels with Baby.

PRIZE 3: Sit ‘n’ Stroll Combination Car Seat-and-Stroller

Prize ID - K06. Buy a $10 tax-deductible raffle ticket! Known as the ultimate traveler’s car seat, the Sit ‘n’ Stroll converts from stroller to car seat at the curb, ready to strap into the taxi without even removing your child from the 5-point harness. The sunshade is included (not shown). Read more here. Sponsored by Lilly Gold http://www.lillygold.com. $250 retail value + a signed copy of Travels with Baby.

To see the complete list of prizes offered in the Passports with Purpose fundraiser, click here.

Safe journey,

Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning guide Travels with Baby
SAVE MORE - Get a full 20% off at Amazon + FREE Super Saver Shipping only when you buy from “Travels with Baby Books”

This time of year, the word “travel” is usually synonymous with long lines, heavy bags, slow traffic, and high-stress hightailing it from point A to B to get there before the tender timer pops.

Traveling with children during the holidays can add a few challenges of its own, but it can also be a great joy when you stop to recognize your good fortune in being able to travel with your child, in having extended family and friends to call upon, and how you’re undergoing a trip that can simply never be repeated. After all, your child will never be this same age or stage at the holidays again.

Win a gift book to be mailed next week:

I’m giving away a gift-wrapped, signed copy of Travels with Baby, ready to send via Priority Mail (to Canada or U.S.) as your gift to a friend next week. To enter to win the gift book, please comment at the original blogspot post (go here if you are reading this in syndication) before midnight PST on Sunday, December 21st. Share one of your favorite holiday travel moments with your child (at any age or stage). You needn’t have traveled far, and perhaps the moment was quite simple—sometimes the best ones are. You might consider what made the moment special to you? What did you learn or appreciate in that moment? Was it something your child taught you?

The winner will be picked at random and announced Monday morning, December 22, SO PLEASE SET A REMINDER TO CHECK HERE THEN or follow on Twitter: @travelswithbaby. Sorry to shout, but it will be very important so that you can email me your gift note information and the address where you would like your gift mailed—I will mail your gift book as soon as I’ve heard from you. If you’ll be traveling or unable to check, please send me an email in advance to contact (at) travelswithbaby (dot) com with your entry name so I can follow up with you if you win.

Good luck! I look forward to reading your moments.

Travels with Baby at Examiner.com:

Also, if you haven’t checked out my new column at Examiner.com yet, head over there to see my latest holiday travel tips, including:

> Helpful Hostess Gifts from Your Baby or Toddler
> Holiday Gifts Under $25 for Parents Traveling with a Baby or Young Child
> Tips for Entertaining Toddlers and Young Children in the Airport

More to come!

Passports with Purpose update:
Thanks to those of you who have already purchased raffle tickets for the Passports with Purpose fundraiser! There is still time to enter to win the $100 gift certificate to Babies Travel Lite, the Sit ‘n’ Stroll travel car seat/stroller, and CARES child aviation restraint—each with a signed copy of Travels with Baby. To see all the great prizes for travel enthusiasts, head over to the Passports with Purpose prize directory and purchase your $10 tax-deductible raffle tickets at FirstGiving.com.

Safe journey,

Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning guide Travels with Baby
SAVE MORE - Get an additional 10% off at Amazon + FREE Super Saver Shipping when you buy from “Travels with Baby Books”

For those who missed the earlier post, we’re looking at “Best holiday travel moments with children” this week. Post your comment to the previous post to share your own moment and possibly win a signed (and gift-wrapped if you like) copy of Travels with Baby. Details in the last post.

This snapshot is from one of my favorite holiday travel moments as a parent, when we very brilliantly took the train with our baby daughter, rather than flying or driving to visit relatives for the holidays. (This photo is part of Photo Friday over at DeliciousBaby.com, check it out!)

Here we are a few Christmases ago, riding Amtrak’s Coast Starlight Express in our “Roomette,” on our way from Willamette Valley Oregon to the Bay Area. The Amtrak Roomette is the least expensive sleeper option available on Amtrak, and two adults are allowed to share the accommodations with an infant. More than one child, however… and you’ll have to either upgrade to the much more expensive family sleeper or go coach.

After watching a lovely sunset over farm fields, we realized–we thought–the folly of our plans. Here we had spent the money for this scenic overnight adventure, most of which would take place in the dark of night. How scenic is that? We did enjoy some passing Christmas lights as we ate dinner in the diner (included with Amtrak’s sleeper accommodations, but no filet mignon for infants riding free), but it was after dessert that the real magic began.

A full moon rose above us as we chugged through snowy mountains, illuminating the snow and flocked forests for miles on end. It was spectacular to say the least. Our baby daughter snoozed at one end of our lower bunk, but we couldn’t stop watching and enjoying the snow globe view view out our window.

For tips and advice on planning family train trips by day or overnight, in the U.S. or abroad, check out Part 6 of Travels with Baby. I’ve included recommendations for scenic day trips by train, all about sleepers and family arrangements, best discounts and rail passes available for families and children (in the U.S., Canada, and across Europe), baggage details and advice, and more.

Also, don’t miss these holiday travel tips in my new post over at Examiner.com:

> Holiday travel tips 1: Helpful hostess gifts from your baby or toddler
> Holiday travel tips 2: Being good houseguests, baby and all.

Passports with Purpose update: We’ve raised more than $4,000 for Heifer International so far! Thanks to those of you who have already purchased raffle tickets for the Passports with Purpose fundraiser! There is still time to enter to win the:

> $100 gift certificate to Babies Travel Lite (prize ID K05)
> Sit ‘n’ Stroll travel car seat/stroller (prize ID K06)
> CARES child aviation restraint (prize ID K04)

…each with a signed copy of Travels with Baby. To see all the great prizes for travel enthusiasts, head over to the Passports with Purpose prize directory, then purchase your $10 tax-deductible raffle tickets at our page at FirstGiving.com.

Safe journey,

Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning guide Travels with Baby
SAVE MORE - Get an additional 10% off at Amazon + FREE Super Saver Shipping when you buy from “Travels with Baby Books”