Traveling Must Haves!

So my family just completed 4 weeks of solid traveling (aka - a vacation).  It turns out that Italy didn't work out for us but we probably did just as much traveling.  Instead we ended flying to New Orleans, driving over to Biloxi, MS, driving back to NO, flying to Dallas, switching planes, flying to CA then driving over the course of 16 days all the way up CA to end in San Fransisco.  It was A LOT of moving!

So to answer my last post:  YES it is very possible!  I was quite amazed that we could pack for the 4 of us in just those 2 bags.  Honestly I didn't see it happening.

Now that we are back I just thought I would share a few more items that got me through this whirlwind month of vacation with my sanity still in tact.  Some of these were honest to goodness life savers!  These are all just my opinions but I figure if they were so handy for us then they probably would help out others as well, especially those traveling with small children.  The following is in no particular order.

The first thing we couldn't have lived without was a Kidco PeaPod Plus.  If I would have known about these when I first got pregnant 5 years ago then I am almost certain I would have just bought one of these instead of a pack-n-play!  Pack-n-play's are advertised as being so portable but in reality they are bulky and heavy.  The Pea Pod is super easy to set up and take down and is very portable!  It's not heavy at all and takes up minimal space (as a matter of fact I know that the smaller PeaPod you can pack in a suitcase with your stuff).  Another reason this was a life-saver was the fact that it's a little tent that you can completely shut off to the world.  Even when you are in the same large hotel room, it's like they have their own little room.  It's darker so sleeping was much easier even with things going on as well as the fact she couldn't see anything through the walls so she didn't feel the need to fight sleep so she could watch what was happening.  It probably takes the same amount of space set up as a portable crib would however it's flexible (which also came in handy).  We had it everywhere including walk-in closets and jammed at the foot of the bed against the wall.  I really have nothing but good things to say about this tent, only regret I have is that I didn't know about them sooner!

Another lifesaver was our trusty ERGO!  While our son had no problem sitting in a stroller, our daughter can't stand it.  It turns out to be way more trouble then it's worth (not that we had one anyway).  The ERGO she would go in with minimal fuss and would be fine once she was settled.  It also was invaluable at the national parks since strollers are about the most inconvenient thing for those places.  It saved us in the major cities as well, where there were endless people.  It allowed me to have a better time since I didn't have to worry about making sure she was safe and not running into the road or getting lost in the crowd.

Third up we have the baby food pouches.  She no longer eats baby food, however those pouches are the most convenient snack (that's actual food) that we could find.  There are no utensils or refrigerator required and they have a lid so if there is some left you could close it back up and throw it back into the bag.  They also worked well for my son and, in a pinch, I had one because I was starving.  It's essentially just pureed fruit/veg so anyone can eat them.  They aren't the cheapest thing but when your hiking in the mountains with a 2 and 4 year old, or going on a road trip living out of a hotel, they are invaluable!

And last, but not least, we have eBags Packing Cubes.  My husband bought a bunch of these when he bought the two bags and I didn't really see why we needed them.  Actually I wasn't even planning on using them until he kept bugging me about it.  Well let me tell you, once I used them I was converted.  In the end I ended up loving these things!  They were especially helpful since we had two peoples clothes in the same bag.   I was able to separate my clothes with one, my daughters pj's, socks, underwear in another, and her regular clothes in a third.

They were also awesome for corralling all the various electronics and cords.  Even for carry-on necessities, we were able to put everything in one small cube and then when it was time to get on the plane we just pulled it out and put it in the backpack.  I think they even allowed us to pack more since you could squish the stuff down in the cube, zipper it up and it would stay compressed.  I don't think I'll ever pack without them now, that's how much I love them!