Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Airplane Carry-on: Then and Now


Before I was a mom, my carry-on would include:
Emoillient lip balm
Hydrating face mist
Extra-moisturizing hand lotion
Nail clippers (for the rare hang-nail that might disturb)
Lavender-scented buckwheat neck pillow
Eye mask (on long flights)
Ear plugs
My own (sanitary & comfortable) headset
Fully charged laptop for working and playing Solitaire
Handful of my favorite magazines purchased in the terminal
Printed copies of trip paperwork in folder
1-2 Luna bars
Mentos (the freshmaker)
Sparkling water or iced tea purchased right before boarding plane

Traveling with my children, my carry-on includes:
Umbrella stroller (gate-checked)
"Cozy blankie" (my daughter's huge fuzzy blanket)
LOTS of diapers
Wipes
Changing pad
Plastic bags for soiled diapers
Two complete changes of clothes for each kid (don't forget socks)
Nursing cover
Diaper ointment
Teething tablets and cream
Small bottle of infant Tylenol
Bibs
Binkies (5 would be ideal)
Empty water bottle & sippy cup for filling with water in terminal
Many small baggies of snacks for kids
Inexpensive paperback books that I'm okay with losing
An endless array of small "disposable" toys
Post-it notes (can entertain a toddler for a LONG time)
iPod with many preschool-age videos loaded in advance
Old over-the-head earphones (for child who doesn't like iPod ones)
A few more kid snacks
Chapstick, any chapstick (please tell me I threw one in here!)

4 comments:

Clara Womack Barksdale said...

Amen :)

Kim said...

heh, heh. D would include earplugs so he wouldn't have to hear the kids scream:) I wonder if CPS would get too riled up if I put JB in a cage?

Anonymous said...

Laughing so hard, because your "pre-kid" list is my own - verbatim!! And as we prep for our UK trip next week, I was just chuckling to myself today about how my take-on list had changed. Glad to know I'm not the only one - and also glad to get some helpful tips on things to take! Post-its! Awesome!

Jennifer Nearn said...

Sorry, Sunni - not sure what I'm doing with this commenting business. I published that last comment! ~ Jenn