Traveling with Kids (International)

Here’s your chance ladies to share some of your experience and wisdom with moms heading overseas this summer!  Hints on packing, travel, living overseas, being involved with staff and students on the project (both you and your children), etc…  It’s wide open for what you’d like to pass on to others following the Lord internationally this summer!

*These responses were taken from our previous discussion over email in May 2011. Please add your suggestions by submitting a comment.


Especially for Rene & Marnie:

I emailed Melissa Synder who took 3 kids under age 4 to Russia a few summers back. Here are her helpful, detailed suggestions:
*Pack really light, especially when it comes to clothes.  Students will help carry a lot, but it is still hard to keep up with lots of pieces of luggage.  I learned this the hard way.  An intern carried my backpack for me but then left it on the subway in London.  If possible, pack only what you all can carry yourself!
*Clothes- For your toddler, pack clothes made of thin materials that dry fast and don’t wrinkle.  (We had to hand wash and line dry all our clothes in Russia).  Consider not taking his best clothes and just leaving clothes behind.  If I did it over again, I would take only one week’s worth of clothes for the kids, wear them out and leave them behind.
*Diapers- You can buy diapers there, but I preferred to take my own.  I packed a whole bag of diapers and then used that empty bag to bring home souvenirs.
*Food- I took a lot of food because one of our sons has a nut allergy.  I took a lot of dry foods (like cereal) out of their original packaging and put them in gallon size freezer bags.  That took up less space and kept the food fresh (at least fresh enough for little ones).  I fixed food for my kids in the hotel room a lot using a chinek.   I made instant oatmeal, mashed potatoes and Lipton noodles and rices.  I took lots of nutrigrain bars, tortillas and refried beans.   In Russia, I bought fresh fruits and vegetables and packaged Dannon yogurt.  I know it’s not the perfect balanced meal, but for 6 weeks it was okay!
*Baby gear- I would highly recommend a sling or my tie.  I would choose that even over a stroller because of the flights and public transportation.  It is helpful for the times that they need to fall asleep on you or be out for long days.  Most restaurants that we went to had high chairs. 
*Sleeping- The time change is pretty difficult, especially the first few days.  We did use Benadryl to help the kids fall asleep the first day or two.  If you do this, I recommend trying out a few doses before you leave.  Some kids have the opposite reaction to Benadryl and actually become more hyper.  I know this option sounds weird, but it was helpful and harmless to our kids.  Just prepare yourself, though, that the first few days with the time difference are really hard.  It doesn’t last forever though, and they soon settle into their normal patterns.  Coming back to the US is not hard, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that.  We took our own pack n play.   It was really a pain to transport but still worth it.  If we had gone straight home from Perm instead of a week layover in London, we would have left it behind for another family.

I just thought I would add some thoughts I got from Marion Dewar:

Car seat - bring it, even if you just use for the flight. It's something familiar they can sleep in and it keeps them in their seat. *This is obviously for those 2 and up or non-lap babies.
Umbrella strollers  - they're great for bumpy sidewalks - the least amount of wheels, the easier it is to navigate
Bring a screwdriver - you never know when you need it (she used it to reverse doorknobs, so the toddler couldn't get out of the room)
Pack-n-play - she also suggests bringing it because the cribs aren't usually what you expect (the one in Argentina was shallow)
Be sure to take a medicine bag for the kids; bring it on the airplane (also w. hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, extra pacis, butt cream, etc)

What we are doing-
We are bringing a kids backpack for the airport so at least one of us has two hands.
We are probably bringing more clothes than we need, but it will be fall/winter in Argentina.
We also have a ton of food packed because there is not a lot of baby food.

I’m short on time so I am gonna be quick with my few tips. We have never been overseas for Summer P, but we did a staff stint in East Asia last year. I have a packing list from that I can email you(of course you don’t need everything since you’re not moving overseas). Hopefully it will give you a few new ideas though.

Brennan was between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 when we were there. My tips on travel are for that age. If your child is newly potty trained or can’t hold it long then I suggest putting them in a pull-up for the flight. Brennan had to go one time when we could not get out of our seats and he ended up peeing all over the seat. Also pack a few extra sets of clothes for all of you so you have a fresh set if something gets spilled or worse.

Also pack lots of snacks and little toys. We tried to have a new toy for each hour of the flight (didn’t need all of them since he slept some).

I carried him on my back in a back pack for the trip to Asia and used a stroller for the return trip since I was 5 months pregnant. Both worked pretty well. The backpack was hard for such a long trip (we traveled a total of 36 hours at once), but once in Asia it kept him close from strangers who wanted to touch him. It also kept him from chasing him around the airport.

OK that’s all I can think of for now. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions.

I took Anabelle last CO summer. She was a little younger than Katelynn (11-13 months). They did not require identification. We packed all of those things listed. Depending on your carrier, some "baby" things do not count against you as baggage - they include it for free. I believe US Airways does. We didn't bring many toys - we shopped yard sales after we got there.

This site has been super helpful - just skim it to find what you need to know. It's pretty long! http://www.flyingwithchildren1.blogspot.com/

Rene' Foth