The do's and don't of traveling with hellakids

I made it, I made it.. we are here in 6 pieces.. that is 6 people... But I learned a lot from traveling to another country with hellakids. And to help with this edition my Sister the mama to the other half of the hellakids will tell you the do's while I obviously will tell you the don't. Speaking from experience obviously...


DO:

Make each older child pack their own carry-on backpack. They can each pick out the special items that they need to keep them occupied. I would usually opt for fun, educational games but on a trip like this one I'm all for DVDs, Ninentdos and iPods. Make sure to include at least 2 snacks (crackers and cookies work great).

DON'T:
dang. pack 1 uncomfortable cute stylish bag for the kids to carry with random stuff they didn't use. dang. then expect both kids to somehow find out who will take turns carrying the not so comfy bag full of things that I added in their bag (i.e. left over diapers, bib)

DO:
Pack a backpack for each adult. Backpacks work better than luggage or handbags. They are big enough to stuff full of junk but small enough to stuff under the seat in front of you. Include snacks for yourself and extra for the kids. Split the baby supplies between each backpack. You never know how seating may occur and the kids may need to be split up.
DON'T:
Wait to buy food at the airport. LAX is its own city. and everything is damn expensive. water. water. what 3 dollars. huh. gum gum.. 3 dollars.. Coffee Coffee and chocolate milk way too much. Dang it snacks. why do u cost so much.

DO:
Use ziplock bags for everything. I emptied our formula into a ziplock bag and saved a ton of space. Pack a diaper with wipies in separate ziplock bags. Easy to grab and go when you need to do a quick diaper change. Separate snacks into smaller portions in different ziploc bags. Grab and go snacks.

DON'T:
Pack your backpacks with hellastuff. Ok ok that big wipie bag isn't really going to be used up in just one airflight. but then again I had Ama and Santi my garbage pail kids. And you never can have enough formula but I guess I could have saved room in the backpack. But on the positive side I did do some arm/shoulder workout today :)

DO:
Fill up bottles with water instead of carrying on water bottles. This makes making bottles a lot easier. You can even fill the bottles before the security check in. They let baby bottles of water, formula, and baby food exceed the 3 oz. rule.

DON'T:
damn it. don't just bring one bottle because how the hell are you going to wash it out after they are done with the bottle because you forgot to bring the bottle cleaner and cleaning it in the sink in the bathroom is not that um fun...eww whew.

DO:
DO NOT BRING ANY FOODS THAT MAY STAIN. Feeding a baby on a tiny airplane seat is hard enough. Applesauce is great. Green stuff is actually good as well. Carrots suck.

DON'T"
don't bring carrots. or forget that the bibs were in the big kids bag. ugh.

DO:
Buy a meal for each member of your family before you board the plane, especially if it is a long flight or you have a ton of kids. This way you reach your destination well fed and not too grumpy. Plus, eating can keep the kids busy for a whole 15 minutes.

DON'T:
Don't think that in the airplane they will feed you a meal and that peanuts pass for lunch.. Cause when you get to your destination you will have a grouchy hubbie/ and kids and mama... that just want to go eat. and DON'T forget to talk to TERE cause that girl knows what to do. damn it! :)