Trunkis

We have owned two British Trunkis since December 2014 and taken them 30,000 miles. The trunkis have been extremely useful but also frustrating at times.

Pros:

• they are rolling suitcases which the kids can ride on, eliminating the need for a buggy/stroller
• they fit in the overhead compartment
• they pass the time on long layovers
• they are a good way to 'park' the child somewhere like in the line to registration. It's easy to say, 'Stay on the trunki' and keep them to it.
• they are cute
• they are novel

They actually fit a lot of small items

Cons:

• they don't actually fit as much stuff as you'd think and are a strange shape - you cannot pack in stuff like you normally would a backpack or roller case. There aren't separate compartments for things. I wouldn't feel safe putting for example a kindle inside as it would get jounced around and fall about.
• unless you are a die-hard minimalist, it is hard to pack everything a family needs for a transatlantic flight and one or two connecting flights in two trunkis. If you bring anything other than the bare essentials, there just isn't the space. I often end up packing one or two backpacks as well as the trunkis.
• The most I can fit in a trunki is generally one child's nightclothes, earphones, laptop or activity book, crayons and snacks. However if I split up the kids equipment between the trunkis, it's a pain to get out from the overhead compartments because trunkis don't balance well on laps when open - they're large, unwieldy and not weighted properly for it. If one child is asleep and we're juggling the other one, it can be quite tricky unless I decide to block the entire aisle to lay the trunkis on the floor to riffle through. Two open trunkis take up about three or four feet of aisle and it feels like a great imposition on anyone who might need to get up from the seats to go to the bathroom. So as far as trunkis being a practical way to take stuff on a trip, they're not great for actually being on the plane. My latest adaptation is to have all the 'we need it now' items in a small purse and then backups and items we use rarely or only once on the trip in the trunkis. I would top up the snacks and emergency items in my purse about once every hour or two. Meanwhile the purse fit under the seat in front of me or on my lap easily. This system worked better than I thought it would.
• trunkis are great indoors like an airport but less sensible on dog-poo-covered pavements or cobblestone or pebble paths. If your trip involves these, ditch the trunkis ahead of time.
• there's no way to keep a toddler strapped to the trunki, unlike a buggy where the toddler is buckled down. If your toddler is determined to run away while you are at customs/immigration, there's no way to keep them down other than to drop everything and restrain them with your hands - which you probably need to juggle passports, visa documents and to prove finger prints.
• they are not great for Under 3's - one of our 2-year-olds has been known to fall off the back of the trunki and hit his head on a marble floor.
• I'd be scared to put trunkis through checked baggage as they do not close completely and seem rather delicate so you're stuck with them as hand luggage even if your outbound trip isn't a smashing success.
• wheels are fixed so turning can be a bit tricky - no tight corners, you have to plan ahead!
• going downhill can be a bit disastrous but  luckily our airports normally don't have steep slopes in them. I say normally but you never know!
• they are not great on escalators - we pull the kids off and carry the trunkis up but some airports have a lot of escalators so this can get tedious
• trunkis can be a bit of a hazard in crowds, esp if you're like me and not great at steering. It's easy to almost do someone in with one of these things.
• the website used to claim that trunkis encourage kids to take ownership of their own luggage and become responsible - haha! Before this year when our kids are now 5 and 3, we have never been on a trip where the kids weren't too tired to ride the trunkis by the end and needed to be carried, as well as having the trunkis carried with them.
• It's awkward to carry a trunki, a child and a backpack or other luggage simultaneously

The Super Dad Pack

International Travel Dad changes diapers in airplane bathrooms. International Travel Dad carries three bags and children. International Travel Dad goes without sleep for 26 hours to get his family to safety. International Travel Dad is Super Dad under cover.

D said after our first few transatlantic flights with kids that, 'Everyone else always seems so well prepared and to have everything they need. I don't know how they do it.'

So I put my mind to it and realized although we take a lot of things we need in an emergency, they are not always where we need them.

I then researched travel vests and made me own. This was good for me because it meant the essentials were never up in the overhead lockers. I could just pop the tissue out of my pockets, or the wipes and diapers.

But this didn't solve D feeling like he never had what he needed - especially if he and one or both children were far from me.

So we came up with the idea of the Super Dad Pack.

It is a collection of things that D puts in his pockets. He takes it out at Security so I try to keep everything in small baggies - no loose change. Man pockets tend to be bigger than lady pockets so he can usually fit:

• money in different currencies - airports take any but we usually have a certain currency that is cheaper to buy or we have coins that need using up
• phone
• phone charger
• mints
• earbuds
• tissue
• wipes - I repackage 5 wipes into a small ziplock baggie and replenish this baggie as needed
• a pen
• a small notepad / sticky notepad
• a rubber band or two - good for closing up packets of food we leave half-eaten or letting your kids play with for hours, shooting it across airport lounges
• a disposable spoon
• a travel toothbrush in a case 
• ziplock bag
• a surprise! (in photo below happy/sad face stickers which might occupy the children or which might give Mom a laugh if he sticks an 'unhappy sticker' on the forehead of a squalling baby)

Travel has a way of throwing unexpected circumstances at you but with these essentials you can battle many foes.

Being delayed 24 hours while traveling

When I was a little girl I remember an airplane being held for someone who was running late but that seems to have fallen out of vogue these days. Airlines do not hold planes till passengers are boarded. In fact they seem happy to sell your ticket if you merely run a tad late. Many flights are overbooked by two or three seats to prevent waste and it seems airlines almost plan to force two or three to miss a connection.

In our experience airlines will send you on the first leg of your trip even though they know there is no way you will catch your second leg, due to bad weather conditions or other issues. It seems to be their policy to enjoy putting people through the rigmarole of rescheduling.

In December 2014, we missed a connecting flight by a few minutes and saw our plane depart.

If we had magically been able to relax at that point for 22 hours, it would have been one thing. But you're expected to manage your kids in queues for two hours. One set of people deal with re-booking flights, another with hotels. Meanwhile your kids get hungry and frustrated.

You wait so long in queues that by the time you get to see anyone you are just desperate to get somewhere you can eat and rest. This forces you to make split second decisions that are sometimes bad ideas.

For example we agreed to take two separate rooms because they had no family rooms available. They weren't even next to each other. We couldn't remember which room was which so ended up banging on the wrong door a few times.

If I were doing it over again, I would

• ask for food vouchers first thing and send my spouse and kids to get something to eat
• wait with the children in the queues so people can see how upset the children are getting and maybe bump us up in the line - rather than leaving them to meltdown in Baggage Reclaim
• insist on a family room or at least getting next door rooms with an adjoining door
• get double sets of keys, one for each spouse
• write everything down
• ask for longer layovers - an hour per kid is my rule with an upward limit of 3 hours and no less than 45 minutes to prevent missing flights
• report the incident later - you might get a voucher from the airline for your next trip!

It was such a strange environment that the boys did not sleep or eat well and so were not themselves.

We had been stranded in Amsterdam, which was in the wrong direction from where we needed to go and which is an hour off in the wrong direction as well.

This meant that by the time we got to our final destination, the boys slept a couple hours and were up at 3:45 am!

On the upside we reported it to the airline and got vouchers to mostly pay for a trip the following year.

Breastfeeding, Expressing and Postpartum Recovery on Transatlantic Flights

Breastfeeding 

People swear on all that is holy that 'Breastfeeding is the best thing for traveling!' 

They say just breastfeed as the plane is going up and down and it's so good for baby's ears and tummy. It will make their little ears 'pop.'

I've made 6 transatlantic trips and one to Europe since Dec 2011, and I was lactating for all of them. This means I have breastfed on a total of 26 flights.  

Everyone assumes it's Edenic to breastfeed on flights but I think like everything there's more to the story.

The legs up against the wall/mom's face position

Pros

• you have milk on tap within reason
• your breast milk is always the right temperature
• helps prevent diarrhea in baby
• staves off dehydration in baby
• you don't have to carry around formula and sample it at Security
• keeps you from having to smell formula on the whole trip
• helps soothe baby
• the act of breastfeeding can clear baby's ears on takeoff and landing
• breast milk may calm baby's tummy
• produces poo that is not so smelly or terrible as non-breastfeeding options - and babies always have their worst diapers on planes.
• you can sometimes even feed baby to sleep
• some gifted, flexible individuals have learned how to breastfeed without troubling the people around them. I saw one Australian mum from London breastfeeding with baby in a sling.
• you can claim you 'need' a bulkhead seat because you're a breastfeeding mum (I heard a Glaswegian mum do this once - successfully)

The legs in the aisle position - works for everyone but flight attendants with trolleys

Cons

• Your nipples get sore from excessive feeding and/or friction against baby while sharing a seat for hours, bouncing baby between connections and staggering through customs and immigration. Packing nipple cream/coconut oil/whatever you use for sore nipples is essential. Otherwise it can negatively impact breastfeeding for weeks.
• You get dehydrated
• If you try hard not to get dehydrated, you end up needing to go to the bathroom constantly. If you are traveling without your spouse, you need to get a stranger to hold baby so you can go to the bathroom. You also end up drinking disgusting lukewarm water. Certain airlines need to learn about coolers and ice cubes.
• You can never find the nursing shawl when you need it
• Baby always needs it now when just about to hand passports to flight attendants to get on bus to get on the plane, and no one offers you a seat on the bus.
• People stare. Think about breastfeeding in front of sleek businessmen. A whole cabin of sleek businessmen.
• The breastfeeding-at-takeoff-to-help-ears-pop trick only works if baby is willing to sit on your lap without breastfeeding for 1+ hour till takeoff. We were on one flight that boarded the young families first, then had delays, and we were sitting 2 hours later without having moved an inch. We had breastfed quite a few times before this point and he had fallen asleep. He woke up with a shriek as we finally took off and cried for hours - finally falling asleep as we were about to land 9 hours later. I then learned that you must exert an iron will to refuse to breastfeed until takeoff if your child is old enough to be distracted with something else - clearly you should never refuse a dehydrated baby or a tiny baby who needs regular feeds.
• Breast milk doesn't calm tummies to the point that baby never spits up. Baby spits up when least expected.
• It can be tricky or even impossible to get a large baby to breastfeed while eating dinner, or without invading the space of those around you or without the passing trolley clonking baby's head or feet.
• Breast milk is not limitless. No matter what experts tell you. Baby wants to feed the whole time but you can't. I have the best milk supply of anyone I have ever met - hence why I am still breastfeeding a 3-year-old - but there is a point about 6-9 hours into a trip when it just dries up. I am sorry but no one is conditioned to breastfeed for 9 hours straight, while stressed, while queasy, while drinking lukewarm water to stay hydrated, while hightailing around airports to catch connections. By the time we are landing on our last flight, I am usually waaaaay out of milk.

Expressing Breast milk

Pumping milk is another vexing issue when traveling. If your body is accustomed to pumping 10 oz a day at certain times, then you are going to want to pump 10 oz.

Toting a pump in the airport seems like a waste of your precious carry-on baggage. Sterilizing and packing pre-sterilized bottles can also be tricky. You probably feel the need for privacy while you pump - and it's hard to pump under a blanket (try it, really).

You can ask your airline ahead of time if there is somewhere clean and private for you to pump while traveling.

If you need to pump during a 6 hour Seatbelt Sign saga then you will be one uncomfy passenger. I know there are Seatbelt Sign eras which are fairly lax but we were on one trip that was extra turbulent and the flight crew shouted at anyone over the intercom who dared to stand. So it really depends.

If the extra 10 oz are not consumed by baby on a regular basis - say at an 11 pm night time bottle feed with dad - but instead you stick it in the freezer or pour it over your older child's cereal, I would recommend weaning yourself over the month or two prior to the trip from 10 oz a day down to no more than 2-4 oz. Your baby might need an extra few ounces or your body will probably absorb those extra ounces without too much trouble.

You could just assume baby will drink 10 extra oz than usual on the trip but baby might go off breastfeeding in response to getting a cold or wanting to wean or just general travel - you never know. It's better not to add the pain of engorgement and possible mastitis to your itinerary.

If you express milk before your trip to feed baby during travel, you are allowed to bring more than the normal 3 oz limit. Remember you may have to taste it going into security. I always felt this would be weird so I've never done it but I know mums who have.

If you have to leave baby behind

If you leave your breastfeeding baby behind on your trip and want to maintain a good milk supply, you may have to tote pumping equipment through the airport so you can pump regularly to maintain a good supply for a very young baby. If you save this milk you pump, you may not be able to bring it through security if it's not for a baby on the actual trip.

Heathrow was shamed recently for not allowing a pumping mom to bring four gallons of frozen breastmilk through security and home to her kid in the States. Heathrow has now made changes to its policies to be more friendly but other airports may not be on board yet.

Postpartum Recovery

A lot of people find delivery of a child changes many things in their lives - not just the C section scars but the huge hormonal changes of having a baby to cause all sorts of issues. The tricky thing about planning a big trip in the postpartum stage is that you often plan the trip months or weeks before the baby is born, or soon thereafter, so you don't know the full effect of labor and delivery.

Here are some common postpartum recovery issues

• hair loss - this makes a difference if you can't do anything to cover it up on a long trip and people take lots of photos on your visit. Most people find they're back to normal after a year.
• difficulty regaining pre-preg shape - a lucky few lose all their weight by 6 months but it always took me 9 months to 18 months.
• excessive sweating - usually over by 3 months but may continue a bit longer
• incision pain if you have a C-section - final checkups usually at 3 months
• tearing during labor - which should be healed by your 6 or 12 week checks
• bleeding/lochia - could be over in 3 weeks but might last 3 months
• lack of return of normal periods so you don't know if you're pregnant or not
• hemorrhoids/piles
• backache - usually develops after a weakening of abdominal muscles and you need to recover and work on posture though in some cases as with me you'll need physio therapy to get back to normal
• joint ache - I found this was gone by 3 months but I knew someone for whom it didn't end till total weaning
• mastitis - this can develop any time but the three times I got it were in conjunction with trying to wean too swiftly whilst generally overdoing it
• other infections - bladder, etc
• stress incontinence - needing to go to the bathroom more and not being quite so in control anymore - usually over by 4 months if you're good about your exercises
• sleep deprivation - usually not so bad after your baby weighs more than 12 pounds and becomes capable of sleeping through the night
• postpartum thyroiditis - I never had this but supposedly it's similar to:
• postpartum depression - some people find it doesn't go away till they finish breastfeeding and that travel exacerbates it

Most of these problems you can technically travel with but will make things a tad more complicated. It is definitely something to keep in mind while planning a trip. 

I was always desperate to take my new baby back to the States to meet the family. I eagerly suggested travel a month or six weeks postpartum but my parents wisely counseled to wait till four months. Waiting till four months can smooth the bumps in your travel experience and go a long way toward recovery.

Pregnancy while Traveling

Many see pregnancy as the ideal time to travel - a last yahoo before baby comes and changes everything. It can be a real bonding time for you and your spouse as you plan your future together with baby.

Update:

The official Medical Advice (from my midwife in the UK, who works for the NHS and is a granny):

• the real danger in traveling pregnant is a DVT or deep veins thrombosis
• dehydration is not a good idea in pregnancy either though

The avoid a DVT or deep vein thrombosis

Move around. My midwife suggested being as mobile as possible to keep circulation going.
'Get up and go to the bathroom whenever you can,' she said. 'Or just get up and stretch.'
She also suggested leg exercises, anything to keep from sitting still the whole 10 hour flight.

To avoid dehydration

My midwife said I should buy a milkshake or smoothie or even a cup of tea in between connections, and to try to drink on the flight as much as possible.
'Try ginger ale or anything with lemon, ginger or mint.'
Drinking a lot also means going to the bathroom a lot so these two sort of fed each other. This is a lot easier to do when you don't have a clingy child or two on the flight.

Extras

My midwife also suggested wearing flight socks - the medical variety are best but even just knee high socks that are reasonably tight are better than nothing.
It is worth checking with individual airlines before you book a flight because some airlines refuse to let you travel after 24 weeks or not without a letter from your doctor.

What to wear

I have tried wearing
trousers
sweatpants
and decided for me the most comfortable is the trousers because I am always worried about underwear lines showing on my thin sweatpants, and also trousers are easier to scrub clean if some food or something gets on them. They also feel more formal and make me feel more grown up. I have a pair cut on the bias with a very stretchy waistband which is great for the early stages of pregnancy.
I also think comfortable shoes are essential, especially ones you don't have to do a lot of fiddling while bending over them.

Smells

Smells are harder to deal with when pregnant so I discovered my long sleeve undershirt was my best friend - I pulled it over my nose as soon as I entered the airplane toilet to filter the disgusting smells.
The worst smell other than the bathrooms is when you step onto the plane, and all the airport smog and airplane gas is being blasted by the turbines right up your nostrils. It makes me reel. I always try to hold my breath, but the crowds always crawl onto the airplane so sometimes you don't have much choice. I thought about pulling my shirt up as a filtering mask at this point but thought it might get some odd looks.

Lifting Heavy Objects

I would never recommend taking a lap baby when pregnant. It puts a lot of pressure on your abdomen, as I know from experience.
Don't be shy of asking people to lift heavy bags into the overhead compartment. You don't want that sort of pressure on your core, my midwife said.

Fainting

If you are prone to fainting in pregnancy, it may be to do with being dehydrated or not eating enough. In which case you should try to always have some ginger biscuits to nibble on. I have even asked if it was okay to nibble on biscuits while being dealt with at check in desk or in other funny airport situations.

If you cannot keep anything down, you may be doomed to getting a bit faint.

It might not be a bad idea to label your bag and have an emergency contact and your GP or midwife's number in your wallet.

Vomiting

When all else fails - make sure you always have your 'barf bag' ready. One of my sisters always managed to get off the plane before she threw up but in pregnancy, I find I never even make it to the bathroom.
I think it's part of traveler's universal courtesy to tell your seatmate, 'Don't worry it's not a stomach bug - I'm pregnant' so they don't have to wonder.
On my last trip I managed not to throw up while we were circling over the Firth of Forth or while everyone was filing off the plane but as soon as those airplane fuel smells oozed into the cabin, I was throwing up everything I had and didn't have in my stomach. After three flights in 24 hours, it wasn't a lot.
This is another reason to travel light because my little backpack didn't fit in the overhead compartments because everyone else brought a roller case and a handbag so when I boarded the plane I had to take it to the back and put it with the flight attendant's baggage. This meant I had to wait for everyone to get off the plane before I could retrieve my luggage.
I carried off my 'barf bag' and got on the bus that drove to the airport building, and hauled my barf bag and passport through customs and immigration before I found a trash can/rubbish bin to drop the barf bag.

Being absentminded

I think it's important to tell immigration officers that you're pregnant from the get go in case you accidentally slip into talking about 'we' and 'us' when referring to just yourself, traveling solo (but pregnant), and they get suspicious.
It's worth taking some extra dollars or other currency in case you realize you have forgotten something essential for the trip.

Stress is theorized to impact pregnancies negatively. So try to keep stress levels down when traveling.

There are some great things about traveling pregnant as well as hairier points.

Pros:

• You can tell your seat partners that you are pregnant and get their sympathy
• You can ask your husband to do more with the born child/children
• It's easier to fall asleep because you're exhausted 
• You can shop for maternity clothes in exotic climes

Cons:

• Your born child/children may be extra clingy and suddenly your space is cramped by a baby inside and a baby outside hanging like a limpet
• You may be more emotional and little more foggy than usual so prone to make poor split-second decisions.
• Your hair seems a more prominent feature 
  
• Your morning sickness may coincide with travel sickness - and you can't take travel meds
• You are terrified of hurting the baby by being dehydrated, hungry, overly-tired, bending over too much, overly-stressed...so you force yourself to eat while feeling sick, to try to sleep, to sacrifice pride and ask people to do things for you
• You may need to use the bathroom constantly which can be tricky based on the Seatbelt Sign being on or seating arrangements. Being pregnant, you are less nimble when it comes to leaping over anyone blocking you to the aisle. I always ask for an aisle seat!
• Some believe it is not safe to travel whilst pregnant, that it could cause an early birth or even miscarriage. If you are worried, you should speak to your doctor.

Traveling pregnant is hard. There are many challenges but it can still be special to share with friends and family.

Next see traveling while breastfeeding, expressing and recovering!

Choosing Seats and Battle Mapping for Transatlantic Travel with Multiple Small Children

Where's the battle strategy? Clearly it's all in the positioning.

For under 5's, we recommend the parents divide and conquer on transatlantic flights.

Here is a normal plane - it has bulk head seats at the front of sections, first class at the front of the plane, toilets and the golden area in the back where food and drink are available.

Look at the red seats. This looks like  an ideal situation - bulkhead seats for mom with lap baby, dad and older child. But you cannot get in and out without disturbing neighbors, esp if there are any bags or tables and drinks set out. You do have more leg room, easy access to the toilet and more attention from the flight crew.

This scenario has happened to us more than once. One lap baby and four people in a row of three. It is a little harder to get the flight attendants' attention. The toilets are still nearby. You have easy access to the aisle. You have to check before you lean your seat back and you have to be aware of the people in front as well - they might lean their chair back unexpectedly while your baby is on your lap. The best thing about this scenario is that one of the kids can sit by the window!

This is the safest part of the plane - near the furthest back exits. It is also blessedly near the toilets. Flight attendants and therefore unlimited bottled water are within easy reach. You still have to keep tabs on whether the kids are kicking the seats in front. Ideally the kids are not sitting next to each other as they will probably keep each other awake. You have easy access to one aisle and best of all you can lean your seat back without worrying about cramping the person behind you!

This is the most difficult scenario - two inner row seats with two lap babies. You won't be able to get out to use the toilet without making at least one person stand up or cringe back as you hop over them. You are cramped with people in every direction. This was about to happen to us once and we felt blessed to be moved to a bulkhead in the first half hour of the flight.

This 3-1 scenario can be tricky with one parent in the row behind the rest of the family. We thought it would work well for us to take turns being the parent on duty but as it turned out after 10 minutes of managing two kids you suffer extreme fatigue. It is hard to concentrate on two and make sure that neither is kicking the seat in front and that their basic needs are met.

This is the other 3-1 scenario. Dad and Child 1 behind and Mom and lap baby in front. Each parent looks after one kid to keep a consistent management. This scenario is usually a result of too many moms with babies being on the flight so they only give the bulkhead to the mums and the dads get stuck in elsewhere. Another benefit is that Child 1 can sit behind mom and not inadvertently kick the chair of a stranger who might be reticent to complain. It actually works well as long as dad has everything he needs. 

It's better if you can gauge one kid the whole time if possible. It depends on seating and the mood of the passengers around you of course. And there's nothing wrong with asking your spouse to watch your charge while you go to the bathroom.

If you do one kid the whole time, you can have consistent strategy (one gift or sweet an hour) and keep tabs on how many diaper changes/bathroom trips he's taken and how much he's eaten and how much he's slept so when he's bad you can target the area he's most deprived. For example 'Your brother has had a nap on this trip but you haven't tried that yet, I think you'll be much happier if you do.'

For Under 3's

Try to get both kids in the same nappy/diaper size - it works if your kids are close in age and just two sizes apart. We traveled once when Z was size 5 and Y was size 3, so we packed loads and loads of size 4 nappy/diapers. That helped us faffing about looking for the correct size in frantic changing situations.
Clearly this won't work if you have a newborn and a 3-year-old but sometimes if your children are 18 months apart or less, at certain stages, this works a treat.