Southwest Airlines Community

I cannot express enough how much I love Southwest’s no cancellation fees!!! Especially when traveling with a toddler, there’s no stress if I need to cancel a trip. It also changes the way I book travel; if there’s a good flight deal somewhere, I just book it. Then over the next week or two, I look for hotels/rental cars/things to do. If dates don’t work out, if lodging is too expensive, or if I simply change my mind, I just cancel it last minute. Also, with the two free checked bags policy, it’s so nice to never have to pay to check a travel crib! ... View more

** my Dagne Dover diaper bag! (Not Doona) ... View more

Here are five baby items I swear by: The Doona is a game-changer! Especially when your baby is little, it’s the only stroller you need to travel with since it’s a car seat and stroller in one! Now that James is older (the Doona has a weight/height limit which means your baby typically outgrows it by 15 months), we travel with the Cybex Libelle stroller since it folds up so small (you can put it in the overhead compartment!). I love that it doesn’t take up trunk space, which means we don’t need to spend money on a bigger rental car at our destination. The Guava Lotus travel crib is the most compact travel crib I’ve found! It packs up into a backpack, which makes transporting it really easy. I also love my Doona diaper bag backpack because it is unisex, so my husband wears it when we travel! I have the XL Indie bag, which fits a ton of stuff. It also has a luggage pass-through if you don’t want to wear it as a backpack at the airport. Lastly, a baby carrier is tremendously helpful! I love my Baby K’tan and Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier One Air! So helpful to wear your baby through security! ... View more

I’ve navigated the world of traveling with a baby/toddler over the past two years! Our almost 2 year old, James, has been to 19 states, so I feel like I’ve picked up some good tips!   Here are some of my best tips for traveling with babies: ● Pick morning flight times or flight times that work with nap schedule. When James was younger, I picked flights that coincided with his nap since the plane would lull him to sleep. But now that he’s older, I try to pick flights when he’s awake since now he just wants to explore and look at everything. ● Bring lots of snacks and entertainment. New toys or toys that they only get when they travel are a game changer. I know TV can be a controversial topic when it comes to toddlers, but this has been life-changing for us: we don’t let James watch screens at home... we save that for traveling and when we eat out at restaurants. Since he rarely gets screen time, he sits quietly and is entertained by kids shows for SO long (especially if we put Ms Rachel on). ● If you have a baby, wear them through security so that your hands are free! ● Don’t forget an extra outfit in your diaper bag! I once forgot and majorly regretted it when James had a blow out. ... View more

I completely agree that sitting close to the front of the plane is key! Being one of the first people to exit the plane will save so much time! If you want to make sure you get an early boarding position, set an alarm to remind yourself to check in exactly on time, and if you still don’t get an A Group, you can always pay to upgrade. You can also check your bag so that you don’t need to potentially run through the airport while lugging a suitcase! Checking your bag also makes it so that you can ride in the very front row if there’s a seat available. ... View more

Three things I do/have done in the past:   1) If the layover is long enough and somewhere exciting, I will actually leave the airport and go explore! To prepare for that, I check my bags so that I don’t have to worry about lugging around extra stuff while I explore. You don’t even have to go see a bunch of sights - it can be as simple as taking a rideshare to some really good restaurant. I just make sure I only have a backpack with me.   2) One time on a shorter (around 2 hours) layover, my husband and I met a friend from college who lived where our layover was. He met us close to the airport and it was such a fun catch up time and since we never left the airport, I wasn’t worried about missing our next flight (especially because it was the Long Beach airport, IYKYK!).    3) You said it! A good book or TV show goes a very long way!!! This works for long layovers and long flights! ... View more