Moving With A Toddler// The Flight

4:48 AM Amanda Greathouse 0 Comments

Moving can be a challenge for anyone, regardless of age. But I have found myself the most anxious during this move because of Greyson. He isn't old enough to understand that we are moving from Germany to the states and what that means for us. The first step in our move was for Greyson & I to fly back earlier than daddy and the dogs to help Grey's transition and set us up to make it easier handling our dogs when they arrive here. 

So I thought I'd share some of the things that have made our move a little easier & less stressful this far!
Our household goods were packed up & the military allows us 2- 70lb bags each plus a personal item & carry on for the flight. We were also able to send ahead some unaccompanied baggage of some things too big for our luggage that we want sooner, like small appliances and Grey's bed. So we had to pick out the things we need most and along the way. 
I packed a small suitcase of just Greyson's favorite toys, that of course are small enough to fit. I kept a pile of his books, some puzzles, magnadoodle, alphabet magnets and animal matching toy. These are the toys he uses most often and I knew they'd be a piece of home. 
For his birthday,  we got Greyson this little shark backpack! Toddlers with backpacks are one of the cutest things. But I digress! I gathered up a few new, small goodies for him to carry in his backpack himself. Once he realized he had toys in it & saw mommy & daddy with our backpacks, he was excited to wear it. 
We have an extra iPad that we've loaded with a bunch of Grey's favorite movies & some new apps. We ended up getting a new, foam, kid-friendly case for the iPad. The handle makes it easy for him to carry & it made it so easy to prop it up during our flight. 

Since Greyson is day time potty trained, I had to consider what would make our trip the easiest. I ended up buying a foldable travel potty seat which saves so much space in my bag & helps keep him from touching gross public toilets. I had a few extra pairs of undies & pants in case of accidents & a couple of pull ups, which he usually only wears at bedtime. I decided to give him a chance & kept him in undies. Frequent plane potty trips & he made it the whole time without any accidents! 

Our trip back consisted of an almost 9 hour flight - thanks bad weather - and a 7 hour car ride immediately following our landing, with some fun getting through customs & gathering our luggage in the middle. Since I was traveling alone with Greyson, I made sure to take my Beco carrier along to wear him on my back. It made getting on & off the plane with all the carry on stuff, including our car seat, so much more manageable. Another helpful item that's paid for itself in usefulness - car seat bag with wheels! 


The next leg of our journey will be a multi-day drive out to Colorado in a few weeks, followed by living in a temporary facility & finding a new house! 
What have you found was most effective in helping your toddler adjust to a new home? 



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