Travel Diaries: The Rosario Girls First Plane Ride

After soo many life changing events; buying a home, getting married, having children; we were finally able to take a break from it all and go on vacation!

Ariel had not visited his family in our hometown of Bonao, Dominican Republic in over 10 years! Yes ya'll 10 long years! We had been talking about taking a family trip for months and decided to stop contemplating and just do it.

Weeks prior to the trip, I am sure you noticed on my instagram account how much prepping I had to do for the family. I was most nervous about the plane ride. Just a month before flying, we said good-bye to Aylah's binkie. I was not prepared for this transition however my childcare provider convinced me that it was time. So if her ears popped on the plane and she would begin to scream, I had nothing to soothe her. I could not even carry her on my lap since she is over the age of two now and is required to have her own seat. I was not too worried about Amelia. She would have been fine with a movie or a coloring/activity book.

We booked an early morning flight in hopes that they would be so tired that they would sleep the entire ride.

And it worked! Aylah did not even wait for take off when she dozed off. Amelia was so excited that it took a little time to fall asleep. Once we were in the air and she can no longer see the buildings, water and clouds, she slowly drifted to sleep herself. I caught some z's myself and the flight actually ended up going great!

Here are some things that I suggest when traveling with kids:

• TSA Precheck: We waited in that long TSA line for almost an hour! The girls were so antsy. It was nearly impossible to keep them contained for so long and then to have to take off their shoes, take out electronics, liquid, etc. 
• Discuss the Flight: Aylah is still too little to really understand what was happening but Amelia heard all about the airplane prior to us boarding. The whole week, we told her what to expect when she got on the plane. I asked she be my little helper and push the carry-on and made sure she kept track of her backpack with her coloring book and crayons.
• Have activities ready: I made sure the Ipad was fully charged with games and activities for her to do while on board. I brought her new coloring books so that she would be excited to color in them and play with the activity books.
• Extra Space Seating: It is just much more comfortable when having kids to look after. We sat within the first 5 rows to and from the island in order to have more leg room. I did not have to worry too much about Amelia kicking the seat in front of her. 

Next time we travel, I will make sure to invest in the TSA Precheck option. Overall, the girls did great. I was not that mother that every passenger on the plane would be glaring over.