We took our second big trip of the year to Kauai in November with Fischer, which was his second flight! This flight was almost 6 hours (compared to 1.5 hour flights over summer), so it was a little harder. It was more challenging because he’s older which means he sleeps less and is more aware of his surroundings. On our way to Kauai, a worker from the airlines asked us if we wanted to change seats so we could have a whole row to ourselves. (THANK YOU TO THAT LADY!) It was great, because it gave us room to spread out and let Fischer nap and we also brought his Dockatot solely for the flight and we put it between us for him to sit in. On the way back home, I went up the desk and asked if there was a full row available and there was! So that’s my biggest TIP for flying, asking for a whole row! Fischer took 1 long nap both there and back and the rest of the time we tried to entertain him with his favorite toys.
Things we brought and loved having: (click here to find a lot of these items)
Portable sound machine and battery pack. We’d take the sound machine with us in the car for car naps and then at night or naps at the airbnb we’d plug it into the battery pack.
Nanit camera. Adam tied the camera with a shoelace onto the airbnb crib haha and we made it work! It was great being able to be anywhere in the house or even outside in the yard and still see him while he napped. And at night I could check my phone to see him too (he was in our room but sleeping on a mattress I didn’t like)
Owlet. He wears this every night at home so we brought it with us.
We brought baby spoons and his water cup and of course all of his bottles and formula. I even wound up having to get some formula shipped to us.
A crib sheet from home
Things we want to bring for next time that we didn’t this time:
Now that he’s a stomach sleeper and no longer sleeps in his dockatot between us in the bed on trips, I will in the future bring or have shipped a Newton breathable mattress. I slept HORRIBLY the entire trip because I kept being concerned over this stupid mattress at the airbnb. The sheet kept bunching because the mattress was awful, and I just am used to knowing his mattress is breathable at home.
Carseat base. We learned in Montana that we could have just strapped Fischer into the car with the seatbelt through the carseat and didn’t need the base, but turns out that’s pretty annoying. So we will be bringing the base again in the future.
A foldable pad/mat for playing in the house. It had hardwood floors and tiny area rugs everywhere so we should have brought something for him to crawl around on. He wasn’t crawling when we left for the trip, but he was crawling by the end.
We still haven’t found a baby carrier we love. We’ve tried the Ergo 360 and the Baby Bjorn, but nothing has been right yet. So hoping to find a good one for the next baby and future trips still, because a lot of the timing putting your baby in a carrier is the easiest.
Hotel vs Airbnb with babies or young kids:
Our first two trips to hawaii we stayed in hotels, our previous kauai trip we did a house, and this time we did a house too. It was of course our first trip with a baby, so we didn’t know what would be better. Adam’s family rented the house for all of us to stay in, so that’s what we did this time. After staying in a house instead of a hotel with a baby, these are my thoughts on why a HOTEL is a better choice with babies and kids:
A hotel means you have access to food and shops nearby, in walking distance usually, meaning it’s easy for quick trips to get things you need and you don’t have to pack baby in a car every time.
We like to take walks with Fischer, but there wasn’t any option to walk unless you wanted to just walk the neighborhood we were in. When you stay at a hotel in Hawaii, they are usually water front so you have nice ocean view path to walk on.
Babies and beaches don’t really mix, so a pool is a must. It would have been nice to be able to go to the pool for a few hours each day while everyone else went to the beach, but we didn’t have this option. We did go to a pool one day while we were there, which made us realize how nice it was to be able to do that!
Overall, hotels just provide more amenities and options for families.
Other things we did that were great:
Got a day pass via Resort Pass to use at a hotel pool since the beach and ocean were basically a no go. (he just wanted to touch the sand, which then wound up in his mouth and eyes. He also was scared of the waves)
We rented our own car so that Fischer could have peace and quiet and take naps while we drove around to a destination. Some days that was his only chance for a nap, and in a car full of 8 people talking and looking at him, he just couldn’t nap. This was best for everyone that he got in good naps haha
The house we stayed in had air conditioning, which all of them in hawaii don’t have. With a baby, I feel like it’s a must so they don’t overheat.
