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Taking a Family Road Trip? Win a Subway Car Kit! {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

August 2, 2009 By Mom Spark 101 Comments

::GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED:: Congrats to our winner, Jaent F!

A couple months ago, we took a small, three hour road trip to Dallas, TX,  and it was a DISASTER!  My kids were bored and whiny, because I didn’t pack any snacks, games, or activities.  What a dummy.  So what did we end up doing?  Getting sugary, greasy snacks from gas stations along the way, and using my purse contents as entertainment.  Bad idea, and bad plan.  Do you plan on taking a family road trip soon?  If so, Subway wants to make your trip more manageable, entertaining and healthier.

Subway and National Geographic are teaming up for a “Taste of Adventure” contest for kids ages 6-14, and the winner will receive an Alaskan Family Adventure!  To enter, have your kiddos visit www.Subwaykids.com, and have them share their most exciting journey, whether it be past, present, or a future dream vacation.  They can also enter at any Subway store!

Subway also has a cool restaurant locator that helps you find Subway locations along your road trip route, so you are not stopping by those gas stations, as I mentioned above, or driving through unhealthy fast food joints.  Get this neat application at www.subway.com/Applicatios/locator/index.aspx.

photoSubway wants to provide one lucky winner with a Car Kit insulated lunch tote full of colors, travel games, coloring books and a $15 gift card, valued at $35-40.  Kits may vary in color, games, coloring books, etc.

::HOW TO ENTER::

To enter this giveaway, please share a helpful road trip tip in our comments.  Tell us what keeps you, and your kids sane while traveling in the car!

Earn extra entries by:

  • Blogging about this giveaway (mention in comment)
  • Becoming a subscriber, or if you are already a subscriber. Subscribe here. (mention in comment)
  • Sending a tweet here about this giveaway. (mention in comment) You can also follow us on Twitter here.

    • Contest ends August 10, 2009 at 6:00 CST. USA & CANADA only, please. Good luck and happy travels!

Filed Under Health, Reviews, Reviews & Recommendations Tagged With giveaways, travel

Things I Learned While Flying with a Baby

May 5, 2009 By Mom Spark 9 Comments

babybeach-small

My baby discovering the beach for the first time.


—>If you have a little one and plan on traveling/flying with them this summer, these tips may help. This is a post from last September, but has lots of great information!

—

Back in July, I asked for tips on traveling/flying with an infant. I researched, researched, researched and felt I had it ALL figured out. Here are some things I DIDN’T plan on.

Info:
Total flight time: around 4.5 hours
Total time in air & at airport: almost 9 hours
Airline: Southwest Airlines
What I experienced:
1. We arrived at the airport WAY too early. We arrived two hours in advance and it only took 30 minutes to check in & go through security. This is a tough issue because you don’t want to show up too late and rush around, but on the other hand, your baby/kids may get bored waiting. I still say the earlier, the better, even if you do have to wait around, but bring things to do for the baby/kiddos.
2. Some employees took the time to look at my son’s birth certificate, and some never asked.

3. This one is the biggest of all… Southwest, and maybe all airlines now, NO LONGER allow pre-boarding of children under four. They now have what is called “Family Boarding.” Family Boarding basically means that if your party has a child under four years you can board between groups A & B. (Southwest has A, B, & C groups) The only individuals who DO get to pre-board are those holding a blue boarding pass for approved medical conditions. People I witnessed with these “medical conditions” included a lady in a walking foot cast and a pregnant woman (she looked about 6-7 months pregnant). Needless to say, I was NOT happy learning this, especially since I was toting around a very squirmy 8 month-old, a stroller, blanket, purse and a VERY FULL diaper bag. It wouldn’t have been much of an issue in carrying it all if I could possibly pre-board and take my time, but when you are in line with “groups A & B,” you have to rush to get your stroller quickly folded at the door of the plane to avoid disruption of the line. Not easy. If my brother weren’t traveling with me I couldn’t have done it without annoying several others in line.
4. Not one person mentioned having a “stroller tag.” I was about to “Family Board” when the employee asked me, “Do you have your stroller tag?” “What?” I asked. She then said I needed to go to the counter and get one. I rushed to the counter and he very quickly got me one, but by this time group B was already boarding, which meant that by the time I got on the plane there was not two seats together for my brother and I. When I asked the Flight Attendant to help me find two seats together she basically told me I was SOL. Uh, what if I was with my husband and needed him to help with the baby? I was so annoyed, but just politely found a center seat (because you know people always leave that center seat for you) between two men, who, thank goodness, had children of their own and were very sweet to me. My brother sat in a center seat two rows back. I also learned that you need a stroller tag for every flight, even after changing planes. Oh, and on the rest of my flights to and back, there were employees asking me if I needed a stroller tag WAY before boarding. Of course, this didn’t happen the first time. =)
5. I had no idea my baby would be so good! He seriously was, which, at that point, I truly needed! He sat so still in my lap and when it was obvious he was ready for a nap, I simply put his head on my shoulder, rocked back and forth and he was out cold. He was awesome on the change of planes later that day and on the way back home. I was sooo thankful for this because my overall worst fear was that he would scream the entire way and not sleep.
6. Some planes, even on Southwest, DO have changing tables in the front lavatory. This was nice when I was stuck between the two men, but if you’re lucky enough to get an empty seat beside you, you can lay down a blanket or changing pad and change the diaper there. I did this on our two flights back and it was nice not having to lug everything up front.
After I figured all of this out, I pretty much had the system mastered. We would fold up the stroller and carry it as we were in line, to avoid holding up the line when we got to the door. Also, by having the stroller tag taken care of beforehand, we were able to “family board” at the right time, thus making it much easier to find two seats together.
The most important thing I learned was that it CAN be done. It actually went much smoother than I expected and the bumps I hit didn’t even involve my baby, but the airline rules and staff. If I would give any advice, I would say don’t be scared and don’t let your fears hold you back from having a great, family experience. I WILL say that it would be difficult to do it alone, mostly because of the sheer logistics of carrying everything on top of carrying the baby. I was so glad I did it and I would LOVE to hear your travel experiences with children! Good luck!
Filed Under Amy, Contributors, Family Tagged With babies, helpful tips, kids, travel

Tips for Flying with Children – Update

July 25, 2008 By Mom Spark Leave a Comment
babyThank you to everyone who gave me great tips on traveling with children! I thought I’d share with you all the great tips I’ve learned, including this article I found at the Pampers website.
Sarah says:
Here are the best 2 tips I’ve ever been given regarding flying with children:
1) Assuming there are two adults, you get on the plane for early boarding with all your gear. Let the other adult keep the child(ren) outside in the airport until the last possible minute. That way they can burn off as much energy as possible in the final minutes and not be strapped down that much longer.

2) If the child gets really fussy, have Dad hold him/her. Studies have shown that people are more compassionate toward fathers with fussy babies than toward mothers. I guess moms are supposed to have it all figured out, and dads are clueless! hahaThese both have really helped us in out traveling.oh…and Benadryl! :)

Gena says:
Dum dum suckers, dum dum suckers, and dum dum suckers. Lots of baby wipes, too.
Mandy says:
My ped. actually suggested Benadryl, but give it to him a few days before you fly to make sure it doesn’t make him hyper instead of sleepy. I’ve never actually given it to my kids, but I always have it ‘just in case’. The dum dums are a good idea, I hadn’t thought of that one. When my boys were that young I just nursed them or gave them a bottle, even if it got them off schedule.Good luck!
Nettie says:
I suggest you make sure he is as hungry and as tired as possible on the plane so that you can feed him as you take off (helps with the pressure) then he can fall asleep. That’s what we had to do with Ava and it worked. It was those connecting flights that were hard because she had already napped and eaten.
Original message:
I’m not giving the tips, I need them! I am flying twice this year with my baby and I am terrified. I need any tips you can give. He will be 8 months on the first trip and 10 months on the second.

We did a long 19 hour road trip with my first son when he was 10 months and the only thing I remember is buying new toys that I slowly revealed during the drive. Of course, flying will go by much faster, but my biggest concern is naptime and how that happens when you’re on a plane. I’m also worried about his ears hurting when we’re in the air. He’ll be too young to chew gum and that is the only trick I know to relieve that pressure.

As you can see, I need help! I will post any suggestions I receive!
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Filed Under Family Tagged With babies, helpful tips, kids, travel