Traveling with a Toddler Internationally

Our Journey to Hanoi, Vietnam—Part II: California to Vietnam

House Family at Christmas

Following Christmas with my family, we jetted out of California to our final destination—Hanoi, Vietnam! And, we started out this leg of the trip with again, another two-hour drive to the San Francisco airport, most of which were on curvy California mountain roads. To top off the excitement of soon boarding our international flight across the Pacific Ocean, our little Lily had one too many winding roads that she could take, and by the time we arrived in the parking garage at the airport (and started to off-load the luggage from the car) Lily threw up everywhere—her clothes, car seat, hair and all! All the motions of the car and her Kindle Fire must have taken a toll on her tummy. Naturally, we hurried to change her clothes and try to clean her and the seat as much as possible. My dad rushed off to get us a luggage cart and returns to us standing there with vomit all over the car seat trying to decide whether to take it with us or leave it with my parents. My dad offered to take the seat cushion to the restroom to clean it off as much as possible, while we threw her clothes in a plastic bag and threw all that in the car seat luggage bag (which we bought here). One thing we anticipated when traveling with a toddler internationally is to always bring a few changes of clothes and make them accessible.

Check in

Once we got all our luggage and made it to check-in, the United Airlines employee let us skip the line and go to the front and check-in. In total, five bags checked. We brought only five carry-ons this time (as opposed to six from our coast to coast flight), including the stroller, and it was much easier to manage. However, we did notice that our laptop rolling bag did not fit down the aisles that well so we probably won’t be taking that one anywhere anytime soon. The check-in employee also pre-checked us for security and gave my dad a guest pass through security to see us to our gate. So, once again we went through pre-check, this time a more stress -free experience.

Our stroller is awesome and folds down smaller than most carry-on bags, so it was definitely worth the purchase—follow this link to buy one! My dad, unfortunately, had to go through check-in with the masses which took forever, even with just his phone and wallet, because regular security check takes forever, as you undoubtedly know. We made it to our gate with lots of time for Lily to run around. Then the time came to board and say goodbye to my dad, which we greatly appreciated his help entertaining Lily right before we boarded, so we could mentally prepare ourselves for what we were about to endure.

Boarding

We were allowed to board early with a small child which is always nice to get situated before all passengers get on and start rushing you to hurry to find your seat. Although, traveling with a toddler internationally, sometimes you don’t want to be on a plane longer than you have to, so it’s a catch 22. We arrived at our seats and we had an awesome location (thanks to United for the economy plus upgrade!) in the middle row of the plane right behind the galley for the bathroom and flight attendant area, with plenty of leg room. The only downside is we had to stow all our baggage above us so we had to hold things we needed like sippy cups, snacks, and toys until we could get up.

Flying

Lily did awesome as she watched her tablet and watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the airplane entertainment system with her headphones. She played the “I want to go potty” card a lot to which we finally realized a pattern and noticed she was getting tired. At this point we were about five hours into the flight so I attempted to rock her in the galley (the beverage and snack cart storage area) and then she wanted her dad and he put her right to sleep.

We laid out our three airline pillows on the floor along with her pillow and laid her down on top, covered her up and she napped for a few hours! The rest of the flight was pretty good, but there was a little turbulence so we had to pick Lily up off the floor and hold her while she slept for a few minutes, but 12 hours with a two-year-old was manageable. It most certainly could have been a lot worse!

Traveling with a toddler…selfie time!

Connecting Flight

Once we made it to Seoul—our connecting stop to Hanoi—Lily was hyper and ready to move around. Close to our gate was a children’s play area so we let her play there for a while. Our layover was pretty short for transferring airlines, but we were ready to get on the next flight and get to Hanoi.

Lily playing at the Seoul airport

The Vietnam Airlines flight to Hanoi was about four and a half hours. She threw a massive tantrum at the beginning because she was more enclosed in this seating assignment and wanted to get off the airplane and walk. I started to feel nauseous and headed for the bathroom mid-tantrum, I felt bad for Matt but I thought I was going to vomit on myself. Finally, Lily was able to settle down while I rested and eventually fell asleep the rest of the way since it was night time. We landed in Hanoi with no issues, met our sponsor, and went through immigration with no issues. We made it home shortly thereafter.

Lily in front of the huge Christmas tree in the lobby of our new apartment building

More to come on living in Hanoi with a toddler!

Final notes on traveling with a toddler internationally: The planes are always a little cold so make sure you dress yourself and them in layers and bring a blanket for the little one since she was on the floor it was a bit chilly down there. Easy to take on and off shoes probably would have been nice to have, but we didn’t have those at the time. I didn’t need an extra pair of clothes for myself but looking back if she would have thrown up on me or if I would’ve thrown up on the airplane I would have been in trouble. Always pack one for yourself too!

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