Last week I went to visit my friend Michelle in Milwaukee.  It is a huge understatement to say I was VERY nervous to take a 19 month old on a plane by myself.  After talking to a few people who have done it I felt better and got some tips along the way.  Eva did really well on the plane and only had a few fussy moments which is to be expected but nothing I couldn’t handle.  My lifesavers were:

- Sitting next to nice understanding people (I know I had no control over this but it helped a lot.)

- Bringing dum dum lolypops to bribe her with so she would sit on my lap during take off and landing.  They are so small that they do not get all over the place and they also help her to swallow so her ears would pop.

-Her favorite snacks like goldfish and granola bars.

- Stickers! Eva has just started playing with stickers and they can entertain her for hours.

- I also brought some Color Wonder markers and coloring books.  She didn’t actually color with them but she sat in the aisle and took the pens out, took the caps off and on, and put them back in the box.  This kept her busy for at least a half hour.

Some other things that helped keep things running smooth was just preparing before hand and not bringing a bunch of stuff that I didn’t need.  I made sure that I went to the bathroom before we boarded the plane, brought easy snacks for myself and bottled water so I didn’t have to hastle with getting a drink on the plane.