Six flights, 20,000 air miles, and 40 hours of flying in three weeks. With a toddler. Right now you’re either reading this and thinking I’m crazy or you’re about to start taking notes on how I did it–and survived. Between a trip to New Zealand with my mother and son and a subsequent family vacation in Kauai, the month of March involved an intense amount of travel, but I was up for the challenge and curious about what traveling internationally with a toddler for the first time would be like.
After enjoying nearly 24 hours in Honolulu, we headed to the airport for the departure ceremony for the inaugural Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Auckland. So far, my theory that the new connection would make it easy for parents like me to make the long trek to New Zealand was holding up. But we still had the nine-hour flight to New Zealand ahead of us.
Armed with plenty of snacks and a new set of toys, swapped out from the suitcase when we were in Honolulu, my mom and I settled into the flight on either side of an excited little boy who was eager to fly. Doling out snacks and introducing new toys as necessary, we entertained him until it was time for his nap. I’m not going to lie, spending nine hours on an airplane with a toddler is a lot of work. Limited space, no play gyms, being considerate of all the other passengers when the little guy needed to stretch his legs going up and down the aisles–it takes perseverance and patience. But the daytime flight allowed him to stick to his nap schedule for the most part, and the people around us complimented us on my son’s good behavior, which put my concerns at ease.
So, we made it to New Zealand. A 20-hour time difference. That brings me to my second question: How would my toddler’s sleep schedule adapt to the local time? Considering we skipped ahead a day, the time change only felt like four hours, which was manageable. He fell asleep easily and slept through the night, waking up around the time we needed to get up to the start the day anyway. Success. (If you know me, you know I need my sleep.)
So, what does a family with a toddler do while in Auckland? We’ll have that part of the adventure in tomorrow’s family-friendly New Zealand installment. Follow The Flying Salmon on Facebook, Twitter, or RSS feed to find out!
Disclosure: I was generously sent on the trip by Hawaiian Airlines and Tourism New Zealand.