In-Flight Bag / No Stroller Flying

I recently flew home with my youngest for a family emergency and decided to travel light since it
was just him and me. Yes, No Stroller! I took a 2 and a half year old, by myself, on a 6+ hour flight. As per my norm, I over packed my bag! I purchased this wonderful Deluxe Organizing Utility Tote from Thirty One [link here] and it made for the perfect In-Flight bag / diaper bag while I was in California.

This bag is huge! There are 2 side mesh pockets that are big enough to hold 2 bottles of whatever in each. I packed an empty sippy cup to get us through security and then once we were thru - purchased a soda for myself and some juice for my youngest.

There are 2 outside pockets - a zipper pocket on one side and a Velcro pocket on the other. They were perfect size for our boarding passes (so I could find them easier) and my toddler leash [review here].

Inside the bag I packed everything I thought I would possibly need to keep my youngest happy.
Comfort Items for him like his blanket, a pacifier attached to a stuffed animal called a Wuby (because if it fell, it was easier to find than a simple pacifier), a stuffed animal for him to cuddle with and my shawl (for me or to cover him, lay him on, change him on, as a pillow for either of us. This thing was a huge help!).

Food Items are always a must when going ANYWHERE with children, I think! All of his favorites like fruit snacks, mini cookies, crackers, pretzels, cereal bars, puree pouches, etc. An array of foods helps keep kids happy and calm, and no one on the plane wants to hear them upset!

Toys are always a great idea when traveling with kids, especially non-electronic toys because even though kids' tablets are amazing and compact - they do eventually need to be charged and in the middle of a 4 hour flight is not the ideal time for it to die and then your kid to have a meltdown because of it! I packed just a few things like stickers, a giant pad of paper he could place the stickers on or draw, a cardboard book with his favorite character on it, a toy car that's bigger than normal (again in case it fell, it was easier to find than a hotwheel), a McDonald's toy that is like Hungry Hungry Hippo game, a PEZ dispenser without the candy in it, and a dollar photo album I put animal flash cards in.

The tablet we have is a Kindle Fire and we did purchase the Amazon Freetime Unlimited for it (great value! $4 dollars a month for thousands of apps, videos, books and games my kids just love! We have a storage issue because my kids love it so much!). I also brought with us a portable charger, 2 charging cords, a tablet stand, my Ipod charger (which I had my Ipod in my purse), a jack splitter and his headband phones. Everything fit perfectly in a Thirty One Zipper Pouch!

And finally the normal diaper bag necessities: diapers, wipes, sanitizing spray, sanitizing wipes, boogie wipes, medications, toy/pacifier/cup leashes, band-aids, lotion, sungalsses for my youngest, etc.

This bag was huge and heavy but it was prefect for flying alone with my youngest without a stroller! I had all my stuff in my purse and all his stuff (plus a few things of mine) in this amazing bag, with room to spare!

Happy Mommy-ing!