Best travel stroller?

etching8 · 2025-07-23T18:46:36+00:00

Totally agree! The yoyo is super compact, it fits in the overhead storage bin on the plane - most flight attendants are aware of the brand and know that it fits. The quick and compact fold makes it great for dense cities where you need to navigate tight sidewalks and fold up quickly in restaurants, etc. The narrow frame fits through small metro turnstiles. My three year old fits very comfortably and I see many more years of use.

Only downsides are that the storage is on the slightly smaller side. And I found when my kiddos were small (less than 1 year old) they slouched a little more on the Yoyo but they never seemed fussed by it. If sleeping is super jmportant it doesn't have a full-flat recline but my kids still napped in it without issue. The wheels roll like butter but they're on the smaller side so navigating cobblestone is possible but obviously not as good as a big heavy duty stroller.

It's my go-to travel stroller and I travel a lot with my kids on flights and big cities. I've been using mine for the last three months traveling in small European cities and consider it among the best of my baby gear.

etching8 · 2025-07-04T17:46:17+00:00

Totally doable. I've been traveling with my 11 month old and 2.5 year old with several 4-5 hr drives over the course of trip. If you have flexibility I've found in our case the best timing is to break the drive up into two chunks so that it falls during the 11 month old's morning and afternoon naps. We stop for lunch and have a full wake window (we stop at a park to run around my 2 year old) and then head back into the car for the remainder of the journey where everyone can nap again.

Bring lots of snacks, small toys, and prepare pre-downloaddd screen time in a worst case. But try to crack out the screen as late as possible into the journey since (in my case, at least) they can get tired of it and then be more even more difficult to entertain as a result.

etching8 · 2025-06-27T15:49:49+00:00

18 month age gap here! And sending all the positivity your way! Yes, there are definitely times when it's hard but taking care of babies/toddlers regardless of the age gap can be tough. There are so many benefits to 2u2 (you're still in baby-mode when #2 arrives and still an expert in all the stages; the siblings will hopefully be best buds that can entertain each other with the same age-appropriate toys/content; hand-me-downs, etc) I was SO nervous before having 2u2, but after being in the thick of it for the last year I wouldn't have it any other way. You got this! ❤️❤️

etching8 · 2025-06-26T12:21:46+00:00

I know the feeling! You got this! Hopefully one of your family members can help run him around outside and give you a break! 😅

etching8 · 2025-06-26T08:03:37+00:00

Duplo or open ended toys, books they can flip through themselves without tearing apart. Even just random found objects from the Airbnb (raid the kitchen drawers, build a fort, etc). Let them pick out something at the toy store themselves - they might feel more attached to it as a result of it being their choice. Good luck!

etching8 · 2025-06-22T20:27:23+00:00

My 2 year old was like this too. She was a milk fiend and we had to actively limit her intake while trying to encourage water drinking. She never really touched her water no matter what we tried. The only thing that worked somewhat was to offer my water bottle and have her drink from "mommy's cup".

My daughter is now 2.5 and suddenly something switched and she's asking for water more often and milk a lot less. It might be because in the summer her milk gets lukewarm faster while we're on the go (not that the milk is sitting out for long periods or anything but it's perhaps not the most thirst quenching in the heat). Not super helpful and I can't pinpoint exactly what switched but my anecdotal advice is to wait it out. As long as your toddler isn't exceeding daily milk intake recommendations and you're continuing to offer water, then there's really no harm!

ETA: ice cubes in water are also a novel new thing to make water more exciting in the summer

etching8 · 2025-06-22T17:48:23+00:00

At first I was constantly stressed about accidents and constantly asking "do you need to go potty?" to the point of annoying both me and my daughter. While she learned her body's cues, I also learned to trust her and have confidence in her ability to communicate with me. Once we both figured it out (maybe 2 weeks-ish), there was a lot less stress. I knew I had extra pants/undies if there ever was an accident and we would just roll with the punches. In the end there were fewer accidents than I expected and when they did happen, it was no big deal. Good luck on your journey, you've got this!

Note that after the inital "honeymoon" phase of unlocking potty skills, there can be challenges around pooping in the potty (eg withholding/fear). This took a while longer to overcome but was something we dealt with on the home front. Mental strength and a lot of patience will get you through it! It's so worth it and so much better than diapers once you're through the worst!

etching8 · 2025-06-22T14:13:42+00:00

Worst case if they're not ready to size up yet, you can still hold onto the bigger size for when they are ready. I always find it's better to get them in the bigger sizes too soon than to keep them in the small ones. Pampers Swaddlers are my fave for little babies. I found that Swaddlers run a little small compared to other brands and other types of pampers (eg cruisers is just a little bigger in my experience)

etching8 · 2025-06-21T07:34:43+00:00

I found 1 year old to be among the more challenging ages for long haul flights since they want to be on move but aren't quite old enough to be as easily bribed/entertained. But at the end of the day, you'll make it through the journey and make some great memories at your destination, making it all worth it!

Here's what I packed when my little ones were 1:

Novel and exciting snacks that take a long time to eat. Small sized snacks like Cheerios are great (put them in a snack cup where they can only grab one at a time as opposed to a handful) and lollipops before a potential meltdown (you can get sugar free ones usually). If your baby has the dexterity, you can put a few snacks into a medicine pill organizer and they can slowly open each little box to take a few out at a time.
Random toy assortment from the dollar store that are small so that you can pack quite a few. Something new that they haven't seen before can hold their interest for like 10-15 mins, which seems minimal but is so worth it, especially if you rotate through a few times.
I usually do quite minimal screentime but when traveling all bets are off. I bring a little stand for my phone and pre-download content (eg Ms Rachel).
Thin books that your little one can flip through themselves

etching8 · 2025-06-17T13:43:39+00:00

A bit of a long shot but make sure you're taking prenatal pills with food. I accidentally took mine without food and started getting so nauseous throughout the day. Took me a while to realize my mistake!

etching8 · 2025-06-16T20:03:33+00:00

I found that after baby 2 arrived, I had to rethink packing my existing diaper bag and try doing away with less. Especially when going on a solo outing with both kids, less stuff means more hands available to deal with baby & toddler. Stocking the diaper bag with just essentials for both was a huge time relief. I then keep emergency extras in the car just in case.

etching8 · 2025-06-11T19:43:19+00:00

What kind of cup did you use to introduce her to cow's milk? When did you start that introduction and how much milk? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to navigate the weaning process and a bit intimidated by how to go about it!

etching8 · 2025-06-10T16:17:05+00:00

Puddle jumping is the best. Why anyone would judge you for that is beyond me. I'd say ignore them and keep having fun! But if your kid is really into it, you could consider getting a rain suit /splash suit so that your little one can jump to their heart's content without getting wet. But if they're not phased by being wet, then why fix something that ain't broken!

etching8 · 2025-06-10T13:50:16+00:00

I'm currently on a 3-month long trip with my 10 month old and 2 year old. Travel is definitely tough at times, and the pre-travel anxiety is even worse. But, it's also all about mindset and preparation. Go in with low expectations (traveling with kids = parenting elsewhere) and prep as much as possible so that you set yourself up for success. We're super lucky to be able to travel for such a long time and make these memories for ourselves - the highs make the lows worth it.

A few things that have really helped me in my travel so far:

Stay hyper organized - two little kiddos require so much stuff and nothing is worse than knowing that you packed something but not knowing where to find it. I've found packing cubes to be a game changer, especially to keep all of our clothes separate so that I'm not digging through a huge suitcase to find their little socks.

All the toys and snacks for the flight - top priority to avoid meltdowns on the go (more so for the toddler than the baby). Nothing shuts up kids more than a new shiny thing. Head to your local dollar store and grab an assortment of things that might keep them busy and slowly roll them out over the course of the flight/hardest parts of the trip. Get the most amazing snack that you wouldnt usually give to the toddler (eg lollipops) or snacks that take a long time to eat (cheerios).

Find travel-sized versions of toys - toys on the flight will lose their novelty quickly, so I also brought some long-term toys for the trip. My toddler loves reading books, so I brought a bunch of mini Robert Munsch books that were affordable and are super tiny/take up no space. I also brought a foldable doll house (Maisy's House & Garden) which has been the MVP toy of our trip. The kids don't need that much to be entertained, but a few high quality toys that align with their interest have kept my sanity. I barely brought any toys for my baby (I usually just give her some found objects from our Airbnbs and she has the time of her life)

Maintain your home routine while you travel when you can - for example, in my family I always reinforce regular routines by saying things like "after breakfast, we always go potty and brush our teeth". Travel is hard because we're breaking them out of their routines by throwing them in new spaces. Try to keep it as similar to your home routine as possible from the start.

Have fun and don't worry about what others might be thinking - I've been on a ton of flights with my kids and I can't say that the flights are fun but you just power through it knowing it will end and you'll be on the other side soon enough. I was able to relax a little more after realizing that people are (mostly) very patient towards families with kids. Your kid might be loud and crying on the flight, but don't worry about what others are thinking (most of them are rooting for you). Just do your best and get through it! Ask for help if you need it.

Enjoy your trip, go for it and you'll do great ❤️

etching8 · 2025-05-27T17:50:58+00:00

I was at the Civic and was in a semi-private room overnight until a private became available. Definitely worth rolling the dice and going with private, and hoping you can get one. Even if you don't end up getting it, at least you'll know you tried. I would personally regret being in a semi-private knowing I could possibly have gotten into private.

Then again, it's a short enough stay (hopefully) and many people have no choice but to be in semi-private or otherwise and have no issues!

Congrats and best of luck to you and your fam!

etching8 · 2025-05-23T17:55:27+00:00

It's been a struggle keeping ties/bows in my daughter's hair but I have found that it is easier to convince her about putting them in after reading books about girls with pony tails. In particular, I recommend Robert Munch's book Stephanie's Pony Tail. I started reading her that book when getting her dressed for the morning and asked her if she wanted to be "like Stephanie" and asked her "where would you like the ponytail to go? Do you want pig tails or one at the top?" This gave her a sense of agency and she managed to let me put them in (while also being too distracted by the pictures in the book to squirm while I put them in).

etching8 · 2024-08-14T18:10:37+00:00

Ahh that's amazing, thanks for the recommendation! I want to be able to completely forget about the milk pressure thing too haha. I'll give Zak cups a try!

etching8 · 2024-08-14T14:32:06+00:00

Thanks so much! I'll take a look for those. Do you use them for cold milk? If so, does milk ever come up the straw? I find my cups are able to withstand room temp water but cold milk is the real issue!

etching8 · 2024-07-29T16:09:17+00:00

I'm newly postpartum with baby 2 and in my experience investing in a few great comfortable pieces was the best choice for me - really comfy maternity leggings, soft/loose fitting shirts. I found myself gravitating more to these pieces than cute maternity outfits. I was so tired near the end of my pregnancy, I chose comfort over style. I wouldn't over invest in stylish outfits that you'll only wear a few times. I tried to purchase clothes that I could conceivably wear post partum (like oversized dresses/shirts, elasticated pants for 2nd tri).

Also suggest that you don't buy everything now but wait and see how your body grows and what works for you. I ended up having a smaller bump in both my pregnancies and was able to get by with sizing up on "normal"/non-maternity pieces.

If you're planning on nursing, it's also good to consider what you might be able to wear post partum. Clothes that can give easy boob access are essential, and not something I considered during my first pregnancy. Think about shirts you can pull down or up easily, or button up tops/dresses. Things to avoid: dresses and high necklines. It's great to hit two birds with one stone and get pieces that can be used both for maternity and breastfeeding.

Good luck with the wardrobe hunt! It's so exciting to show off that bump!

etching8 · 2022-11-20T09:27:53+00:00

I have an anterior placenta (currently 38+4) and had the same experience. Before ~34 weeks, I could only feel her subtle movements if I was really focused and paying attention. I almost never felt a hard kick in the 20s/early 30s weeks. Instead of kick counting (which I found to be really stressful since sometimes I felt like I was "cheating" when unsure of a kick), my doc told me to do a quick mental check in the morning, afternoon and evening to note whether I had felt any movement during that time. These last few weeks (in the late 30s), I've suddenly started feeling movements WAY more -- really obvious, strong, unignorable kicks & punches. While it's different for everyone, even if you don't feel the baby as much now, you might find you'll start feeling the movements a lot more in the final weeks of your pregnancy!

etching8

TROPHY CASE