Travel tips for bringing a 15-month old to STJ

[Kim]

Hi all, I know this has been discussed some but I'm hoping you all may have some experience and can advise on areas I may be forgetting (or am just plain overwhelmed with)!

We are bringing our 15-month old baby girl down for her first adventure in August. We'll also be bringing along both sets of grandparents who adore spending as much time with her as possible. This will allow us to have a nice dinner out to celebrate our anniversary and maybe a dinghy day sans baby...we LOVE dinghy day and would hate to skip it
That said, she is a pretty chill girl and we try to be go with the flow parents. Except we do follow a strict bath/bedtime schedule, cause you know, sleep is important for us all!

I am struggling a bit with what gear to bring vs. what to rent. It seems Island Baby is the place to rent from? Anyone had experience with them- good/bad? We will likely bring or rent a back pack carrier so we can hike to beaches like Solomon- nothing too intense. Wondering if having that makes the stroller useless? We have a Bob that handles sand like a champ...but it's bulky. Also debating the carseat situation. I would love to just rent down there, but then we don't have a seat when we leave the airport to get to the ferry and that makes me a bit nervous (we like to rent from Courtesy). Is this what most people do- hold them tight and hope for a safe driver?

And lastly- is it a good idea to ship a box down to connections in advance with diapers and other bulky items we don't want to drag through the airport? I am trying to simplify things where we can, but it's also possible I could be over-thinking/over-planning!
Thanks everyone!

[STTlover]

Hi!,
My daughter is 19 mos and will be going on her 3rd trip down to STT in April. So I have a few tips for you.
1) Bring your car seat. USVI has the same laws as the main land concerning this. A car seat is required for travel in a car. Also, you don't want to rent one. It may be expired, and or been in an accident. The unknowns are just too great. What I did last summer was get a rolling luggage rack from Walmart ($15) and a car seat travel cover from BBRU ($15). You bungy cord the seat to the rolling rack which makes for easy travel through the airport and then you gate check the seat. That way you know it's making it onto the plane.

2) I found an umbrella stroller was sufficient enough, and mainly used it for airport travel. Again, gate check it.

3)Rent the pack n play. No need to haul that down with you.

4)Ship as much as you can down there. Diapers/wipes, food pouches, etc Send more then you think you'll need. That stuff is very expensive down there.

5)Bring a ton of snacks for the plane. It will keep them busy and keep you sane!

[Kim]

Thank you STTlover, those are excellent tips! Your girl is one lucky lady!! What did you do for bug spray on her? I'd like to use something more gentle, but have it actually still repel.
Any activities that you found to be a big hit...or big fail?

[STTlover]

Honestly, I actually never had to put bug spray on her. Both times we went (Apr & Aug), it was fairly dry and there wasn't a huge no-seeum problem. Then again, we stay at Sapphire on STT and with the breeze from the water, the bugs are minimal. I heard the Honest Company has a great bug spray for little ones though. She loved the beach & pool. She is very easy and go with the flow too, so what ever we did, she did. We traveled over to STJ with her and had got a pop up tent from One Step Ahead and she napped in it. Also was great for her to use to get out of the sun. I would just make sure to bring plenty of sunscreen and rash guards. Babyganics has a 50 spf that I found to be great. If you have an ipad or tablet, load it with tv shows/movies she likes and that will also help with the travel days. You'll have a great time with her!

[Coconuts]

Kim: I'm sure that this goes without saying, but I would either pick a villa without a pool, or one with really tightly controlled pool access (which is rare), and grill the owner about any non-code railings, open stairwells, etc. that could pose a safety risk. In some cases, they may have remediation gear on hand (an accordion gate to close off a stairwell, for example), but in general the focus on safety, especially in older homes, isn't what it is on the mainland.

All the best,

Kevin

[Teresa_Rae]

Our first daughter turned 17 months while on STJ and our second daughter turned 18 months while on STJ (on trips 3 years apart).

Our most recent trip was in October of 2014; that's the trip where daughter #2 turned 18 months so it's pretty fresh in my mind.

Will your daughter be 15 months in August or is she 15 months now?

I don't trust gate checking a car seat, as airline workers can be really rough on car seats and the seats can get hairline cracks and the safety of the seat can be compromised in the future. So we buy a plane ticket for each kiddo and take the car seats on board. We then rent a Jeep at the airport so we can install the car seats and go; that eliminates a scary ride in a taxi (I have heard from numerous people that taxi drivers won't allow you to install a car seat).

We take a Pack N Play with us because they are expensive to rent but free to check on most airlines (Delta for sure). You are allowed to take a diaper bag in addition to your regular carry on items so that helps with baby supplies. A breast pump also does not count towards a carry on item should you need one.

My kiddos have absolutely needed bug spray and we've found the California Baby brand to be pretty good; you can read reviews on Amazon.

We've made sure to rent villas with nice pools on trips with kids because we spend more time at the villa than usual because of nap time.

A stroller is helpful in the airport but once you get to STJ it will be pretty useless. I'm considering getting one of these for the future so we don't have to bring a stroller:
http://www.amazon.com/Ride-On-Carry-Lug ... B004OK7XOS

[Kim]

Thanks everyone, these are great tips and really interesting to see how everyone does things a little differently. Kevin, I plan to rent a baby gate(s) so we can gate off the area on the deck that leads down to the pool. There will always be several sets of eyes on her regardless though!
Teresa_Rae, she is just 9 months now and will be 15 months when we're on island. I thought about the handling of her car seat, but we have a pretty heavy duty car seat cover/carrier that provides decent padding. Did you have any trouble with getting the car seats situated on the plane seats? I don't really want to rent a car on STT since we really like Courtesy and knowing they are right there if we have an issue. So maybe if I arrange to have Rachel pick us up, using the car seat won't be a problem. Has anyone done that?

[Teresa_Rae]

We have traveled with Diono Radian seats, which have a metal frame and I believe they are the heaviest seat on the market. It's not exactly a cake walk but it's certainly doable. They always allow people with kids to pre-board so that gives you enough time to get the seat situated on the plane.

If you don't intend to buy your daughter a plane ticket, then taking the car seat on board isn't an option and you would have to gate check it. If that is the case, then I would buy a cheap car seat for around $50 and only use it for STJ...that way if it gets hairline cracks, you aren't damaging your expensive regular seat.

[cocosmom]

Not all car seats are airline approved. Check yours. As a G-ma, I would suggest you bring your own pac n play or crib sheet. i would feel better knowing my g-baby has her face on my comfy sheet.

[St. John Lover]

Having traveled with MANY of my grandkids at that age, I have some great tips for you.

One of my daughter-in-laws bought a great little net tent on Amazon that she would use. All 4 sides were netting which allowed all the breezes to go through keeping the babies comfortable if they were happing on the beach. YET the netting offered complete 50 SPF protection for the little ones. Don't ask me how--all I know is that they were absolutely effective.

You would throw this contraption (which folded up nice and compact) on the beach and it would just pop up complete as it was supposed to be! She had to buy another one (as the babies kept coming ), and that one she had to put flexible rods through 4 corners to set it up but once set up, we just kept it as it was as it fit perfectly in the back storage area of our vehicle.

She also would bring a netting that fit over the pak n play which would keep the mosquitos/no see ums away at night. Be sure to check all the screens in the house to make sure none of any little holes in them. If you find a hole or tear in one, call the management company for your rental right away. They all have extra screening that allows them to replace the screening right away.

Just enjoy. I made SO many priceless memories with my grandbabies on the beaches of St. John

[PA Girl]

We started taking our son at 4 months and experienced every stage of traveling with him. I did a long trip report that would have been back in 2007 when he was 15 months old. Leaving for our 12+ trip soon.

We were baby wearing parents and loved having our backpack carrier for light hiking and evening trips to town. Never took a stroller and never missed it. Our carrier had enough room that I skipped the diaper bag, which made for light traveling at night when we were going out to dinner and walking around.

I gate checked the backpack in a heavy duty stroller bag and I stuffed that bag with all the diapers, wipes, sunscreen and baby accessories I needed for the week. The airlines assumed it was a car seat or stroller bag.

To rent a car seat or not is a hot topic as is the gate check a seat or not topic. We booked our son a seat and used our own seat on the plane. We had a Costco Seneca specially for travel and it was light weight and reasonably priced. We always booked a private taxi so I knew we had the time to install his seat. I would never be comfortable enough hoping for a safe ride but people have different levels of risk tolerance.

We had a pop up tent for the beach and he napped in there with nana during the day. It was $20 or so and folder down flat into a case.

We rented a seat once and it was broken (the plastic base was cracked) and dirty. This was from Christy's and the bed we rented from her was broken as well. I would not recommend her rentals.

Ask the villa rental agent about available baby gear. Once we were provided with a pack and play and bedding that was set up on available and another house had a pack and play and a high chair for our use. No charge either time. We used a pea pod travel bed for a cole of trips and that worked very well.

As far as the pool concerns, we made sure that the e bedrooms were very secure. I went so far as to buy door alarms at Walmart that I would install so I knew if a bedroom door opened at night and kept our son in our room to sleep. We had enough adult eyes on him during awake hours that we didn't feel we needed baby gates.

Have fun!

[FinsUp]

The first trip we made to STJ we had a 4 1/2 y.o, a 3 year old and an 18 month old....yes, call us crazy. The biggest piece of advice I can give to you is "HONOR NAPTIME and BEDTIME". My husband and I planned our entire day around nap times and I can honestly say, we had no problems at all. We went to the beach in the morning, went back to the villa for lunch and naptime and then headed out for a relatively early dinner and had them in bed at a reasonable hour. We're headed down in April and the youngest is now 8 1/2 and we have never had an issue with bad behavior or disrupted outings!

[FinsUp]

Oh and don't forget to book Leslie at Kid's Night In to watch your little one and take some time to enjoy the island as an adult! I sure wish we had someone like her years ago for my husband and I to enjoy a nice dinner and some alone time. She is fantastic and must have for your vacation!

[RickG]

We've done every age from 5 months to 23 years with our kids. The most challenging age was from the time they start walking until they are about 5. The best approach at that age for me was to let the wee one sleep as late as possible, feed her, get her in the jeep for the beach with the packed lunch and immediately setup the shelter where she would nap. We stayed at the beach until after post-nap play time or we ran out of beer.

For our experience, and the grandkids to come, St. John is best experienced like a young child. Early to rise, play hard, take naps, early to bed.

I'm glad you have some help with the wee one. I found that trying to pop off for more than a happy hour or dinner (not both) was about the limit of comfort. Given that, the bench seats at La Tapa are a great spot for a wee one to crash after getting the earliest reservation of the night. My youngest could sleep through a parade at that age. My oldest was intrigued by the food and quietly demanded tastes of everything. La Tapa also has some off-menu options for the wee ones.

Stroller? Not on STJ. An umbrella stroller is good for airports. We bring our own car seat. Also, renting a vehicle on STT lets you load once and keep things under control for the ferry ride and ride to the villa.

Cheers, RickG

[Kim]

Wow, you guys are awesome! Thank you for all the excellent suggestions, this really makes me feel more confident about our decision to bring her down. I hope STJ will become her favorite place, like it is for us.

So, we will definitely plan on bringing her car seat. Most likely ditch the stroller and bring back-pack carrier instead. Love the idea of bringing our own pack-n-play sheets and netting to keep the skeeters away- these are things I probably would have forgotten.

Can anyone recommend brands they have used and liked for back pack carriers and the little pop up tents for beach shade and naps?