I recently undertook one of the most daring, scary, exhilarating and exhausting adventures of my life. No, it wasn’t scaling K2 or hiking the West Coast Trail. It was a cross-Canada travel day with two children under four to meet up with my husband in Halifax. As any mom will attest, a successful 10-hour travel day does not come by chance. It takes planning, preparation and the enlisting of every prop, aid and convenience available. Yes, without a doubt my vacation, and my sanity, was saved by a handful of ingenious travel products.
The BearView Mirror gave me a perfect view of my daughter in her rear-facing seat from the driver’s seat of my car. So, when my daughter lost her soother squarely on the top of head just after we turned onto the expressway to the airport, I was (while unable to do anything about it) able to know why I would be listening to a wailing baby for the next 20 minutes of my life.
gogo Kidz Travemate, a lightweight wheelie attachment that easily converted my daughter’s car seat into a stroller that I could manoeuvre with one hand through the airport. Can you hear the angels singing?
Hold-on Handles. While my son held onto the cute, plush end of this nifty strap, the carabiner clip at the other end was securely clipped onto the handle of my gogo Kidz Travelmate. Two kids and a car seat down; one hand still free.
The B-Hook by Buggyguard. Basically an oversized carabiner, this custom-made clip is shaped to hook onto a stroller and secure and carry one to several bags (in this case my purse) with the help of a bike-style lock closure. Two kids, a car seat, and a purse all secured away; one hand still free to push my luggage cart through the airport. Now can you hear the angels singing?
Simply on Board toy straps. Finally on the airplane, I think I might have been the only parent on the aircraft that was not down on their knees, crammed in that small space between the seat rows, trying to find discarded toys. Thanks to these smart velcro straps, Sophie and Grant were able to keep their sippy cups and toys right where they wanted them.
Travel Friends neck pillows. These awesome little products were truly my new best friends on this trip. Come nap time, Grant and Sophie actually slept thanks to these animal-inspired, super-comfy, kid-sized neck pillows.
J.L. Childress Gate Check Stroller Bag. Imagine the chaos of the luggage carousel. Imagine everyone else’s strollers and car seats coming out in ripped plastic bags, or in none at all. Picture mine emerging from that magical chute in a bright red bag, protected and easy to spot from a mile away. Yay me!
The Gro Anywhere Blind was the travel saviour that just kept on giving all vacation long. Time-zone changes be damned, these black-out drapes secured to any window with suction cups and provided instant nighty-night wherever and whenever we happened to be.
These products are available at retailers across Canada through OYACO, a Canadian distributor who imports amazing products from around the world for maternity, infants, toddlers and children. Find a retailer or order direct from OYACO at www.oyaco.com.
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