Luggage And Bags: We planned on taking the RER directly to our apartment. I wore a convertible backpack (internal frame) that we checked in, put a carry on tote on the stroller and pushed the stroller. My husband wore a daypack and pulled a large rolling suitcase. We wore our coats on the way to the airport and packed it into our check-in before boarding the plane. This really helped because we didn't have to fetch coats and we didn't need them on the plane or at the airport as we wore layers with a sweater on top.
Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: If going in Feb, bring layers to keep warm and take off when it gets warm from all of the moving you'll be doing. We were only cold when we stopped. When in motion, we were quite comfortable. The apartment we rented had an umbrella, but we just used out hats. We took a chance, but never got soaked and it was something more for us to carry to Paris and with us during the day. We both brought 2 pairs of shoes and rotated. If one got wet, we had another one. This would elaborate to the fact that we packed the min. amount of clothing for 4 days. We had a washer at the apartment and we knew we will use it. Besides, since our toddler slept early, we knew that we could do laundry at night. For our toddler, we packed 5 outfits - the cutest, warmest ones he had. If you have children or a baby, it really helps if they look as cute as possible. People seem to be more helpful.
Toiletries & Medical Supplies: Bring all medication that you may ever need for your toddler (i.e. fever reducers, nasal aspirator, antihistimines, etc.) Know your child's weight in the units of measurement that the country you're in uses. Also, take some time and get a cheat sheet of phrases to describe medical emergencies or problems. Small tub toys really helped our toddler get used to the new bath tub.
Miscellaneous: This is something that is very important when traveling with a toddler, buy lots of small, easy to travel with toys - wrap them up and give them to your toddler on the plane or when you need to. That extra 5 - 10 minutes of avoiding a melt-down is well worth it. We also used a portable DVD player on the plane. We had all of his favorite DVDs and this helped A LOT. You also need snacks. Pack the snacks your toddler likes because most likely you won't find it where you are and you don't have time to look for it. Bring at least 2 or 3 sippy/straw cups, 3 snack cups that you can fill every morning, a flask to keep your milk hot or cold throughout the day, and stroller toys to attach. Read my tip on "How we carried all our stuff"
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on Feb 23, 2005
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