We need to bring what?

Since this is the first time traveling with our son, we have realized that there are some things we use everyday that we needed to figure out. I have mentioned renting the crib and highchair but there is something that you might need to even get on the plane, a car seat. Some airlines require that you have an flight approved car seat for any child under three. Some airlines do allow for boosters for older children. You will need to check with your airline to see what their restrictions are in this.

If you are taking a trip by bus or train you may not need the carseat until you get to your destination when you may need it for your rental car. Some car companies will have a car seat for rent however you will need to make that request early after checking with the rental car agency.

Our airline recommends a car seat but it isn't a requirement, we chose bring it so that we would not have the hassle of depending on the agency to have the car seat. We have had to many experiences with rental agencies changing the reservation at the last minute, and safety isn't something you can ignore.

Lightening the Load

This is our first family trip. In fact for me this is the first time as an adult that I will have traveled with a toddler. I have discovered that if you have a kid or kids you do not get to travel light. My wife and I really do not want to be lugging stuff through the airport or have to check more bags than necessary. So after some research we have found a great alternative to bringing a caravan. Equipment rental. Now I bet there are some of you out there that are saying "duh, we have been doing this for years". For me it was a bolt of lightning. I called up Ready Rentals and told them that I wanted to rent a crib and highchair, they asked me when I would be there and the address of the rental and voila. It will be set up and ready when I get there.
You can do this with medical equipment too -- I may need to rent a shower bench.

This left us with some wiggle room for bringing something we don't mind lugging with us, my handcycle. I have searched high and low and there are very few places globally that rent this type of item. So I looked up shipping it (very pricey $300 and up for both ways), and then checked with our airlines. They do allow sporting supplies to be checked and my handcycle could be checked for around $75 each way (or we could ship it back as it is cheaper returning to the mainland).

We are less than three weeks out from our trip, and I am SO excited to post some new pictures from Kauai!