Make Traveling Easier with the UPPAbaby VISTA Travel Bag

A couple months ago, I kissed my husband and four-year-old son and walked through airport security. For the first time since our little boy was born, I was traveling without my favorite little talking carry-on. :) At first, I just had to focus on taking one step at a time. I blinked back tears as I walked further away from the little man who has such a huge part of my heart...and 95 percent of my so-called "free time." But by the time I stopped at the airport convenience store to buy a few (overpriced) home decor magazines and a favorite snack (or two), I started to remember how relaxing and easy it is to travel without kids!

Every parent knows that traveling with kiddos can be hard. Making sure you schedule your flight so it doesn't conflict with nap times. Making sure you have plenty of snacks and toys to keep your kiddo entertained for an entire flight. Dealing with mid-flight diaper changes or trips to the bathroom. And constantly worrying that your child will have a meltdown or cry the entire flight. And this is just while you're actually on the plane! Before you board and after you disembark the plane, you also have to think about how you'll get your child, your stuff, and yourself through the airport! And hopefully, you'll be able to do so without any tears...from you or your kiddos.

This is why I ALWAYS bring our stroller when we travel. It's just the easiest way to get everything through the airport without breaking your back! This is especially important if you have multiple layovers. When our little boy was only six months old, I woke up one morning to a phone call from my husband who told me that we needed to get on a plane immediately and fly to Texas (from Washington) for a family emergency. When we hung up, he called the airline to book flights and I started throwing clothes into a suitcase. Luckily, I had just done laundry the day before so I didn't have to pack dirty clothes! Two hours from the time my husband called, we met at the airport and hopped on a plane. And then another. And another. And finally made it to the hospital in Texas at 9 p.m., pushing our stroller with our sleeping baby inside. I was SO glad we had our stroller with us that day, and I really don't know how we would have made it through the day without it.

UPPAbaby VISTA TravelSafe Travel Bag

I LOVE traveling with our stroller, but I don't love the wear and tear it gets every time we check it. I always thought we'd be able to use our stroller when we have another baby, but I think that is one item we'll have to add to our list because ours is just so tired. We've traveled so much since our son was born, and every time we leave our stroller to be gate checked, it comes back just a little bit damaged. Or dirty. Or both. After our first few flights, I finally bought a generic stroller bag. And it's definitely helped. But I also wish I had bought the bag created for our stroller BEFORE it got so beat up. So I'm really excited to share this UPPAbaby VISTA Travel Bag with you today! Because this bag is so amazing that I just might have to buy the UPPAbaby VISTA Stroller for our next baby!

My favorite feature of the UPPAbaby VISTA Travel Bag is the TravelSafe Program, a two-year warranty that guarantees any damage caused to your stroller while traveling by air will be covered by UPPAbaby! So you can use your stroller to get you and all of your gear through the airport, then pack it in its bag and roll it to the gate check area, and board your plane without worrying that your stroller won't survive your trip! Just make sure to register your UPPAbaby VISTA Stroller and UPPAbaby VISTA Travel Bag (and any other accessories like the UPPAbaby VISTA RumbleSeat) before you travel! And if you have a second seat or want to take your bassinet and RumbleSeat, make sure to also purchase the UPPAbaby VISTA Travel Bag for RumbleSeat or Bassinet.

I also love that the UPPAbaby VISTA Travel Bag can be used with all VISTA models and has enough space to fit the stroller frame as well as the toddler seat or the bassinet. And when your stroller is zipped up in this bag, you can rest assured that it's being kept safe and clean, because the bag is made of durable, luggage-grade 600-denier fabric. It also has attached wheels that make it easy to roll, as well as a separate inner wheel bag to keep your dirty stroller wheels away from your stroller.

So if you're traveling for the holidays this year, make sure to buy yourself this UPPAbaby VISTA Travel Bag as an early present, and check out this video to learn the best way to pack your stroller for all of your travels!