Traveling with Babies/Children--Tips/Advice?

dragonfly87-2 · December 2017

I am curious what others have done and experienced. DH and I love to travel. We usually take 2 or 3 trips a year and at least one being international. Our last trip was to Amsterdam when I was 6 weeks pregnant....fun trip, until nausea hit at the end. Now, obviously things will be different thinking about traveling with a small child.

We plan to visit our family in February, so while it entails a plane ride, it's a bit different than dealing with hotel stays or being somewhere less familiar. Our hope is to probably plan a trip for next November/December when DD is one. We would love to go on another cruise, as it is a much more relaxed way of traveling for us. Not sure what that would be like though with a 1 year old. I know it's a little early to think about this, but we will probably book in the next 2-3 months to get discounts and I am so bored on maternity leave, I need a fun distraction

For those who have other children or are planning to travel with a young child, what advice do you have? Any tips, tricks, do's and dont's you would recommend?

mymulligan · December 2017

I have traveled quite a bit with DD since she was about 6 months old; often flying on my own with her. I would say 12 -24 months is the most difficult for flying because they are more mobile, get restless yet aren't easily occupied for long periods of time like my daughter is now with the iPad. I found it very easy to travel with an infant - nursing her on the ascent and descent and throughout the flight as needed. Kids under 2 are free but once we hit 12 months I found it worth it to buy the extra seat for the room and to avoid a stranger sitting right next to you and a squirmy toddler.

I purchased an extra inexpensive car seat for travel so that we wouldn't have to worry about uninstalling / installing at the airport as that could take valuable time which you don't usually have. It allows you to pack the car seat bag in advance also.

Then just make sure you are super organized with your carry on bags. I use large ziplock for everything so I just have to pull one out for a specific purpose (diaper change, snacks, toys etc) plus extra for dirty clothes etc. always prepare for the worst so extra diapers, and xtra bottles/milk, extra clothes. What if there's a crazy delay or something? You need to be prepared.

we are going to Florida next month so I will let you know how it goes and share any tips / lessons learned!

DungeonTrollMel · December 2017

W and I will be flying a lot coming up. I am going to my parents in Jan, feb, April and Mat and we are going to H’s Family in March. I baby wear so I plan on strapping him in for the flight. SIL flies all the time and found they worked well. My parents have a car seat and stroller system and a pack n play so we don’t have to bring any of that wth us which is a massive help as well. Get aisle seats if you can in case you need to get up and walk baby to keep them calm

fishakris · December 2017

I've also had idle time while on leave and DH and I are dreaming of upcoming vacation ideas. I'm excited to hear some tips from others!

MaximumEffort · December 2017

DDs first flight was east coast to Alaska at 7 momths. Nursing helped, knowing you can bring those food pouches because it's necessary for LO (be prepared for them to test the bag). Also no matter what she bring a toy or coloring book that is new to your child.

Airynn Chica · December 2017

We flew from South Africa to Germany to Michigan when are first was 6weeks then 3.5 months. Babywearing made it super easy and security lines gave us preferential treatment so that helped! Fast forward a few years to the same flight with a 3yr old and an 18mon old was not as easy!

AngieL610 · December 2017

We did a short trip with LO a couple of weeks ago (driving!) and I found that having the disposable diaper changing pads were super helpful. Instead of having to clean/wipe down the changing pad, I just picked everything up and threw it away when we stopped at rest areas.

Ditto on having everything organized into ziplock bags - makes life a lot easier!

kaitlinliz · February 2018

our short trips are about 2 hours. i usually get everything in the car. feed him, change him and stick him in the carseat and go so hell sleep the whole trip lol! 9/10 it works. we havent traveled further than that yet tho

kir_mcsward · March 2018

Disclaimer - I'm no expert - this is my first ....

I've taken my baby boy hiking twice, xc skiing once and from Boston to Montreal via car. From those experiences, I've found that:
~He sleeps most of the time while we're en route (namely because he loves sleeping in his car seat or baby carrier). This also messes with his sleeping schedule at night a little bit.
~Get yourself ready first
~Do your last double checks before you feed him/her & change him/her before you leave
~And I'm not sure what your mantra is about caring for your baby... but I've found less is more. When I went to Montreal in February we had a stroller, car seat, baby carrier, dock a tot for a bed, two bottles, breast pump, and the obvious clothes-burpcloths-diaper stuff. That's it. no toys or bottle cleaners or warmers or baby seats. you can get by without.

Feeding: We spent the entire day out and about and I breastfed once in public -small coffeeshop in the corner and once in the car. If you're not breastfeeding ask for an XL cup and fill it 1/4 of the way with hot water.... warm the bottle that way. We ended up doing that once in a coffee shop. Took a few minutes to warm.

Strollers: I have the Uppa Baby Vista stroller which is great for storage but also large and heavy.... so this month when I fly from Boston to SC I plan on buying a lightweight baby stroller with sun shade that he can grow into. The car seat will no longer fit easily into the stroller but it'll be easier to carry around the lightweight sun stroller once I'm in SC.

I'll also be flying solo with him on the way back so I'll check the stroller, car seat + base (usually for free with most flights) and bags. And carry on the diaper bag and baby carrier.

Every baby is different. If you're nervous to travel, start with small trips.
Best of luck and congrats for trying something new!

hippiestinkmom · April 2018

Travelled with Honeybee when he was 2 months going from Belgium to the US. IMO it's a lot easier travelling with small babies since they tend to sleep most of the time. He'd slept pretty much the whole 8 hour flight from BRU to IAD and then woke for our layover before sleeping during the IAD to SAT flight. Same for the return trip through O'Hare.

BE ORGANIZED. It really helps.

Feed during take off and landing. Pack enough in case of long layovers.

Have an extra outfit for both baby and you in your carryon. Baby will probably puke or blowout poop so it's good to have extra for you too.

Traveling with Babies/Children--Tips/Advice?

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