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April 2019 Moms
lyse01
member
Product Spotlight (plus advice): Traveling with Baby
lyse01
member
Whether it’s to Grandma’s house, to a restaurant, or overseas, what products help you keep baby safe without overwhelming your luggage?
Eating: Have a high chair at common destinations? Bring one along? Get one that rolls into a nice space and loops over the back of any chair? Bring a spoon, or deal with whatever utensils you get? Bring food or purchase there? Main thread: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12736640/product-spotlight-high-chairs-and-eating-accessories#latest
Sleeping: pack and play or co-sleep? What is the most lightweight solution to tote? Note that we haven’t specifically discussed pack and plays yet!
Car seats: Rent or buy cheap? Main thread: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12735951/product-spotlight-carseats#latest
Leashes: for toddling/walking kids, what do you think of leashes? Which product works and which doesn’t?
Babyproofing: we haven’t previously discussed babyproofing (next week) but what additional supplies do you pack to keep the baby safe in unfamiliar spaces?
Baby/Toddler Luggage: are your kids tiny sherpas, responsible for carrying their own toys and clothes? Where do you find munchkin-size backpacks and rolling suitcases?
Rentals: do you just give up on carrying things with you and rent from a place where you go? Are there particular hotel chains that provide? Local or nationwide companies that rent? Do they deliver? Is it worth the expense? Also, cars...do you need bigger car rentals now?
Other products: what are we missing? Give pros/cons, links, etc!
FTMs or anyone else with an upcoming trip: what additional questions do you have? Ask away!
Want to discuss something else? Recommend it here, or second some recs by loving someone’s post (I’ll try to prioritize): https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12734953/product-spotlights-upcoming-or-requests
All product spotlights can be resurrected at any time for further discussion - type “Product Spotlight” into the search bar at the bottom of the page to find previous threads.
Eating: Have a high chair at common destinations? Bring one along? Get one that rolls into a nice space and loops over the back of any chair? Bring a spoon, or deal with whatever utensils you get? Bring food or purchase there? Main thread: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12736640/product-spotlight-high-chairs-and-eating-accessories#latest
Sleeping: pack and play or co-sleep? What is the most lightweight solution to tote? Note that we haven’t specifically discussed pack and plays yet!
Car seats: Rent or buy cheap? Main thread: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12735951/product-spotlight-carseats#latest
Leashes: for toddling/walking kids, what do you think of leashes? Which product works and which doesn’t?
Babyproofing: we haven’t previously discussed babyproofing (next week) but what additional supplies do you pack to keep the baby safe in unfamiliar spaces?
Baby/Toddler Luggage: are your kids tiny sherpas, responsible for carrying their own toys and clothes? Where do you find munchkin-size backpacks and rolling suitcases?
Rentals: do you just give up on carrying things with you and rent from a place where you go? Are there particular hotel chains that provide? Local or nationwide companies that rent? Do they deliver? Is it worth the expense? Also, cars...do you need bigger car rentals now?
Other products: what are we missing? Give pros/cons, links, etc!
FTMs or anyone else with an upcoming trip: what additional questions do you have? Ask away!
Want to discuss something else? Recommend it here, or second some recs by loving someone’s post (I’ll try to prioritize): https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12734953/product-spotlights-upcoming-or-requests
All product spotlights can be resurrected at any time for further discussion - type “Product Spotlight” into the search bar at the bottom of the page to find previous threads.
Re: Product Spotlight (plus advice): Traveling with Baby
also, some airlines have bassinet attachments for the front row against a bulkhead (mostly transoceanic, I think, but perhaps to Mexico?). You probably need to call and book direct with the airline to get that seat - in fact, Expedia and other travel websites make it pretty hard/impossible to get infant tickets so you probably need to book direct anyway.
1. At the time she was nursing exclusively but I brought pump and bottles so I could leave her with grandparents (with whom we traveled) to get out a bit. As she’s gotten older I’ve brought her own spoons and bowls. High chairs I’ve just had to hope they had one or hold her on my lap.
2. We co slept our first big trip at 2.5 months because we were cosleeping anyway. The second big trip when she was 14 months we found a place that had a pack n play we could use.
3. We bought a cheap cosco scenera next that we took on the plane because DD had her own seat, the second time, and when she was an infant the first time we took her bucket seat. But the first time she spent a lot of time on my lap as it was so I think traveling with a lap child is easier with an infant than a toddler.
4. I wore her through security both times, though she screamed the whole time and it was embarrassing. But she hated being worn anyway and also embarrassed me the whole flight so that’s just her personality. We used a stroller when she was 14 months, which we then gate checked.
No babyproofing advice. We just didn’t leave her unsupervised ever.
My other bit of advice is to nurse or bottle feed on a plane during takeoff and touchdown. Helps with the ears. Also ask if you can use the galley floor to change a diaper rather than the tiny airplane bathroom. Try to find a place that has what you need as often as you can. (Like renting a pack n play). I also like to bring a car seat rather than renting one, and even though I’ve taken it with me on the plane both times, I’d rather gate check it if I had to than rent one from a rental car company.
Look up whether your airport has a nursing mother’s room. Those are pretty awesome.
Finally, don’t care what other people think. Some people will roll their eyes at your crying child and others will be sympathetic. Honestly people tend to cut more slack if you’re actually trying to soothe your child than if you aren’t.
Oh yeah, and you can often download shows on Netflix to play on the plane. If your little one doesn’t like to wear headphones then play it on near silent. Kids often don’t care and nobody else can hear it over the sound of the engines anyway.
1. Eating - we always take pouches and snacks with us (goldfish or pretzels, etc), just to ensure no one ever gets hangry. But other than that, we've always had no trouble finding food that baby could eat on our trips. We had one of those clip on highchairs, but we never loved it, and didn't want to bother traveling with it. So no special eating stuff required for travel, in our experience. I also nursed, which helped because it was that much less to take. And like @HGRich said, breastfeeding is especially great for takeoff and landing when you're flying because it helps with their ears and keeps them calm. My son usually sleeps on flights (even now), the plane is like a giant white noise machine.
2. Carseats - we have often not taken one at all. They're not required on public transportation (including cabs and ubers). However, the times when we've rented a car, we do take our own carseat. We bought 2 different carseats, a nice one for my car (the main car he rides in), and a lighter weight one for my husband's car. The lighter weight one is the one we take on trips. We always check it. I know that technically it's not the BEST solution, but we've never had a problem yet, and it's way easier than having to lug it through the airport. We don't rent a bigger car or do anything different, other than taking the carseat when absolutely necessary.
3. Luggage - we try to use packing cubes and pack as lightly as we think we can. You need more stuff with a baby (like diapers and extra clothes for blow outs). But we also do laundry in hotel bath tubs as necessary. Usually we manage to do packing for a week long trip in 2 checked bags (it's cheaper, and again, less to carry through the airport). However, for a shorter time period we can sometimes even make just one bag happen. Without kids I always preferred carry ons, but with a kid, the less you have to fool with in the airport, the better. Check the baggage. For christmas last year we did buy our son his own carry-on sized suitcase, which he LOVCES. But we've never taken it on a flight yet. I even took a trip this summer, just me and him, and packed all our clothe and stuff in a single backpack + his mini-backpack full of toys. Less is more.
4. Getting through security - 100% team babywearing all the way. We loved our Ergo360 and my son would usually peacefully sleep, or at least just hang out, while I was wearing him. Even when he got older and impatient with being worn, it was still the easiest way to corral him through security. And it's legal for you to keep baby ON (even though ONE time I did have a security person make me take him off, which woke him up, and I reported them to the supervisor).
Never used a baby-leash.
5. In terms of where we've stayed with a kid, usually we look for an airbnb with a kitchen (just tell them you have a kid, it's usually fine). If we do stay in a hotel, we make sure it at least has a fridge. We never worried about baby-proofing. Honestly, we don't even baby proof our house.
Basically, traveling with a kid is more annoying than traveling solo, but it's totally do-able and totally worth it.
Eta: we took a pack n play on ONE trip ever. It was a huge PITA. It was heavy, bulky (even though we got one that turned into a backpack), an extra thing to carry around NYC and through the subways. Not worth it. We just co-sleep when on trips.
I definitely second @professormama that while it can be more annoying and you definitely take more stuff with you, traveling with a kid is totally doable. You just might need to change up your routine a bit. Some people pack everything and the kitchen sink, but I was more of a minimalist when packing even for baby. You can always wash out clothes in sinks or tubs, and anything essential but forgotten can usually be purchased somewhere if needed.
We regularly do sleepovers at the grandparents, and have even since he was 2 (now 4 1/2). For when he was younger, he had an extra pack and play that we just left there. Now, he usually just sleeps in bed with them or on the futon by himself. He has an extra toothbrush and toothpaste there also.
Long car rides, definitely pack snacks, books, and electronics if you lean that way. DS is usually content to look at books by himself, or if someone is along that can ride in the back, they can read to him. We drove to the beach last summer but got stuck in beach traffic in the last hour of the trip - what should have been a four hour drive turned into seven. I was very thankful for my phone which had some movies loaded onto it, because DS was done by that point. Luckily (or unluckily, depending) if he has a movie or show on, he's content (i.e. turns into a total zombie and won't move). His fourth birthday present this year was a tablet, which is used exclusively to keep him occupied while DH works out at the gym or on very long car rides.
I don't know if this is relevant for this thread, but I also feel like a backpack diaper bag or at least an across the body strap one is much easier for a second kiddo. Whenever I babysit my nephew and I take their diaper bag which just hooks over my arm, I feel completely off balance and am always losing the bag down my arms trying to juggle nephew/car keys/DS. I purchased two diaper bags for this LO, and I'm 90% sure the backpack style will be a lifesaver for my back (plus be easier to babywear with).
Sleeping: Most hotels will provide pack n plays if you request one. Again Grandparents bought one for their house. But all other places we brought our own. I'm 95% sure that pack n plays count as free checked baby luggage, but you should check with your airline.
Car seats: We always bring our own. If LO is flying as a lap infant we will keep LO in the bucket seat, through security and the airport and check it at the gate. When LO is big enough to have their own seat but under 3 we will bring the car seat on the airplane. The product I love for lugging convertible car seats through the airport is the Britax Car Seat Travel Cart (https://www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/britax-car-seat-travel-cart/1018444887) Once on board it folds down and fits in the overhead compartment. Bonus, LO can ride in the car seat while you hiking through the airport.
Leashes: Never used one. I preferred the socially acceptable method of strapping them into a stroller or babywearing at all times.
Babyproofing: Watch them like a hawk. But seriously. The best we get at baby proofing at other people's house/hotels is setting them down in a pack n play.
Baby/Toddler Luggage: DD has a kid sized Lighting McQueen suitcase we got at the Disney store. That thing is awesome. She can pack everything that she wants available on the plane and she has to roll it through the airport. Fits under the seat.
Rentals: We bring our own everything. Getting through the airport is so crazy it is funny. DH had to take three trips to get all of our stuff off of the airplane last time we flew with a baby. With two kiddos in carseats we are still getting by with a sedan rental car, but prefer a minivan if we can afford to splurge. With LO3 on the way this will probably be the last Christmas that we can get away with it.
Eating: Use the highchair at the restaurant or we purchased a Chicco travel one that grips onto the handles. By the time LO can sit up, they can use the bumbo at grandparents houses (which we strongly recommend grandparents get a cheap form of a highchair. You're likely going to be there frequently and it's easier for them to have one versus you lugging it everywhere). My dad has our old Graco one we didn't like, my mom purchased an IKEA highchair (like what we have) and my IL's use the bumbo. I have no complaints.
Sleeping: We don't co-sleep so we are team pack n play. 2/3 sets of parents have a pack n play at their home.
(Now is the time I should mention that if you and/or siblings plan on having multiple children, talk to your parents about investing in some of these cheaper items. It makes it so much easier to invest in a PNP and highchair so you don't have to take yours everywhere).
Car seats: Rent or buy cheap? I can't really speak to this. I'd probably just buy a cheap one or take the ones we have.
Leashes: for toddling/walking kids, what do you think of leashes? Pre-kids, I used to judge those who had their kid on a leash. Now I get why you need your toddler on a leash. We don't own one but if we were to go somewhere very touristy or busy (ex: Disneyworld), then hell yes I'd put her on a leash.
Babyproofing: When they are babies, you don't need much. Once they start crawling, you need a gate for the stairs. We have the protectors over the plugs but DD never really bothered with them. Once DD was about a year and a half, she had mastered the stairs so we took the gates down. Try to get them off the FB marketplace because really, they are a time sensitive item.
Baby/Toddler Luggage: *shrugs*. We have talked about going on a vacation next year. If we do, we will pack their stuff with ours or have an extra bag. I don't expect my toddler to carry bags. Seems a little ridiculous.
Rentals: No clue. But if you're renting a car, you need to get at LEAST a sedan. Car seats are large enough that you usually have to scoot the seats in the front up more. We have to do this and I have an SUV.
Skip Hop Baby Pronto Portable Changing Station with Cushioned Changing Mat and Wipes Case, 3 Pockets, Chevron https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B7XUVOE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RLRdCbCMYZF7Q