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Traveling with an infant or small baby is awesome!
Seriously, if I had known then how easy it was to travel with a baby, I would planned for so many more trips! Need some help convincing? Just think about it:
Plane Travel: It’s not nearly as tricky as when they become a toddler. Plane travel in general does take more energy out of you since you are entertaining most of the time, but luckily babies love their sleep!
Sleeping: This might be best of all- babies can sleep anywhere and everywhere! This makes sightseeing during the day a piece of cake- just throw them in the carrier and go. I have also found it is much easier to adjust a baby to a new time change than a toddler.
- Daytime sleeping tips: When you’re out during the day, put a hat on your baby so if they want to look around they can, but when they get sleepy they will just close their eyes. If they need a little more help, throw on a light muslin blanket over them in the carrier or a nursing cover over a car seat to block out some light.
- Nighttime sleeping tips: Bring baby’s sleep cues for sleeping in the hotel. (Read more on sleep cues here). What’s awesome about babies, is you can still eat out later for dinner- either in their car seat with a cover on it, or in the carrier with a blanket over top.
Diaper Changes: Baby diaper changing can be anywhere! They are still young enough (and their dirty diapers not too smelly) that most of the time you will get a pass to do what you need to do where you need to do it. (OK, I know not everyone will approve of this, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!)
Feeding: This is where breastfeeding is the best when it comes to traveling- for more on that, see here. Even if you’re not breastfeeding, feeding a baby is still pretty easy and can be much cheaper than while traveling if your child is older. Child-size portions can be expensive and depending on your child, your menu choices may be a little more limited. But a baby… they have a diet of one thing, milk! It can be pretty easy to sterilize bottles and pumping supplies (microwavable sterilizing bags, cleaning wipes) while traveling, too.
Perks of traveling with a baby
Locals are SO friendly with babies! Especially if you go to a country like Italy, which is where I would recommend for your family’s first international trip- they love babies and many go out of their way to help a new parent out.
You get to skip the lines! See my point above about how much locals love babies.
Some considerations when traveling with an infant or small baby:
Sightseeing is definitely the way to go. You can try to add in some relaxing beach or pool time, but it’s just not as easy to get a baby to fall asleep than when on the go (or maybe just our baby!). This is where we had to alter our trip a bit when we traveled with Claire at 4 months. We brought a little sun tent for her with hopes that she would sleep in it while we were at the pool together, but it took a lot of effort with minimal reward. She either wanted to be on the move or in the crib. “A” for effort, I guess!
Don’t fly if your baby is sick. Not only is their immune system down and they are more susceptible to catching other things, but also it could cause them a lot of pain during air travel. When in doubt, call your pediatrician to have them check out your baby’s ears to give the green light and give you peace of mind. I actually think I’ve taken Claire in to get checked out before pretty much every trip.
If you are checking out this page, I’m going to venture to guess that it might be your first time traveling with your child. In that case, it’s really important to read my page on managing expectations as travel will be a little bit different than you may remember (hint: you won’t be filling your day with every possible excursion, but you will be thoroughly enjoying what you do see!)
Pro Tips when traveling with a baby
Bring extra clothes for you and your baby in case of unexpected diaper blow-outs!
On the go essentials: bibs, hats, pacifiers, muselin blanket, sunscreen or protective clothing.
Traveling with a baby for the first time is a little…well, a lot different than traveling when it was just you and your spouse. But if you ask most parents, they will tell you that traveling as a family will never be as easy as when your child is a baby! So do it while you have the chance!
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