You Can Travel With Your Infant! Heres How
Everyone always talks about how impossible it is to travel with a baby. It was actually one of the things my boyfriend feared the most when we found out we were pregnant. We love to travel and explore and we just didn’t know how that would work with a newborn. But I didn’t care what people said, we were going to try.
This past weekend we took our anniversary trip to Dallas and it was amazing. We had to make some changes to better suit our 5 month old but we still got to do what we wanted. Here are five things that will make it easier to travel with a newborn/infant.
Accept the fact that there are just some things you can’t do. Unless you are traveling with a grandparent or babysitter you wont be able to go partying, go to bars and do anything too physical like zip lining. You still have a little one by your side and your not going to want them around drunk people or left alone while you’re doing something. Instead find things that are family friendly. You can go to restaurants that have a great drink selection but have a more family set up. You can even do fun things that allow you to put your baby on you or that you can bring a stroller to. There are so many things out there that you might have never considered before having a baby.
Pick a place that is baby friendly. Don’t set yourself up for failure. If you’re driving pick somewhere that’s not too far. Think about diaper changes, food and the unexpected. I would recommend 3-6 hours max. Flying is a bit different. A 5 hour flight and a 5 hour drive are two totally separate things. On a plane, you are limited to a very small space with extremely tiny bathrooms and a bunch of strangers! Not to mention the 2-3 before the flight at the airport it can be a lot. After our trip we discovered that 2 hours is perfect for our baby girl.
Pack efficiently - Think about clothes, diapers, wipes, diaper bags, blankets, burp clothes and all that jazz. What does your baby need and how much of it? Don’t overpack but definitely don’t pack too little. And remember if it’s a road trip there is always a target or walmart wherever you go. Plus if you are a breastfeeding mama, keep snacks on deck.
Do activities based off your childs schedule - Before I had my baby, on a vacation I would be out from sun up to sun down but now…. I know that she needs a nap! Luckily we rented a car and she still loves to sleep in the car. With Covid you don’t want to be out too much anyway. Maybe a couple times a day do stuff that involves driving or walking the stroller to get a good nap in. You can even pick activities that will wear your kids out. An example could be if you have older kiddos, go to the zoo or a museum in the morning so that they can walk/ run around or just have fun and then later they nap while your doing something more relaxing or adult-like. But more than anything know when it’s time to head back to the room.
Tips for catching a flight - Flying with an infant can bring a lot of anxiety and that alone can discourage parents. But there are things like tsa pre-check and Clear that cut the security line down. They do cost but if flying is going to be frequent then it may be a good investment. There’s already so much that has to be carried like car seat, diaper bags and potentially frozen milk and pumping parts, you don’t want to be in that line forever.
Hopefully this helped you want to start traveling and you’re already searching for your destination. Remember having a baby does not end your life, it enhances it.
