Traveling with an Infant

Something we have gotten asked often enough is how do we travel now that we have a baby? Is it harder? And I always say that you still can totally travel however often and wherever you want, it just takes a little extra planning and more stuff than you think you need.
After thinking about it for a couple days, I thought I’d make a list of advice and things you may want to bring with you to make your travels easier.
We just got back from a week of driving around Montana and Northern Idaho. It was so fun to see family and friends, but we probably clocked about 20 hours in the car total- between driving to our destinations and then around towns when we were there. Since Baby was born we have gone camping, flown to Florida and back, flown to Seattle, driven to Seattle, driven to our hometown and now up to MT, so I feel like we have a pretty good handle on what we need. Planes or cars- maybe some of this can help another mama get more prepared for traveling with babies.

Whether you’re camping or driving or flying somewhere with a baby, I’ve found its helpful to have these things:

If formula feeding: besides extra formula and bottles, we like to pack travel size dish soap and bottle brush. When you get to the destination just set up a bottle station right away to establish a little normalcy and organization. We bring a new tin of formula, three bottles, bottle brush and soap with us everywhere. I also keep a water bottle for formula in the diaper bag in case we are somewhere that doesn’t have a ready water source (such as the time we got stuck in the snow for 3 hours on our way back home this last trip).

Baby-jail: bring something where baby can safely be out of the way but still in sight. We bring a pack n’ play (for sleep and play) and a bumbo that also serves as a high chair when we travel. I recommend looking for a bumbo on EBay, surprisingly they were expensive on Amazon.
Diapers and Wipes: more than you think you need. Pack what looks good and then throw in ten more. (We also have a little fold-able foam 1X3 changing pad that we bring with us everywhere, and that has saved countless white sheets and couches from poops)

Clothes: I feel like I basically pack all of Baby’s clothes that she currently fits in- which was barely enough because she spit up and got food on almost every outfit I had brought. I did run out of pajamas for her. (Doing laundry would have helped. Ha.)
Toys: I try to grab a few toys that she is familiar with, and a couple that she hasn’t played with for a while so they are “new” and keep her busy a little longer- especially on a plane. Even though most people have been really understanding so far, it’s still hard to be the parents with the crying baby.

Schedule: Although it is easier said than done, try to keep the babes on their schedule. It will keep some semblance of normalcy and the transition to the new place will go a little easier, as well as the transition when you’re back at home. Keep nap time and bed times the same, it sure helped keep me sane during our travels!
Road trip tips: We have had  a lot of success of planning our departure time around Baby nap. Everything we can do is done when she wakes up in the morning, we do finishing touches and then by the time she is ready for her next nap we take off in the car and get a solid 2-2.5 hours of drive time before she needs to be fed or we need to stop.

Plane tips: during take off and landing ear pops, we have had success when baby either had a bottle or a pacifier in during those times. Landings were not her favorite but we’ve only had one major melt down out of our 10 flights thus far. During the plane ride itself make sure baby is not too hot or too cold; one time she was fighting a nap really hard for about 15 minutes before I thought to take off her jacket and then she relaxed and fell asleep right away. We also keep a couple different kinds of snacks on hand now too and rotate through them to keep her busy and interested.

In conclusion, these are some things we stick to when traveling with our almost 10 month old! But, please don’t think that all of our travels go perfectly or without hitches! We are still learning and getting better at it every time we go out! In fact, try as I might on this trip, Baby would not sleep in her pack n’ play at night she ended up with us every night we were gone (she moves around a lot in her sleep!) We forgot dish soap this latest time, and had to improvise when cleaning our bottles while at the hotel we stayed! Baby did keep to her bedtime really well, her naps were a little wonky, but her eating habits got really out of wack. She still pooped a few times every day so she got enough to eat, but I was still stressed! We had a great time and everyone survived, and there are always curve balls, something forgotten, blow-outs, and general life happenstances. What I want you to take away is this: Just because you have a baby now (or several), still travel, go out to restaurants, camp, backpack, and all the general things you did before baby. You can do it! You and baby will do great.