Baby Travel 101...
1. It is NOT crazy to travel overseas with a baby. If you decide to do so, you must face many faces, odd looks, comments about how "you are braver than I would ever be," etc. My first piece of advice (from my extensive experience of 1 trip) is that you cannot let other people's fears intimidate you. My favorite comment back: Lots of babies live in Italy everyday. I'm sure Caleb will be fine.
2. Although it is NOT crazy to travel with a baby, it would be crazy to travel without quite a bit of planning. Our trip was a bit last minute (only about 2.5 months to plan), but we (especially I) spent lots of time reading travel books, on internet threads/sites dedicated to traveling with a baby. Depending on where you go, the travel needs could be different (whether you need to bring diapers, food, formula, stroller, car seat, trip insurance, etc)
3. Baby needs a passport (even to Mexico). DON'T forget this. If your child doesn't have one yet, it could limit spontaneity in travel.
4. Air travel is the most intimidating part, in my opinion.
a. We were incredibly blessed to have an empty seat next to us on both international flights without having to pay. If you can afford it, I would recommend paying for a seat for baby. However, if you can't (like us) just gear up to tough it out for 8-9 hours. Caleb was an angel, but even if your child isn't... anyone can bear anything for 8-9 hours (including you, your neighbors, and the flight attendants). And of course, if your baby has trouble clearing his/her ears, nurse him/her during take-off and landing.
b. I forgot, but I was going to bring earplugs to pass out as a silly/serious gift to those sitting around us. One thing I learned is that the white noise from a plane is pretty loud. Even though Caleb did fuss a bit on each flight, the people around us did not hear him at all.
c. Travel before baby can crawl if you can. I've heard it gets way harder once kids know what they are missing. Although, all international flights have cartoons and movies that kids can watch.
d. We weren't sure how much stuff you could check at the gate when we were flying. We just took a stroller, but we saw people with travel systems (car seat/stroller combos) and even separate car seats and strollers. I think airlines are pretty lax when it comes to checking things at the gate (especially if you have a cuddly or crying baby in your arms).
e. If you don't pay for a ticket for baby, you still have to pay for your baby to ride on an international flight. The cost is generally 10% of the adult ticket + taxes and allows the baby to have a checked bag.
5. Don't plan the same type of vacation you took before baby came along. We limited the number of things we did and places we went in order to make the trip easier on Caleb. We stayed in apartments (which we found on airbnb.com and tripadvisor.com). Apartments were nice because we had more space, our own living space so Caleb could sleep better, and honestly they were similar in price to hotel rooms.
6. Limit the amount of stuff you take. Because we knew we would be able to wash clothes in our apartments, we limited our clothing greatly. We also bought diapers in country and limited toys. Caleb was more entertained by a water bottle than his electronic book anyway.
7. Consider your baby's temperament in planning your trip. Caleb is super easy-going, so we knew he would be able to go with the flow as we travelled around. If your baby has a really hard time with change, maybe your international travel should be to an all-inclusive resort somewhere or you should stay in one city the entire time. Rather than regretting what you can't do, enjoy the things you can do with the new bundle of love in your life.
1 comment:
i'm sure in 5-10 years i'm going to be digging back through your blog looking for this! people have given me some strange looks, too when i say my sister took her 6 month old to italy. but caleb's awesome. teach me how to instill flexibility!
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