Traveling with an Infant:Tips from True First Timers
Okay so a couple things before I start
1. I'm FULLY aware that all kids are different.
I don't wanna guarantee you that all of this will work with your peanut.
BUT some of the planning & logistical pieces I'm offering up will help.. I hope.. as you prepare for your own adventures!
2. We're first timers like this title says!
So hear me when I say that I'm not claiming to be an expert or know it all. We've simply gone on both a LONG road trip & have flown out of the country with our little one and I want to share our experiences with y'all.
Here we go.
*and if you got shade to throw my way for any reason - time to close your browser, pal!*
Let's start with the ROAD TRIP!
In December of 2017, we made the drive from Florida to North Carolina for Christmas with Nate's family. This was roughly an 11ish hour drive, without factoring in any stops. I had SO much anxiety leading up to this trip - like WAY more than just a pit in my stomach. I'm talking skin breakouts, dreams & anxious sweats.
A little back story first to fully understand where I'm coming from: Raegan has NEVER been a fan of the car. But at this particular time, she would legit scream until her face was bright red or was "foaming" at the mouth even running for a quick trip to the grocery store. Yeah. So you could understand why I wondered how the HECK we'd make it that far.
To ATTEMPT to make this happen, we made a decision.
To drive through the night.
Womp womp womp.
But we also came to an important agreement.
We agreed that doing what was best for Raegan was priority numero uno.
And if that meant turning around at the 2 hour mark because she wouldn't stop screaming - that's exactly what we'd do. Knowing that & being on the same page made both of us feel a little at ease going into this trip. Because as much Nate wanted to see his family, we wanted peace & comfort for our sweet six month old more.
Okay.
Moving on..
Like I said, the first thing we decided to do was drive through the night.
We simply figured that the more she slept, the quicker we'd travel.
For safety reasons though, we decided to split the drive as much as possible.
And we packed plenty of caffeine!
The day of our trip, I kept Rae's schedule as routine as possible - both for feedings & naps. When bedtime rolled around, we had the car completely packed & ready to go.
I fed her half way (aka boob #1) in her room & then moved to the back seat of our car to finish nursing. I put her in the carseat with the sound machine running & lavender diffusing (yep, I even bought a car diffuser from amazon).
She fussed pretty good for about 30 minutes and then went to sleep.
We ended up stopping about every 3 hours to get her out (she would typically wake up every 2.5 hours wanting to be held), feed her, change diapers, let her stretch her legs & give some reassuring snuggles.
The next morning was the hardest part when she was awake in daylight & ready to play. That last hour was r o u g h trying to distract her.
But all in all, it went better than we anticipated..
Driving was not necessarily the easy route but it did, however, make things easier in regards to packing. We weren't limited so much by weight & space - although Nate would have LOVED to limit us to ONE family bag. HA. #MEN
So I might have brought a little more than I probably needed to..
But as the mom of a precious, but unpredictable 6 month old on our FIRST trip, I wanted to be prepared.
Here's what our packing list for Raegan looked like!
- Pack N Play + Sheet
- Blanket & Rae's lovie
- Sound Machine
- Nursing pillow
- Monitor
- Changing pad, wipes, diapers
- Essential oils & toiletries
- Clothes, Jammies & Sleep Sack
- Jacket, mittens & hats
- Play Mat, toys, books
- Portable high chair, cup, bibs, utensils
- Breast pump & milk bags
- Cooler with refrigerated foods
- Ring sling & happy baby carrier
- Nursing Cover & burp cloths
- Fully loaded diaper bag
- Tummy calm & infant tylenol JUST incase
- Charged iPad with Curious George downloaded
(we hadn't allowed real screen time for Rae up to this point but decided we should have options incase we got desperate. No shame!)
A couple of helpful tips:
1. We kept the car COLD since she was in her footed jammies & snuggled up with a blanket. Also because I built a "tent" around her carseat to keep too much light from coming in & waking her up.
Nate & I were FREEZING - even with hoodies & blankets.
I'm sure part of this was also because it was winter time, but mostly because the air was BLASTING the entire time.
So, regardless of the season, remember to dress for the car ride! ha
2. The car "tent" that I mentioned above was mega helpful! I used dark blankets & tucked them from head rest to head rest. BUT, I constantly checked on Rae to make sure it wasn't stuffy in there for her & to verify she was good! One of us actually sat in the back seat next to her 95% of the time.
3. Load the car down with diapers/wipes or anything you don't want to have to dig through the diaper bag for! Trust me, you do NOT want to have to do that every time. On a regular basis, we actually keep a little tote on the floor in front of her carseat. We even keep a few toys, a pair of socks, a carrier, a back up shirt for me & spare clothes for her in there! Super helpful!
4. Pack food for yourself so that you can limit your stops to gas & baby breaks. No explanation needed.
5. Try to stick with your routine as much as possible.
For us, this meant staying somewhere else (on our own) so we had our own space.
It also meant taking the pack n play when we made daily visits to see Nate's family so Rae could have a real nap. Yes, it took more work BUT we had a happier baby & no sleep regression.
I've learned that babies will be flexible if you help them by keeping certain things consistent! Don't let anyone make you feel bad for this.
I've learned that babies will be flexible if you help them by keeping certain things consistent! Don't let anyone make you feel bad for this.
6. Don't have expectations..
I'm not telling you to be a negative nancy & anticipate the worst.
I'm just telling you to have no expectations so that you're pleasantly surprised by each victory. Remember that your immediate family's peace is the most important. Everything else is second. Accepting that is freeing!
The ONE thing I actually forgot on this specific trip was a thermometer - which, go figure, we needed for our girl the day we left to return home. So Nate ran to the drug store & now we keep one in each diaper bag! Our drive home is actually an INSANE (slightly awful experience that didn't become disastrous) story, but that's a WHOLE other post! Me made it though & all of this helped immensely!
Now let's talk about our first FLIGHT & trip out of the country!
Last week, we took our first family vacation.. first family flight.. first family trip out of the country!! It was a BIG ordeal that I was MOSTLY excited about. But anything new is a little nerve-wracking, right?
How will the baby do on the plane?
Will she clear her/his ears?
Will I have to change a diaper on the plane?
What will we do during our layover?
Do we need to hire a car?
Will they have a carseat?
..loads of unknowns!
But the truth is, you make it work no matter what.
So prep as much as you can & the rest you'll figure out!
When we booked our flights for Mexico, we went for the CHEAPEST flights.
We didn't consider at all the timing because I'm #FrugalFelicia & figured the travel day was going to be whack anyways so it didn't matter.
We got Rae up at 3:45am & left the house at 4am for our 6am international flight. YIKES! But, like normal, she woke up in a great mood! I kept her in her footie PJs for comfort + to have her feet covered at the airport if she wanted to stand up at all.
As for me, I made sure to wear something that I could EASILY breastfeed in.
This is always on my mind while choosing (or shopping for) clothes, but this time I was also trying to consider being semi cute & dressing for frigid airports + warm tropics. Romper it was!
HOWEVER, I would probably opt for something a little different next time because although it was EASY easy to nurse in discreetly without a cover, it was a pain to pull down for bathroom breaks because it meant I had to take Reagan (in her carrier) off of me. Normally, if I just wear a top + bottom, I can keep her strapped to me for easy bathroom breaks. So I'd go some variation of that!
Might be TMI, but these things MATTER - right, mamas? HA!
Being that she's a TOTAL people watcher, Rae was 100% entertained the entire time at the airport. I wore her in my happy baby carrier (which contains no metal) & was able to keep her on me while we went thru security! If you're planning to baby wear, keep that in mind. We opted for no stroller because I didn't want to lug it around AND she is much happier being worn + will take solid naps that way!
Fortunately, I got RaeRae to nurse after we boarded & she slept the entire 37 minute flight to ATL. Our first victory!
OH.. and PS, I kept a pack of travel sized lysol wipes in the top of the diaper bag & when we boarded early, I wiped our seats/area DOWN before we got situated!
In regards to airport FOOD - this is what I found to work for us!
Keep in mind, my 10 month old eats solids 3x a day plus snacks AND nurses 4-5x a day. We also used the Baby Led Weaning approach so she is NOT picky & will nearly eat anything we eat.
For her breakfast, I snagged a plain greek yogurt & berry parfait from Starbucks. I trashed the granola because #SUGAR & fed this to her easily while we waited for our flight. A few hours later, I got a burrito bowl from Qdoba & fed her basically all the contents - we even laid some out on our Gathre mat since it's leather & SO easy to clean up! On our way home, she had some of our chicken wraps & her own grilled chicken patty + half a wheat bun from a Chick Fil A grilled chicken sandwich (SUPER simple since she could hold each piece with two hands).
In between meals, she would nurse a little (although I tried to save it for take off/landings though so she would clear her ears) & have some dried fruit, a sip or two of a squeezie pack for fruits & veggies, yogurt melts, puffs or bites of our clean chocolate cherry almond beach bars.
She was a champ, as always!
Now.
I had TWO packing lists for this trip.
One for everything we would need at the resort, which would go into a checked suitcase.
And the other list for her diaper bag & part of Nate's carry on - which would contain items for the plane and our 3-5 hour airport layovers.
In our diaper bag & carry on..
- diapers/wipes
(like 14 diapers, don't play, I was SO nervous!)
- change of clothes for Rae
- thermometer
- changing pad
- nursing cover
- snacks for airport & plane
(puffs, yogurt bites & a squeezie pack of "baby food")
- a medium sized Gather mat (for her to play on the floor during lay overs.. LOVE!)
- a few toys that she hadn't seen before or in a while
- charged iPad
- teethers because #DUH she started cutting her first tooth two days prior
In our checked suitcase..
- Pack N Play + Sheet
- Light blanket & Rae's lovie
- Sound machine
- Changing pad, wipes, diapers
- Swim diapers & swimsuits
- Sunscreen & pool hat
- Pool float
- Essential oils & toiletries
- Clothes, jammies & muslin sleep Sack
- Lightweight toys, 2 books & her leapfrog dog "violet"
- Portable high chair, cup, 2 bibs, spoon/fork
- Hand held breast pump
- Non perishable snacks (puffs, yogurt melt, granola bars & "baby food" squeezie packs)
- Water ring sling (was already wearing/using my happy baby carrier)
- Tummy calm & infant tylenol.. just incase
- More Lysol wipes for the hotel room - brought 3 packs - NO SHAME
- Black trash bags & masking tape
Thoughts & Tips:
Alright, once we arrived at the airport in Mexico - we had to board a shuttle bus for an hour ride to the resort. We had ordered a carseat but we quickly realized that it was NOT protocol for them to use them, as they had no clue how to install it properly in those types of seats. After trying ourselves for 20 minutes, we decided that I would just continue wear her. Although, this was definitely NOT our preference - we went with it since it was a GIANT greyhound-sized bus. So I sanitized, settled in, quickly nursed her & we were off.
Once we got to the resort, I wiped down our room & unpacked while Nate let little Rae stretch out for some playtime. We situated her sleeping area, which we decided the bathroom would be best for since it could be completely closed. We set up her pack N play + sound machine then used the masking tape & black trash bags I had packed to close off any places that light would come in - there were permanent semi-open shutters between the bathroom & bedroom + a glass panel in a dual sided shelf. She sleeps in a blacked out room at home, so keeping as much the SAME as possible was crucial to keeping her sleeping all night.
I'm not sure how your dynamic is with your fella, but between Nate & I, he is definitely more laid back when it comes to germs. So we agreed as a way to keep the peace (aka NOT get annoyed with each other) that being 100% paranoid during our trip was totally okay. He knew that my psychotic actions were definitely helpful measures & agreed to embrace them for me for a few days. We also used lots of our essential oils & made sure that Raegan had her daily elderberry syrup to keep our girl from coming down with anything.
I think it goes without saying that we followed the same protocol on our journey home AND I washed ERRRRRTHING upon our return.
And in regards to her routine, we definitely shifted things a bit when we were out to dinner at night, BUT her wake up time + her naps were mostly the same! We thought we'd try for only one nap while we were away so we'd have more flexibility for activities, but she really needed two & we listened. She actually ended up sleeping for 2 hours at a time because being in the pool and on the beach wore her out so much!!
So bring some activities to do in your room - we used that time to exercise using the sliders & resistance loops we brought, brought two decks of cards, used the iPad for Netflix & had a nice patio to sit on as well!
So bring some activities to do in your room - we used that time to exercise using the sliders & resistance loops we brought, brought two decks of cards, used the iPad for Netflix & had a nice patio to sit on as well!
And as for expectations? Same rule!! Don't have any.
Our ONLY expectation was to enjoy & make memories..
which we absolutely did!
LAST THING.
My two favorite travel items!!
1. Without a DOUBT - a carrier of some sort.
My Wildbird ring slings are definitely the most streamlined carrier I own, BUT they have metal rings & I wanted my best shot at wearing Raegan through security. Also, a bit more of a carrier structure was going to be easier for all of the moving around we were going to be doing. So, I opted for my Happy Baby Carrier - which is EASY to pack, light weight & the perfect material for warm weather!
2. Our portable "Inglesina" chair - snagged via Amazon!
It was a little more than I wanted to spend initially but we have absolutely gotten our moneys worth out of it. We use this thing EVERY time we go out to eat, have hooked it onto the island at my parent's house & took it on this trip since it's compact + only weighs 5 pounds!
Alright - I know that was WAY more than a simple packing list with a few pointers. But this is the kind of stuff I wanted to know before we left.
I hope it helps, y'all!
Happy travels.
PS: stay tuned for "Traveling with a TODDLER" when we fly to GUAM this fall..
T W E N T Y hours of air time with a then 17 month old.
T W E N T Y hours of air time with a then 17 month old.
