Holiday Traveling With Baby

The holidays are finally here

That means plenty of family gatherings to bring you back and forth across county and state lines this season, with your new baby in tow. 

Holiday travel is challenging enough as one adult, a whole family including a new baby isn't for the faint of heart. Traveling with your baby can become stressful pretty quick, making your journey over the river and through the woods to grandma's house an adventure you're dreading. 

A little extra preparation goes a long way when it comes to traveling with baby. 

Packing 

Packing a complete diaper bag might be the most stressful part of holiday traveling. Instead of overthinking your baby supplies, consider what will be available at your destination that you probably don't need to pack. You should bring at least two outfits for baby per day and plenty of diapers, wipes, bottles and extra pacifiers. Keeping a separate bag next to you in the car will keep certain items easily accessible like a diaper, wipes, hand sanitizer and water. 

Keep your bag organized so you aren't left rummaging through a cluttered diaper bag one handed. Packing your baby outfits in separate baggies will keep them clean in case something spills inside the bag and keeps tiny socks and accessories from getting lost. 

Long Car Rides

Car rides are boring for everyone, including your baby. Pack toys or distractions for baby to stay occupies that aren't too big or soft that could create a suffocation risk. Take turns spending some time in the back seat with baby keeping them company. Bring some stories to read to your baby on long car rides and keep your emergency bag nearby for any unexpected messes. If you can, travel during times your baby is normally sleepy to keep them from waking up cranky when you finally arrive at your destination. Before the big departure, make sure your baby's window is equipped with a sun shade and your car seat is installed correctly. Babies should be in rear-facing car seats until about age two, which definitely makes it easier to tend to them while you're in the back seat and they're buckled in. 

Airports

Navigating an airport with your baby might be an expert level parenting exercise, whether you're ready or not. TSA has a way of making air travel a little more complicated, however they do have some accommodations that will make checkpoints with baby a little easier on parents. That being said, plan to incorporate some extra time into your schedule for TSA checks, because your baby items must be meticulously inspected by security. Keep your baby's carry on organized, nothing in the basket under your stroller, and your baby dressed in easy to remove footwear. Freezing baby food puree flat in little labeled baggies can also double as ice packs in your diaper bag. Make sure your little one has their pacifier, bottle or nursing during takeoff because little ones are more sensitive to changes in cabin pressure. 

Traveling with your baby is nothing to panic about. 

Don't rush, take your time, and roll with the punches. 

Don't sweat the small stuff, the more upset you get the more fussy your baby will be throughout your holiday experience. 

6 Ways Travel with Children is Like Birth

I recently flew across the world with my two young children, from Boston to Thailand. Somewhere around the 30th delirious hour of travel, I realized how similar international travel and childbirth can be!

1. PLANNING

There you are, sitting with magazines, looking at pictures of the bliss in your future. You write out an itinerary, how things will unfold on this adventure. Then your first day on the trip you realize you weren’t made for trekking in 95 degree weather and book a flight to the beach. 

Planning for your birth can be exciting and intimidating. There are many options, and many questions to ask! Knowing that you are in control of all those choices can be empowering. You can make a plan and you can change that plan.

2. CHOOSING YOUR MODE OF TRANSPORT

In the ad your airline promised you were their first priority. You are entrusting them with your experience, your hard earned two week vacation. Maybe you have a friend who flew with them and raved. Maybe you have flown with them before on a shorter, regional trip and they were fine. Does this mean they are going to give you the experience you’re looking for on a 30 hour, multiple plane trip? 

The same reasoning can be applied to choosing your care provider. Perhaps you’ve been with the practice for your well care and have been happy with them. But, when you start talking about how you’d like your birth to go, their philosophies aren’t quite lining up. Maybe it’s worth exploring your options. It’s never too late to change your provider if they aren’t the right fit. After all, you want to feel confident that this practice is as invested in you having the birth you want as you are!

3. PACKING

When I was younger I traveled the world with only what would fit in my backpack. On my international trip last month; I brought no fewer than three suitcases, two car seats, a pack n play and multiple carry-ons. Different journeys, certainly. My life is far more complicated, rich and full of little people in diapers than it was on those solo backpacking trips. LITTLE PEOPLE IN DIAPERS WANT SNACKS! Lots of snacks. 

Consider what you will need to feel comfortable as you transition from laboring in your home to laboring in the hospital. Consider what elements, clothes, smells and tastes make you feel cozy. Creating a packing list and putting essentials in a bag in advance can help you feel more prepared. (DADS WAITING FOR BABIES TO BE BORN LIKE SNACKS TOO!)

4. ENJOYING THE TRIP

This is it! You’ve done the work and made it a reality. This is a big deal. You are excited. You are anticipating every moment. Now, remember your breathing. Savor the details and memories, even the painful ones when your feet are swollen and you just want to lay down in your own bed. These times will fly by, so find the beauty and the joy in the journey. It’s there no matter how you travel (or give birth).

5. JET.LAG.

You guys, the struggle is real. You have been on a plane for days. Your feet don’t fit in your shoes. The sun is setting but your circadian rhythm says “it’s breakfast time!”. Once home, after our most recent trip, there was a week that my three year old woke up at 1am saying “I’m hungry!” Every. Night. For. A. Whole. Damn. Week.

Much like readjusting to your time zone, bringing home a new baby can be exhausting. They seem to be confused about what times of day it’s appropriate to eat and sleep. They want to sleep in places you never imagined a baby sleeping. Embrace this new normal and get some help. Newborn babies are designed to eat and sleep when they need to. Some babies will begin sleeping through the night around three months, while some won’t until closer to a year, or later. Every baby is unique. With a little extra support at home through the fourth trimester, you will learn your baby’s rhythm. You will sleep again!

6. GETTING READY TO DO IT AGAIN!

You've succeeded once and think, "that wasn't too bad". You’ve been through packing and repacking your suitcase to meet the airline's weight restriction. You’ve been through security, eight times. One agent in Chicago let you keep your toothpaste, but suddenly in Tokyo you have to throw it away?! Really?! You’ve been in the cab that took you to the wrong hotel.

But then again, you’ve watched the sun set over the ocean after you lounged by the pool for an entire day sipping drinks from coconuts. Isn't life beautiful? Where are we going next year?

You’ve been through the labyrinth and out again. Through childbirth and all it’s mysteries. Through parenting and all it’s challenges. And now you’re back, third trimester here we come! Big sister is waiting! 

Or maybe not. Maybe this year you’ll just enjoy the view from your own backyard…