13 Great Tips for Travelling with Your Baby
1. Can it fit in a taxi?
If you plan to stay in more than one place during your trip, you will do yourself a big favor by not bringing all the baby equipment and toys from home. Keep in mind that you should be able to fit all your luggage in a taxi, boat or sometimes even a tuc tuc.
2. The bare necessities
Except from baby clothes, pacifiers, bottles and other obvious stuff, here are a couple of things that you may find useful on your trip:
- A Baby Carrier –
- An Umbrella Stroller – make sure it can recline completely
- A Portable Baby Chair – a great invention that you can mount to any chair.
- A Baby Watcher – so you can relax at the beach while your baby is napping.
- Mosquito Net – some places already have mosquito nets, but if they don’t you’ll be happy that you brought your own.
- Instant porridge – you can find it in most supermarkets in any city
3. Have a bottle ready
If you don’t nurse, always have a bottle with formula ready already when entering the plane. They should drink during take-offs and landings to help prevent ear pain.
4. New toys on the plane
You know how it always takes at least 30 minutes of waiting in the plane before take-off. These minutes can be quite challenging for parents, since babies normally don’t like to sit still with the seat belt on. You can bring tiny new toys that will usually keep your child occupied and sitting still during that time.
5. Don’t run out of snacks
Bring lots of snacks (fruit, hard boiled eggs, instant porridge, fruit smoothies, rice crackers, avocado, carrots, sprouts etc.). Giving them a snack is always a good trick to prevent them from suddenly screaming of hunger.
6. Be picky about your place
When you have a baby you will spend a lot of extra time in your hotel room, house or bungalow. Make sure that you choose a place where you will feel comfortable. If you are on a beach vacation it might be worth finding a beach front location. That way, you can have a swim and relax in the sun, while the baby is sleeping.
7. Keep them close
If you move around a lot your baby might feel a little unsafe. Always show them around when you arrive to a new place. And, if they have trouble sleeping, let them sleep in your bed. That way they will always feel safe, no matter where in the world you are.
8. Skip the menu
If you are particular about your child taking sugar or processed foods like pasta or white bread, talk to the waiter or the chef and explain what your baby likes. They can almost always fix something yummy, even if it is not on the menu.
9. Eat early … or late
Bringing a baby to a restaurant doesn’t have to mean trouble. Just do it on their terms. Even though it might feel a little awkward having dinner around 5-6 pm, in a half empty restaurant, that is usually your best chance of having a no cry dinner. You don’t have to wait for the food, plus there are lots of space to play on.
If you do however prefer to eat late. Give your baby something to eat at home, then put him of her in the stroller with a bottle and hopefully he or she will sleep while you can enjoy a quiet and romantic dinner.
10. Try the local luxuries
If your baby eats solid food, let her try fresh coconut, dragon fruit, pomelo, lychee, both as fruit and as juices. That stuff is so much better than baby crackers, bottled juices and bread.
11. Take turns
Vacation is about relaxation, and since small babies need a lot of attention, it’s not always easy to find the time to read a book or just slumber away. Take turns taking care of your child so that the other one could have an hour of total relaxation.
12. Leave your rules at home
Things are different when you travel, you run into new challenges that you haven’t faced before. Best way to handle it is trying to be open and adjustive to whatever happens. That way you can save a lot arguing and worrying.
13. Just do it!
Don’t be afraid of what kind of problems you could run in to. Traveling is an amazing experience, and you never end up regretting it. So what are you waiting for, start saving up, and book that trip.
