Ready for your family vacation, but not sure how to travel with your baby or toddler?
Are you afraid the flight attendants will be annoyed with your crying little one or are worried about which cheap travel insurance to buy?
Concerned about how can you change a diaper on a bus or plane?
Don’t you fear!
This experienced mum will give you the scoop on traveling with your kiddo!
My daughter and I have enjoyed lots of fun mommy-daughter travels. I remember driving through a blizzard with a screeching toddler in the back.
The solution?
Playing PSY’s Gangnam Style full blast for an hour! Or the time that my tiny tot decided not to go down the escalator with me at New York City’s Grand Central Station!
Hundreds of strangers around and my daughter crying at the top of a very, very long escalator. And me at the bottom wondering if I should try to run up a down escalator to get my little girl! (Thankfully an older mum took pity on us and helped my daughter down.)
Traveling with a toddler can be an adventure!
So here are some of my top mum tips for traveling with your baby. Will these tips guarantee that you will never have a meltdown or end up with stinky nappy in the middle of the bus tour?
Well, no, but at the least, you will have some great tips to make the trip just a little more manageable.
1. Take Your Time
Your baby will not care that you planned on snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, a three-hour bus tour, and a five-course meal at the most expensive restaurant around. Honestly, she won’t. Babies and toddlers have their own schedules.
So give yourself time to work around feeding times, nursing, naps, diaper changes, and downtime. If you really must have a packed schedule, consider letting someone watch the baby at the hotel or look into reputable local nanny services.
2. Enjoy the Perks
If you have an entourage of toddlers enjoy every perk you can at the airport, train station, and vacation destination. Use pre-boarding options to quickly load up your kids on the plane. Many trains will allow families to board an hour before for long train rides to avoid a hassle.
Talk to your hotel about free cribs, snacks for the kids, and kid-friendly entertainment. Ask your travel agent for the best rates in family travel insurance.
3. Take the Train
Personally, I love taking the train with a toddler. We enjoy walking to each car for exercise and adventure. The Dining Car can be fun as you and your little one enjoy a unique dining experience. Trains also have larger accessible bathrooms that make diaper changes, changing wardrobes, and impromptu baby baths (using the sink and biodegradable wet wipes!) easier. Try to book a sleep car, if possible, or seats with more foot room.
4. Pack for Everything, but Don’t Over Pack
Okay, that seems a little confusing, but let me explain. You want to prepare for feeding, entertainment, and diaper changes.
However, if you are traveling with a baby or small children, you need to keep yourself mobile to handle the little things like rocking an infant, soothing a stressed child, or chasing a toddler that has decided that she must have the cute teddy bear at the airport gift shop you passed ten minutes ago.
5. Buy or Rent Baby Equipment and Necessities
Consider what will be available at your destination. If you travel to a hotel, they will most likely have toiletries available. Will you be by a pharmacy or a supermarket? Then just pack enough diapers, snacks, and wipes for the trip to your hotel. Then buy what you need as you need it. This will minimize how much you have to carry while also managing a baby. Rent baby equipment instead of lugging your own.
And here is my mummy bonus tip:
ENJOY YOURSELF!
Yes, vacationing with a toddler or baby will be a crazy mess! But enjoy each moment. This is a special time to make exciting memories with your child. You will remember these times fondly when they have grown up and are off on their own traveling adventures.