Make your Baby’s travel experience memorable with these 8 simple rules

Vacationing with your newborn baby may sound all fun and exciting, but ask any parent, and they will tell you how having your baby travel with you for the first couple of years can be a daunting task. Parents have to ensure their child’s safety at all times and also tend to their every whim and fancy.

Fortunately, there are specific measures you can take to make the experience a smooth sailing one. Although mothers have proven to be thorough planners and exceptional multi-taskers, they too can always use sound advice from others in similar situations.

Below is a list of useful tips and hacks that every parent can count on as they are tried-and-tested by mothers of infants, toddlers, and older babies.    

• Diapers - As no mother needs telling, packing a bag of diapers is a no-brainer. But the trick is to work with a combo pack to save on space. Also, most locations you end up travelling to will have medical stores, unless you are headed to some remote island, so you need not stock up on diapers while on vacation. Search online for possible stores in the vicinity of your destination, and you are good to go.

• Baby food - If your infant is being formula-fed, you can empty the powdery contents in a zip-lock bag and refrain from carrying the entire box for the trip. Do carry more baby food than needed to circumvent any delays or hiccups in the journey. For older babies, you can pack ready-to-eat healthy snacks like oat cookies, sweet potato fries, and baby biscuits. Again carry multiple zip locks so that the opened half-eaten snacks can be maintained for some time without going stale.

• Clothing - The journey through the airport and on the plane is bound to be a cold one. So, instead of carrying a sweater and mufflers while flying with the baby, you can dress him up in layers of clothing. It is easy to pull out the layers if the baby gets too hot. As they are his regular clothes, it won’t take up extra space in the luggage, and you can manage the vacated area more efficiently.

• Sunscreen - It is no surprise that babies need sunscreen too. Their delicate skin is just as prone to the harmful sun rays if not more. While outdoors, dab on a little sunscreen which is at least SPF 15 or SPF 30 on the face and the exposed skin for protection.

• First-Aid - Carry all the medications prescribed for your baby, including the ones rarely used, and ensure that your first-aid kit is child-compliant. As you will be visiting a new environment and climate, old allergies may act up. Also, save a copy of the emergency sheet with all the details on your phone including the numbers of the health care providers so that you don’t waste time scrambling around during a medical crisis.

• Toys and books - Babies look for a secured attachment when confronted with a new and challenging environment. Carrying their favourite blankets and comforting soft toys will keep them feeling safe at all times. While travelling with the baby, you can read them story books and also wrap their toys in layers so that they take time and effort to open it up. It works perfectly in distracting them from the surroundings by having them focus on an intriguing task.  

• Nap time - Babies get cranky during travels, so it is a good idea to schedule your trip during their nap times. Taking a flight in the afternoon or making a car journey in the night, when they are taking their supposed naps, can help you avoid dealing with a fussy baby.
  

• Technology - How many times has it happened to you that while taking a trip your phone’s battery has gone kaput? The situation gets tricky when you have a baby travel with you. Be prepared for all emergencies by packing in your portable chargers and ensuring that all your smartphones, tabs, and video games are fully charged before leaving your house.

We have also mentioned specific measures you can take based on the mode of transport.

While flying in a plane

• Flying with a baby in tow can become less taxing when you know how to work around their needs. For instance, communicate it to the booking agent that you are flying with a baby while booking seats on a flight. Try to get seats as ahead as possible to avoid the noisier, more vibrating, and the less-convenient-for-deplaning seats at the back.
  

• When both the parents are flying with the baby, you can have one parent board the plane with the luggage to accommodate it in the overhead compartment. The other parent can enter the aircraft closer to the time of take-off so that they are not stuck to the confines of their seat for long with a restless baby. Instead take the baby outdoors where he will feel less claustrophobic and more relaxed.

When on the road

• During the afternoons, your car might get too hot for comfort. Babies, especially, are sensitive to extreme heat so you will need to maintain his optimum body temperature. You can do so by using detachable shade screens on the side windows of your vehicle to protect his eyes and keep him relatively cool.

• While being cloistered in a car for a couple of hours straight is no one’s idea of fun, it can be that much more exhausting for a baby. Ensure that you take pit stops at less crowded places and at odd hours so that you don’t encounter the regular crowd. Also plan ahead and select certain kid-friendly public places like restaurants and malls along your route to avoid making hasty last-minute decisions.

Conclusion

Although every mother has the essential travelling with the baby checklist all worked out, the hacks mentioned above will ensure that you and your baby travel light and travel smart. New parents are undoubtedly stressed out when their baby travels with them for the first time and for a good reason. But with a little preparation and far-sightedness, you can overcome the hurdles to enjoy the ‘Kodak moments’ of your life with your tiny tot.

Kindly share your personal experiences and let us know if the tips mentioned above have helped you plan a better vacation. As always, we welcome suggestions and tips that can be shared with others to help build our community further.