I was going to title this post something more generic – like ‘traveling with a baby’ (because I’m feeling very original today), but honestly, no one travels the same especially when children are involved. All I can really talk about are my experiences (and what I’ve learned from them) traveling with Clara.
As I previously mentioned, while Clara is usually a laid-back traveler, we have our frustrating moments.
Traveling with a baby definitely isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but it doesn’t need to be that difficult, either.
So far we’ve taken Clara on overnight trips to St. Louis, Michigan City, Portland, Austin, Cincinnati, and San Diego – and we don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon!
Here are some of the things we’ve learned after taking quite a few trips with Clara:
| It is possible to use cloth diapers while traveling. Bringing cloth diapers along isn’t that bad, if we’re staying with kind friends who let us wash our diapers in their washing machine or if we’re staying in a hotel that has a laundry room. However, cloth diapers can still be washed in a bathtub or hotel sink and dried in the room.
| So basically, now we know that if we’re traveling and choosing a hotel to stay at, we should ask if there is a laundry room available.
| Ask for the handicap accessible room. We didn’t think about this before, but we really like having a bathtub if we’re staying a few nights in a place, because it allows us to give Clara a bath and/or wash her diapers/clothes if we need to.
| Bring snacks everywhere. At 8%20 months old, Clara is very entertained by picking up and eating her puffs and any other handheld snacks. This buys us a few extra (non-fussy) minutes at a restaurant.
| Count on eating-in some nights. Certain nights we just knew that Clara was too tired to sit in a restaurant (or we were sight-seeing too late) so we ordered in food instead of going out to eat. Room service isn’t the only option either, we had Korean and Thai food during our trip to San Diego, which was way cheaper than room service.
| Nap times provide nice breaks. Usually I travel fairly aggressively (this is an understatement) because I want to do and see everything, but since Clara requires two naps a day, we slowed down a bit and relaxed in our hotel room more than I usually would. I actually enjoyed this time because I could watch March Madness! On our previous trips Clara was young enough to nap anywhere, so this wasn’t an issue then.
| Plane rides get more difficult as babies get older, but they can be managed! Basically, I’m glad I don’t let the fear of a long plane ride dissuade me from deciding to go on trips, because it is possible to survive them with a baby!
| Fly Southwest (if it’s an option). I think. Even though we had a bad delay/cancellation experience in San Diego (well, it was nice to be there extra days but under a lot of circumstances being delayed two days would have been a huge issue), I still think flying Southwest is easiest with a baby. We are able to check her stroller and carseat at the gate for free, we can each check two bags for free, and if there are seats available on our flight she can have her own seat on the plane. On four out of the six flights we’ve taken, Clara has gotten her own seat (for free), so I’ll remain loyal to SWA for now. (We also haven’t tried another airline, so I have nothing to compare this to, but I do love the free baggage check.)
| Make a list of things to pack. I’m a minimalist packer by nature, but we were a little too minimalist on this last trip – and we completely forgot her carrier! Having a list will ensure that the essentials get packed, but it will also prevent you from packing your entire house out of fear you will forget something. (And certain things, like baby food, can easily be bought at the destination.)
| It’s best to roll with the punches when it comes to sleep schedules. I was a little nervous about the timezone difference in California, but Clara was a champ. I actually think she’s on PST anyway, because she goes to bed and wakes up so late here! So basically, within the first day she was on a ‘normal’ schedule there and it was awesome. Coming back was fine, too. I guess not having her on a strict schedule at home really does help when traveling.
What am I missing?! Any tips or questions about traveling with babies?!
