Before Travelling with Your Baby

Choosing the Right Accommodation for Baby

Follow these tips when booking for a hotel or bed & breakfast for baby’s first travel: 

• We recommend booking a hotel room or apartment near supermarkets and pharmacies, just in case you run out of diapers or other essentials!
• Make sure that the sink or the bathtub is suitable to bathe your baby, especially if you’re staying for more than a couple of days. Keep in mind that newborns don’t need to take baths everyday, as it can dry their delicate skins.  
• Choose a hotel room with enough floor space for the stroller, crib, and other baby items you’ll need to take with you.  

• Look for a hotel or staff that is willing to accommodate check-in outside normal hours. Remember, if you’re arriving at 6 AM and your check in isn’t until 2 PM, you’ll want to have your room ready early so you can change your baby, put them down for a nap, and much more.
  
  If not, consider booking a room for the night before the day you arrive from your travel, that way you can arrive as early as you want, without having to wait until check-in hours (usually 2 PM).

• Favour hotels or apartment complexes with elevators, especially if you’re travelling with a stroller and for an extended period of time.

• Before having a baby you might have had the tendency to book hotel rooms near bars or pubs – or wherever the city’s nightlife is – during your travels. Those days were great, yet it may be a good moment to choose a different type of property for your next trip. For example, if you have a one-year-old, they’ll likely be anxious to walk all over. A hotel or resort, if you can splurge, may provide clean, natural, and beautiful gardens your baby can walk all around, even in the heart of a city! Baby’s good night sleep is paramount, so we suggest staying away from busy and noisy areas.

• Speaking of baby’s sleep, when organizing your travel, ask for a crib beforehand to avoid having surprises on your final bill.

• Get informed about the baby proofing practices in your selected hotel or bed & breakfast before booking and, upon arrival, make sure that everything is safe for baby before letting them roam around.

• When booking a bed & breakfast or apartment for baby’s first travel, try avoiding those who are on multiple floors, especially if the stairs don’t have baby gates.

• COVID-19 Considerations: Does the hotel or accomodation offer digital check-in?  This keeps you, your baby, and your family out of busy lobbies that pose virus risks.
  

• Check-in for warm water or a water boiler to sterilize baby’s binkies, cutlery, and more.

More on Choosing the Right Accommodation for Baby When Travelling here.

Health & Medical

Once you’ve booked your accommodation for baby’s first trip, it’s time to take care of their health and medical needs.

• We suggest bringing a copy of baby’s health records with you when travelling, to avoid being caught unprepared.

• Get informed about local pediatricians, as well as the locations of the nearest hospitals and pharmacies.

• Wherever you’re travelling, remember to write down the local emergency numbers: this is really important!
  

• Are there any special vaccines required for the place where you’re travelling?

• Consider bringing an emergency kit with you, comprising a thermometer, band-aids and essential baby medicine, such as paracetamol. You might be surprised to discover how some over-the-counter medicines require a prescription in certain countries!

Key Travel Items for Travelling with Baby

We suggest bringing these items when travelling with your baby for the first time:

• A foldable, non-bulky changing mat.
  For more tips on how to change your baby on the go, including which items to bring, read our article on Changing Stations.
• A baby carrier: it’s less bulky and lighter than a stroller. If you opt for a stroller, we recommend foldable or umbrella ones, which are much easier to travel with!

• If your baby is on formula, we recommend bringing a portable bottle warmer, perfect for travelling!
• Natural baby-friendly hand sanitizer. Stay away from traditional, alcohol-based hand sanitizers as they can be dangerous for your baby!

Remember to also make sure that baby’s documents are in place, as well as your family’s travel insurance. We suggest keeping an extra copy of everything (from the booking tickets and receipts to your baby’s medical records) in your suitcase, your phone, and the hotel room’s safe, just in case.

Which Baby Clothes to Pack

After checking the weather in the place where you’re travelling, it’s time to pack baby’s suitcase! 

Here are the essentials:

• Soft and comfy onesies

• Tees with breathable sleeves

• Stretchable pants or leggings

• Snug and cosy hoodies
• Lots of swaddles and blankets!
• Non-slip shoes or footies: don’t let them walk on dirty hotel floors!

• Non-slip and comfy socks
• Comfy and super duper soft sleeper or pajamas: so your baby can sleep as if they were at home!

• Diapers, diapers, and more diapers!

When you leave your hotel or Airbnb  recommend always bringing an extra outfit for baby in their diaper bag, just in case. Babies do love making a mess!

In addition to these staples, here are some major “just in case” items to bring to help be ready for unpredictable weather!

• A warm rain jacket  – always bring at least one just in case.
• A comfy hat

• Pacifier clips: you’ll be moving around a lot and you don’t want to risk losing your baby’s favourite pacifier. We all know how choosy they can get with binkies!

• A pair of sunglasses: protect their delicate eyes in style!
• Baby sunblock
• Swimsuits and swim diapers

For a more organized suitcase, consider using travel bags: you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for while on-the-go without having to empty baby’s suitcase each time.

You can also use travel bags once you get home, to better organize baby’s drawers!

If you want to pack light, then consider doing the laundry, at least for baby’s clothes. This will allow you to pack lightly for your travel! You can also take advantage of the hotel’s laundry service, you’re on vacation after all! Just remember to get informed about the turnaround time and prices. Also make sure to remind them to use delicate non-chlorine bleach on baby’s clothes.

For Newbie Mommies: we suggest packing comfy and breastfeeding-friendly clothes! 

Eating On-the-go with Baby While Travelling

As we said before, preparation is key. You’ll want to be prepared for when your baby starts crying asking for food while travelling! Here are our tips on how to feed your baby on-the-go.

Baby Travel Feeding Time Essentials:

• Baby’s cutlery: we recommend two sets (one to bring with you and one to leave at the hotel room)
• A super-soft bib
• A packet of soft tissues
• Alcohol and fragrance-free wipes
• We also suggest bringing an extra plastic bag for baby’s trash

Now you might be wondering how to choose the best snacks to bring with you while travelling with your baby. We’ve got you covered!

• The best snack is the easiest to prepare and eat on-the-go!
• Go for healthy but non-perishable snacks. 
• Make sure that the baby’s snacks’ packaging is safe and resistant. You don’t want anything to spill on baby’s stuff!

Travelling with Your Baby

We highly recommend leaving during baby’s usual nap hours. This will make the travel less stressful for everyone, trust us!

As a rule of thumb, you can count on hacking about two hours of uninterrupted driving time if you are road tripping. Just remember: it’s best to take your baby out of the car seat or out of the cramped little carriers every two hours or so to stretch out their little backs.

When getting a taxi, make sure to ask the driver beforehand if their taxi is equipped with a baby seat. Chances are it won’t be, so consider choosing a stroller that allows the seat to be used as a car seat or carrier for short car trips. This is key: travelling via car with a baby sitting on your lap is very dangerous, even more so if you put your seatbelt over them! 

Covid-19 Considerations: when deciding to travel via public transport, make sure to take all the precautions necessary to keep your family safe.

Now here are some more tips on how to successfully travel with your baby, based on your chosen mode of transportation!

Travelling by Car with Baby

Travelling by car for hours on end can be stressful even without a baby in the backseat, the key to have a safe car trip with your baby is preparation!

Before leaving for your travel, consider heading to your auto mechanic to check that everything is in place and that your car can go through a long journey without having any major problems.

Remember to set up your baby’s car seat properly before travelling. The safest place is in the middle backseat. Never put baby’s car seat in the front seat, the airbags opening could be very dangerous for your baby.

Activate the SensorSafe and you’re good to go!

We suggest getting a car seat that clips to baby’s stroller, that way you’ll have even less to bring with you when travelling. Car seats can be heavy and bulky!

We’ll say this again: travel light! Try to keep the backseats empty, that way you’ll have space to breastfeed and change your baby’s diapers. Indeed not all service stations have changing stations and if they do, they might be unsanitary. It’s better to be prepared!

On that note, make sure to bring a plastic bag to keep the diapers’ odors under control while travelling.

Having trouble keeping your baby entertained in the backseat? Try listening and singing along to the A Muffin on the Road Playlist!

Safety tip: try to keep the space around your baby free of loose items that can become projectiles. 

Remember our physics courses: an object in motion tends to stay in motion. In the event you need to make a sudden stop, or worse, in the event of a collision, loose items become high speed projectiles that can hurt your baby.

Travelling by Train with Baby

Being the safest public transport, we get why more and more Mommies and Daddies are choosing to travel by train.

Other major perks include: not having to drive and not having to deal with motion sickness or fear of heights.

Before boarding, we recommend getting informed on the designated spaces for strollers, so you can travel in comfort with all the space you need.
Make sure that the brakes of your baby’s stroller are functioning and strong, so they can sit safely throughout the whole travel.

Usually there are also a couple of wagons that are considered “quiet” wagons, created for people who like to sleep or read while travelling. As much as it might be tempting to sit in these wagons, your baby might wake up in the middle of the trip and start disturbing the rest of the passengers!

Travelling by Plane with Baby

When can your baby start travelling by plane anyways? Most doctors recommend waiting at least until baby’s 6th month. So keep that in mind when choosing your mode of transport.

We recommend following these tips to have a smooth plane flight with baby:

• Do you have your baby passport? Check with your local customs and border control to make sure you have all the proper baby documentation so you can travel hassle-free. 

• Before going through rigorous airport controls, we recommend removing everything from under your baby’s stroller: you’ll be required to fold it and lay it on the conveyor belt.
  Strollers that can be folded by only using one hand can come in handy (pun intended) if you’re travelling alone with your baby.

• We suggest taking advantage of the online check-in option, to avoid waiting too much in line. Make sure to also specify that you’re travelling with a baby: most airlines reserve designated seats to accommodate families better.

• Most airports are equipped with areas specially designed for families and babies. These are very convenient, especially if you are travelling through connecting flights. This way you can wait for your next flight while having all the amenities you need, such as breastfeeding areas and changing stations, in a safe space for your baby.

• We recommend bringing snacks for your baby, in case of delays. There might not be a lot of healthy options at the airport!

• Consider bringing a burp cloth and plastic bag, in case your baby gets motion sickness or vertigo during the travel. Make sure that the burp cloth is soft and delicate for baby’s skin.

• Another garment that is very nice to have is a warm and soft blanket for baby. It can get chilly on the airplane!

• And finally, we recommend bringing an extra change of clothes for your baby in your carry-on suitcase or bag, just in case their suitcase goes missing or they spill food on themselves while travelling.

How to Keep Your Baby Entertained While Travelling

When packing baby’s toys, we recommend bringing light and no-noise toys for a more peaceful travel. 

But don’t worry about it too much, baby’s will play with anything! Just make sure not to hand them sharp or small objects that can pose choking hazards.

You can safely store baby’s toys in a practical toy sack, making them easier to carry around when travelling.

Another option is to loosen up your baby’s screen time limits and let them entertain themselves with baby-friendly videos on your tablet during the trip.

When you travel, your baby can certainly follow your lead and do most of the things you big boys and girls want to do! Just remember that you now have a baby, and you need to make sure that those activities you once took for granted are suitable for when you have a child! 

For example, if you want to go on a boat trip or a ferry tour, make sure to have the necessary safety equipment for your baby, such as a baby neck float.

Dining Out with Your Baby

We suggest deciding which restaurants you’re going to eat before travelling, to have time to book your reservations. Make sure to let the restaurant know that you are arriving with a baby!

When you call to make reservations, try not to go during the “dinner rush” (usually between 6 to 9 pm). This will mean either earlier or later dinners throughout your travel, but it will give you more space (which never hurts!) for baby’s stroller and high chair.
Fewer dinners also mean less nasty looks if your baby decides to throw a temper tantrum!

We highly recommend bringing your baby’s own baby proofed cutlery, and to avoid uncooked food – especially if you don’t know how the water condition is in the place you’re travelling in.

For more advice on how to safely dine with your baby, whether at home or in restaurants, read our article.

After Travelling with Your Baby

Once you get home, remember to wash everything (and everyone!).

Also consider arriving at a good time to help your baby fix their sleep schedule after all the travelling. If your little ones already go to school or daycare, we recommend coming back from your travels during the weekend, so they have enough time to recover and be ready to go to school on Monday!

One last piece of advice on travelling with your baby? Plan, plan, plan, but also be ready to be flexible and throw all your plans out of the window! Happy travels!

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