Traveling with Baby: Thoughts and Essentials


This past weekend, Baby Ethan went on his first trip!  We traveled to Minneapolis, MN for my cousin's wedding...which involved a two hour car ride to the airport and then a flight with one layover to get there.

I was definitely a little nervous and anxious...how would baby do?  What if he cried the whole flight?  How would he do in a hotel room?  How would we get him around?  And would he make a scene at the wedding?  We definitely had to contend with a lot of firsts, but guess what?  We not only survived, we actually had a great time!  Ethan did amazing!  He was just about ten and a half weeks and I attribute his young age to how easy he made it on us.  I thought I would outline some thoughts and essentials that helped us tremendously during baby's first big trip!



Prepare well but remember, less is more: Our initial instinct was to pack as much as we could...we would not be those first-time parents that came unprepared.  But the more we thought about it, we realized that babies really need very little: milk, diapers, and a place to sleep.  The rest could be figured out.  We opted to leave the stroller behind and bring a carrier instead.  It was really nice not having to check the stroller at the airport.  We did bring his carseat {safety first} but we could check that and not worry about it while we were in the airport.  Also, since we were going to a large city, we brought enough diapers to make it through the flight and then bought a pack when we got there.  It was nice to actually survive on less and taught me that we can soothe our baby without having the swing/sleep sheep/excessive amounts of toys at our disposal.

Nurse or provide a pacifier during takeoff and landing: I did this and Ethan had no problems with his ears popping or irritating him.

Baby Carriers are your friend: There were times we might have enjoyed having a stroller there, but until he can comfortably sit in an umbrella stroller on his own, it wasn't worth the hassle for such a short trip.  Ethan actually enjoyed the new perspective of being in a carrier as we walked around downtown. I would definitely figure out which carrier works best ahead of time though!

Keep it clipped: We rely on the pacifier to soothe Ethan, but the little thing is prone to popping right out.  Enter the pacifier clip {or leash as my husband calls it} and you don't have to worry about the sucker falling onto dirty floors or worse--losing it!

More is more, when it comes to clothing: With the fluctuating temperatures on a plane and the baby carrier exposure, we opted to keep Ethan in a footed-onesie.  This kept him warm and covered...a definite plus when traveling.

Other tips...we have the above diaper pad so we can change Ethan anywhere and everywhere.  The changing tables in public restrooms can be hard and {I'm assuming} pretty dirty, so this keeps him comfortable and clean during diaper changes.


We bathed Ethan in the hotel sink, which he is still small enough for.  I brought along a travel-set of hair wash and lotion to bathe him with.  If you're in a pinch, Mustela makes cleansing cloths.

Last, I brought my pump {which is not suitcase-space friendly} but I wanted the option to pump in case Ethan's schedule was thrown off and then we also had a bottle or two for reserve in case he started fussing at an inappropriate time {say--when the bride and groom were saying "I do"!}.  I suggest bringing bottles that have a cap so they can travel easily.

There are mixed reviews on whether to bring along a birth certificate.  My doctor said it wasn't necessary since he was so small, no one would question whether he needed his own seat.  But one of the attendants at the check-in desk said that we needed one to prevent a question of whether he was too young to travel.  We didn't bring one in the end and had no problems, but we may get one now to avoid problems in the future.

All in all, we managed to get away with checking 4 bags: our two suitcases, the pack 'n play and his car seat.  We carried on his diaper bag and a large tote as my purse.  It was super manageable and made traveling with a baby seem almost easy!  ;)

I think that sums it up!  Feel free to ask any questions if you want more details!

xo natasha

23 comments :

  1. great post Natasha! we never traveled by plane when A was an infant, mainly because i was way too stressed about it... and everything we needed. i'll be referencing this down the road when we have more babies. thanks! ps - those are my favorite pajamas :)

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  2. Glad to hear it went smoothly! I think you're right about the age being a big help - my preschooler and my toddler flew beautifully when they were infants, were kind of nightmares when they were around one, and by two were pretty easy again (when they could watch TV or movies on the plane!) Hope you have a great weekend!

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  3. I am seriously going to need SO MUCH HELP when we finally add a little one to our family. I'm looking at you ;) much love, lady! xoxo {av}

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  4. Great tips Natasha. I NEVER would have thought of the birth certificate!

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  5. Great post! Sounds like we did many of the same. No stroller, baby carrier, pack n play, and no bath tub. I definitely agree, less is more. Glad baby Ethan did so well!!

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  6. Good job, mama!! Glad y'all had a great time with baby boy! :) xo

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  7. Look at you guys, such pros! :) Glad that it all went well in MN, that picture of Ethan in the sink is precious! Are you guys around this weekend? I couldn't remember...if you are, we'll be here! I tried to convince Cam to go to Napa for the weekend and he wasn't feeling it so I guess I'll just have to settle for staying in Tahoe...gahh life is so hard. LOL.

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  8. Many props to you! That is a first trip that required quite a bit of traveling! Have a lovely weekend :)

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  9. Aww look at him in the hotel sink! So cute! I'm glad he was such a great traveler for yall! :)

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  10. When my family, including my sister and my 15-month old niece (as a lap baby) flew this summer, they couldn't get through security without a paper ticket (we checked in online and printed her boarding pass, but she had to go to the ticket counter to have a paper ticket printed). At the ticket counter, they had to see her birth certificate to make sure that she qualified as a lap baby!

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  11. Seriously less is more and the front pack is key. I've traveled a lot with Mila since she was born and I still use her ergo (as a backpack now). So super easy!

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  12. Great tips, since I'll be traveling so much with a new born. Thanks!

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  13. I'm so impressed...you make it sound so easy!!!

    How did you like the Midwest :)

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  14. Glad he did well on the road. I think the birth certificate is also to show he is your baby, but not sure. You can also check to see if the hotel provides cribs-we even had a hotel with a diaper genie and high chair for us! So convenient and fewer things to pack.

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  15. Great job! I'm so glad that this went smooth for you guys! :)

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  16. It's like you've done this before. It is crazy how much gear these little ones need though, isn't it. That hotel sink photo is soooo cute! I love his little nose.

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  17. Girl, you GOT this. I SUUUUUUUUCKED. Like, was petrified to leave the house....I attribute this to my OLD AGE. HAAA =) He is a doll baby and you are doing such a great job momma!! xoxo shel

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  18. i'm obsessed with our life factory bottles, they are just awesome. I really need to get a pack n play for our vacations!!

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  19. Aw Ethan is adorable! Just found your blog & love it!!

    Katherine

    http://mintedglam.blogspot.com/

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  20. Great post! I will definitely be using this when we travel home with the baby in Dec.

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  21. I don't plan on traveling with Kaden anytime soon, but that was still a helpful post! Makes sense not to bring everything under the sun. Glad it went well for you guys :)

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  22. Hope you enjoyed MN!! You lucked out with some nice weather!! Fall is one beautiful time here :) When did Ethan start facing forward in your bjorn? Colson HATES the moby so I bought a used Bjorn for $10 to see if he'd like it... hates it. I've decided he just hates having his face stuffed into my chest because if I unlock one of the sides he's ok and just looks all around. The website said not until 4 mos, but I think his head control is good enough to do it before then! Just curious.. would LOVE to be able to use this rather than the carseat/stroller combo everywhere!

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