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Leslie Venokur, Big City Moms
Traveling in general can be stressful…from the planning – to securing the best flight – figuring out transportation and the perfect hotel! Of Course praying for the perfect weather begins at just the thought of a vacation. Throw a baby/child into the mix…and well…..everything is up in the air! With 4 kids between us – Risa and I have not let having kids stop us from going on family vacations…from quick trips to grandmas….to exotic vacations in the Carribean – we have a couple of tips that can help ease some of the fear that you may be experiencing.
Flying on a plane?
Try and book your flight during nap time. It will be much easier (of course) if your child is sleeping for well…most of the flight .
Bring activities for the kids to do in flight. DVD’s, coloring books, flash cards, download tv shows/movies on your iphone etc. Cups and bowls that they have on the plane can be very entertaining for infant as well.
For infants – The air pressure can bother their ears….If they will take it – offer a pacifier so they are sucking during take-off and landing. During take off and landing – Do not try and feed your baby during that time – 9 out of ten times – you will wind up in a messy situation….which brings me to my next tip – ALWAYS have a spare change of clothes with you…there is nothing worse that sitting on a 5 hour flight with a child with vomit on them – its not comfortable for them, nor the other 250 passengers on the flight. With everything when it comes to kids..you never know what to expect – So- we suggest when you board the flight – make nice to your neighbors – buy them a courtesy drink…it will go a long way!
Car Seat/Chlid safety harness: just about all infant car seats are FAA approved – all airlines have a listing on their website as do the car seat manufacturers as to which ones you can take on a flight. Check beforehand as you don’t want to get stuck when you board your flight. When traveling – I love the Orbit infant system. It's so easy to check the stroller at the gate, take the car seat and secure it on the seat – and then as soon as we land – zip off and then install right into the car….genius in my book!
For kids 1 year and older – We recommend the CARES kids fly safe harness. You can buy this on Amazon as well as the CARES website. It attaches to the seat with an easy installation…I still can’t figure out why the Airlines don’t just have these on hand as a courtesy. They retail anywhere from $60-$80 depending upon where you purchase it. But then again - you can’t put a price on safety!
When traveling by air – make sure you have a bag for your child with the following items:
- If you are using Formula-pack enough formula for 1 day. For convenience buy the single serve dry packets or pre measure in a formula dispenser. (You never know if you will be delayed – so you need to be prepared.)
- Bottle/sippy cup
- Pacifier
- Bib/burp cloth
- Change of clothes
- Sweater/sweatshirt – planes can be cold
- At least 8 diapers/wipes/ointment
- 2 zip loc bags (to put soiled clothes/diapers in)
- snacks
- water (buy this once you get through security)
- blanket
- A favorite comfort item (lovie etc.)
- toys/activities
- medicine
- travel safety kit – safety first makes a great one – that is sold in most drug stores
- Keep in mind that there is always a possibility of your luggage getting lost – so you should have all the necceseties to hold you over.
Hotel/Housing:
If you are staying at a hotel – it is important to find out ahead of time what kind of accommodations they have for your child. When booking your room – find out if they have cribs on hand..and not just any crib – a lot of times the hotel will have a small porta crib – not a full size crib – which can make for sleepless nights. If you are planning on bringing a pack n play with you – it's always best to get your child familiar sleeping in it ahead of time…try it out at home for a couple of nights to see how they react to it. We suggest purchasing the quilted mattress pad - as the mattresses can be kind of thin and not that comfortable.
Try and make the room where your child is sleeping a mirror image of where he/she sleeps at home….the more the room feels like their home – the better sleep they will get. The Folks from Dream Team Baby suggest that you bring black garbage bags to cover the windows so it is as dark as can be in the room. If your child sleeps with a white noise machine at home – make sure you pack that as well.
If you are staying in a hotel – suites are a great option – as you can hang out in one room and not feel trapped and chance waking up your child. Balconies make a great evening hang out as well (with bug spray!)
Need “stuff”?
The Internet is a great resource for everything when it comes to traveling. There are a ton of rental companies all over the world that will deliver everything to your door. Just as you do at home – diapers.com will deliver all your diapers, formula, toys, tubs, snacks, toiletries – even the pack n play directly to you – makes traveling so much easier as you wont need as many bags. On a recent trip to Florida I used a rental company that delivered a crib, a highchair, and toys – it was so easy – and stress free!
Make packing for a vacation a fun activity for your child. Find a children’s book about the destination and get your child excited about going on vacation – obviously Theme park vacations such as Disney is a no brainer!
Traveling internationally or to a different time zone? If you are going for a short period – do not reset your watch. I know you are thinking – are you serious? Its not worth it – trust me! Keep your child on the exact same schedule as they are at home. You’ve worked so hard to keep your child on a schedule – why mess with it. It actually works out great and will give you time to actually relax on your vacation. This can pose to be very tricky at night time – as you don’t want to be eating the early bird special…take advantage of babysitter services that many hotels offer.
***Go with the flow….After all - this is a vacation – enjoy yourself…don’t stress too much while you are away….relax and don’t sweat the small stuff…kids will be kids – they do what they want to do and unfortunately you have no control over what happens. The calmer you are – the calmer your child will be – remember that they sense when you are stressed. Even the most challenging trip – is a memorable one…bring your camera to capture all the moments!
Suggested Family Friendly Vacations:
- Cruises are great! Norweigan Cruise Lines Non-stop activity – everything at your fingertips…pay for the room with a balcony.
- Ritz Carlton hotels – they have a great children’s program and wonderful sitter service.
- Four Seasons Resorts– they go out of there way to make kids feel welcome…they even provide child size robes and complimentary child size toiletries – so cute!
- Club Med Punta Cana, Dominican Republic – they offer amazing children’s programs for ages 4 and up ie circus school, water activities, dance and music. If you are traveling with an infant – they will prepare your room with changing tables, baby bathtub bottle warmers and anything else that you might need. They LOVE kids!
- Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas - the pool activities alone – make this a destination to be for the little ones…the big kids love the 50 ft water slide, while the little ones love to splash in the shallow pools and visti the aquarium.
- Disney World - Mickey, Minny, Pluto, Cinderella, etc.....
Some helpful websites by travel location:
Nation-Wide:
Baby-equipment-rental
Babysaway.com
Florida
Babyborrwrental.com
Visitingbabyinc.com
West Coast:
Thetravelingbabyco.com
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