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!

Footed Jammies // Bottles // Pack N Play // Pacifier Leash // Travel Baby Products
Pacifiers // Travel Changing Pad // Baby Carrier

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