Traveling with a baby

Let's not kid ourselves. Traveling with a baby is exhausting. BUT IT IS WORTH IT. Braden and I really want to show Scarlett the world and take her places. It is really important for us that she sees how other people live and immerse herself in other cultures and experiences as she gets older. I want her to understand that the world is a very big place full of amazing people and places. And also to understand that while every single person is different, we all have similar needs and wants out of life no matter where you come from or live.

So that being said, we took her on her first flight when she was just 4 months old. It was just to Virginia to visit my family. I figured it would be best if her first experience was a short easy flight. I built up all the anxiety leading up to the trip worried that she would scream her head off the whole time. All that worry for nothing because SHE WAS A DREAM. I'm telling you, start them young!

Because we do a good amount of traveling with Scarlett, a lot of my mom friends ask me what we use and how we do it! So that's why I'm sharing this so you all have a reference piece to come back to!

Now she has been on about 15 flights and she loves it. She loves watching people as they walk and saying "HI" to everyone. She gets really excited when we board because she knows what we are doing at this point. Now at 15 months it is a little different than when she was an infant. Believe it or not, when she was an infant it was easier (for us) because she would just sleep the whole time or nurse. Now she wants to be up playing and talking to our neighboring passengers the whole time. Luckily, we have had all very friendly people who are super sweet to her. Dreading the day I come across someone who doesn't like sitting next to a kid.

I have even done a couple flights on my own with Scarlett and it is a lot of work but honestly not THAT bad. I am blessed with a VERY good baby but even she has her moments. It is obviously a lot easier when I have Braden with me, Scarlett loves her Dada and sometimes is better behaved for him....shocker right?lol

So a couple tips I have to help you go thru it as seamlessly as possible...

Buy a carseat bag, I will link ours. It is so nice knowing your carseat isn't getting banged up and ruined. BUT, another tip...because we travel a lot, we went ahead and bought a carseat just for traveling. One that is not as expensive as our everyday carseats but still has 5 star safety ratings. It was worth it for us because we use it a lot! Even with the carseat case, they are throwing that thing around so if you're going to be traveling a lot, I would suggest it.

You can check your stroller and carseat (and pack and play if needed) for free on all airlines and they don't weigh your carseat bag. So we will usually put heavy items in there to keep our bags below weight limit.

When Scarlett was an infant I used our baby bjorn carrier and would just hold her using that walking thru the airport. We have precheck (again because we travel a lot) and they wouldn't even make me take her out of it, I could just walk right thru security with her in it. I suggest using a carrier when they are still small enough!

Now that she's older we use our umbrella stroller. It's lighter and again, don't want to use our expensive stroller because they bang it up! I will link the one we have. It's all you really need while traveling. You check it at the gate and it's makes things a lot easier and lighter on your back.

We got a stroller gate check bag too on amazon. I will link that as well.

When traveling with an infant, nurse or bottle feed them during take off and landing. It will help clear their ears because they don't know how to do that yet. I nursed her during take off and she would always fall asleep and sleep thru the majority of the flight.

I always bring one of Scarlett's muslin blankets because they are breathable and light. I used that to cover up while nursing her and it wasn't too hot.

Now that she's weaned I always put her paci in or give her a sippy cup of water to help clear her ears.

Get a window seat, Scarlett loves looking out the window and watching the clouds! And also if you are going to nurse it's more private.

Bring PLENTY of snacks. Snacks on Snacks on Snacks. I usually will let her have some sort of "treat" that she normally doesn't get and she gets super excited and happy. On one flight the guy beside me told me he was jealous of all of Scarletts snacks and that he hadn't had animal crackers is 20 years but now he wanted some lol.

Bring a change of clothes for your babe. Just in case there's a blowout, you're covered.

I usually will bring one of Scarletts favorite books and a couple of her favorite toys to help keep her occupied. But she usually has more fun playing with the tray table.

I have become a bit of a germaphobe since having a baby. And you better believe I am THAT mom that wipes down the whole area of our seat and the window etc with disinfectant wipes. It just helps me breath a little easier.

We are headed out of town tomorrow, hopping on a plane with our little traveler! I will have all the items listed below in stow.

Checklist

Umbrella Stroller

Carseat Bag

Stroller Gate Check bag

Muslin Blanket

Baby Carrier

Disinfectant wipes and baby wipes

All the normal contents of your diaper bag

SNACKS (seriously, bring snacks)

Paci

Boobie/bottle or sippy cup

Toys and book(s)

Change of clothes for babe

Pack and play and sheets if going somewhere that doesn't have a crib

We bring our sound machine to create the same atmosphere wherever we are staying that she has at home (for the one we have see my baby must haves list here)

PS. I am writing this blog post from my new desk! Stay tuned for a post revealing my new favorite spot in our house and why it was so important for me!

XO-Sarah