Your baby’s first trip, by flight or by car, is as big a milestone as your baby’s first steps. You may get a little tense or even freak out a little if it’s your first time travelling with a baby, and rightly so. Travelling with a baby is no vacation as there are a lot of things you have to consider, many things you have to prepare yourself for, and you always have to stay alert. Because all babies react differently to travelling and this is something you can never predict.
But don’t stress over it because you never know. Your little munchkin might just have the time of their lives travelling for the first time. All you need is a little bit of planning in advance of your travel dates.
Here are some helpful tips to get you all set to travel the world with your little one:
- Leave early in the morning
Your baby might be sleepy early in the morning and might just nap through the first couple of hours, be it a flight or car. If you’re travelling by air, make sure you go for flights with no long layovers.
- Know what to pack
When you’re travelling with a baby, you tend to pack multiples of everything and go the extra mile, just to be safe. We suggest you make a categorised checklist. If you’re travelling by air, make a list of what you would be needing during the flight, and what all you want to pack in the bag that you’ll be checking in.
Here are a few items you should have on you during the flight:
- Diapers: About three to five diapers should be sufficient, even for longer flights
- Baby formula/Stored breast milk: This should be at the top of your checklist because hungry babies can get fussy
- Manual breast pump: Do bring this along for super long flights if you’re a nursing mother
- Change of clothes: Carry an extra pair of onesies or rompers for your little one to sleep in comfortably
- Toiletries: We recommend you carry some baby lotion and baby wipes for the diaper changes
- Pacifiers and teething toys: Babies tend to get fussy and cry on the plane which can be easily dealt with if you have a pacifier on you.
- Bring along a brand new toy
This could be beneficial for you in two ways: babies love to unwrap things and a new toy will keep your baby distracted for a longer time as they will want to explore every inch of it. This will help keep fussiness at bay and keep them calm and entertained.
- Dress your baby up in layers
If you’re travelling to a place where a change in temperature is expected, it’s always a good idea to dress your little one up in layers. In terms of footwear, go for booties or slip-ons, essentially anything without buttons, zips, or laces.
We hope these tips help to make your first ever trip with your little one a breeze. Just keep your composure, prepare and plan in advance and we’re sure you and your little one will have a blast!
Bon voyage!
