Curious if you can bring baby on a trip and still have a good time? We did, and had a great time. We didn’t play it too safe with our plans either, moving to different cities, taking long car rides, and trying out different accommodations (hotel, motel, boutique inn). Here are my top 5 tips for travelling with a newborn:
1. Bring your #poopables. Poopables: clothes that you can live without, and won’t shed a tear when baby inevitably explosively craps her pants in them during car rides. Don’t put baby in her good outfit until you get to your destination. Buy these cheaply wherever you can, and keep them white for easy stain removing (sun-bleaching is my favourite method for this!).
It seems frivolous, but one of my favourite parts of the day is dressing Lucy in all her adorable clothes. Especially on a vacation where packing space is limited, I brought some of her cutest pieces, envisioning framing the photos from this trip and having them in the house. I didn’t pack any outfits that weren’t 10/10 cute. It took us 3 car rides around Nova Scotia to figure out this #momhack
that I’m sure veteran moms swear by. Take it from me - grossed out, sad, and dishevelled in front of this gas station: pack your poopables. Keep those cute, high fashion threads in your diaper bag until you reach your destination.
2. Bring a baby carrier. This comes in handy from the second we drop off our checked luggage and need to go through security, to when we explore new cities and restaurants. Even just for putting on my makeup when Lu gets fussy, babywearing is the best.
3. When staying at a hotel, inquire if they have a safe bed for baby - most do. On our East Coast trip with a newborn Lucy, both the Halifax Westin and The Boscawen Inn (the boutique hotel we stayed in) provided us with approved sleeping arrangements (a crib and playard respectively), the motel being the exception with no place for safe sleep. This is where the DockATot came in really handy. It isn't approved for infant sleep in Canada so I am not recommending you also do this, but this is how we managed for our single night there, and it worked out very well. We also used it in the other two hotels when she was having trouble napping: the smell and familiarity of it provided comfort and helped her drift off during supervised sleeps. 4. Have no fear: germs are gonna happen. You can pack sanitizer into every jacket pocket you own, you can open every door with the sleeve of your sweater, and you can cover every inch of that gas station change table in liner, but baby is still going to lick the seat of the airplane. Don’t make yourself go crazy. 5. Next time we fly, I’m making two changes: I’ll be booking the aisle and window seats, because nobody will choose the middle unless they have to, and there is a good chance it’ll be empty. I’m also going to book the back of the plane. I spent a lot of time in the open area with the attendants, but it was tough to walk there with a squirmy babe, and sometimes I’d get blocked by the food trolley and have to wait ages for it to move before I could get back. Also, the flight attendants told me that the back is the best spot for babies because the plane rocks more, and helps them sleep! In short: book that trip, let loose, and enjoy your vacay with bébé.
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