Scared to travel with LO

[Mom2katiebug]

DH and I have been thinking about a trip to visit family.  It will require a short airplane trip, but we are getting overwhelmed and, to be honest, scared of the consequences of travel.  So, please help us understand what we would be undertaking.  (DD is 10WO and has been on a pretty good schedule lately, although we still struggle with short naps.)

1.  Would you travel with a 3 Month Old or would you wait a couple more months to, say, 6 months when naps seem to stabilize and DD needs less daytime sleep?

2.  How much will this throw off her routine and how long will it take to get back on track?  I REALLY don't want to have to go through the 4 nightmare days that it took to get to this point!

3.  What gear would you recommend we take?  We feel like we have to take the entire house!

Thanks,

[Gigismom]

my dd is now one year old and in hindsight, i'd say that the best time to travel is between birth and 6 months (if you feel up to it that is!)  when she was that young though, i didn't realize how portable she was.  we took our first major trip at 6 months old, to hawaii, and she did really well.  the trips we've taken since then have been harder because she is more alert and aware that we are not home.  also, a benefit to traveling when they are that young is that you don't have to cart along a small kitchen to prepare their solid food because they are still only on breastmilk or formula.  as for the waiting to travel until her naps stabilize, that can be a good or bad thing.  when my dd was 3 months old, it didn't matter if she slept on me, in the car, stoller or her crib.  she slept well everywhere.  but if i were to take her now somewhere, she doesn't sleep well at all outside of her crib because she is just too alert.  and she is a lot more affected by a missed nap now than she was at 3 months.  (also, it is normal for babies to have short naps up until 6-8 months, so don't stress to badly about that!!)

the day we were on the plane, the schedule was pretty crazy.  i tried not to worry too much about it that day, mainly i just focused on keeping her quiet and happy on the plane, even if it meant bf'ing every 30 mins or letting her fall asleep bf'ing.  no harm done doing that.  once we got to the hotel though, we put her back on her routine.  we were probly a bit uptight about it because we made sure we were back in the hotel room for every nap so she didn't miss any of them.  we didn't get to do as much that way, but she stayed on her routine, so to me, it was worth it.  my whole family (my parents and sisters went too) thought i was nuts though!  :roll:

you really do have to pack a lot when traveling with a baby.  pack more than you think you will need, especially on the airplane ride.  i ran out of diapers and wipes on the plane because our flight was delayed and we ended up staying on the plane an extra 3 hours.   :evil:   one thing i packed (if you have room) is dd's crib bumper.  i put this in the crib at the hotel and she slept really well in it because it looked just like her crib at home.  (it really didn't take up that much room either!) 

i totally stress about travel too.  i couldn't sleep for days before we went to hawaii so i know how you feel.  but your dd will probly surprise you and do better than you think she will.  good luck and let me know if you have anymore questions.

[tylersmommy]

We took a LOT of plane trips with Tyler to see grandparents. His first trip (3 hr flight) was at 11 wks and we did it about every 6 wks until 15 mo, when we moved close enough to drive. I think the easiest flights by far were those first ones...he was still sleeping a lot, so it was more likely that he'd sleep on the plane, he wasn't mobile, we didn't have to worry about solid food, and he wasn't too strong or big yet. And once we arrived at our destination, it didn't take him long at all to adjust. We just stuck to our routines (this is where it's key to have a fairly portable naptime/bedtime routine established), and he did fine. His routine was usually disrupted on the day that we traveled and that was all, and he was back on track the next day with no help needed from us.

As for what you take, it just depends on where you're staying and what's available. You'll need to take a pack n play if there isn't someplace for DD to sleep where you're staying (most hotels will provide a crib, but I always brought the pack n play). Other stuff...
- Car seat and base. We always checked those with our luggage
- Stroller. You can check it with your luggage or at the gate.
- If you bottle feed, you'll need to take a few bottles.
- Enough diapers, formula, and wipes to get you through until you can go to the store and get more (if your family is really nice, they can always have that stuff waiting for you ahead of time)
- Small toys
- Pacifiers (if you use them)

That's all I can think of...I highly recommend taking your first trip when she's still fairly young. You only have to bring MORE stuff as they get older!

[Glynis]

We were in Cuba a few weeks ago, Samuel was about 3 1/2 months.  He did great, excepting the plane there.  The flight was 2 hours late, so it threw off our schedule since I wanted to feed him taking off.  At the resort, he did amazing.  We took his mobile, some toys, books, his massage oil... basically things we thought would make it seem like home to him.  It threw him a bit off coming home, but then Christmas didn't help either.  I think at this age they're much easier to travel then later on.

[Deb_in_oz]

1. Would you travel with a 3 Month Old or would you wait a couple more months to, say, 6 months when naps seem to stabilize and DD needs less daytime sleep?

i woudl and did. and i was told by friends with experience that it was the easiest age of all (i did it by myself from Sydney to NYC so my stress levels were high and i cried from tension, but if you do it with Dh you shoudl be fine).  having then traveled with alex at 8 mo and then again from 10 1/2 - 12 mo i do think under 6 mo is best as they are less mobile and more portable (no solids to worry about, etc).

2. How much will this throw off her routine and how long will it take to get back on track? I REALLY don't want to have to go through the 4 nightmare days that it took to get to this point!

this all depends on how many time zones you cross (we had a 14 hour time difference at the time so it took a while and she woke at 4am for feeds for ages - i was there for 3 1/2 weeks)  on the 10-12mo trip we had 5 horrendous nights as she was upset and crying (after being an angel at home) as i think it was very disorienting sleeping at grandmas in a porta-cot, etc and she was scared without us - so Dh slept in the same room as her on a twin bed and that helped reassure her - after 5 days she was on-routine

when we traveled at 8 mo only backwards 4-5 hours she did fine.
 be prepard for the fact that things migt be in a state of upheaval for a while, but you can still have a great trip and when you get home you will also have possible adjustment (we had 2 weeks of nightwakings whie adjusting to home and new time zone).  buit i truly believe that unless you plan to stay home forever you shoudl take advantage of any opportunity for a family holiday and try to take deep breaths.

i will have to take my own advice as we go on our first "family of 4" trip in March to New zealand for 2 weeks with a (then) 1yr old and 2 1/2 year old. i am terrified but the trip is required and i will have to make the most of it.

3. What gear would you recommend we take? We feel like we have to take the entire house!

figure out some small toys that dd likes so you can have variety - better to have 10 small toys that you can rotate/toss in nappy bag than 2 big ones to lug around (i brought her gymini in my suitcase but now think that was unnecessary overkill) at that age the best things i brought to play woth were her favourite hanging bits form the gymini, a couple of rattles and little stuffed toys/teethers to explore, shake, chew, etc MULTI FUNCTIONAL is best.

take stroller (lightweight one that you can take on plane and walk around airports...), assortment of clothes and nappy needs on plane in case of poo/vomit or delays, if you are based in one place you will be able to do laundry so don't pack an awful lot (but baby clothes take up so little room you can fill a small bag and it woudl clothe her for 3 weeks with no laundry  :lol: ), a blanket she is used to (this was very helpful - i even laid it in the departure gate area and she had a place to sit and stretch and play), anything of her toiletries that you can't get at destination (any special lotion, bath wash, etc)

anything else can be gotten at destination if required.  ask your family to ask around - my mom was able to source a car seat from a friend and later got us a borrowed high chair and stuff, and she bought a baby bath cheaply to have on hand.


don't be too worried as she is so young - you can plan o have 1 nap a day in the stroller if you are in a place where you will do some walking/sightseeing and that gives you flexibility.  what i tended to do was get us up and feed Alex and have my breakfast, let her play and then put down for 1st nap, then we woudl head out to visit someone andi woudl put her down for 2nd nap at their house... and then come home for 3rd nap etc We also arranged visits at my mom's house so we could keep dd1 on her routine many days (so llimited disruptions).... the thing about easy it is flexible.  just be as consistent as possible and try to have some calm days if you do a lot of visiting so that she has "recovery" days where she has reliable/predictable routine ... for a day or  2 GOOD LUCK

[jordon&dylansmom]

I am in agreement with everyone elses advice on the travelling by air.  Our lo slept pretty much all the way through his flight at 4 mos and adapted really well to both time change and new venue for sleeping.  We purposely don't pack much for him as usually he can be entertained by the simplest things and whatever we forget we can always purchase locally. 

My only addon to the advice alreadty posted is to take it easy.  We found ourselves really stressed when we tried to do to much, so unless you will have places for your lo to nap during the day, try to limit yourselves in the number of activities you do each day.

Happy travels!