Top 5 Tips While Traveling With An Infant

This can be a problem but at the same time, it’s important, enjoyable and very much possible too. We recommend you including traveling with your infant in your to-do list as it builds experience not only for you as a parent but also for the child. Additionally, with people around. We are here to guide you with the top 5 tips while your traveling with an infant.

1. Make Sure Your Baby is Old Enough to Travel:

First and foremost your baby should not be too small to not understand what’s going around, at the same time, not too old to throw tantrums. We recommend the first 40 days of a newborn baby to be indoors that means must avoid any travel plans at that time. This is not a standstill number the days may extend by a few weeks or months. This is essential to safeguard your baby from various infections also for the mother some additional recovery time.  In case, it’s a situation you do not have control of, you can plan a journey by train, car or bus. We highly do not recommend an air journey as you may face onboarding challenges due to airline rules. Ideally, you must start planning a trip when your child turns 2 months old so that you can make the trip while he/she turns 3 months. Yes yes, you will need 1-month advance planning if you're traveling with an infant for the very first time. While they are 3 months old, their fragile immune system would have developed some more resistance. Once the baby reaches 6 months old or beyond and has a fixed routine of feeding and sleeping, you would have to design a trip around his needs and schedule. Interestingly, infants have known to enjoy traveling, if they are well fed and feel secured enough! Additionally, The motion of the vehicle and commotion around can often assist them in sleeping well.

2. Designing a Comfortable Trip For The Little One:

The 3 golden words come into play here, keep it simple!. You will have to ponder upon how to plan a trip which is enjoyable yet not too exhausting for the baby. Some simple things to keep in mind, avoid long spells of travel for your baby, try not to fit many activities in one day - ensure breadth breaks throughout the day. Also, make sure your itinerary is flexible in order to attend to your baby’s mood swings, sleeping patterns and feeding schedule. Before event planning a trip, we recommend you do your research on infant-friendly destinations and hotels in that locality that would ensure flexibility towards your child.

3. Set Safety Guidelines For Your Baby:

We are sure you have some safety guidelines at home, so you can adapt to them while traveling too. In addition, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• a. If it's a road trip, ensure you have installed the child car seat correctly with a proper infant belt around your baby. We do not recommend keeping the child on the pillion seat of the car. The back seat is ideal. 
• b. You can consider having window shades to avoid the sunlight to hurt your baby's eyes making it an unpleasant trip. You can also deal with this issue with a towel around the window.
• c. It is advisable to consult your pediatrician before you commence the trip with your little one, especially if your child has motion sickness. It will be a wise decision to carry a basic baby’s first aid kit with all the essential medicines to manage any probable medical issues like colic, fever, nausea, cold and cough or upset tummy. 
• d. We recommend you make your baby wear bright colours to locate them in a crowded place. Additionally, you can have a sticker around his neck with your contact details on it in case you face separation from your little one.

4. Essentials in Your Baby’s Backpack:

To begin with, you should be mindful of the destination and the number of days of traveling involved before packing your little one's bag. A step by step help guide below for your reference below:

• a. You may need to do a little google search on the predicted temperature of the location around the trip dates in order to pack relevant clothes. If you're visiting a cold place: do not miss out on some woolens and jackets. You may want to also invest in some booties and mittens to keep the feet and hands of the baby warm. We suggest you carry an extra pair of clothes compared to the lesser. It is absolutely fine to get some unworn clothes back, but not ok to have lesser clothes and feel helpless.
• b. You do not want to miss out on essential items like relevant clothes, medicines, baby creams, etc. We recommend you make a checklist to carry while traveling with your baby before you start packing. This list will come in handy while you go through your last-minute check of items.
• c. If you are traveling with a baby by road and are expected to be on foot, it may be beneficial to carry a foldable pram or stroller which is lightweight and doesn’t occupy much space. Otherwise, you can also opt for a baby sling or a baby carrier, which is practical as you can freely move about while sightseeing.
• d. To avoid sleepless nights while you travel, you may want to carry your baby’s cot along, especially if they are used to sleeping in their own cot. This is just because the new hotel room beds can become an issue. In case it is bulky and you do not wish to carry it, you may consider taking along your baby’s favorite sheet or blanket instead. The familiar feel and smell may help in soothing and calming the baby at night.
• e. Remember to carry the regular baby essentials like diapers, diaper rash cream, breast pads, wipes, tissues, bibs, baby’s bowl and spoons, baby soap and lotion and so on.
• f. Also, carrying along with favorite toys may help in engaging the infant often. Packing a goody bag full of the child’s favorite items like toys, colours, books, puzzles may be a great idea. 
• g. Lastly, try and finish the travel early so that you may get suitable rest along with your baby.

5. Pack Outfits in Zip Locks For Your Ease:

We advise packing each outfit set in Ziplock bags which is an old Burning Man trick. Outfit set means top wear, button wear, a diaper, underwear, a pair of mittens and booties, cap. When everything around you is dirty and dusty, it's ideal to be able to pull a perfectly clean outfit out of a bag. This will reduce the hassle of trying to find one mitten pair from the huge bag. You know how we cannot find things when we exactly need it. Putting baby clothes together in plastic bags is also great for keeping them clean while you keep used clothes in the same bag. You can easily distinguish worn and fresh clothes. Here are some noteworthy advantages of zip locking each set of clothes for your little one:

• a. Super quick wardrobe changes (nothing beats having everything you need at your fingertips when you're dealing with a squirming baby)
• b. Easy transfer from suitcase to diaper bag when heading out on excursions.
• c. No odd matching outfits at the end of the trip (we've all paired tops with bottoms along with its accessories like booties, mittens and caps)

Summing up:

You also may consider taking a trial trip before planning a long journey with your infants like a day’s outing or picnic or a weekend trip to gauge your kid's response and to get an idea about how traveling with them will be. Traveling with an infant may not be as convenient as traveling alone but it can still be a wonderful experience. As your child will get used to the nuances of traveling, you can take frequent trips together and make beautiful, everlasting memories in the bargain. Pick up handy caps, mittens and booties, leggings from a reputed and quality-oriented online baby clothes store.