travel tips
Here are my top tips for traveling with babies!
Don’t Stress About the Schedule: just do the best you can to stick to your child’s normal mealtimes and sleep times, understanding that you’re going to get off to some extent. Just get back on track after you’re done traveling! It’s better to be 15 minutes off than 30, half an hour off than a full hour, and 1 hour off than 2+. But just do the best you can! Try to get one good nap a day in the portable crib, but the rest can be on the go. If you get way off routine on vacation, you may have to re-sleep train when you get back, which should only take a few days and isn’t the end of the world. It’s easier to re-establish habits than teach new ones.
Airplanes:
try to schedule your flight right before bedtime or naptime if possible. Book a direct flight if at all possible. Call the airline ahead of time and ask if they have bassinets for the plane and reserve one…sometimes they do!
feed during take-off/landing if baby cries (their ears are likely hurting)
if baby cries on the plane, there’s only so much you can do. don’t worry about what everyone else is thinking, babies cry and that’s a normal thing. possibly consider ordering a glass of wine on the plane…
Nighttime Noise: If you’re sharing a sleeping space with others outside of your family, I do still recommend giving your child a full 5-10 minute pause before intervening in the night for any wakings. I know it’s tempting to jump on them immediately when you’re trying to keep the noise level down, but that could actually lead to more overall crying on the trip. Try not to go back to night feeds, co-sleeping, etc if you’ve discontinued that, as you then may have to re-sleep train to get back to sustainable habits after your trip.
Room-Sharing: If you have to room share with baby during travel and normally don’t, try to put baby in a travel crib as far away from your bed as possible, or even in a hallway, ventilated bathroom, or living room
Time Changes: If traveling to a different time zone, I recommend just trying to stay on your own timezone if your trip is 2-3 days or less. If the trip is longer, once you get to your destination, just gradually get onto the new timezone, getting 15-30 mins closer each day. The sun patterns will help baby naturally adjust!
Road Trips: I recommend starting your road trip first thing in the morning, after breakfast. Feed during gasoline/bathroom breaks. If you can coordinate gas stops with your child’s normal mealtimes, that’s ideal.
Try to enjoy the trip and be flexible! Just do the best you can and don’t stress about the rest.