Travel with a Baby | Baby Bump

Travel is one of my favourite things to do, and now that I have a child it does make it a little harder but not impossible!

In the next couple months, I am planning on going on at least 2 trips. These 2 trips are already booked and I’m ready to go! But now that I have a baby in tow, it takes just a little bit more planning.

The first trip planned is a road trip to Philadelphia, PA in the US. I am going with my mom and Kaiden, and the main reason for this trip is first and foremost I’m getting a tattoo!! The secondary reason is to do some shopping (no sales tax!). I’m looking forward to checking out Targets, Wal-Marts, and the outlet malls! We’re also going to do some sightseeing in Philly, as well.

The second trip is flying out to British Columbia. Andrew’s going to be out there for some work related stuff and I’m going to go to visit him and my friend, Mal! Who also had a baby last year, and is 2 weeks older than Kaiden so that’ll be so much fun for them to play together.

Road Trip Travel

There are some definite pluses to travelling with a baby via vehicle and there are some minuses.

Some pluses:

1. It’s just you and the baby! You don’t have to worry about annoying other people that are travelling to the same place as you.
2. Need to make a stop? Make the stop. Nothing is stopping you from just pulling over or into the next service centre to make a stop to feed or change a baby.
3. It doesn’t matter how much you need to pack – you have all the space that you need (depending on the size of your vehicle) to pack!

Some minuses:

1. It definitely takes longer to get to where you need to be. Hopefully, you don’t hit any traffic!
2. If it’s a long haul, you do need to make stops. Especially if your baby doesn’t fall asleep, they’ll get bored pretty darn fast.
3. Dealing with the border crossing (since I’m going to the US) which could add some time, as I’ve never gone with a baby before!

I’ll be taking the truck, so that gives me a lot of space for baby stuff. I’ll be taking the playpen, a stroller, and of course the car seat. We’ll be gone for about 5 days, so I’ll be bringing his formula and some packaged food pouches to make travelling easier on that side of things. I’ll need 5 days worth of clothing, bibs, some toys, his favourite blankets, his pillow, and his noise maker. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but some of these things just take up a lot of space.

I’ll need to pack for myself, and will have my mom’s stuff too. Granted, I can wear the same pair of pants the entire time. It’s weird but adult clothing is much thinner than baby clothing? Has anyone else noticed this?  There will be lots of space for me to bring anything that I purchase back as well, but I’m not planning on doing too much spending since I’m on a budget now!

Airplane Travel

I’m definitely more nervous for this trip than the car trip! I travel with him by car every day, but this will be our first airplane ride together. Plus, I’ll be tackling these flights by myself! Cue panic… now.

Some pluses:

1. So much faster! In a couple hours, you are at your destination. Phew!
2. He’s under 2, so he flies for free!
3. Everyone likes to coo at a baby!

Some minuses:

1. Enclosed space with a baby. Immediately everyone hates you. No pressure there, right baby? I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he’ll just go down to sleep. I’ve picked aisle seats so that I can rock him to sleep.
2. Limits on what you can bring. Most airlines are great that you can bring baby stuff (car seat, stroller, playpens) free of charge but you can only bring 2 of those items for free. Just means a lot more stuff to carry with a baby!
3. Change in pressure. I have no idea how this is going to affect Kaiden but I’ve heard that this is the reason most babies cry at first. And honestly, don’t blame them! Having your ears “pop” is never a fun experience, even as an adult.

I am slightly exaggerating the “everyone hates you”, but I’m sure that it feels that way – I’m guilty myself pre-baby of rolling my eyes and breathing a sigh of relief when a baby moves or comes on the plane. But I also realize that life happens and babies are just not able to ask the flight attendant for some water if that’s what they need. Babies got places to be too!

I’m planning on bringing my baby carrier since he’s getting too heavy to carry and rock to sleep. Plus, when getting the luggage, I’ll need my hands free. Luckily, my friend has all the baby stuff already so I only need to bring a stroller. I’m hoping that my flight is late enough that he’ll just fall asleep once I give him his bottle.. although he might be up for a bit since it’s not quite bedtime when we leave.

Either way, life goes on and I’ll survive.

Some other things to note:

1. When travelling without the other parent, you will need documentation to say you can take the baby out of the country. Make sure that you have this, and you should have smoother sailing through customs!
2. For the road trip portion, all his food will be sealed and new packages to ensure that the border crossing is quick and efficient.
3. I will probably bring his headphones for on the plane, just in case it’s too loud for him.
4. When in doubt, bring snacks!! Sometimes, cookie or MumMum might be the thing needed to keep them occupied or quiet. Not for every day, but I think warranted in special circumstances.

I’ll be posting about the individual trips when they happen, as well as getting some travel vlogs up for them. I’m super excited to be travelling with Kaiden! Jetsetter before turning 1!

Anything that I missed about travelling with kids under the age of 2? Let me know! 

J x