Want to travel with a baby; don't fret, you still can! Here is a few mama's who have tackled international travel with their little ones!
Mamas, you CAN still travel internationally with a baby
Hilary S with Hay Jin K, Meghan W, and Leah C.
We are back again with a few different moms taking over the blog this month with tips and tricks on international travel! Be sure to read through the entire blog to learn more about these amazing trips.
First up we have a two week trip to Santiago, Chile for a family wedding with Hay Jin.
When it comes to packing with children, it is a completely different ballgame. She suggests packing more diapers/potty bags then you expect for your carry-on. Don’t forget to pack medicines in the carry on as well ( because this is medicine for a baby, the size of the bottles don’t actually matter, but still screenshot the information from TSA for easy convince of sharing with TSA agents.) With travel, babies/small children’s bathroom tendencies can change, to be on the lookout for extra bathroom trips or diaper changes.
Hay Jin's most helpful tip for flying would be to bring lots and lots of snack, pouches, milk and/or water to help with ear popping. They also prepped their daughter with books about planes and airport procedures so she knew what to expect. They handled delays by walking around the airport to kill time and their daughter LOVED watching all the planes take off(which did not allow them to relax. 😞)
When arriving at an international destination she suggests you check to see if there is a priority line at passport control for families with small children. Knowing this information ahead of time allowed them to skip a very long line with a overtired toddler. (No one wants that.)
She kept her daughter entertained don the flight with lots of snacks, fidget toys, crayon makers that only work on special paper and lots and lots of screen time. Managing the airports helped by having two adults vs. one child. One adult was able to focus on the child and the other focused on the suitcases.
This was L’s first time traveling internationally and meeting extended family. Hay Jin's family had not been back to Chile for five years so they enjoyed being able to ‘go back home.’ Although L got sick, they were able to spend a lot of time with family and friends. L got to attend her first wedding, who happened to be her uncles! It was so special to be able to have photographs of the memories with all their relatives.
If they would have done something differently, they would consider a day time flight as the plane was not completely dark and she was so excited she played for almost the entire flight down. (Who can blame her?!) Luckily on the way back to Charlotte, L was able to sleep the entire flight.
Next up we have Meghan who went on a seven day trip to Iceland with three adults and two children for a friend’s wedding.
Meghan’s most helpful tip for packing is to roll clothes and use packing cubes. (I’m a HUGE fan of this method as well.) Lay out outfits for each day and bring items that can be worn multiple times during the trip. They brought a sink laundry soap to wash out dirty kid clothes without a washing machine. ( SO SMART!)
Meghan and her family learned to arrive to the airport earlier then you usually do to give enough time for rental car drop off, adding a lap infant seat ticket and NOT having to run through the airport😉. Remember, most people generally enjoy helping or entertaining children. They are usually bored or waiting around too so don’t feel nervous around other people.
They managed the airports by baby wearing and using the trusty Zoe travel stroller for their toddler. It is so easy to collapse one handed to run up and down stairs/escalators saving lots of time and giving him a place to sleep during customs. During the flight Meghan kept the kids entertained by allowing the toddler tablet time, books, stickers, and lots of snacks. Since it was a redeye everyone was able to sleep for most of it. Once you arrive don’t feel the need to rush to baggage claim. Give yourself (and family) time to change, grab some food before heading through customs.
Since they went to Iceland for a friend's wedding, it was decided to extend the trip and make it a family vacation. Her mother came with them to help watch the kids while they did wedding excursions. They were able to spend the rest of the time hiking and exploring the southern portion of the island. They experienced waterfalls, glaciers, thermal springs, geysers, volcanic sand beaches and even were able to stay on a working farm for part of the trip. The people were wonderful, the views were breathtaking and they were so glad to share it with their two boys!
Her favorite memory was Preston getting so excited watching a geyser shoot water and steam out of the ground.
Lastly we have Leiah, who to traveled to Scotland for ten days to celebrated her father-in-laws 70th Birthday with a family vacation.
They got to travel to Edinburgh, explored the Highlands, ventured to the Isle of Skye and ended our trip in the Lowlands. (Talk about a dream trip to Scotland.)
Her best tip for packing is for everyone to have their own suitcase and use packing cubes. She suggests to be open to leaving some clothes behind if they get ruined. They brought a collapsible dish tub and travel bottle drying rack. They lucked out with family members giving up space for formula and diapers.
While at the airport they were lucky not to have any delays or hiccups. They traveled there overnight and on the way home during the day and arrived home by 6pm. While at the airport they brought blankets from the hospital to give their son a clean place to play. Leiah suggests to have a bottle ready for take off and landing to help with ears popping and to try to stay consistent with eating and sleeping schedule. They brought bottles, pacifiers, teething toys, and books for the flight. They were also able walk around during the flight.
When arriving, Leiah suggests to remember to be flexible and willing to pivot plans if/when needed. Coordinate with the hotel before arrival to confirm you are traveling with an infant. She was blown away by the hotels with having a crib setup and even a stuffed animal for George to bring home. While traveling for a short amount of time, they moved hotels a few times and was a bit challenging with a baby so next time they may try to not move around as much.
Leiah’s favorite memories from the trip was George saying ‘mama’ for the first time! 🥰 She enjoyed watching George bond with everyone and be able to have individual time with him while allowing her and her husband time for themselves. Their plans changed one day and on the way back from the Isle of Skye they ended up taking the smallest ferry in all of Scotland that is also the last manually operated turntable ferry in the world. (That’s pretty cool.)
I hope this has given you courage to take the trip mama. We hope to see how you are able to share experiences with your children while having fun. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! ☺️