Thursday, February 9, 2012

traveling overseas with baby

I had reoccurring nightmares about it for weeks up until the big trip to Spain. Her ears start to hurt upon takeoff and she cries for 12 hours straight. She has one of her infamous poop explosions mid air and I'm not allowed out of my seat to take her to the lavatory so I can change her. She is "the baby". Yes, the baby that makes the long journey even longer because she cried, pooped and screamed the entire way.
Well, not my baby.
How was this possible? Well, I will tell you every step I took and those steps I wish I took to have made the trip even better.
1. PRE-Prepare.
Have a list ready of everything you and baby will need. Think about your day-to-day activities to help you make a mental note of what you MUST have.
Make sure your breast pump has fresh batteries and you take along an extra pack.
If you're not nursing, you can buy travel packaged formula perfect for mixing when on-the-go.
Check the weather at your destination spot to decide on clothing.
Take your LO to her pediatrician for a quick check-up and check the CDC website to for any current outbreaks at your destination.
Call the airline ahead of time and inform them you have an infant. In some cases the airline can provide you with special seating and/or on some international flights, a crib!
If staying in a hotel, call ahead of time and inform them of your infant. Many hotels have cribs and will make sure you stay in a quiet room away from any possible party guests.
2. Pack as light as possible. Start with the basics and check your list. It's easy to overpack for baby as I'm sure there are hundreds of outfits you're desperate to see her in but try to think realistically and just pack 1 outfit for every day you are away. If possible, pack clothing that can be mixed and matched together to save space. Remember, your baby doesn't need a different pair of shoes for every outfit. That is, unless your JLO. Your 2 carry-ons should be easy to carry and if possible, with wheels. If one of the two carry-ons is your breast pump then carry bottles and brush in there. 
Also, your diaper bag should be fully stocked and do not forget a change of clothes...remember the dream of the poop explosion? It COULD happen.
3. Dress baby as comfortable as possible. Like baby jogging suits which are warm, with hoodies.
4. Nurse or bottle feed during ascending and descending to keep your LO's ears from bothering him or her.
5. Bring a familiar toy from home.
6. Help baby with jet lag. Give him/her a few hours a day to completely adjust. While our domestic trip was free from major jet lag, the hardest part of our trip overseas was having our LO wake up at 3am for the first 2 nights.

Things we wish we had done:
-Pack plenty of diapers from home. We thought we would just pack what we needed for the traveling portion of the trip and buy what we needed for the entire stay once we got settled in Spain. The diapers there were not as we prefer. She leaked a few nights and ended up with a mild diaper rash.
-Bring handling packaging for the car seat. Our carseat ended up having some scratches and damage from the rough handling.

Will we do it again? Absolutely!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.