Travelling with Infants

Travelling with an infant is doable with a little advance planning. Consider staying in a vacation condo or a short-term apartment rental. I skipped the very cheap hotels and stayed in ones that had a crib. Travelling by train such as the Eurostar, had advantages over flying. I could walk the wee one down the aisle and point to the animals outside of our window. We stayed at my mother’s house across country that had baby paraphernalia. It was fun taking my pre-schooler and his infant brother to my favourite childhood haunts. Some parents forgo a stroller for a baby sling when travelling.

If your baby or toddler is still on formula, it’s very easy to do long international trips. I had a container which had 3 separate compartments for the correct amount of dry formula per bottle. The container had a spout on the end for easy pouring of the dry formula into a baby bottle, containing water. I would make up a bottle as I went on the airplanes. Now, you may have to buy water after security control at the airports. While touring foreign cities, I’d buy a bottle of water and pore it ahead of time into my baby bottles and then add the formula, on the go. I used the disposable Playtex liners, particularly on trips. To sterilize bottle nipples, I used a travel heating unit, which heated up water in hotel rooms, and then I poured it over the washed baby bottle nipples.

There are family friendly destinations, such as a beach, farm stay or a city like London with huge parks. Some cities have a children’s museum, zoo and fun festivals. My nine month old son ate as much at a big outdoor food extravaganza  in Chicago, as I did. Animal sanctuaries and countries with wildlife up close is fun for the little ones.