Babe #2 is still
incubating in my (surprisingly gigantic) belly, but when a good friend asked
for advice on travelling with an infant, I realized I didn’t have any posts
about this. So, while it’s been more than 3 years since I flew around Australia
and across the Pacific with Ryder as a tiny babe, I’ll do my best here to
provide some useful (read: quite possibly bad) advice.
Packing your suitcase
As you know from
being at home, babies are insanely messy. They are constantly peeing and
pooping and puking on themselves and you. While it’s tempting to just bring
enough clothes so that you won’t have to do laundry while away, this may result
in a ridiculously large and/or extremely smelly suitcase partway into your
trip. It’s a good idea, therefore, to pack a bit of laundry detergent that you
know the child is not allergic to so you can hand-wash some of the really bad
stuff in the evenings or, if needed, visit a Laundromat.
In addition to
clothes, don’t forget some of the essentials you find yourself using around the
house: barf rags, extra pacifiers, a few
(like 2) special toys/books if they are of-that-age. Other stuff that may come
in handy and is a pain to acquire on the road: thermometer, baby medicines of
various sorts, bathing liquids/lotion/etc., baby bug repellant and/or sunscreen
(or, if they are too little for these things, then something to keep biting bugs
and excess sun off them if you are planning to be outdoors). A few small
blankets of various weights are also handy.
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| It's pretty convenient when they can't go anywhere themselves |
Packing for the plane
On the plane,
you will need all the usual diaper-bag stuff: diapers (bring more than you
think you’ll need), wipes, butt cream, pacifier, extra clothes for the baby
(and a waterproof bag for the dirty ones), barf rag, and hand sanitizer for changes
in places without hand-washing facilities. It’s definitely possible to travel
with cloth diapers – you just need to be sure you have enough dirty-diaper
storage capacity to get between convenient washing locations (for instance, the
plane is not a convenient place to wash and dry nappies). However, I admit that
most of our travel – aside from long trips to our relative’s houses or short
weekend trips – was completed using disposables.
Note: airline
employees and fellow passengers do not enjoy it when you change your baby at
your seat, even if it’s just a pee diaper. There are pull-down tables in at
least one bathroom on every plane (that I’ve been on) for this purpose.
In addition to
these typical baby-clean-up items, you should also pack a change of clothes for
yourself. It is super unpleasant to fly halfway across the ocean after being voluminously
puked on and having nothing to change into.
Also, bring some
sort of blanket/swaddler, and a carrier – a sling, wrap, ergo, whatever you
like. Note that it’s inconsistent how airport security and airlines behave when
it comes to carriers: in some cases you can wear the baby through security but
get some extra patting-down and explosive-hand-swabbing-tests done, and in
other cases they make you take the kid out and awkwardly put the carrier
through the x-ray machine and then somehow get the kid back into the carrier on
the other side without putting him on the floor in the interim (I guess it
helps if you are travelling with a partner). Similarly, some airlines will let
you wear the baby on the plane in your seat, and others will make you take them
out and hold them (I’ve been told this is because they want to be able to
easily get the baby off the plane if there is a crash and you are
incapacitated. My thought is that the baby would probably be in better shape
for survival during a crash in a carrier, but some airlines think
otherwise…also note it’s not a good idea to argue about this with the airline
people, as they do have the authority to judge you hostile and kick you off the
plane).
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| Don't forget to take differences in weather into account. Sydney to San Francisco in December? Thank goodness for clever grandparents showering warm clothing upon the babe. |
Other accouterment
Things you
should not attempt to bring on a trip:
-Baby bathtub
-Breastfeeding pillow
-Baby towels
-A bunch of toys
-A behemoth stroller, if you can
help it
-Baby bed, unless it’s collapsible
-A travel crib
-Baby swing
-Other large and bulky items
That said, when
we went to the US for over a month when Ryder was 6 weeks old, we brought: a
collapsible bassinet, a bouncy chair (that came apart), carseat, and relatively
small collapsible stroller with carseat attachment capability. In hindsight,
the bassinet was not necessary. On a subsequent trip, we just put him in a
drawer – literally – that we pulled out of a dresser, put some padding into it,
and voila. However, he was a bit older then and we were less worried about
SIDS. So, if you’ve got a baby bed that you like and doesn’t require a separate
suitcase, toss it in the bag. Similarly, the bouncy chair was nice to have on
such a long trip – he could sit and be part of the action at dinner, for
instance, but we could have survived without it, given all the extra arms
available.
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| Don't underestimate the ingenuity of grandparents |
I know people
who have travelled without carseats – they either rent them on arrival, or in
places with less strict laws just say – “hey, the local babies don’t use car
seats!” I personally find this second idea insane, as I prefer my children not
to be killed in easily preventable ways. But, that’s just me. Also, renting car
seats can add up quickly. Given that airlines allow you to check a car seat for
free, it doesn’t make sense to leave it behind (unless the carseat you own won’t
pass for legal in the country you are visiting – check the local laws).
I also know
people who have made a point to travel without a stroller. They just pop the
baby in a carrier of some sort, and whisk off. I find this way too exhausting:
carrying the baby, the carseat, the diaper bag, and dragging the luggage is too
much for me, so I would rather bring a stroller to help get the load off my
back.
That said, I
check the carseat and stroller with my luggage at the counter, and then wear
the baby around the airport. Of course, if your baby hates going in the
stroller or the carrier, then leave the hated one behind.
On the plane
I’ve seen
stories about people touted as being “so thoughtful” for handing out earplugs
and candy, etc. to fellow passengers seated near them when travelling with an
infant. Well, screw that! Here’s why:
(1) Most babies do not actually cry that much
on planes, particularly little ones. The white noise is soothing, they get to
sit on the parent’s laps, there are interesting things to look at, and they generally
just eat and sleep most of the time anyway.
(2) If you are the kind of person who is
bothered by other people’s kids crying, then get your own damned earplugs, or
don’t fly.
(3) People who get to spend a flight drinking
whiskey and reading trashy magazines—instead of being puked on and fretting
about whether a tiny person is too hot or needs a nap—need to just shut their
traps and smile kindly at those of us doing our best to ensure the survival of
a fragile human.
While Ryder has
never exhibited ear discomfort on planes (not sure how this is possible), I was
always somewhat religious about nursing him or giving a pacifier on takeoff and
landing. After a brief few days of trying and failing to use a nursing cover, I
realized that unless I am nursing in front of people I work with, I don’t
really care if people potentially see some portion of my mammary glands. After
all, humans are mammals and that is why we have these lumps on our fronts: to
nurse babies. So flying between places like the US, Europe, and Australia I had
no qualms about nursing Ryder in my seat without a gigantic mumu-style cover-up
hanging around my neck. I did use one while transiting through Dubai, and
around Singapore, and I would use one in other places where modesty is an
important part of the culture.
On long-haul or
otherwise international flights, we always requested a bassinet. The bulkhead
seats on a lot of the international planes have space for bassinets to be
attached to the wall. It’s pretty fantastic to be able to put your baby into a
bassinet to sleep (particularly on overnight flights on airlines that don’t
allow carriers – it’s basically impossible to sleep without dropping your kid
on the floor otherwise).
Oh yes – and the best two pieces of advice a
lovely older woman gave me: you’ll almost certainly never see any of your
fellow passengers again, and the flight will eventually end. So you’ll be just
fine.
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| Just taking a little break on the ground at the train station with our camping and surf gear, as you do. |
