The Baby has now been joining us on adventures for a little while. He loves being outside (luckily!) and has been fortunate enough to explore some exciting places already in his first few months as a member of the Faraway Dispatches team. Amongst other adventures closer to home, he has hiked the gorges and mountain tops of Valencia, strolled the streets of Europe’s most beautiful city, braved the Scottish winter, witnessed history on Hadrian’s Wall, dipped his toes in the waters of the Lake District and explored Wales’ highest peaks. We have slowly started to find our rhythm travelling as a family, and I wanted to share the things that helped, to give confidence to any other parents worrying their days of travel are over.
TAKING THE PLUNGE
I want to reassure anyone thinking that ever travelling again is utterly impossible, as you are in the depths of simply working out how to survive the next few minutes. In those first newborn weeks (months!), even leaving the house for five minutes seemed impossible to imagine. Everyone says it, but it does genuinely get easier.
And nearly always, the anticipation is worse than the reality. Sometimes I think you simply need a forcing mechanism. We only took The Baby on his first overseas adventure as the friends we were visiting invited us, and I was so excited to see them, I momentarily forgot all my fears about how on earth we could travel with The Baby and said yes. This forced us to do it, when otherwise would probably have put it off. It pushed us out of our comfort zone – the lovely little nest we created for ourselves – and broke the spell and gave us confidence. For me, doing this whilst he was still “portable” was essential. In the early weeks and months babies sleep a lot (or at least I hear rumours that some do… I still can’t think about sleep regressions without crying!) And until they can wobble about under their own steam, they are rather at the whim of wherever we want to go. Make the most of those days if you can!
All this is not to say the way we travel hasn’t changed now The Baby comes with us. Of course it has. I think some of the “travel with children” content on the internet, whilst helpful for tips and inspiration, can add to the feeling of pressure on families that they must be achieving everything at all times. Similar to the “you can have it all” narrative with work and family. You can, but inevitably with give and take. You will need to adjust your expectations and your plans. I like the French approach to babies, that they must fit into a family and their ways, as much as the family must evolve to accommodate the baby’s needs. Travel with The Baby is like this for me. It is of course different, but there is also an element of working out how to fit The Baby into what we want to do.
EASE EVERYONE IN
If you can, book a day or more, depending on the length of travel, at the start of trip to just relax and have time to adjust and recover from a day of travel. We found this essential for both for parents and baby!
SURVIVING THE JOURNEY
The actual getting there tends to be the trickiest part of travel for us these days. Broadly we try to try to work our travel around The Baby’s naps. Although this is mostly for our own sanity!
We attempt to plan long drives around nap times. No matter what else you have planned, sitting in a car with an unhappy and screaming baby is awful for everyone involved! On train journeys it has been a bit easier to be more relaxed as it is easier to let him move about, but still more relaxing for us if we can tempt him to sleep for at least some of the trip!
My favourite tip is to keep favourite (easily portable!) toys out of the way a few days before travel to crack out on the train or plane. Also always travel with the big guns… in our case, Gidros the Dragon, Henrietta Hippo and the spoon (I can’t explain this one, he just loves it!). We use these toys in restaurants too to occupy him to allow us to eat!
In addition to The Baby’s favourites, before his first flight we also bought him this sensory toy, which proved to be perfect for having multiple textures and ways to explore, and possible to hang off the seat in front. It has become a firm favourite. As have the spinners we bought based on the recommendation of nearly everyone we know! In addition to sticking to the plane window and fold down tray table, they are also now his nightly bath toys and useful for sticking to a high chair tray to buy myself sometime whilst trying to cool his dinner down…! Likewise, these super packable suction toys have been very popular at home and on holiday, as have these versatile silicon animals. These crinkle books with animal tails have been a huge hit for month, including with The Husband and I! There is just something so satisfying about the tails…!
QUALITY NOT QUANTITY
On the one hand travelling with The Baby is far more hectic than when it was just the two of us. But on the other hand, it has forced us to slow down in a way I am really enjoying. To a large extent, we need to go at his pace and to his timetable. And that means time to play, cater to his endless appetite, or just relax. We are very lucky that The Baby is a pretty chilled chap most of the time, and happy to sit in pram and look at world around him whilst we explore. But even then, his patience will only hold for a certain amount of time before we need to give him some time to kick around, or chew on the random item he has decided is his *favourite thing ever* that day.
Planning one excursion a day has been realistic for us – be that a hike, a historic castle or visit to a beach. This has forced us travel more slowly, both in pace, but also in sense of not rushing from sight to sight but rather picking the highlights really want to see and enjoying that. The focus has definitely shifted even more to quality over quantity.
THE EVER ELUSIVE BABY SLEEP
When travelling we attempt to work around nap times (mostly!). The Baby doesn’t have a strict routine. I am in awe of those parents who can persuade their little ones onto a clear schedule, and confidently assert what times their baby will nap each day. I would love the structure, and the ability to plan outings and days with such certainty. Sadly The Baby has inherited too many of The Husband’s genes to be so compliant. Instead, I would say we have more of a rhythm. He broadly follows a similar pattern most days, and although the exact timings will vary, we know currently, he will need two naps a day, usually with about three hours awake in between before he gets unhappy. Whilst travelling, we try to ensure he gets at least one good nap a day – even if the others are a bit more scattered, or on the go. For us, this usually means in our accommodation, in his travel cot. We also try to stick to his bedtime routine and timings as find he is happier with that being kept constant, and is more amenable to going with the flow during the day. So as an example, whilst previously we would head out for dinner to explore the foodie highlights of a destination; we still make food and eating out a big part of our trips, but instead go for lunch.
When he was really little, we could almost always get him to sleep in our beloved Omni Breeze Ergo Baby Carrier. Sleep in the excellent Osprey Poco Plus has required a bit more practice. So whilst we were travelling, if he was getting really tired or hadn’t slept much, I would use the carrier over the pram or other options on the go.
DOUBLE, TRIPLE, QUADRUPLE ETAS…
Be realistic on time. No matter how hard we try, literally everything takes longer with The Baby. Getting out the door, packing up, getting to where you want to go, doing what you want to do… it all takes easily double the amount of time with the smallest companion in tow. We simply have had to learn to factor this into our plans. Although I am always guilty of overestimating how much we can do in the windows we have!
PACK LIGHT – WITH A BABY?!
I realise this might seem impossible! And light certainly has a slightly different meaning to travel before children! But I have found that packing for no more than a week works for us, as we tend to book cottages or apartments with a washing machine. Or alternatively, we can nearly always find a laundry in a destination if staying in a hotel. Of course this is more tricky if you are going to multiple destinations with different climates, but I still try to keep it light by choosing clothes we can layer, rather than individual bulky items.
I have written about my favourite items to make travelling with a baby easier, and the things we have found most useful when hiking with a baby, if you are seeking more reassurance on what to pack.
Despite these changes to the way we explore the world, travelling with The Baby has one massive perk (aside from the lovely cuddles!). Seeing the world afresh through his eyes is pretty magical. The excitement of showing him things for the first time and his delight in new things is infectious. I hope this guide helps give you the confidence to do similar – have a look at my other family travel guides for more practical advice, as well as my destination and adventure guides for choosing where to head with your little explorer!
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