Traveling with babies can be stressful, but having the right gear makes all the difference to help ensure each step goes smoothly. Even before we had Peter, I knew I wanted to continue to prioritize travel after we had children, so I did my best to gather any and all advice and gear tips I could to prepare in advance.
We have our bulky strollers at home that are amazing for outings like strolls in the park (I used the Bugaboo Fox when I only had Peter and loved it, and we are using the Cybex Gazelle S as our double stroller now). But for travel (and any somewhat logistically challenging outings) we have a whole different arsenal of gear.
We traveled quite aggressively while Peter was a newborn. That first summer we took him to my family’s home in Provence, then to London from there, followed by my brother-in-law’s wedding in Scotland, a week in Capri, and ending finally with a little more time in Provence. This involved planes, trains, and all sorts of automobiles on land and sea! There were definitely logistically challenging moments (imagine hoisting a life vest-wearing newborn onto shore from a rickety sailboat in Capri), but it was well worth it.
I honestly can’t imagine returning to such a packed travel itinerary in a post-pandemic world, but am excited to venture back into more regular travel this summer as we head back to France this month.
As Peter has grown and we now have two little ones to tag along on our trips, the idea of traveling with a single newborn sounds like an absolute breeze. The logistics keep changing as our family grows and I’ve learned a lot along the way! I wanted to share the tips and products that have helped us. As we learn more, I’ll continue to update/add to this post!
Traveling with an infant
Traveling with a newborn/infant is the easiest stage in my opinion. My babies have slept for most all of the flights we’ve taken them on as infants. The worst part was just overcoming my own stress that it wouldn’t go smoothly. But it becomes much less overwhelming with practice and time. I’ve found that fellow passengers are generally extremely kind and understanding. And when your baby inevitably cries at some point, you start to realize all you can do is your best and not to be bothered worrying about what the people around you are thinking.
Here are my tips:
1) When booking a flight, you generally have to call to add a lap infant to the reservation. It is also worth asking if the plane has a bassinet; many planes will offer this for specific bulkhead seats, and it’s worth looking into particularly for international flights. They have a special bassinet attachment that clicks into the wall and is such a lifesaver for long overnight flights — a really nice option to put your baby to sleep in front of you rather than holding him/her the entire time.
2) Nursing/feeding/giving babies a pacifier during takeoff and landing can help with ear pain. There were a few flights where Peter cried during landing, as newborns don’t know how to release the pressure from their ears the way we do. The sucking motion can help.
3) TRANSIT GEAR: With a single infant, I swore by the yo-yo zen stroller with the newborn nest and nuna pipa car seat (clicks in with this attachment). With the yo-yo/nuna combination, you gate check the car seat but bring the yo-yo stroller with you right onto the plane, as it folds up tiny and fits in the overhead compartment. It’s really nice to be able to put your baby back into the stroller while you’re still on the plane so you have your hands free while you’re walking off and pushing them along through the airport. With international travel, you usually don’t see your gate checked items again until baggage claim (whereas domestically you get them as soon as you get off the plane), so it’s handy to always have the stroller with you. The car seat clicks on/off seamlessly even while the infant seat is attached, which is so helpful when you’re going in and out of a car. The combination is extremely versatile.
We now have the doona stroller as well, which is a carseat that transforms easily and quickly into a stroller. It’s honestly one of the most genius pieces of gear I’ve ever encountered. The ease of use is unmatched and I will be using it all the time with Kit. The only drawback compared to the yo-yo is that you wouldn’t be able to bring it on the plane unless you have a full seat booked for your infant (and can put the car seat in the seat). Otherwise it would need to be gate checked.
Some people swear by baby-wearing during travel and I think this can be a great option, it just hasn’t personally been my preferred method in the past. But I can see how it would be a great way to bridge the gap if have to check your stroller and need something to use when you don’t have it / helpful when traveling with two.
4) SLEEP GEAR: When we were constantly on the move with Peter that first summer, we brought the dock a tot along for him to sleep in. Generally hotels and rentals will have pack-n-plays for parents to use, but he slept better in the dock a tot and I knew we always had it with us and didn’t have to worry (even though it takes up like half a suitcase it still seemed like the best solution; we did NOT travel light haha).
Traveling with a toddler
This is where it gets tricky. After travel being a total breeze with Peter as a newborn, I was in for a complete shock when we flew with him at 18 months. It’s that tricky stage where they can’t quite communicate or understand much yet, won’t fully sit and watch a show or play with an iPad, and want to run/explore everywhere. He didn’t have his own seat because that’s not required until two years and we didn’t think it was necessary. But man, we were wrangling a screaming little boy for 7 full hours and were truly scarred from the experience. That’s when I knew I would have to do some serious prep work and research before our next flight. I was ready to invest in some gear to make it easier on us all.
Thankfully, our most recent flight with Peter went ten times better. I crowdsourced advice from my mom friends and put it to the test, so here are my best tips:
1) Get your toddler his or her own seat and strap them into a car seat! This applies particularly for a long flight if you don’t want to be physically wrangling for 5+ hours. We got Peter the Pico Wayb travel car seat (HIGHLY RECOMMEND)! It is extremely light, folds tiny, and you can purchase a backpack (also recommend) so it’s easy to carry around and strap to the top of your roller carry-on. suitcase. People also recommended a cheaper option — this Cosco car seat is great for travel because it’s inexpensive and super light (but bulkier which is the only downside because you’ll have to haul it through the airport). Having Peter strapped into a car seat made ALL THE DIFFERENCE because he wasn’t trying to run away the entire time. He does well in the car so it was more similar to a car ride.
2) Yo-yo zen still the best option for toddler travel. Easiest/tiniest stroller and folds overhead in the airplane.
2) Load up the iPad or similar device with shows and games beforehand. Enough said.
3) Bring lots of snacks!!!
4) Bring new cheap little toys to surprise them with throughout the flight. I bought a pack of cheap trucks on Amazon and they were a big hit.
Traveling with two
We have successfully completed our first roundtrip with two, and I can’t say I’m an expert yet, but the combination of the doona for the newborn and yo-yo zen stroller + pico wayb carseat for the toddler worked really well. Of course this was with two adults traveling with two kids. I can’t even imagine traveling alone with both of them, but I am sure I will have to cross that bridge someday!
I also recently learned that you can purchase a connector piece to combine two yo-yo zen strollers! This is genius and we may end up doing that once Kit outgrows the doona.
The GEAR
2 Responses
Hello Samantha,
Love the look of your website. I enjoy reading your blog. Where was this first image in the this blog taken?
Regards,
Su
Thank you! It was taken at New York Botanical Gardens.