Vacation With Your Baby? Read These Ten Tips First

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Make sure that your first vacation with your baby is a success. Take some time and do some upfront planning.

Our list of 10 things to consider will help you plan a successful vacation for you, your partner and your baby.

1. Food and water. If you are going to a popular, well-developed location like Cancun, or a major European city easy access to water and food for your baby will not likely be a problem. If your vacation entails travel to remote areas, or even on a cruise make sure that you know how and where you will get water and food for your baby during the trip.

2. Medications. Anticipate what small ailments may occur to your child during the trip, and pack a small kit with the medicine that will help you to easily treat an upset tummy, a slight fever, an ear-ache, any rashes and so on.

3. Think about your accommodations more when you are traveling with a baby. When it was just the two of you traveling you probably didn’t spend much time in your room-or in your cabin if on a cruise ship. Things are different when traveling with a baby. They will be napping and they will need more time in the hotel room or cruise ship cabin. Because of this you might want to upgrade your room to one that has a balcony. The balcony gives you more room-and it also will allow you and your partner to better enjoy the extra time that you will be spending in your room.

4. Reduce your expectations. Anticipate that your vacation will not be as jammed packed as it used to be. Plan your day’s events around some time to stop and play and exercise with the baby. Identify the vacation places that each of you really want to see or visit on the trip - and then agree upfront that each of you will have times to see what they want to see while the other parents looks after your baby.

5. Our babies love to sleep in the stroller. That is great when we are at home - but not always so great on a vacation. If your baby is in their stroller too much during the day they may end up having too much daytime sleep making it difficult for them to sleep at night. During the day plan for regular breaks to get the baby out of their stroller and play with them at a park, or place a blanket on the ground and spend some time playing with them outside of their stroller.

6. Takes direct flights when flying. When possible avoid connecting air flights. Flying for babies is not always easy. The change in air pressure during take-offs and landings can be hard for babies.

7. Think about bringing a travel bed for the baby to sleep in - and before you leave home let them practice by having them sleep in it for a couple of nights.

8. If you are renting a car during your vacation consider bringing your own car seat. That way you will know how to install the seat in the rental car and you will know that is a safe and comfortable seat for them to ride in.

9. A month or so before you travel contact your baby’s doctor to advise that you will be travelling with your baby. Ask the doctor if there are any required vaccinations for the places that you plan on visiting during the trip.

10. Check list. Write a list of the items that you will carry with you as you travel and a list of the items that you will pack for your baby to be used during the trip. Check the list a week before the trip and then check it again the day before the trip to make sure that you have everything.