Because having a baby should never stop you from travelling – the only thing that may stop you is a fear of the unknown. And the tears. And the public tantrums.
Predictably we ran out of time, hurtling around the house during the week while packing for what felt like a seven-month trip to the Himalayas. Who knew that a baby could need so much stuff?
Five tins of formula in one bag because we couldn’t buy the same brand in Canada. Umpteen changes of clothes in another bag because the weather changes so dramatically from west to east that we had to prepare for all eventualities. A vast array of toys to entertain the little dude, colourful squeezee food containers to feed him, nappies and nappy rash cream to contain him, baby Panadol and teething gel to soothe him.
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| Photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons (Anders Young) |
It was going to be 14 hours of sleep-deprived hell with a red-faced, swollen-eyed baby balling his eyes out the entire time.
We’re in Vancouver.
If you have handy suggestions or helpful hints you’ve learned along the way, please share them below as the little guy will be back on a long-haul flight in less than two weeks.
Glad to hear it went well! I have had some horrendous flying with baby experiences – mostly terrible behavior from fellow travelers and a bitter QANTAS flight attendant. It’s definitely easier before they’re crawling – and then after they turn 3 (or at whichever age they develop a bit of an attention span). Crawling kids do NOT want to sit still for more than 2 minutes – so 24-or-so hours is not enjoyable. But, once they’re old enough to play for a bit or watch some of their favourite TV programs – technology is your best travel companion. Tablets, video games, laptops, anything with games, shows and movies they like are essential for the young traveler.
I have read all of the travel-with-baby advice (and horror stories), and it really isn’t as bad as you hear. But, there was a point (during my solo flight from Brisbane to Vancouver with my then 15-month-old, and while 5 months pregnant) where I thought that, if I had a parachute, and if we were over land, I’d consider bailing 😉
The most valuable thing I’ve learned during my various flights with littlies is to be prepared for the hostility of your fellow travelers (and, in some cases, flight attendants). I felt like people would have preferred that I arrived at the gate with a shirt that said “I have the eblola virus” than arrive with a baby in tow. Be ready to shrug off hostility – after all, leaving kids at home (especially when you’re moving internationally, isn’t always an option). And, whenever, possible, try to have adults outnumber kids in your travel party.
Finally, don’t underestimate the kindness of strangers. I experienced some serious unkindness from people while flying with my young kids, but, more importantly, and more memorably, I encountered some of the most kind and generous human beings as well. A very sweet man from China (via Australia) absolutely insisted on helping me transfer from the domestic to the international airport in Sydney. I am not comfortable accepting help from people, let alone people I don’t know, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I had a wheelie contraption set up with a car seat and all of my maxed-out carry-on strapped on top. He lifted it on to the bus for me, and pulled it all the way to the gate for me. Most people I talk to who travel with young kids have similar stories of unbelievable kindness from strangers. So, despite the stress and exhaustion, at the very least, travelling with small children can both destroy and restore your faith in humanity 😉
Enjoy your time in Canada! I’m sure your little guy will love it, eh! 😉
Ha, no amount of preparation would have saved us on our US to France flight when one of my sons had a diaper explosion… As I walked him down the aisle to the bathroom (second son in arms) we left a trail of poop. Lesson learned? Bring LOTS of wipes.
It’s such a hit-or-miss thing, flying with kids. The best you can be is prepared… and relaxed 🙂 So far, I’ve only had one nightmare flight with Kleine Munchkin out of the 25 we’ve taken in the last year. I think starting them young helps tremendously. I’m so glad you had a good experience!
I’ve collected tips from a few experts, the best of which (IMO) was from travel blogger Ethan Gelber who said:”Ignore other people’s looks and shut your ears to their mutterings. They are not your problem and should know better than to add to yours.”
Other awesome tips are here:
http://www.tiffanyrjansen.com/jetsetters-guide-to-holiday-travel-with-children.html
Here:
http://frederick.want2dish.com/articles/3203/2do/travel/2012/11/13/don_t_let_hitting_the_road_with_the_kids_rob_you_of_your_holiday_cheer
And here:
http://www.examiner.com/article/travel-flying-with-babies-infants-toddlers
But they pretty much all state what you say here. Next time I do a piece on this topic, I’ll have to interview you 🙂
Here’s one: don’t expect any sympathy from Norwegian airlines if they break your buggy. They will tell you that buggies aren’t suitable to be carried on planes (!) and should have been enclosed in a hard plastic case (!!)
Always good to bring along “new” books & toys that haven’t seen along with a coupke of faves! Children of all ages like surprises :-D. On long haul flights bring out new things every few hours! Remember to save a couple for returning/continuing flights.
Oh dear, Liene! Yes, good lesson. We had plenty of wipes in reserve – too many almost 😉
That’s rough, Kat. I hope you complained and complained and complained!
Definitely, Carole. We took along the faves but, even then, he got bored quickly. On the return trip, I think we’ll have a few ‘new’ ones to bring out 🙂
Thanks, Tiffany, and good advice. I was overly paranoid about offending other people when I should probably have not worried so much. Thanks for sharing those links – and interview away 🙂
Thanks for this great advice, Katie. Yes, many people have told me to travel while he’s still young as it’ll all change when he gets old enough to move around. Funnily enough, we had a few ‘stares’ as we got onboard and then, once the plane had landed, the couple sat in the row behind us got leaned over the seats and said “thank you for having such a well-behaved baby”. They, like us, must have been relieved it passed smoothly enough. Watch out for some upcoming Canada posts 🙂