Ten Tips for Your First Vacation With Your Baby
Make sure that your first vacation with your baby is a success. Take some time and do some upfront planning.
We have provided 10 tips to consider when you are planning your vacation.
1. If your vacation plans involve traveling to a remote location, or if your plans include time on a cruise ship make sure that you have made arrangements for food and water for your baby. If you are off to a major city in North America or Europe you will be able to purchase the required items when you arrive.
2. It will be easier to treat any issues that your baby may experience when away from home if you pack the right medicines with you before leaving home. It is much easier and more effective treatment for sore tummies, low grade fevers, diaper rashes if you have the right medicines with you – rather than trying to find a drugstore after your child starts to feel under the weather.
3. In the past when it was just you and your spouse traveling on your own – you may have been on the go for the most part and you didn’t spend much time in your room. Things will be different now. Every day your baby will be napping and on many of those days it will be in your hotel room – or in your cabin on a cruise ship. Give yourself a place to spend the time that your child is napping – consider upgrading your room so that it has a balcony that you can relax on while your child sleeps.
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. Guard against too much time in the stroller for the baby. Taking a comfortable stroller with you on vacation is important – just make sure that your child doesn’t sleep too much during the daytime. Many babies love to fall asleep in their stroller – which might cause them not to sleep well at night. Make sure there are plenty of opportunities during the day to take the baby out of the stroller and play with them.
6. As much as possible avoid connecting flights when air travel is part of your vacation plan. Taking off, landing and rushing through airports to get to your connecting flights is never easy and is even more difficult when traveling with a baby.
7. Travel bed. Bringing your own compact travel bed with you ensures that your baby will be sleeping in a comfortable and safe environment. There is no guarantee about the quality of the crib that the hotel will provide to you when you arrive.
8. Car seat. If your vacation plans include renting a vehicle then think about bringing your child’s car seat with you. Having your on car seat means that your baby will be comfortable in it and you will be comfortable knowing how to put it into the rental car and knowing that your child is as safe as they would be at home.
9. Make sure your child has the necessary vaccinations. See your child’s doctor six to eight weeks before you intend to travel, especially if visiting developing countries.
10. You will need many items for the baby during the trip – they won’t take up much room when you pack – but you will want to make sure that you have everything that you need. Make a list of the items that you will need for the baby during the trips. And review the list before you go and make sure that you have everything with you that you will need.
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