Your first vacation with your baby can be exciting and it also takes some advanced planning to ensure its success. Our list of 10 things to consider will help you plan a successful vacation for you, your partner and your baby.
1. Anticipate where you will get food and water for your baby. It may not be an issue if you are traveling to a popular tourist destination, but it may be if you are going to a more remote area.
2. Be self-sufficient when it comes to medications. Bring the medications that your baby may need for fevers, upset stomach, rashes, ear infections and diarrhea.
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. Don’t plan on being as busy as you were on trips before baby. You can’t just go-go-go. Take time to stop periodically, and play with the baby. If there are some sites or adventures that one of you just has to see – agree up front that there will be times when one parent heads off on their own to see or do what is important to them while the other parent tends to the 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. If your trip involves flying – when possible try to take direct flights. Connecting flights are more difficult on babies.
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. 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. 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. 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.
About the Author:
BabyTravelPlanet is in Canada and they sell Little Life Infant and Toddler Travel Beds to customers in Canada and USA.Visit their site to get their free download checklist Packing for a Cruise Vacation With Baby that has lots of ideas to consider when planning a cruise vacation.
By Jen Stoddart
I am a preschool and primary school teacher and mum to 3 children. I have been involved in education since 1997 and have trained in a variety of educational specialist areas. It is with this expertise that I write articles to help parents and educators provide quality learning experiences for the children in their care.
