Traveling with a baby can be overwhelming and just plain exhausting.  While it naturally took our little one a few days to adjust when we first traveled internationally – we quickly realized how resilient and adaptable babies can be.  Her first flight was at three months, and she was just six months old at the time of our month-long Europe trip.  But one thing we now know better than we did with the older two: the sooner you start traveling with little ones, the easier it gets.  We never traveled so frequently when our older two were younger, and Mexico aside, definitely not internationally.  As a new-ish mom again (our older two are now 12 & 9, while the now-toddler is 18 months), I knew early on that I wasn’t going to wait until she’s older to continue traveling – time waits for no one, and we weren’t getting any younger!

Here are some tips I’ve learned in my recent travels while traveling with a little one:

1 – Breastfeeding moms: Check rules on traveling with frozen and thawed breastmilk.  It’s not always smooth sailing.  I read this horror story about how a mom in the UK, a few years back, had to throw out so many oz. of breastmilk (her baby wasn’t traveling with her, and that’s another set of rules) – and I wanted to cry just reading that!  That stuff is liquid gold – so do your research.

I’ve traveled domestically before with a breast pump, and frozen and thawed breastmilk – but rules can be different internationally.  And I hadn’t realized that rules can vary if your baby isn’t traveling with you.  I read other blogs, checked regulations for each of the three countries we would be visiting, and held my breath every time the TSA had to go through the baby’s diaper bag and milk supplies.  It ended up working out pretty smoothly – I mean, it helps having a cute infant on hand as you’re going through security at the airport 😉

2 – Bring all the things: What I mean by this is, bring what you know will help your baby stay at ease, sleep, etc.  My husband and I, and the two older kids packed VERY light (I kid you not, we only packed 7 days worth of clothes for a 30-day trip, washed and re-wore) so our hands could accommodate all the baby things we needed.  I read a blog right before leaving for this trip that said it best: travel isn’t the time to try something new with your little one, go with what you know!

We had the baby’s carseat and stroller, playpen, hospital-grade breast pump, bottles, frozen & thawed breastmilk, and a suitcase full of all her baby things.  We all know infants just need so.much.stuff.  And while I tried to pack as light as possible even for her – I didn’t want to risk needing to try something new as she was just so little.  So when it came to her stuff – we just brought it all.  I even brought a few laundry pods so I could wash her clothing as needed.  My husband and I shared a suitcase, and our older two kids shared a suitcase.  It was definitely tough city-hopping with so much luggage, but we did it!  I have to admit our older two kids are good sports when it comes to traveling with a little one – we honestly couldn’t have done it without them!

3 – Find accommodations that work for your family and lifestyle.  As a family of 4, it was always fairly easy for us to get one hotel room with two beds.  Now as a family of 5, we need more space.  So, we only stayed at Airbnbs..  We had more space – and rooms – for everyone.  And yes, who doesn’t miss room service – but priorities!

We don’t co-sleep with the baby so we knew we needed privacy and space for her playpen.  At the end of the day, whatever your daily life is like, we all need sleep.  With a good night’s rest, we knew we wouldn’t have the capacity to do much.  We’ve always had good experiences with Airbnbs – yes we miss hotel amenities, but we have future trips coming up where we will be staying at resort hotels.  We’re pretty excited for a change, and it’s a reminder that it does get easier as she’s getting older.  (At the same time, traveling with toddlers is just another ball game – so we have that to look forward to!)

This is what worked for our family at a particular time, and we continue to readjust as she gets older.  But this month-long international trip (we did 3 countries – Spain, France, & Turkey) gave me just the perspective & confidence I needed, that – hey I got this!

Because “having kids is a reason to travel, never a reason to stop.” – Unknown