Yup, she has arrived!

As you may have noticed in the latest Year in review post, last year we found out we were expecting a tiny human to join us on our adventures. She was born earlier this year which is why there have been no posts in over 3 months.

And guess what? We finally did our first trip together!

What was it like to travel with a baby? What did we pack? How did it affect our travel style?

I tried to compile a sort of a guide based on our road trip experience; like packing, what to keep an eye on when booking accommodation, how to plan the trip itself to work around you and your baby, etc. We are still land bound so no flying or sailing in this post 😀

If your little one already arrived or you are expecting and can’t wait to take the wee feet travelling, read on and get ready for that daunting first trip with your baby.

Our first trip was to York. York is about 325 km (200 miles) or 3.5 hours drive from our town. The Child slept throughout the trip apart from our one stop where I fed her and she only started fussing about 5 minutes before we arrived at the hotel.

I will mention here that she is really good with car rides, she falls asleep almost immediately once the car starts. If your little one doesn’t like the car seat or car rides, you will probably have a different experience. I still made sure to pack some sensory toys and have a pacifier on hand in case of emergency, aka really cranky baby. The husband sat in the back with her as she is rear facing so that way she could see him when she woke up.

Packing

Our trip was 4 days long. I wasn’t sure what we would need so I packed one per day of each of these: onsies, short and long sleeve bodysuits, day outfits, muslin squares (4 for the changing mat, 4 for her face), socks, flanels (more than 4 of these actually); and 2 sleeping bags and towels.

I thought it might be overkill but turns out it wasn’t. We have gone through all the bodysuits, 3 day outfits, and 7 muslin squares. I had 2 onsiesleft clean and only because the room was too hot for her to sleep in them.

If space is an issue or you don’t want a whole suitcase of baby clothes, you can always wash a few things (muslin squares will dry quite quickly for example). Otherwise, don’t skimp, especially when they are small and explosive. Rule number 1 – always be prepared for a number 2.

We were thinking of taking the bath insert but decided against it as it was only a 4 day trip and she is still small enough to wash in the sink 😀

And remember, you can always buy nappies when you arrive at your location.

Accommodation

Another aspect of your trip that will most likely change is the accommodation. Of course, you will be looking at places that accept children. Keep in mind that not all places that accept children will have a cot available; or it might not be the right one for your baby.

To make sure The Child always has a place to sleep, when we were buying a pram we looked for one whose carrier cot doubles up as a sleeping cot. This proved a life saver for the trip.

Our hotel provided a cot, but it was more like a playpen – massive and low down to the floor. I have no idea how I would have gotten her out of it for the night time feed.

IMPORTANT! Always check the fine print and rules carefully when booking! Just because you added a child to your travel party does not mean every place in the results accepts children or is suitable for them (Airbnb has this problem).

What about nappy changes? We improvised and turned the spare single bed in our family room (double + single bed) into a nappy changing station. It was great! We set up everything to be within easy reach so the changes went smoothly, even when half asleep at 6 in the morning. Family rooms usually come with 3 beds, but if not, you can always change any other flat surface to a changing corner (like a desk that I only used when travelling for work).

Out and about

Our every day go to is the pram, we find it easiest for going around town and it comes in handy for carrying shopping. However, as we knew we would be doing some activites where there was no pram access, we also brought a sling. A sling might be a better option for some busy areas (for example, if you are brave enought to take your child to the souks of Morocco!) and not all shops or restaurants/pubs will be good for a pram, especially if you still have the carry cot on it making it bigger.

That being said, if you will be out and about the whole day, can you carry your little one for that long? And keep in mind that it might not be as comfortable for them after a few hours. The longest we used the sling was about 2.5 hours.

The Child sleeps almost all the time while in the pram. To counteract this, we made sure to take breaks every 2.5, 3 hours so we could wake her up, feed her and interact with her for at least an hour. This did mean we had to narrow down our to do list as we couldn’t do as much as we wanted to. And it meant we were back at the hotel for 7ish so she could be in bed on time. But this way we made sure that her usual routine wasn’t too broken up and that she got regular feeds and face time with us. Yeah, getting back early was a drag but it meant she got a full night sleep and was a happy baby the next day.

The sacrifices we do as parents XD

There is loads I could waffle on about on this topic, but the thing is, every baby is different and your experiences might end up ompletely different to ours. I think these 3 things are the basics on which you should start planning your trip.

Travelling with a baby might seem scary but the main thing is to pack well, relax and not have high expectations. You most likely won’t be able to see all you planned, the baby might cry uncontrolably while you are in a museum, a cafe you really wanted to go might be too small to fit a pram or you might have to change the baby in the car in the middle of A1 because of an explosion threatening to go all over the car seat XD. The main thing is to take that leap and go!

Take things as they come along and remember, the most important thing is to enjoy yourself and the small human who is just learning there is more to the world then their home 🙂

Have you already taken your little one on a trip? What were you experiences like?