It’s so hard to believe that we were in New York over 2 months ago already! It was SUCH an amazing trip and we honestly couldn’t have asked for anything better. It went so smoothly, Eloise was an angel child (per usual) and the weather was chilly but totally bearable. I thought I would dedicate a whole post on some great overall tips and tricks for traveling to a city with a baby – some things that have totally worked for us and some things that haven’t!
Hope this helps….and whatever you do, don’t be afraid to travel with your baby! Yes, it’s overwhelming and can be more work, but it’s SO good for your baby to experience traveling at a young age!
Some tips and tricks that have worked for us:
1.) Bring a changing pad:
- This was one of our mistakes! We carried a little changing pad in the very beginning when Eloise was a brand new baby but then found that I never used it! When we were in New York, it was VERY hard to find a changing table in any of the bathrooms unless you were at a department store. I had to change her on my lap in the bathroom (I definitely don’t recommend) and at one point had to Clorox the floor, put a large napkin down and change her there. Yes, I changed my daughter on the floor in a New York City bathroom. At least it was sanitized and had a great boutique, charming feel. (HA!) I wanted something super thin, not bulky and easy to pack for our next trip, so I ordered this one.
2.) Book a hotel in central area where it’s easy to walk & return to hotel if necessary:
- We usually did this anyway when we traveled to big cities so that we could really explore everything by foot. When you have a baby, you want to be close to the hotel at most times in case you forget something or need to head back to take a nap.
3.) Have hotel provide you with a crib:
- We’ve done this for almost all of our trips with Eloise and it’s been a game changer. No need to bring or pack anything extra and it’s usually no extra charge for the crib. Every crib we’ve used in a hotel too had a plastic mattress that I could easily wipe down with disinfectant wipe before she used it too. (thank goodness!). FYI – Until Eloise was about 6 months old, she slept in her DocATot and we traveled with it in it’s travel case. It was one of my favorite things EVER because we could literally move it anywhere and she would sleep perfectly in it.
4.) Always bring snacks:
- Isn’t this just a Mom tip in general, no matter where you are or where you are going?!
5.) Don’t over plan:
- Bryan & I use to pack in as much as we could when we were traveling so we definitely had to change up our speed a little bit. We stayed a whole extra night then we normally would and we only planned one or two things a day. Everything else we did was spontaneous, relaxed and worked out perfectly.
6.) Eat after the baby falls asleep:
- We are very lucky in that Eloise can really sleep anywhere (another perk of taking her all over the place as soon as she was born). So one of the things that usually works for us is we will walk around with her until she falls asleep and then we will pop into a restaurant to eat. She usually will sleep through most of our meal this way!
7.) Grab bottled water when you arrive so that you have it stocked in your room:
- I’m sure so many of you do this anyways but as soon as we land or arrive at the hotel we find a spot to buy bottles of water to have in the room. This was perfect as we were able to easily make Eloise’s bottles as soon as she woke up.
8.) If it’s in the budget, buy the baby their own seat:
- We bought Eloise her own seat for the flight there & back and it was one of the best things we’ve ever done! (She was around 10 months old during this flight). The flight to NYC for us is about 5-6 hours and she is sooooo wiggily at the moment so letting her climb around in her car seat during the flight was great. It was way more comfortable for her and us. (PS. If you don’t want to buy a separate seat for your baby, you can “chance it” and ask the front desk before you board your flight if there are any extra seats. If there are, you can carry your car seat on and you basically score getting a free seat. This is also why we don’t check our stroller or car seat until we get to the actual gate – just in case there’s an extra seat…we want it!).
9.) Don’t forget the pacifier clip:
- Forgetting the pacifier clip can literally ruin my day! Ok, I’m being dramatic, but without the pacifier clip, that paci is ending up on the floor and when you are traveling that’s the last thing you want. We have these beaded ones which work but are sometimes hard to bend, so I just ordered these soft braided ones, so I’ll keep you all updated on how we like them on my Instagram stories! If anything, make sure you even pack extras!
10.) Bring a sound machine:
- Another lifesaver for us! This little sound machine helps all of us sleep better and it’s the perfect size for traveling. We also have this one as a backup and love it as well!
One of the other biggest questions I received while on this trip was about our stroller. We have the Uppa Baby Mesa car seat and Uppa Baby Cruz Stroller and would recommend them both a million times over. We absolutely love traveling with this set and have the traveling cases (car seat / stroller) so if anything happens to them during travel in those protective cases, Uppa Baby will replace it for free!
We also travel with this diaper bag and couldn’t love it more.
I hope this post was helpful and takes away a lot of the fear of traveling with a baby!
Great list of tips to travel with baby. As I carry most of the product in the list while traveling and the must carry is to always have antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer. Thanks for sharing.
It is so true that there are rarely any places for changing pads! And yes, the flight attendants are always willing to accommodate, so that is one great thing to keep in mind. One important tip is to always carry the cleaning products like baby wipes, lotion etc that suits your child.