Traveling with baby

Take advantage of the “fly free under 2” rule for as long as you can.  Buy enough diapers for the plane ride plus one day and buy more on arrival. Ditto for formula, unless traveling abroad where formula is sometimes unavailable. Use a good lightweight stroller (eg. Maclaren Triumph Stroller) inside the airport and gate-check it as you board. Eat out early so you can still enjoy good restaurants. Dial down your expectations for a day out with baby since you’ll still have to plan around naps and breaks.

My wife and I have always loved to travel. We have both lived abroad and had a long-distance romance that spanned four countries and five states before we finally tied the knot. We never considered ending our travel with the arrival of baby #1, nor then with baby #2. We knew the kids would slow us down somewhat, perhaps force us to postpone more rugged adventures, but giving up on one of our life loves was never part of our life plan. In fact, I've always said that if you are looking for an excuse to stay home and on the couch, never go out again, never do anything adventurous, then having a baby is a perfect solution. On the other hand, having a baby (and eventually a child or teenager) travel with you is a new experience, and one that is part and parcel of being in a family. Sure, my wife and I have taken short breaks away from the kids - that's very important too - but we've always felt very strongly that a family does things together, including travel. Families, where each individual member splits to be alone in their corner may as well change their designation to roommates. If you want a family that hangs together long after they no longer need you to fill up the sippee cup, you have to spend what people refer to as “quality time” with them. And, for dads, that often means sharing with them things that you love to do, to instill in them that same love, but also so you can have fun too.

The Wall Street Journal did a story last week on traveling with baby. In classic WSJ fashion, the article reviewed all the services you can hire to do the work. There are actually services that will buy the diapers and formula in your destination city so that they are waiting for you when you arrive at your hotel (BabiesTravellite.com, JetSetBabies.com). While attractive to some, especially if you’re traveling alone with extra kids, these services seem harder to manage than the actual work they are trying to replace.

Packing for baby

We always found that it was easy to pack extra diapers in our suitcase (6-8 per day), as well as extra cans of formula that disappeared and left extra room in our suitcase by trip’s end, but you can also plan on buying these items when you touch down (an exception is overseas travel, where we found some cultures where formula is basically unavailable). This helps us cut down on our own over-packing and even with two kids, we’ve never taken more than three suitcases, and I think that is still too much. Despite our worst fears, we’ve always found that almost all American hotels and most European hotels are well-stocked on baby supplies like cribs and high chairs. On the other hand, you may have to bring along a stroller, and consider a car seat if you don’t want to pop for the extra $8 a day the rental car companies charge for seats. For this reason, make sure any carry-on bags have a good strap you can hang on the stroller, so you have your hands free. The MacKenzie Kids series of bags is a good choice for this. They seem to be designed with how you'll use them in mind, and while expensive, our one bag has lasted through two kids and many, many trips both across town and across the country.

I’d recommend the Maclaren Triumph Stroller ($139.99). It comes in a variety of colors, it only weighs 11 pounds, it has a shoulder harness for hands-free carrying (not for long distances though) and it comes with an easy-to-pack clear rain cover to protect against wind and water. For an additional $150, the 2006 Techno XT Stroller also looks pretty cool and comes with a few extras, including more reclining positons and a UV protection clear rain cover (oxymoronically).

You might also want to pack a Bundle Me ($49.92), which is a fleece-lined insert for the stroller. It’s perfect for cold days and could double as an extra blanket if needed.

- Paul Banas
Founder / Editor