Bowden's Traveling Tips

At the Seattle Zoo

Lance and I love to travel, and hope to be doing a lot more in the future. I have never really thought about traveling with a baby, until these last 3 months. In December I guess you could say Bowden had his first trip, it was a 6 hour drive to visit family and he did awesome pretty much slept the whole way. Since we were driving, we literally packed up Bowden's whole room (the swing, the monitor, humidifier, play mat anything that would fit in the car) the only thing we didn't have to bring was his crib! We wanted him to feel at home and make us feel good too and let me just say it worked! 

Then a couple weeks ago we took another trip, same distance, about 6 hours, however this time we stayed in a hotel. Once again he did really good on the drive but the hotel was a different story, because I didn't want the neighbors to hear him if he woke up, I would get up every time he cried to calm him down. Let's just say I didn't get much sleep that trip!

The ultimate trip was this last week. Bowden's first airplane trip! We flew to Washington to visit our good friends and my aunt. Now I was extremely nervous about this one, obviously you can guess what was going through my mind... the long flight, should I bring the stroller, the carseat, what if he cries, what if his ears hurt, what if he has a poop explosion, what if he can't sleep, will the time change mess him up...and so on. Well as much as I tried to prepare myself for this trip, it didn't matter. I had gotten so many tips before hand which some did help but really like we all say, "every baby is different!"
The biggest thing I had battled with was whether or not I should buy Bowden a ticket or just let him ride for free in my lap. Well I decided to have him ride on my lap, which for the most part was fine, until he got sleepy. Bowden sleeps so great in his car seat and even in his crib but to have him just fall asleep on me sitting is hard, I need to be standing and rocking him for him to fall asleep. So we struggled with that a little I think next time I would probably just fork up the money and buy the seat. Moms you know your baby better than anyone else stick to your instincts! The first flight was horrible it was so full that we couldn't lay him down to stretch and it was uncomfortable. You don't know if you should sit by the window and be away from people or be on the aisle in case you need to get up!
On the positive, Lance and I were pros going through security! We brought the car seat and stroller because we needed it in Washington and I'm really glad we had it, it made it easy to have in the airport. The stroller we brought was just a base stroller that you attach the car seat and it's super light so it made it easy to go through security. As far as taking on bottles, some airport security procedures are more strict. Going there we just had to take out the bottles (which just had water in them) and put them in the tray. Coming back they actually took the baby food and bottles and checked them. I must say even though we had a horrible flight on the way there, we knew what to do/expect for the flight home and it turned out great! Sometimes you need one bad experience to learn and make the next one good!

10 Traveling Tips for the future:

1. Bring a variety of toys but don't give them out all at once. This worked great when we drove and on the plane, I would pull a new toy out every 30 min or once they got bored with it.

2. Having them eat or give them the pacifier when you take off, does work and helps their ears not hurt

3. Put a size bigger diaper on during the trip so there's no surprise explosion, thanks to my friend meg I also do this at night cuz Bowden started peeing through his diaper!

4. Ask if the flight is full, if not have your spouse/friend sit on the aisle and you at the window seat and put your baby in the middle, don't feel bad, the rows were made for 3 people not 3 1/2, plus your doing that other person a favor and your baby will love to lay down and stretch out! Also having that extra seat makes it easier to change a diaper, since the changing table is super small on the airplane ( I couldn't even find it the first time, but it's there above the toilet)

5. Think through the entire process from buying the ticket to going through the airport, checking in, going through security, getting on the plane, etc. For us I'm glad we bought the ticket during the day, cuz he probably would have had a harder time sleeping at night on us. The plane ride there had one stop but we didn't have to get off, this was good cuz we changed his diaper, let him stretch out, and could walk around.

6. When staying in a hotel, call beforehand and ask if they have cribs and what kind, most have the pack n plays so just bring your own sheet or blanket.
7. Double check the diaper bag, extra diapers, burp cloths, clothes, meds, wipes, bottles, and I just put my wallet in there so I didn't have to bring an extra carry on.
8. Time Change, it was only a 2 hour time change which seems small but waking up at 5am versus 7am makes a huge difference but we learned to just be flexible and roll with it and he adapted quite well!
9. Read the TSA rules and the airline expectations, there is so much I didn't know because I never had to travel with a baby, like bringing their birth certificate, making sure to check the car seat and stroller and tell them you want to do family boarding.
10. Say some prayers! Prayer works!!! Thank you lolli for the prayers!!

At the airport

Bowden's new friends from Washington, we miss you Bax and Tucker (and of course Meg & Rusty!)

Bowden and Aunti Grammy at the zoo

Until next time, I'm glad to be home, the trips were amazing but made for a tired baby, thrown off  his schedule. What we will be doing this next week is getting back on track, introducing baby food, and catching up on sleep!