parenting: traveling with a 6 month old
A few months ago we went on a 3 week trip to Europe with our little one (who had just turned 6 months), going to three different countries, and seven different cities. Since we were traveling around so much, we decided to pack as minimally as we could, and I wanted to share our experience here. This is what we brought on our three week trip.
2 - wheeled carry-on luggage
1 - backpack as a diaper bag
1 - larger backpack
1 - travel stroller (w/ backpack)
After a bunch of research, here are some tips that we took to heart, and lessons we learned along the way.
Destination: If you don’t have a particular destination in mind, see where you can fly nonstop from your airport. Non-stop flights are generally easier, and it’s even easier when you’re traveling with a baby. Generally less waiting in line, packing and unpacking, etc. Also, if your baby is sleeping, you won’t have to wake him up in the middle of a nap to get off the plan, etc. In addition, we also decided to go somewhere with a good medical system that we felt comfortable with - in case something happened. We did end up going to the emergency room in Bologna, Italy.
Flights:
Make it stand out
The bassinet seemed kind of small for our 6 month old, and so I ended up holding him for most of the flight, and we used the bassinet for his toys, iPad, etc.
International: For our international flight we booked our tickets (2 adults with a lap child), and then called to see if there were any bulkhead seats with the bassinet available. On some airlines, bulkhead seats are reserved for families traveling with lap infants. United Airlines ended up moving us to the bulkhead seats (and upgraded us for free). They provide the bassinet for you to use during the flight (not for takeoff and landing though).
Pro: you have the bulkhead and the bassinet, and generally more room to stand up if needed. Con: no place to put your “personal item” so we shoved what we could into the pockets on the wall.
On the way there, the United crew was really nice and helped us get a full row to ourselves - United Airlines seems to be a very family friendly airline.
Recommend: Ask the agent at the gate if there are any free seats, and if there are, if you can bring your carseat on.
Domestic: A month prior we flew domestically on Southwest (again, purchased 2 adults with a lap child), and we had read that we should ask if there were any empty seats. There was an empty seat, and they let us carryon our carseat for free, and our little one got his own (has to be the window) seat free of charge. This was really convenient because we didn’t have to hold him during the flight, and he was comfortable in his carseat and slept. Then we gate checked our stroller in the carseat bag so that we were under the limit.
General flight things: The great thing about flights is that it basically is its own white noise machine. There are changing tables on the plane, and they are small. As the flight attendant if there is a changing table in the front of the plane and if there is (and if its first class) see if they will let you use it. But be aware all changing tables on planes are very small. Nurse/Feed/Snack on the way up, and on the way down. Note: we’ve heard flying is a lot more challenging when the child is mobile.
Logging: We decided to use AirBnb, and filtered for places that had a washer and dryer, and a crib. This allowed us to not have to bring a travel crib (one less thing to bring), and we could also bring less clothes for all of us. We did bring our own crib sheet, and our preferred laundry pods (our family has sensitive skin). One of our places didn’t have its own washer and dryer, so we ended up going to a nearby laundromat. Our kid had just started sleeping in his own room and through the night, but 2br places are expensive to rent! So decided for the trip that we would “reverted” back to sleeping in the same room.
Carseat or no carseat: This is definitely one to research ahead of time because it will depend on where you are traveling, and increases the logistics. We were going to Europe and decided not to bring our carseat. As a result we traveled solely via bus and train. When we travelled domestically we were going to be driving with family members, so we did bring our carseat (our Nuna Pipa works with and without a base). Be sure to check the safety laws where you’re going. We decided to purchase the Nuna pipa series travel bag for the extra insurance.
Packing Light:
We decided to go the minimalist route, since we were moving around a lot on our trip. This ended up working out well because not all places had elevators, and we often had to schlep our luggage up multiple flights of stairs. The baby and I each had our own rolling carryon luggage, and then my husband had a backpack (highly recommend this Cotopaxi bag). Then I had the diaper bag, which generally doesn’t count as a luggage item. *check with your airline.
So what ended up happening is that I was pushing the stroller, and was wearing the diaper bag. Then my husband was wearing his backpack, and then pushing the 2 wheeled carry-on luggage. This was great because often I would need both hands to push the stroller (going up and down curbs, or going over cobble stone, etc.
Baby things to bring:
Walking Portico di San Luca (3.8 km or 2.4 miles)
My husband trekked this wearing our baby in the front, and the Babyzen YOYO stroller on this back (in the YOYO backpack). I was carrying the diaper bag.
Travel stroller: I recognize this is a luxury, but it was critical for our trip. We got the Babyzen YOYO, and couldn’t be happier. It is very light, and collapsable with one hand. I went through security with baby by myself, and I had to collapse the stroller and put it though the airport luggage scanner while holding the baby. This stroller is narrower (than our UppaBaby Cruz) which we needed going through some of Europe’s narrow doorways. We also brought the stroller to Venice, which had a lot of stairs, and basically 2-person carried the stroller up and down the bridge stairs (one person on each side). We also got the YOYO backpack which was really convenient for when we gate checked the stroller, and when we did this urban hike.
Baby wearing carrier: We decided to bring Baby Björn - Baby carrier Mini because it was smaller and easier to pack. We used this on trips where it would be significantly inconvenient to bring the travel stroller. (aka someplace with lots of hills or stairs)
White noise machine: We brought our Yogasleep - Hushh White Noise Machine . Really light, rechargeable, and easy to use.
Crib sheets: The Airbnbs provided crib sheets, but I just felt more comfortable with our own, also knowing that we had washed it with our own detergent. There was one Airbnb that had really scented laundry detergent, so we ended up re-washing everything (family has contact dermatitis).
Detergent: We use All & Clear laundry detergent because both my husband and child have really sensitive skin (and bad eczema), so we brought detergent pods in a stainless steel container.
Medications & Creams: A quarter of our kid’s carry-on suitcase was for medications. We bought Baby Tylenol and Zyrtec, saline solution for nasal congestion, his Frida snot sucker, vitamin D drops, baby soap, all his eczema creams, fingernail grinder.
Skip Hop Pronto Baby Changing Station & Diaper Clutch: Multiple times we changed our baby’s diapers on the floor of the bathroom (when there was no changing table). In addition, we brought 3 days worth of diapers, and then decided to buy the rest at our destination. We brought our diaper cream that we like (we weren’t sure if we could get Triple Paste there). We also ended up buying more wipes (which was fine) and diaper cream that was NOT fine (it didn’t smear very well? We are still confused), and so I would recommend bringing enough if you’re picky like us.
Last tip - have an open and adaptable mindset. Traveling with a baby will not be like traveling with your partner. I recommend talking to your partner about what sort of trip you two want to have, and what you want to prioritize. We decided that we wanted to make sure that our kiddo got enough sleep at night so he was a happier kid during the day. Specifically this translated to -
Early dinners out (if we went out)
Me staying in the Airbnb after the kiddo went to sleep, and my husband went to get us takeout or we made dinner
Got up early and got a solid feed in the Airbnb before we set out for the day ~8. Sometimes we left at 7am to walk to catch the train. Then we got back at about 5-6 so we could get a solid dinner feed in before we did bath/bedtime routine
I decided to breastfeed him throughout the trip so that we didn’t have to bring bottles, pumps, etc. As a result, no matter where we went every ~3 hours we would hop into a cafe or museum or something, and I would nurse.
All of the kiddo’s daytime naps were on the go, so we decided to focus on getting a good night sleep
Overall we had a wonderful trip, and I wouldn’t have changed anything if I could. Europe was an extremely baby/family friendly place, and it was perfect as our first international trip.
