Summer is right around the corner. However, I honestly didn't think about vacation until last weekend when we went to the botanical garden. While looking at tourists in awe at the blooming trees, I felt an urge to "pack" my little family and escape Montreal for a few days.But finding the right destination got a little bit more complex now that "kitten" is in our life. I strongly believe in the expression my freedom ends when yours begins. Even if Alice has been sleeping through the night for 2 weeks, I'm well aware that she can have her first night fit the moment that we arrive in an adorable inn...with walls that are paper thin!!! Good bye relaxing vacation for all the guests staying there.
After consideration, we decided to start with something easy: renting a friend's cottage located 4 hours from Montreal. We also have other travel plans for the near future but one baby step at the time!
So Ignorant Claudia would like to know if you have any advice on how to travel (locally or internationally) with a young baby.
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shine little light*: She gets so excited with she looks at the mobile that changing her diapers got a little bit more challenging ;)
anneemall: And the sounds that she was making were so cute!
claire: I was so happy to have a bump at the beginning but now it is more difficult to get rid of the extra fat on my stomach (I gained 40 lb during my pregnancy).
julia: His first tooth! So exciting! Did you do the tooth fairy thing?
kate / tinywarbler: I was just naive to think that I would be friend with every mom!!!
8 comments:
Honestly, I have never traveled yet with my children. The oldest is now three. You are brave, girlfriend!
A Cup of Jo recently blogged some great tips for travel...readers also left suggestions in the comments...
http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2011/05/motherhood-mondays-traveling-with-baby.html
Enjoy your adventures!
x claire
P.S Very envious of your kitten sleeping through!!
We travelled a lot when my two were little and still do now. It's one of my biggest pleasures and I was determined that having children wasn't going to stop us from doing what we love. I have no real tips apart from keep your expectations realistic, especially when it comes to sleep!!
At this age, she's got Mummy and Daddy, she's all set! Travelling gets more fraught once they're mobile, so go forth and have a great time.
Oh, and don't forget the odd piece of clothing for yourself. I used to be so crazy about making sure I had all their stuff that it was my own essentials which frequently got forgotten!
To answer your question: There is no German tooth fairy (plus I thought she just came in when loosing teeth?!).
The first time we travelled with Javi was when he was about 4 months old and we drove to Brussels which is a 5 hour car ride. I really had the same fears (especially concerning the other B&B guests) as you, but it was super! Javi did cry once in a while late at night/early in the morning and I was already sure the other guests gave me mean looks across the breakfast table. But then a guy, a father himself, said to us: "Your baby is so calm! I don't what you did but you did a great job." This made me really happy and shows that it's probably never as bad as you think it is ;)
We travelled extensively with our baby prior to 6 months old, and had mostly good results. We made short and very long roadtrip (drove from Tampa to Toronto over 3 days) and all were accomplished with very little grief.
However, we did need to purchase a pack and play so that everywhere we went the baby could rest assured that it was a bed that he knew and was comfortable in. Once we had the pack and play we were off and traveling. The baby's sleep was disturbed each time - we'd get really close to the elusive full night sleep (by which I mean to say 6-8 solid hours) and traveling inevitably caused a setback each time. (Routine night wakings at midnight and 4 for weeks afterwards), but really...who cares about that! You can travel!
Hunter is now 10 months old and as he gets more and more mobile, he is also becoming more and more resistant to sleeping anywhere but his crib. Our traveling is being somewhat more curtailed - so seize the day
leslie
Well, you've already done what my first advice would have been, to stay at a house/cottage rather than a hotel/inn. I think flexibility is a big key. Most of our pre-baby vacations were pretty scheduled & we tried to pack a lot into every day (we're not beach people, we're museum people), but we've really backed off on that for now, at least.
It's pretty easy in the early months to do plane flights and such, especially if you're breastfeeding. My son nursed on takeoff and then fell asleep for most of the flight on all of the trips we did before he turned one. We're going to Kyoto this fall though: several long plane flights + very mobile and active toddler = a challenge I'm a little worried about :)
firstly, i just wanted to write that i am thoroughly enjoying your blog.
your honesty is refreshing and i'm enjoying reliving the first months with baby through you (my little one will be 7 months old soon)
on travel with baby: we've had great success with rentals (haven't dared to try a hotel yet).
we just returned from a three-night stay and we all had a lovely time.
babies feel the vibe of their parents. and when the parents have that relaxed holiday feeling and are happy, baby is usually happy too!
we only travel by public transport (we live in Zürich). Our daughter loves buses, trams and trains because there is so much to look at and so many people to interact with.
the ergo baby is a life saver!
one slightly sad thing about vacationing with baby is that the nightlife is usually limited.
my tip: bring along a special bottle of champagne or wine. or bring along a bubble bath. or bring along a bottle of massage oil.
you get the idea right? bring along some of your own little indulgences that can be enjoyed at your home away from home.
one more tip. for our three night stay we had pasta every night. sounds boring right?...
well...the advantage is that it's cooked in a jiffy and you can buy some nice pestos at the grocery store.
oh dear this is becoming longwinded.
what i want to say is that with a little extra planning and a little more simplicity than usual, holidays with baby can be lovely, lovely, lovely!
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