Family Friendly Vacationing: Tips for Traveling with Baby
Family vacations are a great way to bond with your loved ones, but when a baby is involved it can also be a little difficult. Taking a baby away from their familiar surroundings and everyday routines can wreak havoc on their emotional state. Often times parents feel that should by pass the vacations and stay home just to avoid the baby breakdowns that may occur. There is no reason to bring your life to a complete stop and forego family vacations. With these great tips you can take your baby on vacation and still have a great time.
- Create a Road Read Routine: Infants are indeed creatures of habit and any major or minor change to their daily schedule can make them, and therefore you, miserable. It’s impossible to keep an identical routine while you’re on the road, but you can do a few things to help them adjust. Create a daily trip routine and try your best to stick with it. The more predictable their day is the happier they are. Allowing them eat, play, and sleep according to a schedule will calm their fears and anxieties.
- Keep Nursing: Many mothers feel they should stop nursing when they go on vacation. This can be one of the worse things you can do before vacation. If your baby is still nursing before you go on vacation, changing over to strictly bottle feeding can be very emotionally taxing on them. It’s better to allow them the comfort of breast feeding to help calm their vacation anxiety. It may be a good idea to introduce a bottle into your feeding routine so while you’re on vacation you can feed them when they demand it and save the breast feeding for dire situations or when you’re in your hotel room.
- Travel Time: The best time to leave is at the beginning of your child’s sleep cycle. Leaving in the evening or before you baby takes his or her daily nap will give you a few hours of uninterrupted driving time. If it’s at all possibly avoid leaving as soon as they wake up or midway through their sleep cycle. Avoid traveling at times when they baby may be extremely cranky or just getting up. A cranky baby will create a very stressful drive. Don’t’ forget the first aid kit: It’s important to carry a baby ready first aid kit should any emergency arise. Make sure to include the name and number of your pediatrician as well as the name number and local of the hospital closest to your destination.
- Take Pit Stops: Spending hours in the car can make anyone miserable; your baby is no exception. Feel free to drive as long as possible while your baby is sleeping, but once they are away you will want to stop ever hour or so to get out of the car and let them get some fresh air. In may tack some extra time on to your trip, but ultimately keeping them happy will keep you happy.
- Schedule Accordingly: Don’t schedule long days without any breaks. Being on vacation means seeing and experiencing new and exciting things. As an adult you look forward to visiting historic sites, nature spots, and local tourists’ attractions. Pre- baby vacations may have been action packed busy days spent going from one hot spot to the next, however, your little would not be happy with that. While you may be able to see all the things you want with the baby in tow, you won’t be able to enjoy it if your little one is tired and cranky. Avoid a cranky baby and a miserable vacation by spreading out your activities over the entire vacation. It will also help to schedule around the baby’s sleeping patterns.
