i'm not an expert.

but a few of my friends have asked for some tips on traveling with babies. on our way home from our christmas trip the other day, nick and i realized that by december 31 2011, miss mila eleanor had traveled on twenty-eight different planes, visited three different states and received two official stamps in her passport. so yeah, we've definitely learned a few things since that first flight to college station.

my first saving grace was definitely breast-feeding. when she was an infant, we would nurse right when the plane started to taxi and m would immediately fall asleep {i do think the humming of the engines helped as well}. nursing transitioned into just giving her a pacifier to suck on and now she's just become conditioned to fall asleep soon after the cabin doors shut.

ergo carriers {baby bjorns, infantinos, whatever you use}! this is something i've only recently started doing. we used to always use our stroller, but after having to go through security multiple times, the carrier just works better and we check our stroller and carseat.

other than the flying aspect of travel, packing always seems to get me a little stressed. no matter what the reason for the trip, i always feel like i need an arsenal of baby items to make the transition a little easier. but i have to remind myself that i don't need to replicate home when the whole reason for traveling is to get AWAY from home. i do pack travel size versions of mila's shampoo and lotion, as well as books that she's familiar with, but other than that, we use what's in the hotel. so that means bathing in the bath tub with lots of towels to keep from slipping {thanks mom}, buying diapers once we arrive at our final destination {not so easy when you're in a place like roatan, honduras. but hey, you live; you learn}, and mila sleeping right in between her mom and dad {something we do every night, but might be an adjustment for other mamas and papas}.

 

a little toy variety. after being in the same seat for a while, a little mix-up helps. whether it be nick and i switching her off into each other's laps or just giving her a crinkled up barf bag. mila still isn't very mobile so i definitely realize that what may have worked for us last week, might not work tomorrow, but these are all things that usually kept m pretty calm and satisfied.

and finally, don't, by any means, DON'T change the babe's diaper in your seat. yes, we tried. no, it was not successful, in any way shape or form. lots of clothes were changed, lots of paper towels thrown away and we received LOTS of dirty looks from fellow passengers {fortunately we have a cute baby that pacified the whole situation}.

i talk to a lot of friends that say they're scared to travel with their kids and i think this might be one of the hardest things about traveling. getting over that fear. mila certainly hasn't been an angel on all of her flights, we have definitely been "those parents with the screaming baby", but i think she's become comfortable with traveling. and that comfortability came, i think, because we started her early. i hope some of these hints help y'all with your next, or first, trip with baby.

happy travels!

***just wanted to reiterate that i surely don't think i'm a pro at this, but it's what has worked for us and a few things we learned along the way***