Traveling With a Baby as a Single Parent IS Possible… & Fun!
Though traveling with a baby is not easy in any circumstances, it’s still very possible to have a pleasant vacation with a couple of preparations. My little guy (two years old at time of writing) and I (a single mom and digital nomad) have been to 13 countries together and are still happily travelling.
Below are some tips and tricks I’ve learned for minimizing the hassle during plane, bus, train, and car travel. Every baby is different, of course, but these are the things that have worked well for us. Feel free to add your own in the comments!
- Feed on takeoff and landing to help with the inner ear pressure (my little guy falls asleep breastfeeding he usually conks out for the whole flight on short legs if I feed early on).
- Trains are preferable to busses whenever possible because you can get up and walk around when your baby gets fussy.
- A big empty suitcase with blankets and towels folded up at the bottom makes a portable safe place to put your baby down, especially once they start rolling.
- Some travel-friendly toys include beach balls and other things that can be deflated and packed up, sticker books, coloring books, travel-sized magnetic tiles, and little toy cars. Anything that’s small or flat! I always bring a few of Danny’s favorite books too.
- Wheelie luggage is preferable to carrying anything on your shoulders in addition to your baby. Opposite is true for a stroller, of course. Backpack for stroller, wheelie for carrier.
- Baby carrier! I loved the wraps when he was smaller because they feel so snuggly but now that he’s bigger I use a front and back carrier with adjustable straps.
- The wraps are great for colder weather too. Another trick is to wear a big scarf around your neck that you can cover your baby with for extra warmth.
- You can rent strollers in most cities! I just discovered that a few days ago. I haven’t done it yet thought because I like carrying him
- When I look for accommodation, I browse the pictures to find a bed in a corner, or one that can be pushed into a corner, and he sleeps on the inside. I put a suitcase at the foot of the bed on his side so he can’t get past it or it’ll wake me up if he pushes it off. That’s never happened, but it makes me feel better.
- For planes and trains, it’s nice to bring along some “toys” that are ok to lose. Quotes because right now Danny is really into mini bottles, like the little shampoos and lotions they give you at hotels. (update: now he’s all about forks and spoons) He stays occupied playing with them, then when he gets bored and throws them or drops them it’s not the end of the world if they roll away and end up under someone else’s seat. When he was younger, it was pieces of paper or in-flight magazines that he could rip up. That was a great pastime until he started trying to eat them.
- Along the same lines, dress your baby in something you wouldn’t be upset about having to throw away. In case of a blowout on public transport, it might be easier to throw the whole thing away than to try and wash it off and have to carry it around in a plastic bag or whatnot.
- Wet wipes and snacks at hand at all times.
- Allow extra time for stop n chats with strangers. Depending on the culture, that might include people patting and even kissing your baby so have some responses in place depending on your boundaries. Know how to say how old they are and all the words for cute in the local language!
- If you want to eat in a restaurant that doesn’t have baby chairs, once they can sit up on their own you can just use a soft wide belt to secure them to the chair. Chairs with vertical slats in the back are the best and chairs with a wide gap between the seat and the backrest are the worst. I carried a wide macrame belt with me all the time until he was about 12 months.
- When visiting aquariums, museums, and zoos, I prefer to carry him rather than use the stroller because there are always displays he can’t see from the stroller and fences he can’t see over and such.
- Wondering whether to bring the car seat? I’ve been on entire trips and never used the car seat. You will need it if you’re going to be taking taxis, since not all taxis carry them, nor is it required in all countries. I needed it once for a long-distance bus as well. But if you’re sure you’re just going to be using trains, subways, buses, and walking the whole trip, by all means leave that bulky thing in your car at home!
I hope some of these tips for travelling with babies will be useful to you, at least in enhancing your confidence. As long as you’re putting safety first and allowing plenty of extra time to get anywhere, travel with toddlers and babies doesn’t have to be the nightmare you might be imagining. So get out there and see the world!
