Travelling With A Newborn baby? Here Are Some Key Tips To Consider Before You Go

Having a newborn is a tremendous mental and physical upheaval even at the best of times, so travelling with your baby, new addition could merely feel like an unnecessary stress to take on; but whether you are taking the trip to visit family in another country or you just love to travel, with a bit of extra preparation before you take off, baby’s first holiday can go like a dream.

Here are 10 essential tips to bear in mind before attempting to travel with a newborn.

Think About The Journey’s Ahead

A newborn can travel for free in its parents’ arms on a plane, but depending on the length of your journey, this may not be realistic. Many parents choose, instead, to pay for an extra seat and car their car seat onto the plane with them meaning that mum’s arms can take a rest while baby naps happily in their own seat. For longer journeys, it would be a great idea to book a business class flight so that you and your baby can be comfortable throughout the journey. You can Go Now and click on the given link to learn more about the perks of business class travel.

A secondary reason for this is that if you have ever seen how luggage is thrown on to or off the plane, then you will know that by the end of a flight, a car seat from the hold could be damaged and unsafe for your onward journeys. As such, this is also a great way to keep your baby’s seat safe for the rest of the holiday as you get about in taxis or rent-a-car.

Tip: You can easily strap a car seat onto your luggage with specially made straps available online meaning that they are easy to transport around the terminal.

Bring Enough Food

Much of the guide online for travelling with a newborn, states that it is best to hold off on feeding baby until the plane is about to take off so that the sucking can ease any pressure, but causing the baby to get hungry and irritable right before takeoff is undoubtedly not a good move. As such, feed the baby as and when they need it and chances are they will be happy to latch on for takeoff anyway. If you use organic formula , use this same process.

Tip: A full and soothed baby is more likely to sleep through the flight from start to finish, and if in doubt, pack a dummy to help ease any ear popping.

Be Prepared When Packing

Bring plenty of extra clothes! If possible, book somewhere near to a laundrette or find a hotel with a laundry service. If this is not possible, then just pack double or even triple the number of useful items like socks, bibs and plenty of nappies.

Secondly, pack medicines for every eventuality. Although a newborn is limited to what medications they can take, if they are old enough to have Calpol, Nurofen or any of the products designed to help with wind or upset tummies, then ensure you put them in your suitcase. Also, pack nasal salt sprays, and room diffusers in case baby get a cold while you are away.

Tip: For guidance on what medicines your little one can take, book a free online appointment with one of the doctors at Click Pharmacy today.

Take Your Time

Before having a baby, you could dash through the airport and get straight on with your holiday, but now, with a baby in tow, everything will take longer; from packing your bags to getting off the plane. As such, do not cause yourself stress and anxiety by rushing around or worrying that you are going to miss your taxi, hotel check-in time, train, lunch booking etc.

Tip: Plan for everything to be at least half an hour later than you would expect and enjoy the chance to slow down a bit.

Consider Accommodation

If you are booking a hotel, make sure there is a separate room for the baby. Even if you co-sleep or usually have the baby by the bed at night, a single space hotel room means that you have to sleep when the baby does or spend your evening in a dark room, whispering. You may wish to bring him or her back into the room when you are ready to go to sleep, but until then, a separate place for them to sleep in will allow you to have an evening with the lights on!

Accommodation Tip: Double check that your accommodation has a lift in case you find yourself on the 10th floor with a travel buggy, car seat and a baby to carry up and down several times a day.

Getting Around

No matter what kind of accommodation you are staying in, travelling around a new city with a baby can be tricky, so try and find somewhere central enough to shops, restaurants and sights so that you can avoid getting taxis and trains everywhere.

Travel Tip: Luckily with a newborn, you can easily strap the baby on to your chest in a sling and go, but if you are in a very hot country this may not be realistic or safe! A such, packing a lightweight buggy may be advisable so that you can still get around the town easily without having little one attached and sending both your temperatures soaring.

Sleep

Pack a portable bassinet/basket. Though many hotels offer a baby bed, if you can get him or her used to sleeping in their own portable one for a few nights before your trip, they are more likely to sleep better on holiday.

Sleep Tip: Embrace nap time. You are on a break too, so when the baby sleeps, why not take it as an opportunity to have a little sleep too? With no chores to do, its the perfect opportunity.

Get Their Vaccinations

The older a baby gets, the more complicated it becomes to travel with them. As such, it’s great to enjoy holidays with a newborn while you can. Their first vaccinations are done at 12 weeks, and while it is perfectly safe to travel to many countries before this, many parents like to wait until after to give their baby extra immunity.

Health Tip: If you are traveling before 12 weeks or traveling to an area which potentially carries the risk of diseases such as malaria in Egypt, then put your mind at ease and speak to your GP or one of the health care experts at Click Pharmacy before you travel.