Traveling with Babies

In honor of my trip this weekend, I thought I would blog about traveling with babies. Including this weekend, I have now gone out of town 3 times with my daughter. I definitely took for granted how easy it was to travel without a baby. Now I have to plan for everything...what do I take, what is the best time to leave, what are all the possible things that could happen, etc.

I have found that the following things are important when traveling:

• Make a list of what you need to pack.
• Plan the best time of day to travel (if we drive we like to start in the evening when we know our daughter will sleep the most).
• Travel as light as possible. Leave large items at home (i.e. take your baby carrier instead of the stroller if possible)
• If you are traveling by plane find a company in your destination city that rents out baby equipment so you don't have to bring your own.
• Contact the hotel ahead of time and rent one of their cribs.
• Have a container full of travel size toiletries (hair gel, shampoo, toothpaste, cotton swabs, etc.). When you pack go to the container and pack what you need.
• Pack one suitcase or bag with clothes, diapers, burp cloths, etc. and one for formula, bottles, bibs, etc. Then you will know where everything is!

Here are some great sites that have advice for travel:

Planning a Trip: http://www.babycenter.com/planning-a-family-trip

Travel Games for Babies: http://www.momsminivan.com/babies.html

Surviving a Plane Trip: http://travelwithkids.about.com/cs/accessibility/ht/Surviveplane.htm

Packing Checklist: http://www.babycenter.com/packing-checklist-for-traveling-with-baby

Post comments about what you have found helpful when traveling.