How to Travel with an Infant

It's hard to believe three months have gone by since our little Peanut was born! What a whirlwind! Motherhood is by far the hardest, but also most fulfilling job I ever had to take on. Between my body healing and having to get used to caring for a newborn, the first couple of weeks were extremely challenging. However, once we got into the swing of things, we decided to take on the challenge of traveling to Florida with the baby! I had pretty low expectations, but can happily report that it went better than I could have imagined! Not only was I able to enjoy the last week of my maternity leave under palm trees, but Jalen got to meet his family from Germany and from Fort Lauderdale for the first time. Win-win, if you ask me!
While my last blog post was about traveling during pregnancy, my first post as a mommy is about traveling with an infant! 

  • Plan ahead and research what you can bring on the flight. Most airlines allow you to check car seats & strollers at no extra cost. We were also able to bring the diaper bag as a carry-on without being charged. Since Jalen is still under the age of two, he was able to travel on my lap and I did not need to book him a seat! We checked the car seat and stroller and then carried him in an ErgoBaby carrier to the gate. 
  • I highly recommend investing in a protective bag for the car seat and stroller if you plan on checking those. While the car seat was in a padded bag, we only had a thin cover for the stroller, which ended up getting slightly damaged. Next time I will definitely buy a better bag for the stroller, as well. 
  • To avoid ending up with too much luggage, ship diapers and wipes to your destination. Some hotels may allow you to do this. Especially if you are traveling to visit friends or family, this is a great way to save on volume when packing!
  • Since it is not recommended to apply sunscreen on infants under the age of six months, make sure you pack protective clothing and keep the baby out of the sun. We had a hat on Jalen any time it was sunny out and while we lay at the pool, we made a little nest for him in the shade. This way we were able to enjoy the water and he was safely hanging out, as well!



  • Don't be afraid to take your baby out to places. We made sure that we had toys for entertainment so that we could bring him anywhere we went. Of course, it is best to be flexible and open-minded when traveling with an infant. Prior to having Jalen, we would stay at the beach and in the pool for hours on end, but that is just not possible with an infant as young as three months. The heat and sun can be extremely exhausting, so we had to accept the fact that we had to also find activities to do inside or in the shade. 




  • Traveling and taking a vacation has definitely changed now that we are a family of three, but while we may not be able to do all the things we did pre-baby, we can still enjoy exploring the world and showing Jalen all the places we love. I think it is important not to be afraid to continue doing the things that make you happy - you may need to make some adjustments, but once you don't let fear of the unknown stop you, you'll see that traveling with an infant is absolutely possible and very, very rewarding!



I loved our first vacation and hope to make the trip to Florida a yearly tradition!
If you have any questions on traveling with an infant, feel free to drop me a note :)

Love,
Lena

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