And Baby Makes Three. How Travelista's Travel with a Young Child
We’ve all been there. Traveling internationally with your sweet bundle of joy is never easy. But there are some things travelistas can do to to allow you to enjoy the wonder of Italy while still being super mom/dad.
Let’s start from the beginning. The plane ride.
There is no good way to put this. Unless you won the “kid who travels well on the plane” lottery, it will be a challenge. Here are some tips to make things a little easier.
Make sure you child has sufficiently tired out with an active day before the flight. Many international flights going to Europe from North America leave in the evening. If your child is tired before flying, the chances of him/her sleeping soon after getting on the flight is increased.
As stated above, take an evening flight. It’s ALWAYS easier when your baby/toddler is sleeping through the flight.
The opinions on this differ greatly, but based on input from multiple pediatricians, and personal experience, a small dose of benedryl (half a child tablet), works wonders. If you want to try this technique, experiment with it before hand as a sliver of the child population gets hyper instead of tired!
Get an inflatable foot well rest or “stool” such as https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V5D3FB9/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_deIjEbB6EQC0A
This allows you to transform a regular economy class seat into a lie flat bad for your child. Edit: Apparently some airlines look down on this sort of thing, but we have never had an issue with this, especially if little one is in the window seat.Pre-order a childrens meal. Now this is preference, but if you are concerned about the high sodium content in the adult meal, the childrens meal often has more bland food and often includes things like apple sauce and milk. Your mileage may vary, but this has worked for us quite well.
Do not use a stroller bag when you check in your stroller for your flight! Some European airport staff are not familiar with the concepts of stroller bags and will send the stroller to the baggage claim instead of delivering it at the gate as would be the norm. This is AWFUL when you have a sleeping or cranky child and you have to carry your kid through the airport, immigration, and the baggage claim!
On the move with your little one after you arrive.
The first topic here is the stroller. We have put extensive hours of research into this and have had personal experience with a few of the researched items, but pound for pound, the Zoe XL1 (or XL2 if you have two little ones), is the best travel stroller you can by. It has the robustness and strength of a full size Uppababy but weighs only 11 pounds. The seat lies almost flat as well. So naps are a breeze. Our recommendation is to get any of the openbox/return items. When shipped to you, they are basically brand new. https://zoestrollers.com/ Disclaimer: We are not sponsored by Zoe nor have we received any discounted or free items from them.
Next is the car seat. Here there are several things we can suggest. First of all, you can rent a car seat from the rental car company. This is a trouble free if costly method for making sure your little one travels safely in the car. However, these seats are usually pretty gross. As an alternative, you can bring a disposable car seat with you and simply leave it when you’re done with the car. You end up only having to carry the car seat one way. This also ensures that the car seat is new, clean, and safe. We recommend the Evenflow Tribute LX https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O8RRYDW/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_6tIjEbDDT5CW7 and the https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Scenera-NEXT-Convertible-Car-Seat-Boulder-II/54885365 as both are extremely light weight and low cost. If your child is 40 inches or over, you might consider: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H5VJJXK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_ZxIjEbTXMEGN2. It is a foldable booster seat and basically weighs nothing and takes up very little space (about the size of a paperback book)!
Let’s talk about dining with your sweat pea.
Lets face it, when you travel, the last thing you want to do is be washing your kids clothes because they made a mess. This can be greatly reduced by bringing a bag of disposable bibs such as: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E4USQ8K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_rBIjEbR36R3VJ.
They usually have kids seats in most restaurants, however, if you want to save space and expect to eat at a vacation home, consider bringing a collapsible booster seat such as https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GXMGVPK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_oEIjEbD8G3XC2. They don’t weigh very much and they don’t take a whole lot of space when collapsed.
It’s also important to consider bringing snack foods as your kid will still be hungry between meals and you may not be near anywhere you can get him/her a bite! We have had very good experiences with kids breakfast bars/protein bars. They are especially a lifesaver on the plane if your kid doesn’t like any of the food served or when you’re rushing through the airport. In addition to the snacks, consider bringing few of the little room temperature storable milk boxes. If your kids still drinks a lot of milk, this is really handy for times when there is no fridge available and if you haven’t had a chance to visit the supermarket yet.
Important Items you might want to consider picking up to make your life easier.
At Travelista Italia, we are aware of the need to simplify what you pack in order to make travel easier. However, there are some items that we have found that do not significantly increase the weight or bulk of your luggage but make like easier.
A shower hat. Many hotels in Italy do not have a bath. If your kid hates getting water in the face or eyes from a shower, consider picking up something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00792KR8W/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_sRIjEbFCS3434. This has been extremely effective for us. Highly recommend.
If you are expecting pool time, bring inflatable arm/torso floaties instead of the solid kind. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F5A5L7Q/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_yTIjEb84PZSDB
Bring a power strip with a European plug. Many hotels, B&Bs and farm stays do not have many sockets. Bringing a power strip is a low stress way to make sure you can charge all your baby items such as infant monitors, noise makers, or bottle warmers, in addition to the phones and cameras you’ll be using extensively throughout your trip.
If your kid is potty training, consider two items. a) A light weight collapsible stool such as: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TXZC6SK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_V1IjEbRRGCEMZ and b) A collapsible toilet adaptor such as https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C5TOH52/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_l3IjEb80ZQ695 or https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZXQHYK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_a4IjEb8QP0970
Some last words.
If you intend to spend any time driving, consider loading your tablet with kids books so they can read/look at all their favorite books without taking up any weight. Or with videos if you are allowing your child to watch videos.
Consider your travel day a wash. Don’t plan many activities. You’ll be exhausted and chances are so will your little one. Give yourself time to recover.
Don’t over pack with diapers and wipes! They sell these in Italy. Just bring enough to get you through the first few days.
Just give in to it. If your toddler/baby isn’t cooperating, don’t feel rushed, or like your plan is being destroyed. Just be flexible. Your plans will change, but if you just go with the flow, and decide that you won’t be stressed, every moment you spend on vacation will be a magical experience you will never forget!
