Sharing Your Love for Travel with Your Little One
From the time I broke the news that we are expecting, one common thing I heard the most was “Your life will be changed completely, you won’t be able to do things you want to do”. Yes, I agree with a baby your life does change to some extent, but you definitely can do things you like to. Of course, if your thing is something which can’t and shouldn’t be done around a baby then it really is a big change for you.
My husband and I love to travel and one thing which we were concerned the entire time was, when would we be able to travel again or would it ever happen again? Today, when I look back and see how much we have travelled with our baby, I feel those concerns were worthless and sheer waste of time.
Adah, our daughter was born on 16th April 2015, I would probably write another blog about the whole pregnancy and birth experience, for now let me just concentrate on our travel experiences. Yeah, so coming back, out daughter is now 10 months and we have already been to 4 places with her, which does not include visiting family.
Trip to Chikmangalore
One and half months after Adah’s birth all family and relatives had gone back to their respective homes and I was on maternity time off, full time taking care of house and Adah. And you fellow mothers can very well understand how stressful and tiring this could be with every 2 hourly feeds, diaper changes, bathing, cleaning, washing etc etc. One evening my husband came back from work and I told him that I need to get out of this house and need to go someplace. As usual he had questions like, how will we manage with Adah, how comfortable will she be in a hotel. How comfortable will you be to feed her while traveling and all these endless questions which anybody will have. I just told him we will see when we get into that situation. Then I started my research about the place and finalized upon Chikmangalore, the land of coffee in June of 2015. It’s a beautiful hill station in Karnataka full of Coffee estates. After getting some nice feedbacks from friends we booked a double bedroom Primrose villas.
The experience
Packing for this trip was a real challenge and we did the mistake what I think all first time travelers with a baby do. When we travel with a baby, we assume that the place we are going to is no man’s land and tend to pack everything so that every damn thing your baby needs is handy, Don’t we? Well, I actually thought so and packed whatever I could. All the clothes which were fitting Adah at that time were all in her suitcase. Even though we had gone for 3 days I had packed diapers for 10 days. In short, most of her stuff in the house was now in her bag.
We decided to drive down to Chikmangalore from Bangalore, so we had the liberty to decide the time to start from home. The road trip was pretty comfortable for us and Adah. As we started early coupled with a good road, the drive was smooth and helped Adah get a shut-eye in her car seat. We took 3 breaks for breakfast to feed Adah and to use the washrooms. With older babies this count may go up but its always fun as you get to eat something every time you stop and as a foody I can bet it’s a real bliss.
Today, the hotels are becoming baby friendly and when you are with a baby they would go an extra mile to make your stay comfy. So did the primrose villa. They had provided us an extra room and a beautiful baby cradle without any extra charges. At this time Adah was still on milk diet so we had no issues with her food. The accommodation was amidst coffee estate and there was greenery wherever you see. Adah loved to look at trees and in the room also she was just looking outside. Children also get bored of the monotony of the house.
Drive back home was also pretty comfortable and more or less same as drive from home. But this time Adah was up and active the entire time. She was happy to see outside all the vehicles and moving things outside the car.
Tips
Here are some of my tips on travelling with baby, if you have something to add please feel free to add in comments.
Packing
1. Make a list — this is the first thing to do before you start packing your bags. Make a list of things which you will need and things which you won’t need so that you don’t get tempted to pack them at the last moment.
2. Lookout for weather — Just do a little research on weather and including clothing specific to the weather conditions. This will save a lot of space in your bags.
3. Pack for number of days. Always pack for the number of days you are going out for example diapers and stuff. Have a rough count of how many diapers your baby uses daily and pack accordingly. I personally prefer to pack diapers for a day or two and buy them at the destinations.
4. Pack smart. Keep the clothes in match so that you don’t have to take out everything to find the match.
On the road
1. Car seat — If driving long distance, use the car seat, with that both you and your baby will be comfortable.
2. Breaks are good — Take breaks whenever needed, you might get delayed but you won’t be frustrated of a crying baby.
3. Toys — Try to carry one or two toys for the journey so that you can keep your baby engaged. This holds good for the hotel too.
4. Window shades — If it’s very sunny, use window shades to keep your babu’s eyes protected from bright sun.
Stay
1. Keep informed — Keep the hotel informed of your travel with the baby so that they are also prepared to welcome your baby.
2. Ask — Ask for whatever you and your baby need. Hotels will never say no as today mantra for hospitality is to keep the guests happy.
I hope my experiences and tips will help you in planning your first perfect trip with your little one and encourage others. We live on the most beautiful planet which is worth exploring with your child.