to stroll or not to stroll

I am trying to decide if I should bring a stroller on my trip or not. In the past I have always used my Ergo carrier and it has worked well. However, I have a five hour lay over in London and I think a stroller may save my back and my sanity. I have been offered a sit and stroll to borrow but it doesn't have a basket on it for my carry on bag and my mother has a car seat for me when we get to Spain. I think I will still bring my Ergo because my daughter does not love the stroller, but she may hang out in it in the airport if we are walking around and she might sleep in it, which is what I am hopping for. When she was little she would sleep in the Ergo but those days seem to be over. I am only concerned about another piece of luggage. I only want one checked bag and one carry on bag. I think navigating a stroller and a checked bag is a pain, I am going to ask my mother to come into the airport to get me so I don't have to get everything to the curb by myself. On the way home I am scheduled for a night in London I am going to try to get this changed but so far the airline has not been very agreeable. So we will see how this all goes.

getting ready

Packing lists are not my favorite thing and to be honest I have only written one packing list ever. However I find that traveling with a child makes the list more important. I am getting ready for a two-week trip to Spain and am trying to figure out how to pack for my baby and I and put everything we need in a moderately sized suitcase. The climate is variable; we might need shorts and we might need coats. I am visiting my mother so I can pack light and borrow clothes from her if it gets cold, but I need to pack everything for my daughter. I think I might have to create a list. I will post the list I made when we traveled to China last July and some of that list still applies, except China in July was hot and Spain in February is unpredictable.

wiggley baby

Yesterday I waited for an hour and a half for new tires. My daughter wiggled and wanted to run around the muddy waiting room the entire time. This made me worry about our pending trip to Spain and an 8 hour flight. Many people give thier children Benadryl on flights, which is a bit controversial. I tried Benadryl on my daughter once and it backfired. Someone told me about calming drops for travel but I don't know anything about them, I think I will ask my doctor. On our trip I might try some herbal tea or something like that to calm my daughter down. The big problem is that she gets so overstimulated on airplanes that she won't stop moving. Then she flirts with the people sitting around me and they interact with her, which makes matters worse. I would love to know what others do to calm their children on flights.

What not to forget

I am going to plug my favorite travel accessory and as of now have no connection to this company, but wouldn't mind selling their product because I love it so much. I love my Ergo baby carrier for travel. I have never understood how people push a stroller and carry/pull luggage at the same time. I prefer a baby carrier, but most carriers only hold children up to about 20lbs and some are complicated to use. My Ergo is light, cotton, and holds a child up to 60lbs. I can wear my daughter on the front, on my back or on my hip and I can get in and out of it alone, although admittadly it is easier with a little help. If I strap my daughter on my back I can pull my luggage and get into and out of my purse to deal with boarding passes and identification. I also use the Ergo when I arrive at my destination because we don't usually bring a stroller on our trips. The stroller is nice but it is bulky and takes up too much room and I find if given the choice the Ergo is more versatile and lighter than a stroller on a trip.

Even if you don't want to spend the money for an Ergo I still think a baby carrier is essential for any child who can not walk the length of a mall (which is probably smaller than most airports) alone. I have a friend who loves slings and makes beautiful slings, I also have friends who love their frame back packs. I would be interested to hear how people like the backpacks that convert to strollers, they look promising for travel but they look a little heavy I have also seen a diaper bag that has a baby carrier sewn into it, that looks interesting, but I haven't seen one in use only online.

How to prepare

I hope to create a resource for parents who want to take their kids with them to discover new places. Traveling is an enormous part of my life and now my daughter's life and I think parents can help each other make traveling easy, safe and fun for a family. Regardless of if your idea of traveling is visiting grandma in Florida, traveling to Etheopia to adopt your first child, backpacking in Thiland, climbing the steps of the Eifel Tower in Paris, taking a road trip to Yellowstone or going to an all inclusive beach resort this is a resource for all of us.

The first trip we took as a family was to adopt our daughter from China in July of 2006. I read blogs, chatted in groups, researched the best bags and items to take and then set off for an adventure. I felt prepared because of my extensive travel before baby and I called all of my friends and family who had traveled with their kids to get advice. We packed very light we took an Ergo baby carrier and asked for bulkhead and a bassinet on the flight home. Overall it went well. Simple items like baby carriers, the right seat assingmnet, and knowing what resources are available at the end of the road are essential to a good travel experience with children. Since returning from China in July, we have taken a three week road trip and flown to the east coast twice and we are preparing for another international trip to Europe.

The more I travel with my daughter the more I learn about traveling with children. My parents have also been a good resource as they have taken my brother all over the world starting when he was just an infant.

In the future I plan to talk a little about feeding your child on the road. The best equipment for travel, "do I really need to take____?" How to deal with illness on the road, Navigating the airport, Road trips, etc...

Please feel free to post your own suggestions and experiences traveling with children. I would also like to hear about child friendly destinations, compaies, and airlines.