Traveling with a young child

[hookem2010 2624]

We have a 5 month-old and would like to get some traveling in before trying for a 2nd, and final child. What advice can you give me for traveling with a 6-18 month old, other than don't do it?

We're already heading to an all-inclusive near Tulum in January, with grandparents as back-up, but would love to do a big international trip later next year, if possible.

 

[Kennythetiger 9382]

Sell the child and use the cash to upgrade hotels. 

[conVINCEd 21469]

Do whatever the people sitting in front of us on a 12 hour flight several years ago did.  No idea what they actually did, but they put an infant into the little bassinet that they clip onto the bulkhead and that kid didn’t make a sound the entire time.  Parent of the Year candidates.

[Telegraph_it 3357]

Traveling with a 5 month old is easy. It’s when they turn two that it is absolute chaos. Tack on another kid and it’s a cluster. When you travel with 3 kids you are playing zone and look like the Texas Defense. 

[Baboontyme 2812]

Ditch Tulum and go to Orlando instead. Your kid can be an asshole on the plane and no one will even notice. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Baboontyme

[Horn Draoi 255]

Username checks out.

[CycleTex87 2970]

Feed them on descent.  The swallowing will help clear the ears and prevent pressure build up and pain.  Be prepared to do less than you think/plan on cause you have to take care of the baby. 

[52-80 19158]

some of my friends and colleagues jet around with their toddlers like it wasnt a thing.  one just came back last month from iceland with his 7mo old -- strapped the kid on a hiking pack thing and walked around.  magically none of them have issues with flights, and neither does mine (6mo).

you need to downsize your luggage because dragging strollers and a bag of baby stuff is a mess.  on a single-cabin airplane, sit at the very extreme ends so you can get up and walk around with minimum bother to other people. 

 

[crash_davis 23113]

We flew with our 2 girls all the time. Just give yourself plenty of time to, from, and in airports. It's stressful. You will get fucked by TSA for all the baby shit. TSA are fucking worthless scums. Most people, especially parents, on the planes are ok with crying babies. We've all been those parents and know how it feels. Plus by now if people don't have earbuds and headphones for air travel, well then they are dumbasses and deserve any discomfort they experience from crying babies.

Travel with your kids. Live your lives. Otherwise it'll just add tension and stress on your marriage if you feel like you put everything on hold and are missing out on "life".

 

[TexasHooch 5122]

We actually upsized our primary luggage and did away with backpacks and briefcases . A Big ass rolling suitcase, a backpack diaper bag, and stroller.  That's it.

Beyond those kind of travel tips, just do it.  The great thing about a young one like that is that you can still focus on adult activities- The kid doesn't care about children's museums and amusement parks yet, they only care about your attention which you can give almost anywhere.  Of course you should be mindful of any distractions that the baby's presence could cause others, but don't be preoccupied by it.  

People hike the Pacific Coast Trail with infants.  A European jaunt is no problem.

 

 

[Kennythetiger 9382]

31 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

We flew with our 2 girls all the time. Just give yourself plenty of time to, from, and in airports. It's stressful. You will get fucked by TSA for all the baby shit. TSA are fucking worthless scums. Most people, especially parents, on the planes are ok with crying babies. We've all been those parents and know how it feels. Plus by now if people don't have earbuds and headphones for air travel, well then they are dumbasses and deserve any discomfort they experience from crying babies.

Travel with your kids. Live your lives. Otherwise it'll just add tension and stress on your marriage if you feel like you put everything on hold and are missing out on "life".

 

We don’t have any kids and I don’t remember ever being irritated by a fussy kid. Seems like I always feel bad for the kid and think “Poor fucker’s little ears probably hurt.”  Seems like most of the other passengers are the same way. 

[TexasHooch 5122]

I only get annoyed when the parents don't seem to care.  If they're doing the reasonable things you do, cool.  If, however, your two year old is climbing the back of my seat and grabbing my hair, that quickly (but not immediately) becomes a you thing.

[immamac 42850]

2 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

Ditch Tulum and go to Orlando instead. Your kid can be an asshole on the plane and no one will even notice. 

Ditch tulum and stay in cancun or anywhere else in riviera Maya. Tulum is not a place to go with a baby in tow its a more adults only vibe. 

[Atxracer 797]

1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

Travel with your kids. Live your lives. Otherwise it'll just add tension and stress on your marriage if you feel like you put everything on hold and are missing out on "life".

What he said.  We were those parent’s that were used to traveling a bit before the kid and then took a break until he was 2 (partly due to Covid).  But, we were super nervous about the first flight.  My son, who is active as can be, did so great we decided to extend the trip to another location and took a 5 hour next flight and then an 8 hour flight home.  All went great and made me regret waiting to travel that long.  

I will say that melatonin is your friend and that part about eating on descent (or just a piece of candy) is helpful.  

[Etexhorn13 3051]

We’ve been on 6 flights with our now 13 month old since around July. My wife would try to get flights around his naptime, which I would’ve never thought to do but was actually great as he’d end up sleeping pretty much half the flight. Being able to get some sleep or watch a movie on Netflix  while traveling w a baby makes life a lot easier. 

[Updawg 2266]

That is what we did. Either super early flight or around nap time so they sleep on the plane. Don’t let them nap in the car on the way to the airport

[Wiler77 1566]

When you say grandparents are backup, do you mean they're traveling with you?  If so, whats the point?

They will be more comfortable at their own house, you and your wife will be able to disconnect, and everyone will be happier.  Oh, and someone doesn't have to shell out money for airfare and hotel for what amounts to babysitters. 

[hookem2010 2624]

9 hours ago, immamac said:

Ditch tulum and stay in cancun or anywhere else in riviera Maya. Tulum is not a place to go with a baby in tow its a more adults only vibe. 

We're kind of in between Tulum and Playa del Carmen. We will probably spend most of the time within the resort itself to test the travel waters slowly.

[hookem2010 2624]

7 hours ago, Wiler77 said:

When you say grandparents are backup, do you mean they're traveling with you?  If so, whats the point?

They will be more comfortable at their own house, you and your wife will be able to disconnect, and everyone will be happier.  Oh, and someone doesn't have to shell out money for airfare and hotel for what amounts to babysitters. 

I doubt my wife would leave the kid behind completely at this stage. The grandparents are happy to do it and won't be on baby duty constantly, but will give us the opportunity to get out on our own at least once or twice.

[hookem2010 2624]

8 hours ago, Updawg said:

That is what we did. Either super early flight or around nap time so they sleep on the plane. Don’t let them nap in the car on the way to the airport

I've learned to try to avoid car naps as much as possible, no matter what. He sleeps for 5 minutes in the car and then does not want to go down at all for a regular nap.

[immamac 42850]

Traveling with a kid your kids age is easy as fuck as others said just do it. Go anywhere you want the kid doesn't care or know the difference. I would also not plan around your kids experiences just do what yall want to do. They won't remember shit and the pictures you may get are not going to be worth doing kid shit they won't remember to get. They will be happy as long as they get to participate in whatever it is you are doing. 

My comment was more for you. Tulum is a euro club scene late-night out of the resort and in the jungle type place. The beaches are shit and the service is even worse. You will have a lot more relaxing time as a family not in tulum. It sounds like you just said tulum to sound cool or something and you are actually at an all inclusive somewhere. Pro tip. Don't leave the resort, there is no reason to unless you are going to cozumel on a day trip or doing cenotes on a guided tour or something. 

 

[Texzilla58 4735]

I’m the asshole. Leave the kid at home with grandparents. You are traveling for yourselves so don’t inflict air travel for pleasure on little infants. You know they don’t have developed Eustachian tubes, right. That’s why they scream in torture on planes.

If you wife doesn’t want to leave the baby then do what most young parents do: stay the fuck home. WHy are you going to Tulum if as you say you’re staying in your room? Have some consideration of other follks that are going to a place basically built to get away from kids.

I say this as a grandparent who does his share of babysitting three granddaughters. My son and DiL just took their first extended vacation to Cabo instead of weekend trips. We kept the kids; their lives weren’t disrupted other than a bit extra spoiling.

[CooterBrown 18012]

My kids each flew 50+ times before they turned 3. Never had one issue on a plane. I'm not joking when I say this but bring 10 pounds of snacks. Kids will plow through 5,000 calories in a two hour plane ride.  Make sure their iPad is fully charged and stocked with shit they haven't seen before and stuff they've seen 100 times.  Bring a charging brick just in case. I have one that the size of two decks of cards and can fully charge an iPad 5 times. Worth the $50.  Before you board, make those kids walk that terminal end to end. Wear them out before the first flight and during any layover.

 

[Brew 3049]

Our kids have been traveling with us since they were little. We take a short trip or two a year without them, but for the most part they have always gone. Get them into the habits early and life is much easier as they get older. We took them on planes, made several long trips a year by car (probably the best thing we did because it’s never been an issue hopping in a car for an 8 hour ride), took them to restaurants including nicer ones, etc and have had zero issues even through the toddler years. They could navigate airports by themselves as early teenagers and had flown by themselves at that point. The parents that avoid it are the ones that have little shits the rest of their youth that they can’t go anywhere with.

We are also not doting parents by any stretch. We can’t wait for them to move out, having a driver is awesome because her sister is her problem, etc. We did want them to see things with us and be able to travel as they got older and not be the kids / young adults that everyone looks at funny because they are being assholes though.

[Your Mom 4806]

The kids I see act the worst on planes are the ones addicted to screens.  That’s more about how you raise your kid at home than specifically about what you do on that plane ride.  I always notice the kids who are content to look out the window, chat with mom and dad, color for bit, maybe read a book, and generally be chill.  The screen kids are the biggest assholes when there’s inevitable earbud or battery drama.  It’s pretty clear which kids have never had to deal with a little boredom at home.  Hopefully at 5 months old that’s not an issue yet, but it will be in the coming years.

[gernblansten 3197]

Strap them kids in, give 'em a little bit of vodka in a cherry coke

[Js1 85336]

5 hours ago, gernblansten said:

Strap them kids in, give 'em a little bit of vodka in a cherry coke

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

My kids each flew 50+ times before they turned 3. Never had one issue on a plane. I'm not joking when I say this but bring 10 pounds of snacks. Kids will plow through 5,000 calories in a two hour plane ride.  Make sure their iPad is fully charged and stocked with shit they haven't seen before and stuff they've seen 100 times.  Bring a charging brick just in case. I have one that the size of two decks of cards and can fully charge an iPad 5 times. Worth the $50.  Before you board, make those kids walk that terminal end to end. Wear them out before the first flight and during any layover.
 

I’m with you 100% but not sure if this’ll work for the OPs 5 month old lol


I think with 5 month olds…just pray the kid naps most of the way and count down the minutes and seconds.

Good bye and good luck

[irishtexan 11519]

Grandparents should be moved from backup to primary option. There's no advantage for you in traveling with a 5 month old. It's not like the kid's gonna remember it, and you'll get to relax and do more fun shit without a baby.

But if asking grandparents to watch the kid is an imposition, and not really an option, then fuck it. Take the kid. 

Also, fuck the idea that Tulum, or any other vacation spot other than a swingers' cruise is "reserved" for adults. How is walking around the mayan ruins with a 5-month old in a stroller an imposition on anyone's ability to enjoy themselves in any way whatsoever? 

Either way, have fun.

[LonghornJones 837]

Are you taking a car seat or renting a service that has a car seat?

If renting, be prepared for that seat (two seats, in our situation) to never show up with the car service, both on arrival and departure commutes (mainly on the departure commute. There will be a car seat in another vehicle at the airport on arrival, whether its someone's personal daily driver car seat, etc.). This will test the relationship with your wife/husband immediately. At this moment, you need to raise a shitstorm of anger and start yelling maniacally.  In Tulum, there will not be another car for them to go borrow a seat from. It will take a lot of time to find one/have one delivered, and create a panic of potentially missing your flight.

Whatever happens, react however your spouse reacts. Staying calm will only make them angrier. You have to be a united front, regardless of how ridiculous it is.

Pro Tip: Take your own car seat, and verify that the seat that its attached too wasn't just welded in to the van 2 days ago. (i decided not to point that part out to my wife. I was already in enough shit bc I didn't do the whole united front thing.)

[Etexhorn13 3051]

2 hours ago, LonghornJones said:

Are you taking a car seat or renting a service that has a car seat?

If renting, be prepared for that seat (two seats, in our situation) to never show up with the car service, both on arrival and departure commutes (mainly on the departure commute. There will be a car seat in another vehicle at the airport on arrival, whether its someone's personal daily driver car seat, etc.). This will test the relationship with your wife/husband immediately. At this moment, you need to raise a shitstorm of anger and start yelling maniacally.  In Tulum, there will not be another car for them to go borrow a seat from. It will take a lot of time to find one/have one delivered, and create a panic of potentially missing your flight.

Whatever happens, react however your spouse reacts. Staying calm will only make them angrier. You have to be a united front, regardless of how ridiculous it is.

Pro Tip: Take your own car seat, and verify that the seat that its attached too wasn't just welded in to the van 2 days ago. (i decided not to point that part out to my wife. I was already in enough shit bc I didn't do the whole united front thing.)

Checking your own car seat at the airport is free, ya know…

[LonghornJones 837]

I do

[midtown 3345]

Get a sitter. Leave the diapers and go. This from a person who travels with their kids and thinks it's the best gift you can give them and the memories are awesome but this isnt the case. Your 5 mo won't remember anything. You hardly interact with a 5 mo old other than changing diapers and feeding. After 5 Mos of baby time you both could use a break

Edit
Didn't notice or read Irish post with the exact thoughts above.