I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, we traveled overseas with a one year old a few weeks ago! We did three countries in ten days. I’ve had lots of messages and questions asking for tips and tricks, so I am more than happy to help. We’re firm believers that you can travel with a baby. There are a few extra challenges, but as long as you’re prepared, you can totally do it. I wrote a post before our trip that you can read [HERE] on how to book an international trip with a baby. Now that we’ve taken the trip, it may be helpful to have other tips on what we learned on Ainsley’s first trip abroad.

1. Don’t take long train rides. If you’re able, try to stay in one place and/or take short day trips. As much fun as we had exploring all sorts of new cities and the countryside of Scotland, it was a lot to travel to three different countries. Ainsley is a champion traveler, but the trains proved to be a little too challenging for her, and us!
2. Babies tend to do best when on a schedule. Of course when traveling, that schedule must be tweaked a little, but do your best to be as consistent as you can. Try to keep naptime the same, even if that means the baby is napping in the stroller or carrier, and keep meal times at the same time. We had a lot of Ainsley’s meals on the go, but I made sure they were at her normal times. This helped keep her bedtime routine steady, and she did well sleeping through the night our whole trip.
3. Call your hotels and/or airbnb ahead of time and request a baby “cot,” as they call them in Europe. Every place we stayed had a pack n’ play, and it was set up for us when we checked in. Don’t forget to bring a sheet or two for it, though, in case it’s not provided.
4. Snacks snacks snacks. That is all.
5. I called ahead for a bassinet on the plane-but I have to be honest and say we were not fans of it, and neither was Ainsley. Instead of the bassinet, my tip is to book the aisle and window seat in hopes that no one picks the middle seat and you have a whole row to yourself. If that doesn’t work, ask the attendants before boarding if there are any rows open they can move you so you have more space. We had a whole row on the way to Glasgow, and Ainsley slept almost the entire flight.
6. Most places are very accommodating when they see you with a baby. I was only nursing once a day at this point, and the other times she drank whole milk. I asked the server at the hotel bar if he had whole milk, which he was happy to oblige, and when we were out, I went in to a coffee shop and just asked if I could buy a cup of whole milk. If you are nursing, you can bring breast milk through security, just be aware that they have to take it out and test it, so you may need to allot more time for that. The same is true for food pouches. If they’re in your carry on, they take them out to scan them.

I hope this helped a little if you’re planning, or thinking of planning a trip overseas. If you have other questions, please feel free to get in touch and I’d be more than happy to chat with you J Leave a comment of where you’re traveling to next!