If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you know that I recently spent two weeks in Ireland with my 17-month-old son and husband. We had an amazing trip — the weather was perfect, the Irish landscape is serene and breathtaking, and we interacted with lots of history and had some awe-inspiring adventures.  Our first time traveling with a baby internationally was a success!

This was my son’s first time flying, but it wasn’t our first time traveling with him. When he was six months old, we went to Destin, Florida for a week, which is about eight hours by car from our home (longer when you factor in the flat tire we got on the way there, on top of the usual necessary stops). He’s also taken several overnight, weekend, and long weekend trips to places like Nashville, Tennessee; Beaufort, South Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; central Virginia; and south central Pennsylvania. Each of these trips occurred at different stages in his growth and development, so the preparations and strategies were a little different for each one. They all went relatively smoothly, though, or at least the difficult parts don’t stand out in my memory.

Don’t get me wrong: traveling with a baby or toddler is more challenging than traveling alone or with other adults. But it IS worth doing, and having a baby doesn’t mean you have to be trapped at home. Traveling with a baby or toddler may not be as restful as an adults-only vacation, but getting away and experiencing new places is still beneficial. Most of the tips that follow are inspired by our trip to Ireland, both because it’s freshest in my mind and because flying with a baby was particularly intimidating to me. Many of these tidbits and suggestions apply to any kind of travel, though, and I’ve tried to throw in some thoughts based on our earlier travels with a younger baby.

1. Babywearing is Key. We used our Ergobaby carrier extensively on our trip to Ireland. My son can walk now, but it’s a struggle to get him to walk in a specific direction in a timely fashion (as can be necessary if you’re, say, trying to catch a plane). Wearing him allows us to navigate quickly and easily. I think being held close to me also comforts him in new surroundings. Babywearing was particularly key while boarding the plane and deplaning, and it gave him a place to sleep that was comfortable for both of us while we were sharing a seat on the plane. While trekking around Ireland, I saw some families using hiking carriers, but a soft structured carrier works best for us. I still find it quite comfortable at his current weight of 25 pounds, and he has a long way to go until he reaches its limit of 45 pounds. Wraps can be bulky and hard to put on quickly, and hiking carriers take up a lot of space. Soft structured carriers are small and lightweight for packing and easy to put on and take off.

2. Take a Stroller Too. I debated whether it was worth taking a stroller with us to Ireland, but ultimately we did, and I was grateful to have it. You can gate-check a stroller at no cost; it doesn’t count as part of your baggage allowance. When my son was too restless to sit in it, I put my backpack and diaper back in it and wheeled them through the airport. After long days of babywearing, when my back and legs were a little sore, it was nice to have the stroller as an alternate option to give my body a bit of a rest. This is the stroller we use for traveling. It’s lightweight and compact, and it has worked well for us. We didn’t bother buying a stroller bag for it, and it did not suffer any damage at the hands of the airline staff.

3. Kids Under 2 Fly Free Domestically and Cheap Internationally. This is one of the reasons we really wanted to go to Ireland sooner rather than later. You don’t have to buy a separate seat for a child under the age of two. On domestic flights, there’s no charge for them at all. On international flights, you usually have to pay 10% of the cost of a ticket. This was a huge savings for us, as our tickets to Ireland cost more than $1000 a piece. Now that I know our little guy tolerates flying fairly well, I’m thinking of taking him to visit some far-flung friends and family members before he turns two if I can swing it.

4. If Your Kid Has Ear Tubes, the Pressure Change Won’t Bother Them. Ok, so this is a fairly esoteric point, but it’s something I didn’t know about before our trip. Some young kids find the pressure changes at takeoff and landing very uncomfortable and cry a lot. I’ve heard that the best way to deal with this is to feed them a bottle during takeoff and landing to help their ears pop. Our son has tubes in his ears as a result of recurrent ear infections, and I learned from our pediatrician that the tubes equalize the pressure. Sure enough, he did not appear to experience any discomfort at all during takeoff and landing.

5. Pumping in the Car is a Hassle, but Doable. I pumped milk until my son was 10 months old, and I had to do it in all kinds of places, including the car on long road trips. I bought a car adaptor for my Medela Pump-in-Style Advanced and set it up in the back seat so I could pump while my husband drove. I usually didn’t bother to cover up, since we have tinted windows in our car and I thought it unlikely that passing motorists on the interstate would notice what I was doing anyway. Space was tight, and getting hooked up and unhooked was awkward. Bumps in the road and sudden stops were hazardous, and there were occasional spills. But I was able to entertain my son and continue to provide him with breast milk during long trips. You do what you gotta do, right? I made a couple of 4-5 hour work-related trips by myself during which I had to pump while driving, which was trickier and probably drew some curious looks from passers by, but I managed to make it work. (Actually, I’m pretty sure I used a nursing cover during those instances, so I’m guessing the passers by still didn’t know what was going on.) I would stop at a rest area or exit to hook up, drive for 30 minutes or so while the pump was operating, and then stop again to put everything away, using ice packs and coolers to keep the milk cold in transit. I would not have wanted to deal with pumping in an airport or on a plane, and thankfully I didn’t have to do that. I will note, though, that many airports now have privacy pods for breastfeeding and pumping. Some moms find that breastfeeding while traveling is quite easy and convenient, particularly when combined with babywearing. If you have to do it, you’ll figure out what will work best for you.

6. Have A Few Small Toys and Snacks On Hand At All Times. A Baby Einstein Take-Along-Tunes and a small ball saved us from several imminent tantrums. Same goes for some crackers and Larabars. Rolling the ball back and forth across a table entertained the little guy while we waited to be served at restaurants. We also had a small stuffed animal, a couple of board books, and a few other small toys that easily fit in the diaper bag. I’ve found that for long car trips, toys with buttons that play music, speak, or light up are very helpful. In addition to the Take-Along-Tunes, my son’s favorites are the Fisher Price talking puppy (ours speaks Greek) and the kick-and-play piano. You probably already know what works for your kid from shorter excursions. The same principles apply for longer trips.

7. Milk and Baby Food Don’t Count Toward Your TSA Liquid Allowance. I knew breast milk was exempt from the liquid limits, but for some reason I didn’t realize that milk and baby food were also exempt. We packed empty bottles and powdered formula to mix up once we got through security, which worked fine. Flight attendants also kindly gave us milk on the planes. As we were leaving Dublin, though, we realized while in the security line that we had forgotten to empty a bottle of milk. An Irish agent told us we didn’t have to empty it because any kind of baby food was allowed without regard for the usual quart-sized-bag-of-3-ounce-bottles limit.

8. If You’re Flying, Rent a Car and Car Seat. Car seats, like strollers, can be gate-checked for free, so you could bring your own with you. I could see that making sense if you had a very small baby who still used a car seat caddy stroller. Additionally, if your child is 2 or older and you buy a seat for them, you will need to use an airplane-approved car seat on the plane. If your child is between the ages of 6 months and 2 years, though, I don’t see any reason to lug a car seat around the airport. Plus, you don’t want your car seat to be thrown around haphazardly by airline staff, potentially damaging it or diminishing its safety in a crash. Just leave the car seat at home and rent one at your destination from the rental car company. Check with them in advance to be sure they’ll have one available. The ease of driving yourself around depends on where you’re going, but in general, I think the flexibility of having a rental car makes it a much more convenient option than trying to use public transportation with a baby or toddler. You can keep your stroller in the car as well as extra snacks and toys, and you can more easily take breaks or alter plans as needed to accommodate nap schedules, fussy times, etc.

9. Stay in Houses or Apartments Rather Than Hotel Rooms. You’re going to want a kitchen and probably a washer and dryer. These appliances will allow you to pack less stuff, for one, and it’s nice to be able to spread out in a space larger than a hotel room. We have mostly stayed in houses rented through Airbnb with our little guy. We’ve stayed in hotels a few times (usually only for one night) and have made it work, but I believe all the hotels have at least had a mini fridge, even if we had to specially request it. You could make do with ice buckets to keep milk cold and the kitchen sink to wash clothes, bottles and/or pump parts, but you can probably find a whole house or apartment for the same price or less, so why not go for the added conveniences? A lot of Airbnb hosts offer nice amenities like playards/travel cribs and high chairs, too (though we’ve often taken our own playard and portable high chair when traveling by car, particularly when staying in a hotel room). We opted for disposable diapers during our trip to Ireland, but having on-site washers and dryers have allowed us to use our cloth diapers on other trips, which is good from both a financial and an environmental standpoint.

10. Don’t Try to Take Everything With You on Longer Trips. For our two-week trip to Ireland, we took plenty of diapers, wipes, snacks, and formula to get us to our destination, but we planned to buy more once we arrived rather than packing a whole two-week supply. Wherever you’re going, there will be a grocery store. You don’t have to take it all with you.

11. Look for Playgrounds and Build In Play Breaks. When you’re splurging for a big vacation, it can be tempting to try to pack in as many activities as possible. That approach doesn’t work too well when traveling with a baby or toddler. They need breaks to run around and play. We found a number of public playgrounds in Ireland where our little guy could get some exercise and have some fun between sight-seeing excursions and other structured activities.

12. Car Time is Good for Naps and Bonding. We drove all around the island of Ireland, hitting sights that were an hour or two apart each day. That’s a lot of time in the car seat for a little person, but the timing always seemed to work out so that driving time doubled as nap time. This allowed us to do more each day because we didn’t have to go back to the cottage so he could take a nap. When he was awake in the car, I rode in the backseat with him and tried to use that time to do fun things together like singing songs, reciting his favorite books (yes, I have 4-5 of them memorized), and pointing out things we were driving by. At the end of our two weeks together, our kiddo’s language had really blossomed, I think at least in part because I was interacting with him so much more than usual. So even if you feel like you’re spending a ton of time in the car, know that the car time is not wasted. It’s a great opportunity to spend time interacting with your child!

13. Skip the Long Group Tours. We went to some places that could only be seen by guided tour. Sometimes the tours went okay, but I had to leave one at the halfway point because the little guy just was not having it. He was super cranky and had zero interest in quietly listen to someone discuss the history of a castle. While guided tours can provide a wealth of information, when you’re traveling with a baby or toddler, it’s best to remain as flexible as possible. That means that when you can, you should try to avoid committing to a set schedule or opting into an hour-plus-long tour or talk. Exploring things on your own, at your own pace and with as many breaks and detours as you need, is really the way to go.

14. Be Flexible, and Expect an Occasional Meltdown. Changes in routine are tough for little ones. Jet lag, overstimulation, and excessive tiredness don’t help. At some point, you’ll have to change your plans to meet their needs. Expect it up front and you’ll be less disappointed or frustrated. As I said above, be flexible and go with the flow.

15. It Doesn’t Matter That They Won’t Remember It. A lot of people seem to think that vacations with young kids are a waste of time and money because the kids won’t remember the trip. I disagree. First, the trip is just as much if not more for me than for them. I’ve always enjoyed traveling. Why stop now? None of us is promised tomorrow, so why would I want to wait a decade to take a trip that I can just as easily take now? Second, we do activities with babies and toddlers every single day that they aren’t going to remember later in life. They still learn from those experiences. Maybe traveling with my kid will result in him being more comfortable with crowds, more adaptable, more open to other people, foods, and cultures…who knows? We as a family will have mementos and memories of our travels. We’ll be able to show him pictures of our trip to Ireland and tell him all about his first overseas adventure, and it will become part of our shared family history. There is value in that, regardless of whether he consciously remembers this specific vacation.

Do you have wisdom to share about traveling with a baby or toddler? If you haven’t done it yet, what questions do you have?

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