6 Tips for Joyful Travel With A Newborn

A couple of weeks ago Baby Joy Chaser and I went on our first getaway. It was just a quick trip to Atlantic City for a few days. I was super anxious about the trip but overall it went well. I drove to Atlantic City alone with Baby Joy Chaser. We met up with my family at the hotel. I did vlog (video blog) the entire trip so I won’t give you the play by play. What I will do, is give you 6 tips for joyful travel with a newborn based off of my experience.

Plan your travel times around baby’s sleep schedule if possible. This is not always easy to do if you have a newborn who is not on a set schedule. I know that Baby Joy Chaser usually goes to sleep about an hour or so after waking so. I tried to be ready to head out an hour or so after his late morning nap. Tried is the key word here. I was not ready when I thought I would be but I kept him up until we were getting in the car. He was cranky but It is better to have a cranky baby in the house than a screaming baby in the backseat when you are traveling without any help.
Bring a travel bassinet.While I do end up bringing Baby Joy Chaser into my bed more often than I’d like I do not consider us to be co-sleepers. At home he sleeps mostly in his own crib. However, we used our Lulyboo Bassinet To-Go on the trip. That meant I did not have to depend on the hotel to have a crib available. It also provided a clear space for baby in the bed. He was close enough for me to snuggle him a little when he needed it but I had plenty of my own space in the bed. Baby Joy Chaser slept great in it.
Try to go to baby / family friendly places. Other moms told me you’ll know a place is baby friendly if they have high chairs. The high chairs mean they expect families. That also means other people in the restaurant will be more understanding should a baby start crying. My trip would have been a little less stressful had we gone to more baby friendly places for meals.
Go to non-baby friendly places go during off peak times. One of the restaurants we ate at during our getaway was a supper club. Definitely not a place expecting patrons with babies. The good thing was our getaway was during the middle of the week. Atlantic City is much more of a weekend town. So going out to eat during the week meant less of a crowd and therefore less people to be bothered by a crying baby. We also went out to dinner earlier in the evening before the dinner crowd.
Bring a baby carried or wrap to wear the baby. Even if you plan to use the stroller most of the time have the carrier on hand. Being off schedule and away from your normal surroundings can be stressful for baby leading to melt downs. Wearing the baby came in handy for me when Baby Joy Chaser started to have a melt down when we were out past his bed time and again when he was overstimulated. Wearing him helped him to calm down and sleep while I continued on with my activities.
Travel with people who love your baby. This is the best tip. At the end of the day no matte what you do to prepare and how many tips you follow a baby is going to be a baby. It is going to cry when it wants, where it wants, as loud as it wants, and for as long as it wants to. So the best thing you can do is travel with people who love you your baby. That way you will feel supported even in those uncomfortable moments.

Baby Joy Chaser and I did not do too bad for our first get away. I learned a lot about how to travel with a newborn. We’ll be putting these tips into practice more and more as we take on more adventures.

Now, check out the Vlog of our trip.