Traveling with a baby through the eyes of a dad
The time has come for me. So far, it has been Kamila who has written about all the children's topics. Writing by the mother is somehow more natural, but I came to the conclusion that, after all, dad also has a lot to say, after all, we went everywhere with our toddler together.
It's also a good time for that, as the three of us have taken 14 flights together over the past 14 months. Plus, of course, car travel. For us it's quite a lot, so and we already have different perspectives on traveling with a toddler. Both on longer trips to exotic countries (Beijing) including long plane flights, and short weekend trips even to the spa π
So how's that? What it's like to travel with an infant/toddler behemoth? So from dad's perspective?
Trips give me the opportunity to spend more time with the baby
The truth is that it is on trips that I spend the most time with Olive.
As long as Kamila was still on leave the obvious thing was that she was the one who spent more time at home. But already after returning to work, she still spends more of this time than I do (she works shorter time as a nursing mother + has closer to work ;)).
There are still weekends left, of course, not counting the "away" ones. But you know how it is yourselves. There is always something to do, we often split up to embrace faster topics. In addition, there are also some meetings with family or friends.
On trips … a completely different fairy tale!
We have each other 24 hours a day. Whether it's a simple walk in a place that doesn't even matter (it's important that there are pebbles, leaves or any other distraction ;)), or at least playing in the pool (the more times you can get in and out of it the better!), we spend time together enjoying the moment!
And this additionally helps a lot, because…
A child becomes very attached to his parents during trips
It may not be some discovery of America, but you can definitely see that the bond between the child and parents deepens significantly during the trips. After all, we arrive with each other 24/7, discover new places, new opportunities, experience new situations together. That new for the toddler – you know, but also by us everything is rediscovered π
Probably it also helps in the development of the child, because we both observed that it was during our trips that Olive had the biggest developmental leaps.
What two (adult) heads is not one
During these 14 months, it happened that we traveled separately, although they were short, business trips. And of course it's possible, it's not that we are unable to go anywhere without each other. The thing is that, in my opinion, it is definitely easier to travel with a baby in two adults (and sometimes even in three ;)).
It's much easier to do a lot of things then: from keeping an eye on the bean, to embracing a table in a restaurant or changing a diaper on a plane, because…
The bigger and stronger the child, the harder it is to change the diaper on the plane
Yep π The first poop of a baby bean on a plane, that's something you'll never forget π
Honestly, without going into details, there was no drama. However, the older the baby gets, and thus bigger and stronger, the ritual of changing a pampers in a cramped airplane restroom can be increasingly difficult. If a visit to the toilet is not a pleasant experience for an adult, what about a baby who can barely fit on a changing table (they are really very tiny in the airplane) and has a ceiling just above his head?
Here invaluable is always the help of Dad, who seems to do better in such extras. Fortunately, for so many flights, we haven't had too many of these cases.
Anyway, as bad as the situation would be, there was always..
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Packing for a trip with a child has never been so easy! π΄ π
Boob is good for everything!
And inestimable praise for it! π
Seriously! Kamila breastfed Olive all this time (and still does!). Of course, first as the main food, now as an addition. You don't even realize how much this helps, not only in traveling.
No matter how bad Olive would be, no matter how hard she would hit herself on the edge of a toy, no matter how much she would not want that paper, boob always helps π And it helps the most precisely during airplane flights.
First of all, it calms. But most importantly, it helps to equalize the pressure in the ears, making takeoffs and landings much more comfortable. You can, of course, bottle-feed, give water (because for candy and lollipops babies are too small), but cuddling at the boob wins everything π
Traveling and traveling with a baby are two different worlds
How much the world has changed for us a year ago, especially for young parents, need not write. However, traveling itself has also changed dramatically.
And probably different than everyone would expect. Because previously our trips were carefully planned. Although we never had rigid plans that here we have to be at 12:00 and here at 14:00, but we had a solid framework based on specific points, plans.
Now, we often go to the place and only there we think about what we are really going to do. We know more or less what and where it is (because somehow we finally chose the direction ;-)), but we did not have any specific plans before the trip. Because I know that such plans are better not to have.
Shouldn't it be the other way around, that it's with a little toddler that we pay more attention to planning? π
Now we pay much more attention to, for example, the weather or Olive's readiness to explore. Because we don't go on trips together for Olive to sit strapped to a car seat in the car all the time, because a whole day of sightseeing means driving from point to point.
It is also known that if the weather is not good, we need to think about some indoor attractions. Anyway, now we also have to think about completely different attractions. While still in the beginning, as long as the baby lies quietly in the stroller, we can visit museums, exhibitions, open-air museums… However, when the bean starts to be already mobile you need to start looking for attractions that will be cool and safe for everyone π
You're probably wondering whether it was better for me to travel with two or now with three? These are completely different styles of travel. Before, we traveled faster, explored more, often not focusing on the climate and history of the place we were visiting as much as we would like to. Now we have, despite appearances, more time for it. So that we get more out of our trips, although we travel much slower. Is it better? Of course it does! I would not change it for anything else! π
There is also another plus of traveling with a small child…
Finally I can choose better and more expensive hotels and cars π
Yes, you have covered me! It's all about that! π
Well, because how not to rent a bigger and safer car for an outing with a behemoth? After all, we're already paying a crore to rent a car seat for a week anyway, then an upgrade two positions higher won't hurt us anything π
Well, after all, we will not sleep in a hostel now, without a bathroom and breakfast! At least a room of 50m2, with full board, necessarily with a bathtub, a nice view, plenty of space for playing … all this, after all, for the beaver π
And so seriously, there is some truth in this. In terms of the car, we used to simply choose the smallest models that were the cheapest. Now we have to bet already on a little larger models to pack everything (even 3 large luggage, stroller, etc.).
It's the same with hotels, although it depends more on where and why you're going. E.g. In China, we stayed both in a chain hotel with super breakfasts, where we had clean carpet and plenty of space to play (+ a bathtub to wash the bean in peace). We also spent the night in a typical hutong where the room barely contained a bed and the floor left much to be desired (not to mention the cold and damp).
Of course, we now pay more attention to the standard, location, room amenities, but also to the food. The most preferable now is to choose accommodation with breakfast or with its own kitchen (such as. Azores or Faroe Islands).
The same goes for airline connections. Rather, for the moment, we will not allow ourselves to fly with two connecting flights, on different airlines with an overnight stay at the airport. We prefer to pay a little extra to fly direct or with an easy change on one ticket.
This makes our travels less tiring and we all get even more fun out of it π
Speaking of fun, here goes
I am already looking forward to Disneyland
…and all the other attractions for (older) children! π
Yes, that's for sure. Olive will have a year's pass to all theme parks, Disneyland and similar attractions. Of course, dad too, because someone has to watch the child