International Travel pt. 1
Well, we did it! 6 flights, 2 trains, many buses, trams and cars. The Czech Republic was amazing, exhausting, insightful and empowering. I definitely learned a few things about traveling with babies but overall we went with the flow and had a great time.
Here are a few of the things I learned:
1) Don’t trust Google translate of a webpage, always take it with a grain of salt. There were at least two times where the translated webpage said that carseats were recommended for babies under age 2 but when we got a Czech speaker to read the untranslated page it stated “required” not “recommended”. Good thing we were prepared with a carseat! It was just a SUPER pain to lug it around with us everywhere. We ended up using Drew’s belt to strap it to the stroller so that we didn’t have to carry it. We tried to find a storage locker for it while we were in Vienna but couldn’t find any of the ones that Google said should be there.
2) Plan an adjustment day for day 1. Our day one consisted of a 1.5 mile walk to Prague Castle, about 3/4 of a mile to the National Theater and then 3/4 of a mile walk back to the apartment (the rest of the group went back to Prague Castle but we needed a rest) all before noon! We were a little silly to think that we could travel for over 24 hours, have a 9 hour time difference and just waltz right into our trip without an adjustment day. While Ellie did great with the adjustment, it was difficult for us. Next time we won’t make any solid plans or buy any tour tickets for day 1. We will use it to explore what’s immediately around us as we are able to. If we need to sleep for that day that’s fine too.
3) Some travel baby products are a worthwhile investment! I read MANY blogs before we went, hoping to prepare and make our trip as easy as possible with Baby E. I decided to get a few things that turned out to be lifesavers.
First we got the Ergobaby Metro+ travel stroller. I did so much research on this! Ultimately we decided on it because it could fold up and go in the overhead compartment on the plane (avoiding any chance of it being broken and giving us something for her to ride in around the airport), it has a bassinette function, shocks (for cobblestone streets), and wasn’t insanely expensive. This was BY FAR the best purchase we made for the trip. Ellie ended up sleeping almost every night in the stroller reclined into the bassinette. We put a pillow in it so it’d be comfy for her and she slept like…well…a baby. When we were out and about and she needed a nap, we reclined the seat, put her travel white noise maker in there, and used a swaddle to cover the whole thing (avoiding sun and making it a little darker for her). It also became a changing table in a pinch. There was a pooey situation in the Prague National Theater and no changing table to be found. I pulled out the portable changing mat I had, put it in the stroller (reclined as a bassinette) and changed that bad boy in the storage closet where the stroller was parked. It also became a clean/safe place for her to just hang out. By the end of our trip she would just sit in it unclipped while it was reclined and play with the straps. I didn’t have to worry about her being on the ground or washing a blanket later. BEST INVESTMENT EVER! In hindsight it would have been smart to have her practice sleeping/napping in the stroller at home to get used to it. She did great by the end but it was a bit of an adjustment.
Rain cover for the stroller. I had one already for our jogging stroller and last minute I threw it into our suitcase. Boy am I glad I did! It was cold and windy in Iceland and it rained a few times on us in the CZR. It rolled up super easy and was a lifesaver when we needed it.
Portable changing mat. Seriously. The CZR doesn’t really seem to do changing tables. Or more accurately they LITERALLLY do a changing table. We were at dinner and I realized baby needed to be changed. I asked where the restroom was thinking there’d be a changing table in there. NOPE! Not even a place to kinda fudge it. A tiny little closet big enough (barely) for a toilet. I was feeling quite perplexed when a woman walked in and saw my dilemma. She suggested I ask the bartender what to do. I did and they escorted me to an unused part of the restaurant and let me use a table. Using unused tables in closed parts of restaurants became a theme throughout the trip. I’m sure glad I had my own little changing mat I could put down! We also ended up using the changing mat as a clean place for her lay on while on the train. She fell asleep, of course, and it was so hot I just couldn’t hold her. I pulled out the mat, unzipped it from the little pouch it came with and she had a clean place to sleep.
Next we got an inflatable pillow that could go in the footwell of the plane seat turning it into a flat bed for her. We had booked her as a lap infant so this pillow thing would only work if we ended up with an extra seat in our row (which we did from Seattle to Iceland). She ended up sleeping the whole flight because she was flat on her back just like at home.
Infant ear protection. Was this 100% essential? No. Was it peace of mind? Absolutely. We also ended up having one very loud train ride and these would have come in handy for that had I remembered to pack them in the diaper bag (face palm). We did practice many times at home so that she was comfortable wearing them.
Carabiners. We used the heck out of these! We clipped water bottles to the stroller so they didn’t bounce out on the cobblestones. We clipped her diaper bag to the stroller so it wouldn’t get swiped. We clipped toys to her harness. We clipped her white noise maker to the stroller. These were a really smart idea (thanks to whichever blog I got that idea from!).
Snacks and electrolytes for the breastfeeding mama. While flying, it can be so unpredictable about when there will be food. I brought lots of snacks for myself because I was nervous of my supply dropping due to travel. In the past I’ve noticed my supply drop due to poor nutrition and dehydration. Both of which are very common on travel days. I was glad I had snacks! It occurred to me while we were mid air that I should have brought some Liquid IV or other electrolyte powder. Flying is a common dehydrator. Because I didn’t have that, I was drinking LOTS of water which meant lots of bathroom breaks. Not ideal for when you have a baby on your lap.
Inflatable portable tub. Again, was this 100% essential? No. Could we have used the sink? Probably however I didn’t know how big the sink would be, if it would have a drain plug, if it would be cold on her back etc. This little tub was $20 on amazon and a great investment! She loved taking baths in it. There were many evenings where it’s what we used to cool her down before bedtime.
We had such a good time! Many good memories. Lots of good food. I can’t wait to do another trip!
