Check out the first part of this post on my son’s 14 plane rides by the time he was two months old here!

There are very few subjects in which I would consider myself to be knowledgeable as a parent. I have a 13 month old, and that’s as far as my parenting experience goes. I am just venturing into the toddlers years and I know little about parenting beyond that.

Oh, but what I do know about is traveling with a baby. Not multiple babies and not a baby plus a toddler or any of that brave stuff, but I do know about traveling with one baby. Those moms who travel alone with a toddler and baby, or twins or five kids like my parents used to do? They are the brave ones. I have traveled quite extensively with my little one, with his first airplane ride being at just nine days old. You can read here about how crazy I was taking him to three countries by the time he was three weeks old–oh, and I was by myself.

I have all sorts of mommy friends with babies, and traveling is a little nerve-wracking. I understand–there’s a lot that is different about traveling with a baby–but it’s mostly good different. Before I start with the tips and tricks, let me first convince you that traveling with your baby, even alone, is a fabulous decision. It’s fantastic and not at all as exhausting as you might expect.

Here’s why traveling with a baby is pretty darn great:

• If you’re flying, you get to skip all the lines. When I was waiting in line at LAX, security was extra tight due to the recent Brussels attack so there were at least 1,000 people in line in front of me. When the guards saw me and my newborn, they whisked me into the disabled/priority line where I had to wait in line behind…two people. That’s right, two. I got to skip almost all the security lines and custom lines on every flight I took. This is extra effective if your baby won’t stop screaming.
• It’s basically a free upgrade. First, you always get priority boarding, and if you have an especially tiny baby, even the parents with the young kids will let you go first. Second, if you’re traveling internationally, most airlines offer bassinets attached to the wall in front of your seat. Yay for somewhere to put your baby down without having to buy another seat! The best part about this is that the bassinets are always at the front of the plane–by the upgraded seats with the extra legroom. Some airlines charge a fee for the baby’s ticket but it’s small, usually less than 10% of the ticket cost, and sometimes there is no extra charge at all. Either way, you’re getting the better seat and priority everything without having to pay full price for the upgrade, and that’s pretty great.
• Everyone wants to help you. Of course, there are those people who roll their eyes and huff and puff when they see they have to sit next to a baby on a flight. I ended up next to one on my very first flight to Texas, and about half an hour into the flight, after the plane had lulled my baby into a deep slumber, the man softened up and realized sitting next to me was hardly a death sentence. He offered to help with my bags and hold my son while I went to the bathroom–and he wasn’t the only one. Everyone offered to help, and my life was about 10,000 times easier for it.
• Movement lulls babies to sleep. The roar of the jets on the airplane, the gentle turbulence, the smooth highways when you’re driving–it’s basically white noise and a vehicle rocking your kid to sleep for you. Sleeping kids = happy mama. When you have to hold the baby, it’s endless cuddles. But they’re sleepy cuddles, which is brilliant if your child is like mine and squirms ceaselessly.
• You get to see their wonder at all the new places. My son was too sleepy when he was nine days old to really wonder at much, but as he got older and became more alert, he loved staring out the window with big eyes as we flew through the clouds or drove through the desert. Seeing my son gaze in wonder at new scenes and bright colors and places in the world that others have only seen in pictures is incentive enough for me to want to take him to as many places as I can. A child in awe is a beautiful thing.
• The stories are pretty great. My son has been on fourteen airplanes, and be the end of next week it will be close to 20. One day, I’ll be able to tell him about the time we took the trolley to the top of Penang Hill in Malaysia when he was three weeks old with four of my classmates from high school, and one day I’ll be able to tell him about visiting the students I used to teach at a Burmese Refugee school in Kuala Lumpur and how they couldn’t stop starting or about the time he went hiking in the New Mexico mountains or about the times he used to sleep in a full laundry basket because he didn’t have a bassinet. All before he was three months old.

That list hardly exhausts the reasons traveling with a baby is wonderful idea, but I hope it convinces you to try. And when you do, I have some tricks up my sleeve to share with you. Of course, there are challenges to traveling with a baby, but the more you do it, the more flexible your child will become.

The biggest challenge to traveling with my child alone is that I simply didn’t have enough hands. When I was flying from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, I had two rolling suitcases, a stroller, and a coffee for sanity. I literally didn’t have enough hands to carry it all, so I stuck my son in the stroller, found a trolley to balance my two suitcases on, shoved my coffee cup in a crack in the bags and hoped it didn’t spill, and then I pushed the stroller in front of me and pulled the trolley behind me across the very long LA airport. Once I checked my bags it got easier, but then boarding passes and passports were introduced into the mix and I didn’t have enough hands again. This is where you need help.

That was just about the only challenge, and when you’re traveling with a baby with your husband or a friend, I really can’t think of any major challenges. If you’re flying, you have to hold the baby during take off and landing and if they’re sleeping in the bassinet and there’s turbulence you’ll have to strap your baby in which might wake them up, but that’s about it. As long as there’s always someone to hold either the baby or the bags when you need a hand to do something, you’ll be fine.

Tips and tricks to make traveling with a baby a breeze:

• Always bring the stroller. If you’re flying, airlines will let you check the stroller and car seat at the gate for free. A word for the wise: take out everything you don’t want lost of broken. They are not gentle with those things. But wait until you’re at the gate, because being able to put your baby in the stroller as you’re trekking to your gate is invaluable. It also gives you somewhere to place boarding passes and drinks and snacks while you’re waiting without having to load down your pockets or rifle through your bag every time you want a piece of chocolate.
• Request the bassinet seat. I believe some domestic flights have them and almost all international flights do. It’s basically a free flight upgrade–especially if you have to pay a small portion of the ticket price for your baby which you often have to do on international flights anyway, you might as well get the upgrade with it. And request it when you book your ticket–they don’t always have any left if you wait too long. As long as your baby is under one, they should meet the weight requirements.
• Bring enough food, but skip the sugar. Mama, you need snacks. If you’re hungry when you’re traveling, nobody will have fun. Especially if you are nursing, it’s not easy to find cheap or nutritious food on the go and the last thing you want is to be dealing with low blood sugar. But choose options like apple slices, nuts, veggie chips, and protein bars. Excess sugar for you will lead to a crash later on and if your baby is old enough to be snacking, sugar will make them hyper and irritable. Instead, bring them mess free options like grapes, pieces of cheese, or unsweetened dried fruit. Personally, unsweetened dried banana is my favorite travel snack for my son because it takes awhile for him to chew on so I don’t have to give him more every 3 seconds and it doesn’t make any mess at all. Skip the foods that will create crumbs or stickiness. Also, if you’re in the car driving, you can reach back and hand your child snacks. I do this with my baby all the time–I just make sure I have chunks of food (strawberries, sausage, cheese, grapes, etc) and I stick my hand back and his little hand will reach up and grab it, then go straight to his mouth. PS. Don’t bother with that one until they’re 10+ months old–but it’s a good tip if you’re driving through one of their regular mealtimes.
• Practice flexibility. If you baby only ever sleeps in dark, quiet rooms, how can you expect them to sleep in a bustling airport or in the guest room at your aunt’s house? Dark, quiet rooms are good for sleeping babies, but also practice putting them to bed in the light when company is over or there is loud music playing. Babies need to learn to sleep in light and noise or getting them to sleep when you travel will be a huge challenge. Also, get them used to sleeping in new places. Get them used to be held by new people. How do you do this? Simply practice. The younger you start them the easier it will be.

• Don’t be scared to ask for help. Most people like helping–first, they (hopefully) care, and second, helping someone else makes people feel good. If all else fails, ask someone an employee–they’re paid to help. People want to help but often are embarrassed to ask, especially if you have a baby because some mothers are extremely protective of their kids and would never let anyone else near them. If that’s you, just know you’re going to have a much more difficult time if you’re traveling alone.
• Get a rock-and-play and favorite blankets. You kid needs to be able to sleep when you travel–this is extremely important to everyone involved. If the baby doesn’t sleep, the trip is not going to be enjoyable at all. We knew my son was going to grow up traveling so we found a portable bed for him. When he was a newborn, it was one of those snazzy diaper bags that unfolds into a travel bassinet but he grew out of that in a few months. After that, we got a rock-and-play because it is incredibly easy to fold and unfold and it’s small so traveling with it is a breeze. Surroundings change when you travel, so having familiar blankets and a familiar bed is hugely important.
• Remember that it’s okay if your child is crying. Babies cry. They cry when you’re at home and they also cry when you’re traveling, although when you’re traveling it somehow feels so much worse because you’re out in public or stuck in a small car with them. Mama, it’s okay. I won’t tell you to just drown it out because we all know we’re biologically wired not to be able to do that, but don’t panic either.
• On nursing your baby: On a plane, it’s easy because you’re allowed to hold your kid. In a car, it’s not quite as easy. When you’re driving on your own, bringing snacks will stop an older baby from having to nurse as often. Otherwise you just have to stop. If it needs to be as fast as possible, pull into a parking lot and nurse him in the car, but if you have some time stop somewhere comfortable, like a Starbucks or a park where you can stretch your legs while you nurse. If someone else is driving, be wise, but you have a little more flexibility here.
• Finally, a few other helpful tips. Nurse your baby when the plane is taking off or landing–this helps with the pressure in their ears but don’t panic if they won’t nurse. Mine wouldn’t wake up at all and I was terrified he would wake up screaming from the pressure but he never had any issues. Bring sanitizer because let’s be real, traveling is dirty. You have very little control of the germs around you and regular sanitizers kill bacteria but are full of nasty chemicals, so go with a plant based one. I recommend Young Living’s Thieves hand sanitizer because it’s essential oils based so not only is it super effective, it’s also safe. If you’re driving, it can be hard for squirmy kids to sit still in the back of the car. Bring items to play with–I’ve found my son much prefers to play with my jacket or water bottle than with actual toys. Getting the kid out when you can helps too, even if it’s just being unstrapped and playing in the backseat or being held for a moment when you stop at a gas station. Finally, you don’t have to listen to obnoxious baby music. I promise that as long as your baby has been exposed to a wide variety of music, they don’t care what is playing in the car as long as the volume is at a reasonable level.

There you go. There are all sorts of reasons you should travel with your baby and all sorts of tips on how to make it smoother. I love traveling with my son and I am exceedingly excited for our trip to Young Living’s International Grand Convention in Salt Lake City next week–my first big trip alone with him as a toddler! It’s going to be harder–oh, so much harder–but I will get on that plane equipped with grapes and favorite blankets and all my no-stress oils so I absolutely have got this.

Friends, take that trip you’ve always wanted to take. Your life doesn’t get smaller when you have a baby–you simply have a little person to come on the ride with you. You will never regret an adventure with your family.

Take the trip. Take lots of pictures and even more snacks.

You got this.