Natalie Gross 0:00
The holiday season is in full swing. And for many of us that means hopping on a plane or embarking on a long car trip to visit family and friends. And while you may have loved traveling before you had a baby, even the thought of it can seem daunting now as you worry whether he'll cry the whole flight or she'll have a blowout in the car seat. Plus, there's a long checklist of things to bring for your tiny human that somehow has way more stuff than you ever realized before you're trying to pack the car. today. I'll be talking with three mamas who have been there before you to get their best tips and encouragement for navigating tricky travel situations and hopefully put your mind at ease. This is Newbies.
Natalie Gross 0:49
Welcome toNewbies. Newbies is your online on the go support group guiding new mothers through their baby's first year. I'm Natalie Gross, mom to a three year old boy and a baby girl. We've got a great show today talking about traveling with babies. Now if you haven't already, be sure to visit our website, it's newmommymedia.com. And subscribe to our weekly newsletter that keeps you updated on all of the episodes we release each week. Another great way to stay updated is to hit that subscribe button in your podcast app wherever you're listening. And if you're looking for a way to get even more involved with our show that you can check out our membership club called Mighty Moms. That's where we chat more about the topics discussed here on our show. And it's also an easy way to learn about a recording so that you can join us live. I would like to introduce our great panel of guests today. First we have travel blogger, Nasreen Stump with She Buys Travel. She's serving as our featured expert today. And we also have moms Bailee Dover and Hannah Morado. Thank you all so much for being here. Nasreen, do you want to kick us off by telling us a little bit about you and your family?
Nasreen Stump 2:18
Sure, absolutely. I started out traveling as a business traveler. And over the years, I added four kids to the mix. And my husband and my kids used to accompany us on business trips. And then it turned into family trips and cross country road trips to the family and the kids range in age with multiple years between them. So we've been through that baby phase four times now.
Natalie Gross 2:42
Thanks so much for being here. Hannah, what about you?
Hannah Morado 2:45
So yeah, so I'm Hannah. And I am mother to only one child, we have one on the way coming in March. So we'll gladly take all your tips Nasreen about, you know, adjusting with more than one when you're traveling. But I've always loved to travel and my husband has as well. So we've been able to in trying to incorporate that into our son's life. And it also, you know, helps that we have in-laws that live in Brazil. And so because of that in order to visit them, we've had to learn and adjust to traveling with an infant. And now as he's in the toddler stage, what that looks like.
Natalie Gross 3:24
All right, Bailee.
Bailee Dover 3:25
Yeah, hi, I am Bailee Dover, I have one daughter, who is five right now. And we are in the process, we're about a week and a half away of becoming licensed foster parents as well. So that'll be a whole different kind of level of travel. And I was traveling with my daughter for a lot of her first part of life. So I am excited to hear from Nasreen about some of her experiences and what multiple children are going to be like traveling with. But I'm excited to be here and being chatting with you guys.
Natalie Gross 4:00
Okay, so can each of you give us a synopsis of your experiences traveling with your kids? Where have you gone? I know Hannah you mentioned Brazil. And how has it gone?
Bailee Dover 4:10
So with my daughter, I actually had the privilege of being able to travel with her for one of my previous jobs where I was traveling every month, sometimes twice a month. So I got to bring her on a lot of my trips when she was in her first year of life and it ultimately I think made her way more adaptable child being able to travel with her and I really learned how to travel like my experiences were you know all over the place and sometimes having even my husband there made it a little weird because and he threw a wrench in you know the system that my daughter and I had going but from the age of which is this is was pre COVID times and I don't think you'd ever imagine doing something like this now, but my first travel experience with her was eight weeks old. And from eight weeks until now we travel multiple times a year, going home to family in Texas. When I was working and traveling, it was California, New York, Alabama, Florida, pretty much all of the states. She's been to within her first year life. So we have a lot of good experiences there. And have have even enjoyed, you know, she enjoys her time on an airplane and loves going to visit people.
Natalie Gross 5:30
Yeah, I've heard get him used to the airplane early. That's certainly worked for our son.
Hannah Morado 5:34
Yeah. Yeah, so our son was born during the COVID timeframe, right at the height of it, almost our first travel experiences with him or more car rides. My family has a place in upstate New York, and he was born in the summer. So we took him at about two months old or a little younger, up there. And that was about eight hours. And, you know, it's very nerve wracking when you have a newborn, and you're still trying to figure things out as a first time parent. But I was fortunate to be able to go up with my husband and also come back with my sister, I stayed a little longer and had we I was able to stay in the back with him and monitor him make sure things are okay, while she drove. And that just made the long car ride a lot easier. But I think with what you said earlier with getting them used to I think travel as early as you can, it does seem to help them. We did, as I've mentioned, take him to Brazil with us. Because of COVID, it was a little more delayed than we would have probably initially traveled with him. But our first flight with him was actually to California to visit family when he was about nine months old. It was very interesting, to say the least, we learned a lot on that flight. And I'm glad that was only five hours because Brazil is about 12 when you add the layovers and everything in. But I do think that having taken that shorter flight, compared to the longer one with Brazil, did help prepare him and to help prepare us mentally to and helped us learn what we could do better what we really needed to pack with us and what we didn't. And the other thing I will say, just adding here that I learned from my sister in law, when they had traveled with their young ones is when you travel with a child internationally, if you have global entry, they still need global entry for themselves. So that was something that we fortunately knew ahead of time, and we were able to apply and because he was so young, and has no criminal record, or, you know, at that point, we still dumb to two and a half year old. It was pretty quick. So I will say I know with COVID, things are picked up and things like the busier. But I do think because he was so young, and it was just an easier process time.
Natalie Gross 7:55
Nasreen, how did it go for you that you decided to keep doing it and make a career out of travel blogging?
Nasreen Stump 8:02
Oh, my goodness. Well, my big claim to fame is that all four of my kids flew before they were eight weeks old. So we started traveling very young with all of them. I know with my oldest son who's 18. Now my mom was actually on that flight with me. I had already booked to go up and see her and he came early. So she came down first and then flew back with me to have him meet the rest of my family. With my second daughter, we did a cross country flight to Seattle. And actually one of my very favorite travel pictures came out of that trip because there is a picture of my daughter and I both asleep in the JFK airport that my husband took. And then with my third daughter, my third child, my daughter, my she, we had family emergency and my husband had to fly out of Montreal to Europe where his father was hospitalized. And I actually that was my very first experience getting an expedited newborn passport just days after giving birth, so that I could bring him to the airport there. And then she flew to Florida shortly after that, and my youngest went international and I got to take him to a writing conference in Jamaica. And it was an all inclusive and it was amazing. I recommend an all inclusive after you give birth. They just need you you go in you leave if baby cries it it was incredible.
Natalie Gross 9:29
Nice, nice. So let's go back to that first trip that you all took with your babies. What was running through your head? Were you excited? Were you mostly anxious just trying to think through all the logistics what was running through your head?
Nasreen Stump 9:41
For me, I know that I was excited because I was bringing usually I was bringing baby to meet family. So it was always something I was looking forward to but all of my baby trips were pre COVID. And so I know that it's got to be a completely different experience when it's your first trip with baby, and you have that on top of it.
Hannah Morado 10:04
I think for me, I mean, I guess it, it depends both I was I was nervous and checked in with other moms I knew had traveled to ask for their advice and their tips just around what is really necessary to bring. As I mentioned earlier, the first trip we took was a car ride. So you have a little more space than when you're flying, but you still have a limited, you know, trunk space, and you don't want to take things that are unnecessary. So I was fortunate, I think, to get advice on the best travel stroller or the Best Travel Crib are things that you can take that's more compact, but also tips around, you know, if you're in the States, or wherever you are ship diapers from Amazon to make it easier. And so I'm grateful that I had advice from other moms. But I was definitely nervous. I was excited as well, just to just at the thought of okay, this is the first introduction, let's see how he's gonna handle traveling. So we can continue to hopefully do this. But also very nervous because I think any parent doesn't want to be the one with the crying child. But I will say we flew again, when COVID was a little still still an issue an issue, but not as hyped people were starting to travel more. And I was impressed at how many grandparents were on the flight or people that were just so understanding to the fact that you have a newborn and trying to help them whatever way they could. And so I think, you know, it just taught us to give ourselves grace, a little more. Knowing that others were not as judgmental as I think we were to ourselves.
Bailee Dover 11:48
Yeah, and I agree. I would say that our first travel experience with our daughter was probably the one of the better experiences that we had traveling with our daughter. She was so young and she really just kind of slept the whole time of but as far as the packing, I probably overpacked the first time, you need so much less than what you think you need. And the flight was, you know, three and a half, four hours down to Texas. So it was a longer flight but not quite as long but the first experience was was pretty much relaxing. I didn't I wasn't too stressed about it. We were excited to nasopharynx point we were excited because we were going to see family for the first time and so I know everyone was looking forward to that. I was looking forward to sleeping a little bit longer with the help of family so um, so overall, the experience was good that first time but definitely overpacked probably more than what I really needed. But I will say my compact stroller was like the best thing ever. That was probably the number one thing I tried traveling without the stroller and it was very difficult. So thankfully, I kind of stuck with that throughout the whole throughout the whole at least infancy stage.
Natalie Gross 13:10
Well, we are definitely going to hear from Nasreen on some of those baby gear essentials, what to bring what not to bring when we come back.
Natalie Gross 13:24
Today on Newbies we are talking about traveling with babies you've already met our expert Nasreen and stop with She Buys Travel. She Buys Travel is a one stop resource for women with a spirit of adventure. You can find information on must see places the most delicious food to try when you get there. And the easiest way to get around. And of course tips for traveling with kids like we're talking about today. So Nasreen do you have so much experience as a traveling mama like we've already discussed? I've heard some people say it's easiest to travel with kids with their babies agree or disagree.
Nasreen Stump 13:53
I agree. There's a little bit of bull there though. So it definitely requires a little bit more planning. And as the moms were saying before, a little bit more grace with yourself, and patience with yourself. I think that it's easy to get in your head about it and really worry about disturbing other people or how it will go. And ultimately babies are usually better behaved than some adults, on flights and in restaurants. I mean, honestly, totally fair. But definitely and I know we kind of touched on this a little bit before. When kids are when kids start traveling as babies. They just become better travelers as they get older. They're used to it. They know what to expect. They're used to scenery changes, they are a little more flexible with routines. And so for me, our kids turned out to be fantastic travelers as they grew older and I think a lot of that came from traveling a lot as babies.
Natalie Gross 14:57
Okay, well we have some parents listening who are planning to travel with their babies for the first time this holiday season. Let's help relieve some anxiety. What's your best advice for sort of preparing mentally for what they're about to do?
Nasreen Stump 15:10
I love to research, which is one of the reasons I started writing. Because I sat there, I'm like, I've already done a lot of this research, here's somewhere I can share it. So definitely looking at your destination and kind of thinking of a couple of things. You know, are there things that your baby uses every day? Are there certain things that are part of your routine, you know, do they eat at certain times sleep at certain times can do they have to go back to a hotel room to sleep, things like that will help you plan what you can and can't do during the day. I know that for us, I always bring up baby wearing, we had carriers for all the kids, I had a couple different ones. And they were used to being carried by me while I was doing things around the house and buy my husband in like a backpack style carrier. He's take them on walks. And so for us, it was pretty easy to integrate that experience wherever we went and be able to walk around and do things and have them feel normal and like things were continuing in a manner that they already knew.
Natalie Gross 16:12
Okay, so let's get specific. Let's talk about tips for flying with kids and babies specifically. And then also tips for those long road trips. I know for flying, we've already talked about the frequent flyer or the passports, I know you have to have birth certificates if you're flying with Lap child. So let's talk through some of those things.
Nasreen Stump 16:30
So first off, before flying or road trip or anything, I think one thing to definitely keep in mind is how much babies can change. So if you're planning a trip, that is even a couple of weeks out, babies grow and change very quickly. And so just knowing that you'll have to adjust some things no matter what I mean, we planned a trip to DC flew there with my daughter, it was three weeks out. And during that three weeks, she started to become mobile. And she wouldn't fit in a stroller nicely anymore, which changed that trip for us. When you're flying, the biggest thing that I would recommend is if you can afford it, buy the extra seat, it makes a huge difference, especially if that flight is a longer flight. You won't have to hold them the entire time or wear them you have somewhere to put them if you're traveling with a partner or somebody else, you can leave them in the seat, go to the restroom and have them watch them. It makes a gigantic difference. The other thing is then if you need a car seat at your destination, you don't have to check that in. Which I know people always go back and forth on because you don't want any damage to happen to a car seat where you can't see it. So I love to bring the car seats on the plane for shorter flights. If I couldn't bring a car seat or I knew I had one a destination I would wear a baby carrier. They're fantastic for going through the TSA security line. You can wear the baby through security. And I think a lot of people don't necessarily know that you want to pick a carrier like a soft structured carrier that doesn't have metal on it. Like a ring sling isn't going to be good for that. But they'll just swab your hands when you get through and you can wear a baby right through without even taking them off. And same thing for during the flight if they asked you to unbuckle the carrier for takeoff and landing that is the technical requirements some flight attendants will ask and some will not. And of course extra time when you're flying. Because with a baby only some airlines, especially when you're traveling internationally will allow you to add a lap child ahead of time. So if you are flying without a seat for baby, you'll have to go up through the line and they'll show the look at the birth certificate they will add the baby to your tickets, they will type everything in. So just make sure that you plan for that extra time. As far as road tripping, the biggest piece of advice I have there is to make sure that your baby has some car time before a road trip. So don't plan a 10 hour drive without taking your baby out in the car a couple of times locally. If they never spend time in their car seat that long drive is going to get to them. They recommend stopping and taking baby out of car seat moving them around every two hours or so. You don't want to plan to have them in the car seat for a long period of time. And taking those initial kind of practice drives will help you figure out if your baby has any fun little quirks. We had one that if it was dark out someone had to be in the backseat with her holding her hands or she would scream the entire way. And I had another one who didn't do well in traffic or cities. But as long as we were just moving along, no problem.
Natalie Gross 19:46
Yeah, that's my daughter.
Nasreen Stump 19:47
Yup. There's always a couple little fun things that come up that are better to know ahead of time.
Natalie Gross 19:53
Absolutely. Well, babies have so much stuff as we have already discussed. So what baby gear would you say is essential that parents bring with them and what can they leave at home or somehow acquire on the other side?
Nasreen Stump 20:05
So it really depends a little bit on the trips. So if you are going to see family or going to stay with friends, people, you know, you may be able to source gear and know that they have it on the other end. And if you are traveling somewhere where you're not going to be with anyone, you know, you might have to plan a little bit more so for us and for a lot of people that I've spoken with, you know, the big things are going to be a car seat, if you're going to need it on either end, a stroller, I love the the strollers where you can sit the car seat on top of them, but they're more like a basket that snap and go is one of the brands we had a McLaren EZ traveler. They're basically like a mesh bucket stroller. And those car seats sits on top of it, they fold down super small, and it gives you great way to put stuff underneath when you're going through the airport. They're good and cities, I know that my they did not have this when my kids were little but my friend that I babysat for her son had a Duna, which turns into the stroller from the car seat. And that blew my mind. And then definitely, we didn't used to bring pack in place or a sleeping situation. But they've gotten a lot more compact over the years. And we've run into more issues over the years of hotels not having them available. Where they have a limited number, they're already out in other rooms or with COVID they only have the metal cribs. And sometimes those can be tricky to use. And same thing limited numbers. So we started bringing those after having to kind of finagle a sleeping situation for my son who crawled at the time in Alabama when there wasn't a pack and play and we expected one. And the last thing that we always spring is a sound machine. Our kids had it when they were little I put it in the hotel room right near the door for us and for people outside because it covers up some of the noise that kids make.
Natalie Gross 22:01
Yeah, that's a great idea. What about traveling with breast milk or formula? I see questions about this on a lot of the moms groups that I'm a part of what do moms need to know?
Nasreen Stump 22:11
The biggest thing is to know that you can bring them and if someone tries to tell you that you cannot, you should ask to speak to a supervisor. I think that it can be very intimidating when you're going through security and they're trying to tell you that you cannot have something because you can travel with formula you can travel with pre mixed pre bottled prepackaged formula, those are really easy to travel with, you can bring water to mix formula through security. I know that I had one kiddo who liked everything room temperature warm, I can't go through security and buy a whole bottle of water and then mix the bottle you can bring water bottles through to mix formula with and breast milk, you can bring it through frozen, you can bring through ice packs to keep it frozen. But you always hear about mothers being told that they can't. I know we have links in our articles to post that you can pull up with the TFs rules on it to show them ask for a supervisor know you can do it. And one of the other things is if you do make formula, I always bring a metal coffee mug because I had no problem finding hot water or warm water to warm up a bottle or to you know thaw breast milk or anything like that. But I had a lot of trouble getting the right size container to get it in. And if you have a metal cup, most restaurants will fill it up for you. And then with breast pumps and things like that, you can bring those through as well. If you have access to a battery or your pump takes the battery, I definitely recommend bringing it it can be hard to find outlets that are well positioned. I know I used to carry a power strip with me as well so that if I found an outlet in like a corner, I could make more power if people were already plugged in. And now they also have the mom of pods that you can go sit in, and the women's rooms tend to have a spot as well in some airports.
Natalie Gross 24:09
Thanks so much for all this helpful information as read when we come back moms Bailey and Hannah will be joining us again. So, listeners, stay tuned.
Natalie Gross 24:25
Welcome back, everyone. Let's continue our discussion on traveling with babies. So before we get into some more of the serious questions, I want to know if any of you have any funny stories from traveling with your kids or memories that are going to stick with you forever.
Bailee Dover 24:39
Oh, gosh. I mean, I can think of a couple but actually, one of my more recent ones was with my daughter who is five now and it was a it wasn't when she was a baby, although I have plenty of blowout stories while we're in TSA checkout or TSA line and it just stinking up the whole TSA line because my child blew out in winter carrier, and it's just a mess. But it always seems to have to do with bodily fluids, the funniest stories that you can come back and laugh about. But about a month ago, actually, I was traveling with my daughter, it was me and her going down to Texas. And she all of a sudden, we were inside. We had past TSA, it was great. We were inside the the terminal and she says, Mommy, I'm sick. And I'm like, What do you mean, you're sick? She goes, I don't know, I just feel like I'm gonna throw up. And I said, Okay, well let like, let's go to the bathroom, we did not make it to the bathroom, but she puked all over me. I don't know why. But my immediate reaction in the middle of the walkway of the Southwest terminal at DCA was to catch her puke in my hands and just kind of sit there and figure out what to do next. And that poor child, I just sat there and I just kind of cut my hands and of course all the puke overflowed out of my hands and everyone was staring at me. But there was such a nice man at the you know, shout out to the Dunkin Donuts man. At the Southwest terminal, he came and he brought me this huge pile of paper towels where I could clean it up off the ground, cleaned up my hands, we of course went to the bathroom and did a more thorough washing after that. But it was so nice of him to you know, that act of kindness from him was was great. We laugh about it now because it was just like, insane. And we just, you know, shamelessly, I know what happened. She got carsick on the way to the airport. And we just like shamelessly got on the airplane. And I know people were like, Oh, that was a child that was just puking her guts out in the terminal. But we when we got on the airplane and you know, made our way down to Texas. But there was like that, that, you know, inside my mind, I was thinking I know people are making like so many judgmental remarks about me and the no context as to why this child is puked everywhere. And so we laugh about it now. But it was one of those moments where I was like, this is gonna go down in in, you know, my core memories now. So my poor child just getting carsick and throwing up all over the Southwest terminal.
Nasreen Stump 27:14
Oh, my goodness, I have puke stories as well. But I have a different one I'm going to share today. But I understand the puke one. So we were on a road trip. And we lived in Vermont at the time we were on our way back from Montreal and we were sitting in traffic to cross the border and get back into the US. And my my third child was newborn still little and she dropped her Binky in her car seat. And she had a sibling sitting on either side of her and my son was like maybe eight at the time. And he put his hand into her car seat to give her her Binky back. And he took up his hand and newborn poop. Like he's and he looks at me very seriously in the rearview mirror. And he's like, Mommy, there has been a poop catastrophe. And he was just horrified. And I similar situation where we're in line to go through a checkpoint, you know, I can't do anything I can't pull off. I can't eat and we don't have. I have a couple of napkins. And I'm handing it back to him. And he just very seriously impatiently sat there with his poopy hand up until we got through the checkpoint. And were able to stop at the next rest stop. And now I make sure I always have wipes and other things in the front feet acceptable to me. So that was definitely a fun one. But yeah, all the good stories involve bodily fluids and trauma that you can laugh about later.
Bailee Dover 28:40
On that's also like such a reminder of what you said earlier about, you know, having your kids be adaptable. And it's one of those moments where he's like, I understand the importance of a checkpoint.
Nasreen Stump 28:52
Oh, yeah, the daughter is 10 now and man, the story still comes up occasionally.
Hannah Morado 29:04
I think I guess not really funny stories, but I've had, you know, where we've been embarrassed at, you know, at him crying and trying to calm him down and the frustrations that come with it. But again, it's just knowing to give yourself grace and that other people around you really are more understanding than you think. And I think for me, one of the things on the airplane is it's really only the people within close proximity that can hear your child to because of all the air and wherever they're in the back of the plane. So it's just, it's not bothering the whole plane and it's temporary and you'll get through it.
Nasreen Stump 29:44
I have one quick thing that I forgot to say about the bodily fluids in the car and my lesson from it. I always always always been all of my baby travel, travel articles put three items that I learned from one is they sell diaper cover Four cloth diapers normally, but if you put them over regular diapers, they provide an extra layer of protection in case you have a blood in the car. Always put a liner in the car seat, they sell the little pedal pads and things like that those have saved me more times than I can count. And as far as the vomit side of things, they make fishing slash boating bags that pop open and fold down flat. And they're collapsible water buckets for like marine sports and things like that. Amazing for kids who get carsick or even just bringing just in case because you can rinse them out in sinks and fold them flat again. So there's my three plugs for things that will make life easier.
Bailee Dover 30:42
Yeah, and we have them to my poor daughter, she gets carsick, just like me, she gets that from me, but we use those all the time. And they have seriously come in handy. That and like even though she's five now I still pack wipes just all of the wipes ever in the world. I I pack them everywhere we go.
Natalie Gross 31:03
Bailee and Hannah, do you have any practical tips you'd like to share from your experiences or anything that's religion that you just kind of want to reiterate?
Bailee Dover 31:11
I will say that one of the things that was something that I wish I would have found it earlier on, it's this strap on seats that you can strap on to your luggage, like your carry on luggage, and it's just like a metal folding chair that has a harness that hooks the kid in and you can pull your you know, pull your regular, you know, luggage or your carry on through the airport. And the child is basically like attached to your little carry on luggage with wheels. That was absolutely amazing. Emery loved it because she could play around. And you know, continue to play with her toys and do the things she wanted to do. I could also just have a free hand where I could just walk around with her carrying her on the luggage and I had a free hand to do other things. That was really nice. We use that from basically the time that she could sit up, which was around six months until 18 months ish. We carried that we carried her in that for quite a while. And that was really a lifesaver for me when I was traveling alone with her. Because I could just basically take her anywhere in the airport. And it was super helpful and they're just on Amazon. If you just look on Amazon and you know, type in, you know, strap on child seat luggage, it'll come up with a couple of different options. But those were really really helpful for impractical for what we were trying to do.
Hannah Morado 32:48
I mean, I love the travel stroller, we got the silver jet cross and I love it because it folds up so easily and small. And it's approved to go above the plane in the carry on section and I was nervous when you're spending as much as you are on a stroller to have it passed or have it checked at the gate or wherever you are. So for me that was important as having something that we could keep with us. The nice thing is you can get the adaptable things where you can put the car seat on it too. And they stay on it. So I personally I know it's an investment but for me, I figured we'll use it for more than one kid it's worth the investment. And you know some of the other things I've loved is the Baby B Jordan Travel Crib, so easy folds up easily. And then another I know Nazarene Nazarene mentioned the car seat when you're traveling on the plane, the one thing we learned and not to encourage packing extra things. But if you take a car seat, if you check the car seat it's free to check on within the US at least as a piece of luggage and if you get a case for it, you can throw whatever you need into that case. Because they don't typically check in when it's a free check luggage then for you if you are traveling internationally for a long time. Yes. So a little tips were again not to encourage packing extra stuff but if you need to.
Nasreen Stump 34:18
We used to check the car seat in the box in the box that came in sometimes it when they were toddlers and put diapers and other things in there.
Natalie Gross 34:28
Yeah, we have the car case and definitely packed up with diapers, wipes and all the things so recommend that too.
Hannah Morado 34:35
Especially if you're traveling for the holidays and you have gifts you have to bring back. You just throw some extra stuff in there. It takes care of it. And then the other nice thing is even if if you travel on the plane and their child's under two, they can fly free you do pay attacks if they go international, but you can still bring a diaper bag and so again, not to encourage packing a lot but just know in addition to your personal bag in your carry on, you can pack a diaper bag for the child. If you feel pressure that you don't have enough space for things.
Natalie Gross 35:08
Well, mamas before we wrap up, I just want to leave our listeners with some encouragement. You know, we've all heard people say things like, Well, you better get in all the travel you want before kids, because after you have them, you can't travel anymore, you know, it's going to be harder. So you three are proof that that's not the case traveling is not over once you have kids. So to new parents out there who may be worried they'll never be able to travel the world again, what would you say?
Bailee Dover 35:31
I mean, I'll say that we had a child when we had $0 in our bank account, and so we couldn't travel before then anyways, because we really didn't have any money. So I think that if you're wanting to travel, and you have the means to travel, the reason you're not traveling is not because of your child, it's it's because of you know, it's expensive. But the traveling is something that regardless of if it's a road trip or a flight, it's something that your kids want to be able to experience that as well. And some of Emory's fondest memories that she still brings up all the time that we're sitting there on the airplane, or that she gets to see something cool, as we, you know, are driving through like Southern Virginia or wherever we're going. And so it's something that's it's an experience for your kids. And it can be really good for them to be put in situations that are outside of their outside of their context. So I'd encourage you to. So I know that it can be scary to travel with kids, because there's just a lot to remember. But whatever or wherever you're going, you know, just know that your kid, all they really need is food, a place to sleep in you and diapers if necessary, and there'll be happy. And so I definitely think that it's worth it.
Hannah Morado 36:56
I agree. I mean, I think that it's just giving your own and I know we talked about this earlier, giving your children the experience and the exposure early on, just helps them adapt a lot more with traveling in the future. But I I personally and again, this does come down to a cost thing if you have the means to do it. But you can find ways to travel where it's not as expensive as well, internationally if you want. And again, kids under to travel free, except with maybe a slight tax. And so I think for us, we want to expose our children to as much as we can, both within the United States and outside. And I I know I'm one of seven children. And so we did travel in the car a lot that my parents did not have the means to fly us all everywhere. And so, you know, my first experience outside of the US was when I was in high school doing a study abroad or exchange program. And I am so grateful for that opportunity that I had that I for me, I really want to instill that in my children, to give them the experience and the ability to just know what is out there. And like Bailey said, you're just able to build and form these memories that they'll have for the rest of their life.
Nasreen Stump 38:17
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, building off of what you both said, for us, we've kind of set an expectation or family with the four that not everyone goes on every trip, we do family trips, we do trips with all of us, but it's not uncommon for me to take one child, it's part of travel, writing, sometimes you can only bring one. And so they kind of have all just heard, they'll tell each other about their adventures shortly before COVID happened, my oldest daughter and I went to Sri Lanka, and she just talks about that all the time still. But from a baby standpoint, I mean, just starting young, they they'll grow up loving travel, being ready for new adventures, understanding that people are different in different areas, customs are different, but also seeing so many similarities between different areas and different people in different cultures. And it helps them make those comparisons as they grow older. I mean, even what you don't think of as fun travel, your kids may. So when we moved from Texas up to New Hampshire this summer, my 12 year old looked at me and mentioned you know, said Will we still go on these road trips. And I was I was shocked. It's 30 hours of driving with multiple stops like it's not fun. I'm not super fun in the car. I have my noise issues where I'm like everyone quiet. You know, we stay in multiple hotels that we eat at Waffle House and order takeout and get you know, like are in the car for hours and sitting in traffic. And she was like, I want to still do this. I'm like okay, like but she loves it. She's grown up doing it. You know, she started young and they think getting in a car and driving 30 hours is fun.
Natalie Gross 40:04
Oh, that's so sweet. I love that. Well thank you so much to our expert, Nasreen Stump and to our moms Bailey and Hannah who joined us for this episode today. You can check out Nasreen's writing at shebuystravel.com And be sure to also check out new mommy media.com where we have all of our podcasts episodes plus videos and more.
Natalie Gross 40:34
That wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening to newbies. Don't forget to check out our sister shows Preggie Pals for expecting parents, Parent Savers for moms and dads with toddlers, the Boob Group for moms who give breast milk to their babies and twin talks for parents of multiples. Thanks for listening to newbies your go to source for new moms and new babies.
Disclaimer 40:59
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material content in this episode I presented for educational purposes early statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of new mommy media and should not be considered facts will such information and materials are believed to be accurate. It is not intended to replace or substitute for professional medical advice or care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating healthcare problem or disease or prescribing any medication. If your questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.
