international travel tips: baby edition

i was an anxious mess leading up to our big family vacation. i had approximately 943867346 lists of things i wanted to do, finish up, or purchase. i can happily say that our vacation was a massive success and so so SO wonderful. we had such a good time - and even relaxed! below are tips and tricks for traveling internationally with a baby. i am NO expert, but these things are are what worked for us. 

1. travel stroller: we debated on this and wondered if we really need another stroller. but in the end we went for it, and i'm BEYOND glad we did. we bought the cybex eezy s twist. i can't imagine if we took our massive uppababy to switzerland. 

2. diapers/food: I only brought eight diapers and four pouches of baby food for the two flighst to switzerland. (note: I did pack about 9 pouches of prunes as they keep our babe regular. I couldn't risk not having them available in switzerland, and they actually did not carry them. so glad I brought some with!). we flew from salt lake to amsterdam to geneva. once we arrived, we went to the grocery store to pick up diapers/wipes and baby food. they had a solid selection of food, and actually carried a lot of the brands we use in the states. also, I was shocked to find that they carried the HIPP baby formula in the local grocery store that so many people have to order here in the states. 

3. airbnb/lodging: i mentioned this in my IG stories, but we splurged on our airbnb and it was SO worth it. on our past travels, pre-baby, we'd eat out for breakfast and dinner and typically pack lunches. on this trip we had much slower mornings (we actually made eggs, toast, and italian coffee each morning - it was heavenly), then we'd head out on whatever activity we were going to do for that day. we would go to the coop in our little town each night to pick out what we wanted to make for dinner that evening. we also attempted to get at least one of august's two daily naps to be in his travel crib at our airbnb. this worked out well for us. 

4. bulkhead seating: when we booked our flights in january, i called the airline and requested the bulkhead seating. on our flight to amsterdam from slc, they didn't even have a bulkhead wall on the plane. so the gate agent was so generous and ended up switching our seats around and gave us an entire row to ourselves. this was amazing. on the return flight, we did end up getting bulkhead seating but august wasn't really into the bassinet. and he certainly wasn't interested in sleeping in it. it was also awkward because there was a man int he third seat in our row and I felt like we kept bumping into him - especially while nursing or feeding august. ultimately, i'd still request the bulkhead seating because it got us an entire row on the departure flight. 

5. packing cubes: we've flown with august several time at this point, and on past trips i'd get so frustrated and overwhelmed packing for the baby (august and I share a checked bag and caleb takes his own carry on when we travel). I ended up purchasing packing cubes and i'm obsessed with them. babies have literally 1 million little things that need packed and the cubes keep everything organized and I stay sane amongst all the gear. 

6. carseat: we have the travel cases for our uppababy mesa carseat and cruz stroller (which I HIGHLY recommend. their travel program is fantastic). as mentioned above, we brought a travel stroller. we also skipped on lugging the heavy carseat with us as well. the original plan was to rent one. however, my oh so kind brother (who lives in switzerland) found us a carseat to borrow from a friend. i'm so glad we didn't lug the carseat with us. especially because the second half of the trip was spent taking zero cars and all trains. 

7. time change management: when we landed in amsterdam, we immediately jumped into the new time zone with august's nap/eating schedule. I was so glad I had thought about and went into the trip with a plan on how to tackle the time change. I would have been way way too tired to try and calculate math and figure out how to best adjust august's schedule during or after we landed. 

before our trip, I scoured the internet looking at blog posts from other mamas who have done a trip like this with their babies. I came across this quote from cup of jo that really spoke to me and made me laugh out loud: 'there will be good moments where your baby happily sleeps in the airplane bassinet while you enjoy a glass of wine and watch an oscar-nominated movie. and then there will be bad moments where your child vomits all over you before takeoff and the flight attendant says you can't go to the bathroom. my best advice to traveling with babies or toddlers: IT'S TEMPORARY. YOU WILL GET THERE. enjoy the flight!' :)