Top Five Reasons You Should Travel with Your Baby
“Your baby will never remember this. Why would you travel with them?”
I can’t tell you how many times I get this question. And I understand. I really do. Traveling is expensive. (Or at least it can be). So why “waste” that money during a period in your kid’s lives when they won’t even remember it?
Before our first son was one, he had been on 17 different flights. We had also done a number of shorter road trips (he was a horrible car kid, so the road trips had to be kept under three hours). There’s something special about every trip we take, but those adventures when our kiddo was a baby hold so many fond memories. Of course, he won’t remember them, but we will. And we also get to watch him grow with each trip we take.
So I’ll give you my reasons why I think you should travel with a baby. I’m sure there are more. And I’m sure there are still plenty of reasons why families need to wait until their kids are older.
But hopefully, after you’ve read through this list, you’ll consider taking that little bundle of joy on a trip.
Travel with a baby because you want to travel
This is the number one reason to travel with a baby. If you want to travel (read this post as to why I think you should) then you shouldn’t let adding a kiddo to your life stop you!
There are reasons why you love to travel. We took our son on his first trip when he was ten weeks old because my husband and I didn’t want to stop something that we loved. Yes, having your baby tag along adds some complexities that weren’t there before. But trust me, they can easily be overcome with a little bit of planning. Read this if you want my tips and tricks as to how to travel with a baby.
Ultimately, if you want to continue traveling (or start!) then you should. Don’t let that bundle of joy stop you.
Travel with a baby because they are virtually FREE
There is not going to be many years where this is the case. For flights, hotel rooms, etc, the addition of your baby won’t cost you a dime. Airlines (especially within the US) allow lap children until the age of two at no cost. Hotels and vacation rentals won’t charge you for the addition of your baby. In most cases, wherever you choose to stay will probably even provide a pack and play (or crib).
Babies don’t eat any differently on the road than they would if you’re home, so your restaurant bills won’t grow.
And almost all experiences you pay for on your trip won’t charge you for your baby as long as they’re under two (this does very depending on the experience, but as a generalization, you’re probably good.)
Travel with a baby because they don’t care where they are
There’s not going to be many years where your child won’t have an opinion, but while they are a baby, they don’t. You still get total say of where you want to go and when without an opinion from the peanut gallery. Whether it’s a museum, amusement park, National Park, family/relative’s house, it doesn’t matter. And remember reason #2? They’re free! So not only do they not have an opinion about where they go, but it doesn’t cost you anything to bring them either.
In the first year of my son’s life, we took him to the Wisconsin Dells (road trip) for a family reunion, Disney World, Door County, WI (road trip) and a work conference in Scottsdale, Arizona (my husband tagged along too). By myself, I took my son to a writing conference in Utah, Maine to visit a best friend, and The Villages, FL to visit my folks.
*Something to note: This is a lot of travel, and could be very expensive. Thanks to my travel for work, most of these flights were free as I used points. In many cases, we stayed with family and friends on our trips to save on hotel stays. And going to back to reason #2, my son flew free.
Obviously, I love to travel (hence why I have this blog) and wasn’t going to let having a baby slow me down. (Though I definitely didn’t get nearly as much sleep, and trips aren’t even close to relaxing when you have a baby.)
Travel with a baby because it gives you perspective in the future
By the time I had my first kid, I had been traveling for work for 13 years. There was virtually nothing about travel that intimidated me.
But everything with a baby is new and unknown (especially if it’s your first, but let’s face it, every baby is different anyway.) So adding a baby to my usual travel routine was a big unknown.
What I have learned is that the first time you travel with your baby/toddler/kid will be a huge unknown no matter when you decide to take that first trip. I believe the earlier you travel, the easier all subsequent trips get. You get better at traveling as a family. And your child will get better and more comfortable with it as well. While they may not remember traveling in their early years, they will be far more comfortable with it and it will be reflected in how they react to travel as they get older. You will also have the chance to hone your skills. All around, the more you travel, the easier it gets, so why not start early?
Travel with your baby because… The Memories
I know, I know. It’s cheesy. But it’s true.
Your baby won’t remember their trip, but you will. And so will everyone else that you visited with your baby in tow.
A good example for me is that we took a trip to St. Louis when my second was a baby. Due to his 5am wakeup time (and my toddler’s 7am wakeup time) I spent all three mornings walking around Gateway Arch National Park, watching the sunrise, with my littlest babbling in the stroller. The memory of how this felt will always stay with me. I felt so incredibly blessed and lucky, and to share that with my baby was really special.
Something that is also really neat (which kind of goes back to reason #4) is that if you return to some of the same places (for us, those are Disney World, Wisconsin Dells, The Villages, etc) you have all the memories of the past times you were there, and how your baby has changed and grown. In the future, when your teenager blows off the train at Magic Kingdom in favor of Space Mountain, you’ll still be able to look at it fondly and remember how his eyes lit up when he heard that horn blow for the first time.
In Summary: The Top Five Reasons to Travel with Your Baby
Because you want to travel
Because your baby is free
Because your baby doesn’t care where they are
Because it gives you future perspective for travel
Because of the lasting memories
I’m sure there are more reasons than these to travel with a baby, but these are my top five. Feel free to reach out to me if you’ve got others I should consider. Hopefully if you were on the fence as to whether you should travel with your newest addition to your family, I’ve convinced you otherwise. And if you have been convinced, you can read this post to find tips on how to travel with a baby.
