How feasible is it to continuing traveling after having a baby?
Oct 5th, 2006, 04:55 AM
#41
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I probably sound like a broken record, because I post the same thing every time this subject comes up--YES!! DO IT!!! I just feel very passionately that kids do not have to slow down your travel if you really love it. My 4 year old has been to England 3 times--the first time he was just 1 and I was pg with his little brother. This year we went abroad with 2 and 4 year olds and had a wonderful time. I love it, highly recommend it, and wouldn't change a thing. We also do long drives (16-18 hours) to see family about 2-3x a year--it is seriously a blast. People think we are crazy. It is probably true.
I agree it all depends on flexibility. Kids are kids, and stuff happens. Every time we do long flights or drives something happens, but we do our best to find the humor in it. After all, travel is supposed to be fun! You simply can't sweat the small stuff.
We try and take alone vacations too, like 12 days in Hawaii last Jan. Thanks to doting grandparents this was possible. We really try and do something like this on an annual basis if we can--like in England this summer we took long weekends to Ireland and Germany. Travel with kids is fun but it is important to have alone time too, just to reconnect and talk about something besides who changed more diapers that day, lol.
As for finances...well, you just find a way with that too. You save money from not eating out at fancy places and from the slower pace of travel. And since (for now anyway) we share hotel rooms etc. it really just boils down to 2 extra airline txts and food. But like I said, you find ways to save money and make up for the costs. (Hey, who wants a beach front condo anyway when your 2 year old could wander away too easily???)
Good luck.
I agree it all depends on flexibility. Kids are kids, and stuff happens. Every time we do long flights or drives something happens, but we do our best to find the humor in it. After all, travel is supposed to be fun! You simply can't sweat the small stuff.
We try and take alone vacations too, like 12 days in Hawaii last Jan. Thanks to doting grandparents this was possible. We really try and do something like this on an annual basis if we can--like in England this summer we took long weekends to Ireland and Germany. Travel with kids is fun but it is important to have alone time too, just to reconnect and talk about something besides who changed more diapers that day, lol.
As for finances...well, you just find a way with that too. You save money from not eating out at fancy places and from the slower pace of travel. And since (for now anyway) we share hotel rooms etc. it really just boils down to 2 extra airline txts and food. But like I said, you find ways to save money and make up for the costs. (Hey, who wants a beach front condo anyway when your 2 year old could wander away too easily???)
Good luck.
Oct 5th, 2006, 05:50 AM
#42
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As the nother of a 2 year old and a 10 month old, I can say our travel has slowed down soemwhat but we still go as often as we can (and take the kids). Both children have been on plane trips and car trips and I definitely think plane trips (with or without a layovers) are the way to go.
Miller, above, has some good recommendations.
Someone mentioned the sleep factor -- and I think that is key to everything that makes the family happy. My babies have both been good sleepers, so we could take them anywhere with us at early ages. But I would not have said teh same thing if they did not both sleep through the night early and take good naps.
I think the biggest difference when traveling with children is your pace. The travel itself is not the big adjustment for me; it is trying to slow down once we get there. I have learned to plan one activity in the morning and one in the afternoon, and come back to the hotel for a nap in between. Any more than that and my kids are whiney and tired and cranky. You just can't plan too much.
Long and luxe dinners are not possible like they were before, but as a tradeoff we have found many wonderful family-friendly places to eat (with good food and service too).
Things are different but not impossible. It's an adjustment, but not necessarily a bad one. Just somethign enw to get used to. Just like everything else in your life after baby comes!
Miller, above, has some good recommendations.
Someone mentioned the sleep factor -- and I think that is key to everything that makes the family happy. My babies have both been good sleepers, so we could take them anywhere with us at early ages. But I would not have said teh same thing if they did not both sleep through the night early and take good naps.
I think the biggest difference when traveling with children is your pace. The travel itself is not the big adjustment for me; it is trying to slow down once we get there. I have learned to plan one activity in the morning and one in the afternoon, and come back to the hotel for a nap in between. Any more than that and my kids are whiney and tired and cranky. You just can't plan too much.
Long and luxe dinners are not possible like they were before, but as a tradeoff we have found many wonderful family-friendly places to eat (with good food and service too).
Things are different but not impossible. It's an adjustment, but not necessarily a bad one. Just somethign enw to get used to. Just like everything else in your life after baby comes!
Oct 5th, 2006, 08:10 AM
#44
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I have to say each baby and family are different and you may just have to wait and see what your baby's temperament will allow.
Our oldest was very colicky and sensitive. She was a happy camper by day but at night was very difficult. (We ended up having to come home early from a vacation when she was about a year old as she was so homesick that she cried all night.)
Our second child was very adaptable and we could take him anywhere.
Both children, once past toddlerhood, became wonderful travellers -- thank heavens!
Our oldest was very colicky and sensitive. She was a happy camper by day but at night was very difficult. (We ended up having to come home early from a vacation when she was about a year old as she was so homesick that she cried all night.)
Our second child was very adaptable and we could take him anywhere.
Both children, once past toddlerhood, became wonderful travellers -- thank heavens!
Oct 6th, 2006, 03:48 AM
#45
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Happy to see all the encouraging posts. I have travelled quite extensively with my now 6 yr old and 3 yr old (oldest has been to Europe 2x. We went to India this year).
I find it very challenging but rewarding. I find I enjoy myself with the kids so much when I am out of my normal day to day routine. Of course I enjoy them in general...but something about being away from everyday pressures helps me focus on them and so the rewards of travel are many.
My husband and I couldn't travel much before kids, money, medical training schedule. Looking back we wondered why didn't squeeze it in a little bit more. When our older daughter was 15 mo. we went to Italy which was great but a tough time to travel (lots of mobility without sense to not get lost, fall down etc). We wondered why we hadn't travelled more when she was about 6 months (a perfect time to travel if they have a mellow enough personality). So when I quit my job to move, we took advantage of me with no job and kids in preschool. Once school starts it does get more complicated with schedules, timings.
What I also find is I am up for the craziness and challenges of travel when the pay off is really good. Dealing with jet lag is much nicer when having a cappucino and staring out at the adriatic while kids listen to street muscician and giggle running around the 500 year old fountain. But driving 3 hours to my mother's sub-division to then driving another 10 miles to the mall isn't as thrilling. Of course I do it because my mother wants me to...but there are plenty of times I beg her to come visit me so I don't have to pack up and haul the kids, deal with their disrupted sleep, eating etc. My point is that all travel is not alike.
We are expecting our third in early March and one major issue that might have kept us from deciding to go for a third was travel...but we figured that if we could haul 2 small children the places we have, we can do it with 3... but we will be slowed down for the next couple of years. Not stopped by slowed.
A few weeks ago my older daughter wanted to know when we could go to Mexico. She said "I am a country girl mom, I like going to different countries". Travelling with kids isn't something that you do just because you want to, it is also a fantastic gift to give your children.
I find it very challenging but rewarding. I find I enjoy myself with the kids so much when I am out of my normal day to day routine. Of course I enjoy them in general...but something about being away from everyday pressures helps me focus on them and so the rewards of travel are many.
My husband and I couldn't travel much before kids, money, medical training schedule. Looking back we wondered why didn't squeeze it in a little bit more. When our older daughter was 15 mo. we went to Italy which was great but a tough time to travel (lots of mobility without sense to not get lost, fall down etc). We wondered why we hadn't travelled more when she was about 6 months (a perfect time to travel if they have a mellow enough personality). So when I quit my job to move, we took advantage of me with no job and kids in preschool. Once school starts it does get more complicated with schedules, timings.
What I also find is I am up for the craziness and challenges of travel when the pay off is really good. Dealing with jet lag is much nicer when having a cappucino and staring out at the adriatic while kids listen to street muscician and giggle running around the 500 year old fountain. But driving 3 hours to my mother's sub-division to then driving another 10 miles to the mall isn't as thrilling. Of course I do it because my mother wants me to...but there are plenty of times I beg her to come visit me so I don't have to pack up and haul the kids, deal with their disrupted sleep, eating etc. My point is that all travel is not alike.
We are expecting our third in early March and one major issue that might have kept us from deciding to go for a third was travel...but we figured that if we could haul 2 small children the places we have, we can do it with 3... but we will be slowed down for the next couple of years. Not stopped by slowed.
A few weeks ago my older daughter wanted to know when we could go to Mexico. She said "I am a country girl mom, I like going to different countries". Travelling with kids isn't something that you do just because you want to, it is also a fantastic gift to give your children.
Oct 6th, 2006, 07:36 AM
#48
Haven't read all of the replies, but we went to Hawaii with our daughter when she was just 15 months old. I would have taken her sooner if money were no object. 
Traveling with kids is different. We were married young and had little money. Kids came along and then money got a little better. So, we didn't have the money to travel too much prior.
I suggest when they are young, beach trips are great. Traveling to places that have baby formula readily available, pasturized milk, and diapers are a big plus!
I have two kids that are close in age and have been great travelers. Since they are close in age, they have also always been at the same level. (both girls) So, watching movies on one dvd, listening to music, sharing magazines and books,etc.. made life easier. They are both bigger now, but traveling is just getting better and better with them.
If money were no object, we would travel the world WITH them. Some of our best times have been in different places. For young teens, they have been to many places. My big push is to go to Europe 2008 for our 20th wedding anniversary and I would like to take them with us!
So, don't be discouraged about travel in the future, it is fun too!
Oh and if you have an eager set of grandparents in the wings, then you will be able to get a few "non-kid' trips in as well!
Traveling with kids is different. We were married young and had little money. Kids came along and then money got a little better
. So, we didn't have the money to travel too much prior. I suggest when they are young, beach trips are great. Traveling to places that have baby formula readily available, pasturized milk, and diapers are a big plus!
I have two kids that are close in age and have been great travelers. Since they are close in age, they have also always been at the same level. (both girls) So, watching movies on one dvd, listening to music, sharing magazines and books,etc.. made life easier. They are both bigger now, but traveling is just getting better and better with them.
If money were no object, we would travel the world WITH them. Some of our best times have been in different places. For young teens, they have been to many places. My big push is to go to Europe 2008 for our 20th wedding anniversary and I would like to take them with us!
So, don't be discouraged about travel in the future, it is fun too!
Oh and if you have an eager set of grandparents in the wings, then you will be able to get a few "non-kid' trips in as well!
Oct 9th, 2006, 04:01 PM
#49
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sfmaster--I totally relate to everything you said about travel w/ kids. And we debated and debated a 3rd baby forever and the one con we kept saying was "what about travel!?" Well, just like you we decided if we could haul 2 we could take 3! I am due in early May. And, we have booked a return trip to England in summer 2008--already planning to take all 3 of them when our baby is just 15 months! I can't wait. This summer, as a result of our trip to UK, my 4 yr old wants a suit of armor for Xmas--complete with shield and crest like the ones we saw in castles. It makes me feel like already our travel has an impact. We have so much fun. Hopefully being outnumbered won't change the universe too much. lol.
Oct 9th, 2006, 04:09 PM
#50
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Funny note on planning future travel while #3 is still in development...... I have wasted quite a few hours figuring out how we'll get to India December 2007 - Baby at 7months (what route we'll take, what about a stopover, can we use miles, how will we split vacation for the year etc.). Of course we are going to visit family and will be desparate to see a cousin born there around the same time (My husband's sister) so our willingness to do such an insane trip is intensified. This is of course after I plan to spend 3 weeks in San Francisco in July (baby 4 months) visiting old friends (I am no longer SFmaster only in my dreams.....).
I have quoted to my husband as inspiration many a Fodor post I have read where people are taking 3-4 school aged kids any number of places. Of course school age is much different. Now if we could only figure out how to finance all these fantasies! Hubby and I wasted another hour on the internet reading about buying a volvo in Sweden and thus helping finance another European trip.
I have quoted to my husband as inspiration many a Fodor post I have read where people are taking 3-4 school aged kids any number of places. Of course school age is much different. Now if we could only figure out how to finance all these fantasies! Hubby and I wasted another hour on the internet reading about buying a volvo in Sweden and thus helping finance another European trip.
Oct 9th, 2006, 06:51 PM
#51
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I admire all of you who enjoy taking your children on vacation. My kids are 3 and 2 and I'm finished with vacations for the next 5 years!!! They don't sleep, we don't sleep and they aren't going to remember the vacation anyway!! On our last day, of recent 3-day trip, I was dead tired,middle of the afternoon, had just fallen asleep on the bed for a MUCH needed nap when my son hit me upside the head with a pillow and yelled "Power Rangers don't snore." I gave up at that point. I'm done!
Oct 10th, 2006, 03:06 AM
#53
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Tried it. Rented a nice 2-bedroom condo in branson: $275.00 per night!! Kids wouldn't sleep in their room, ended up in our room-I slept in kids room by myself-3 nights of hell. Like I said-I'm done for the next 5 years. Does this make me a bad father??
Oct 10th, 2006, 05:09 AM
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Bellman,
Sometimes it just doesn't work out well, happens. A rough night or two can happen at home or on the road - and does often!
About them remembering it though, I always remind people of this; just because children may not remember an experience when they get older, they still learn and benefit from having had the experience.
Your kids will never remember anything you do for them in their first two years - the care, affection, reading to them, etc. but I think we'd all agree that they are beneficial, to say the least. Anything you expose your kids to, positive or negative, has an effect on the person they will become. Travel (seeing and hearing new cultures, language, sights, etc.) is no exception.
John
Sometimes it just doesn't work out well, happens. A rough night or two can happen at home or on the road - and does often!
About them remembering it though, I always remind people of this; just because children may not remember an experience when they get older, they still learn and benefit from having had the experience.
Your kids will never remember anything you do for them in their first two years - the care, affection, reading to them, etc. but I think we'd all agree that they are beneficial, to say the least. Anything you expose your kids to, positive or negative, has an effect on the person they will become. Travel (seeing and hearing new cultures, language, sights, etc.) is no exception.
John
Oct 10th, 2006, 05:20 AM
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X_Bellman - Doesn't make you a bad father at all - in fact I think you are a good father for trying! Maybe you just need to lay down the law a little harder (we threaten our kids w/taking away privledges - desert or something special thay are looking for to). The key is that you have to follow through on your threats (sleep in your own beds or we aren't going for ice cream tomorrow).
I like you kid's comment about Power Rangers not snoring. I use the reverse on my daughter "Cinderella doesn't pick her nose!"
I like you kid's comment about Power Rangers not snoring. I use the reverse on my daughter "Cinderella doesn't pick her nose!"
Oct 10th, 2006, 05:27 AM
#58
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The many posts make obvious how much many of us really enjoy travel. Bellman, I don't think less of a parent who just doesn't want such hassles - hardly we've all been there in one way or another! Personally, it's the challenge of making accomodations and plans that make the trip fun! I do certainly understand if not everyone shares my excitement.
That said, in my humble opinion, nothing compares to being a well travelled child.
That said, in my humble opinion, nothing compares to being a well travelled child.
Oct 10th, 2006, 06:51 AM
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We didn't travel much with my kids until my youngest was 4, except for trips to the beach. I didn't want to deal with all the STUFF you need to lug around with the little ones. We did lots of stuff around home, but the plane travel didn't start in earnest until my boys were 4 and 6. Now we do, on average, at least 2 family vacations (with plane travel) a year.
It gets easier, as the kids get used to being on a plane, sleeping in hotels, etc. We've had a few flights I don't care to re-live (including one where my oldest son and I caught a stomach bug!), but you live and learn. And I say this a mom with a kid with (high-functioning) autism, and kids with that diagnosis usually don't like changes in their routines or schedules. He now LOVES to travel - everything about it - packing his stuff, being on the plane, sleeping in a hotel, etc. My kids actually think being on a plane and sleeping in a hotel is PART of the fun. (Ah, youth).
When my kids were younger, we were fortunate to have the services of their grandparents to watch them for a week over the summer so my husband and I could still travel. Maybe you could visit Hawaii this way? (Although, I admit, my oldest was a few years old before I felt comfortable leaving him for a week).
It gets easier, as the kids get used to being on a plane, sleeping in hotels, etc. We've had a few flights I don't care to re-live (including one where my oldest son and I caught a stomach bug!), but you live and learn. And I say this a mom with a kid with (high-functioning) autism, and kids with that diagnosis usually don't like changes in their routines or schedules. He now LOVES to travel - everything about it - packing his stuff, being on the plane, sleeping in a hotel, etc. My kids actually think being on a plane and sleeping in a hotel is PART of the fun. (Ah, youth).
When my kids were younger, we were fortunate to have the services of their grandparents to watch them for a week over the summer so my husband and I could still travel. Maybe you could visit Hawaii this way? (Although, I admit, my oldest was a few years old before I felt comfortable leaving him for a week).
Oct 10th, 2006, 07:01 AM
#60
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Hi X_Bellman. Sometimes travelling with little ones isn't much fun, is it. "Power Rangers don't snore!" LOL.
I hope you can still vacation even if it's without the kids. I remember a short weekend trip last year where our daughter wouldn't sleep in the pack and play and instead slept on my pillow. I woke up when she started throwing up in my hair.
amp; She was sick the rest of the night and morning.
We questioned whether we cared to travel with her again until she was a couple years older. But the next trip was great. It's so unpredictable.
I hope you can still vacation even if it's without the kids. I remember a short weekend trip last year where our daughter wouldn't sleep in the pack and play and instead slept on my pillow. I woke up when she started throwing up in my hair.
amp; She was sick the rest of the night and morning. We questioned whether we cared to travel with her again until she was a couple years older. But the next trip was great. It's so unpredictable.
