"TRAVEL LIGHT" THEY SAID
I have this image in my mind from a few years ago, of my brother in law cramming a highchair into the already overflowing trunk of their family van, and holding it there while he closed the door. It haunts me. I don’t judge them at all, I admire them for being so easy going. I am a tad (okay, very) obsessive compulsive and that trait tends to be amplified whenever I’m packing for a vacation. I like my things to be organized and as minimalistic as possible; overpacking stresses me out! We all do it, pack two weeks worth of outfits for a week long vacation and wear the same three things most of the trip. I’m no better when it comes to that, I just like to have my fourteen outfits neatly packed into one convenient suitcase. Is that too much to ask? It’s the travel part that I want to avoid being chaotic (less clutter = less bags = less to haul from place to place).
When we had Lou I knew it was going to be the ultimate challenge. We’d originally planned a trip to Florida (pre-covid) and I spent a lot of time reading mommy travel blogs, mapping things out and trying my best to anticipate what our needs were going to be when it came to flying with a baby. Due to travel restrictions, we ended up only taking a few trips out to the lake, getting both the cottage and the hotel experience.
Our annual trip to the cottage was my first foray into packing up an entire house worth of essentials. We typically go for two weeks and with all that comes along with covid, there was a risk of there not being an adequate supply of some of Lou’s needs at the small town grocer. So we packed everything. A stockpile of everything we would need for Lou for the entire trip, and it was no small pile! Boxes of diapers are bulky and since it was a lengthier stay we didn’t want to do without things like a high chair. It was a really great test of prioritizing needs versus wants.
After a summer of mini getaways, I wanted to share a few things that worked and a few tricks we picked up a long the way that I’d wish I’d known from the beginning. Some of them are really going to depend on the age of your baby, but some will never get old. I remember packing up from the cottage to go home and thinking to myself “I did it”. That sense of accomplishment quickly ghosted my body when I realized at some point I’m going to have to do this for two babies. But for now, good luck everyone!
spark joy in your suitcase
Not all trips have you unpacking your suitcase and getting comfortable for long periods of time, so these Ikea drawer organizers work wonders at turning your luggage into a travelling closet Marie Kondo would be proud of. They come in different sizes, so you can pre-plan outfits, sort between pjs and daytime outfits, and even have a specific place for little odds and ends (like socks and bibs). Plus, if you want to unpack into you accommodations, it’s a quick swap of the organizers right into the drawer.
bed in a bag (literally)
This travel friendly crib by Phil & Teds does wonders for my OCD. It fits into a standard suitcase, taking up just under a half of one side, and weighs under 7lbs! Which comes in handy if your typically the one at the check-in counter crossing your fingers that you don’t get dinged for an overage fee (hello, that would be me). They recently introduced a few add-ons, like a bassinet accessory that turns it into a more appropriate sleep nest for new babies. I will say, the mattress they give you is a little thin if you’re planning to use it for a longer period of time. We bought this foam mattress off of Amazon and added it in for a little extra comfort during our longer stays.
command hook cubby
Is there anything command hooks can’t do? Okay, there’s a lot. But so often this little things come in SO handy! One of our rooms at a hotel we stayed at had a walk-in closet/cubby area, and since we were all in one room it was the perfect little place to tuck Lou’s travel crib. The only problem is, Lou needs darkness to sleep! I’d been to this hotel before and knew what to expect, so I packed a blackout curtain and some command hooks and voila! Her very own cozy cubby, and she slept like a dream! When it came time to pack up there were no marks left on the wall, and we came home a happy, well-rested family. Isn’t that the vacay goal?
your seat, madam
The highchair that started it all! I hereby dedicate this blog post to my brother in law, for inciting an OCD fire inside me to research the best solutions for travelling with a highchair. In the end, we came up with two options: the Fast Table chair by Inglesina and the Antilop chair by Ikea. The Fast Table chair is incredibly compact and lightweight, it folds flat and attaches to almost all tabletop surfaces (see link for restrictions). They even have a dining tray accessory, which comes in super handy for those dinners at their grandparents! The Antilop is a $20 dream, it’s actually the chair we use at home and we’ve accessorized it with a few pieces from Yeah Baby Goods. If you’re travelling somewhere by car and your destination doesn’t have a suitable tabletop for the Fast Table chair (i.e. a hotel room), then this is a great option. The legs pop off in seconds and the seat isn’t overly bulky. It also doubles as a safe spot to set your little one down if they aren’t mobile yet. Tip: bring a round blanket/play mat to put under it, so you don’t have to worry about your baby dropping their clean toys on your hotel room floor!
if the stroller is a rockin’
Did you know that even the smallest jostling or bang could render your carseat ineffective? It’s scary considering we’ve all sat at the window of our gate at the airport and seen how our luggage can be handled. Not to mention, that beautiful new stroller you convinced your husband to buy by telling him “it’s an investment”. If you’re little one is not yet at the point of sitting up in a standalone stroller, the Snap-N-Go universal stroller base by Baby Trend is the answer. This base is lightweight, easy to transport, and supports most carseats. This way you get to take your stroller and carseat right up to the gate with you, and not have to worry about what’s happening to them on the conveyor belt of doom.
the old normal
As a last little Ontario Mama tip, when life returns back to some form of the old normal and we get to travel across borders, we’ll be able to pull those passports out of the junk drawer! When getting a passport for your baby, you need a government issued document that has both Mommy and Daddy’s name on it. So it helps if you get your child the birth certificate with your names on it. It’ll be the fastest document you could get, and will help the process move along quickly!
