Fields! Have a Book Suggestion - "How to travel with a new baby"

[nywifey]

There is so much valuble information on this site on how to travel with a newborn that the Fields could write another book!

It would be very useful and I'm sure many of their loyal fans would purchase it.

Recently, I browsed through one similar book at Borders (not mentioning any names.... "On the Go with Baby by Ericka Lutz")and it really lacked information. It was basically how this woman traveled 9 years ago with her then baby daughter. No real concrete information and or product suggestions. I learned nothing new from it. Good thing I didn't purchase it!

Plus, if you included tips for vacationing with a baby. Cruising, all-inclusive resorts, road trips, airline & taxi situations, etc... I haven't found a book on the market like it yet.

Fields, there is a market out there for this book - trust me!! How fast can you put one together???? :) I could sell a case of books just in my local playground alone!! :)

[alandenisefields]

Hi!

Thanks for using our message boards. Glad to hear from you!

Specifically, if we were going to write about this topic, what do you want to know? We're considering adding a new chapter to our Toddler Bargains book with travel tips, so we're curious to know exactly what information parents need. You can post your answer here or email to us at [email protected].

Thanks for the feedback!

best wishes,

alan and denise fields
authors, BABY BARGAINs

[Magda]

How to navigate the airport and air plane. What's different when flying with an infant. Pros and cons of buying a seat for baby vs. infant on lap. What to take on the plane vs what to buy when you get there. Crib safety on the road. car seats and rental cars. Can you rent car seats with your rental? Is it safe? (can you tell I'm about to travel for the first time with DS?)

These were just a few thoughts.

Elaine

[Rachels]

I completely agree! I am totally daunted about traveling alone with my 5-month-old now that she's out of her infant seat. Navigating the airport with stroller, diaper bag, carseat, and baby seems nearly impossible-- and that's just the AIRPORT! Never mind what to pack in the first place, or what to buy once we get there. If you could write a book on this and get it into stores before my flight on Tuesday, I would much appreciate it! :)

-Rachel
Mommy to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[nywifey]

I think the info would be more valuable in the next edition of Baby Bargains (coming out in April 2003????).

Traveling with a baby is a shock for new parents who always traveled just the two of them. Info like how to navigate an airport, what items are important to have on hand, what diaper bag is helpful, how to feed baby on a plane, how to shlep all your stuff around an airport, what stroller to bring, what destinations have first class ammenities for parents but are still baby friendly. What's the baby sitting services in hotels REALLY like? Do you need to bring your own pack n play and carseat or should you rent them? What will possibly happen that first time traveling parents will not expect or be prepared for??

I know we can do a search for "traveling" and get loads of info off this site, but if all this valuable info was in a book that was at our fingertips it would be so helpful.

Also, in case you don't know already, Beth (egoldber) is our resident travel expert. She knows everything about airports (domestic and international) and traveling with a baby. I strongly suggest you contact her to assist you as she is our guru here. I don't think many of us could have traveled with out her guidance!

[mommychic]

I agree completely!!

I keep a mini-notebook next to my computer and jot down all the good tips I come across and I've heard a lot of great travel ones here!!

If you can master traveling with a newborn then traveling with a toddler must be a piece of cake. I'd suggest you add the chapter to the baby bargains book, where it would be most useful.

What I've realized is a travel concern to parents is what stroller to bring. You automatically think "travel stroller" but those strollers don't usually offer enough support for a baby to spend many hours in. What I've been told (and I believe it was from Guru Beth :)) is to bring the stroller you really want to use that suits your vacation. Also, she offers great tips on how to "bungee cord" your stuff to the stroller and wear your baby in a Bjorn while in the airport. Another fabulous tip from her was regarding breastfeeding. Don't expect to be able to in flight. Due to stress, altitute, or anything else, it could effect your supply. Always have backup formula on hand. Great advice!!! I never would have thought of any of it myself!!!

I have this all written down in my mini-notebook and will feel confident when baby arrives that we can travel smooth and safely due to our tips!!!

Lisa

[brubeck]

I agree. When I first travelled with my baby I looked at the Fields' book and it had a small section that mostly talked about the 'Baby's Away' rental chain (which seems to have discontinued most of its locations and doesn't have any in the places I have travelled in the US and Canada).

I talked to my pediatrican before I brought my 2 month old across the country and got some good tips. We took my daughter on 4 separate trips (all of which except one had connecting, not direct, flights) and here are some of the things we learned:

Feed baby on takeoff and landing because baby cannot pop its ears. The sucking helps with this. But resist the urge to overfeed baby inflight because babies who eat too much are prone to HUGE spitups. I found this out the hard way when my daughter vomited all over me and my Baby Bjorn when we landed in Albuquerque. I should mention that the flight attendants (this was Southwest) were very understanding and got us clean up cloths, etc. and weren't in the least upset about the timing of this (we were in the front of the plane and everyone else was trying to disembark).

Bring some NEW toys that baby has never seen before to help keep them occupied. If this fails, try giving them an in-flight magazine (they say right on them that you can take them with you so if they get destroyed they can hardly complain, right?). My daughter also liked the plastic dishes that came with our meals.

Even though there are changing areas in the airplane washrooms, they are so tiny as to be useless. If you have an empty seat beside you and a portable changing pad this is much better. And Barf Bags make good diaper disposal bags. Airport washrooms however tend to have large, handy diaper changing areas and I have even seen airports with Mommy rooms (breastfeeding areas, room for toddlers to play, etc.). It depends on the airport and terminal though.

If you plan on travelling a LOT (3 or more times a year for the first 2-3 years) purchase a Sit N Stroll. I got one on babycenter for $136. This is a reversible carseat that converts to a stroller. It's a little cumbersome for everyday use but it is awesome for an airport. You use the stroller to wheel baby up to the plane seat, then convert it to a carseat and strap it into the plane. After the flight you turn it back into a stroller and wheel it to your rental car, at which point it becomes a carseat for baby. MUCH more convenient than lugging BOTH a carseat and stroller.

BAD NEWS: Most airlines do NOT allow parents with small children to board early anymore. Southwest is the one exception that I know of, and on SW it's extra useful since there are no assigned seats anyhow. GOOD NEWS: If you didn't buy a seat for baby, when you check in tell them you have a baby and ask them to keep the middle seat between you and your husband free. United would often 'block' that seat and wouldn't give it away until all other middle seats had been taken. This was very helpful for us on many occasions.

If you need a carseat at your destination, you generally will have a hard time finiding one to rent unless you also rent a car. All the major car companies will rent carseats with their cars, although the default is a forward-facing only seat. If you need a rear-facing seat make sure you get them to type that on the reservation because most of these people have no idea that there is even a difference. Also bring your own locking clip because they don't know what these are and you will never get one.

Most hotel chains will be able to provide a crib in your room as long as you request it ahead of time, and many do not charge extra for this. I have found that the nicer the chain, the nicer the crib. In the discount motel chains we got deathtrap cribs (didn't use it, we let baby sleep on the mattress on the floor) but in the Sheratons and Hiltons we got nice, metal industrial hospital cribs. If you plan on spending a lot of time in the hotel room (or non-baby-proofed room at grandma's house, etc.) bring some extra outlet plugs, doorhandle covers, etc. for quickie baby-proofing.

If you change time zones, DO NOT change your baby's schedule. This is more important the younger baby is. Even if you are 3 hours off from everyone else, keep feeding and sleeping times the same, or you will pay for it when you get home. Trust me, it is worth it to be going to bed 3 hours earlier (or later) than everyone else to make sure that baby continues to sleep through the night and is a charming little angel impressing the relatives.

If you will be gone a long time and are not staying at a hotel, consider buying baby supplies (diapers, formula, wipes, etc.) online and having them shipped to your destination in advance. This makes less to bring for you and you will aprpeciate it! Also buy bottled water as soon as you get there if you are going to mkae formula. Your baby might not like the taste of the tap water in other parts of the country and you don't want tummy problems on the road. For that matter, if you need special food for baby (baby food jars, applesauce, etc.) just stop at a grocery store as soon as you arrive rather than lugging that stuff with you.

These are just off the top of my head. Any specific questions?

[trumansmom]

Wow! We've made a couple of trips with our son, and I wish I had read this before!

Only one more thing to add - make sure you have a LOT more diapers with you than you think you need. Our first trip with our then 3 month old was almost a disaster. Our flight was delayed repeatedly until we had spend 12 hours in the airport! At this point we had gone through all of the diapers we had brought in the diaper bag, (Not to mention the two back up outfits!!) and had to spend $12 for a pack of 10 diapers at the airport gift shop! Thankfully they were our son's size, because it was the only size they carried.

A travel section would be very helpful - both in the baby and toddler book!

[egoldber]

FYI, almost all airplanes have a small supply of diapers on board. Just ask a flight attendant.

HTH,

[brubeck]

Yeah, but you're chancing that they have the right size.

[egoldber]

Oh, I didn't mean to RELY on that (because they usually only have 1 or 2). I just wanted to mention as an FYI that if you got in a jam, to let people know that there might be some on board. I certainly wouldn't want to rely on the airplane having the right one!

One advantage to cloth diapers (which I'm experimenting with right now) is that with a plastic cover almost ANYTHING can be a diaper in a pinch. ;-) Over on the ParentsPlace diapering board people have talked about using dishtowels and sweatshirts in a pinch, LOL! :)

[August Mom]

Another area of interest: What to do if you are travelling to a big city where rental cars aren't much of an option (i.e. NYC). How do you get from the airport to the hotel? (Install your car seat in a cab?)

Also, perhaps in the Toddler Bargains Book you could include a section on family-friendly destinations in general and specific resorts/hotels that have activities for kids.