Traveling with an infant (7 months) old

Hi, I just travelled for 6 weeks with a 15 month old (obviously a little different than a 7 month old). (full travel report here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/6-weeks-in-western-europe-with-a-15-16-month-old) We bought our daughter a seat and were happy we did. In addition to the extra room, you also have more included baggage. Ireland and Netherlands and France had everything the US had that we use, including diaper wipes that you can actually take one out at a time (same brand as we use in US, but for some reason the dispenser actually works in Europe). If you have a diaper that works for overnight I encourage bringing enough of those for the transit days and for each night and get whatever is available for the normal days.

We made the mistake of getting her 15 month vaccinations the day before the trip. She had never had a reaction before, but had the worst night of her life the night before the trip from a fever from the vaccine and was inconsolable until we got on the plane at which time her fever broke and she fell asleep exhausted.

Get the Cosco Scenera Next car seat if you need a car seat. It is cheap, light and effective. (And if you bought a seat you can bring both a stroller and a car seat). We have the babyzen yoyo stroller and that was great and we were able to rig the Scenera to the stroller. You definitely want something you can easy fold up and carry when necessary. And we were able to run for a train with the stroller / car seat and all of our luggage through amsterdam dodging cylists when there was issues with the trams there.

We had packnplays/cribs at most of the places we were staying, but eventually found letting her sleep with us was best for everyone and she ended up just keeping the same hours we did (sleeping roughly 10pm - 7am), so that worked great.

Let me know if you have specific questions!

My son and his wife took their firstborn ( my first grandchild) to Ireland when he was 8 months old, and they had a wonderful time. Babies are magnets for all sorts of kind attention from the locals.

It was easy for them in terms of equipment because she was breastfeeding the baby, and they did "family bed" sleeping, so no need to bring bottles or formula, or a portable crib. And no stroller. They took turns "wearing" the baby in a Baby Bjorn front pack. They did carry an approved car seat to use on the plane (safer for the baby than sitting in laps) and in their rental car. They also brought a sippy cup for his water, and a small plastic bowl and baby spoon for feeding him soft foods from their plate.

You must list the child as a passenger even if taking him or her as a lap child. And start now to get the passport.

Hi Alex,
We took our son when he was 7mo to Italy (layover at LHR). We flew BA. You must add your little one to your ticket, there will be an option based on age & most importantly, they must have a passport! Save yourself the money on an extra seat by booking a bulkhead seat. If you sit bulkhead, they have beds or very padded car seats that attach to the wall (we did this). The cost for us (late 2019) was 10% of our total fare for our son to be added. Make sure he/she is eating on take off/landing to help their little ears. We made sure to introduce our son to the people around us. They all assured us they had no problem with a baby being close to them as they were all middle aged with children, although this will not always be the case as there is always someone who feels children don’t belong on planes. Any place you travel too will have the essentials you need ie diapers, wipes, so don’t stress over those things, just pack enough to get through the flight and your first day.

Happy travels
Amanda

At the moment I was scrolling through your topic and this one were adjacent each other

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/heathrow-was-abominable

Devise a plan to deal with long lines

Great great stuff guys, super appreciative for the insight.!