European travel with an infant

I have a 9-year old and a 12-year old. Honestly, looking back on it, traveling an infant should be way easier than traveling with a toddler. I say go for it. Once they can walk it becomes a whole different ball game, but while they're confined to a stroller - why not? Just realize that you will have to greatly adjust your idea of a "vacation" with a baby. I know our first trip with our daughter, 8 months old, to the beach, we were shocked that she woke up at 5:30am every morning (Didn't she know we were on vacation!!) and she got constipated and wouldn't go #2 (sorry, when you have kids nothing is TMI) and we had to call the pediatrician and pay a trip to the pharmacist, and she got sand in every crack. So just going into it expecting that it will be totally different, it probably won't be relaxing, etc. BUT it will be easier than when they can run and throw tantrums. :) It's also way easier (and cheaper) with just one of them than multiple of them.
PS--I took my 8/11 yo's to Europe for the first time last year and they were absolute pleasures. So there's a light at the end of the tunnel. We have focused on US travel the past decade but are now returning to Europe.

Remember that many places in Europe are not too stroller friendly. We recently met up with our family, who live in Italy, and travelled with them, [and a very young child.] The back pack child carrier was indispensable- or for your child's age, is it front pack? [I'm out of touch with the newest baby technology.] In any case, I'm sure you'll be prepared .
Safe travels!

You'll likely be dining in cafes or bistros rather than restaurants, and no, it's unlikely a 5-6 month old baby would sit through a prolonged meal. Such are the joys of parenting a baby. But infants are SO portable, compared to toddlers. Wearing the baby most of the time (take turns) is likely easier than a stroller in many instances. And nursing rather than bottle feeding also makes it easier when you're on the move. Fortunately diapers are easily available. But I wouldn't recommend an itinerary that is too crammed full of planned sites. You'll need to remain flexible.

You’ll be fine. Wear your baby. Breastfeeding is much more portable. Build in time for naps everyday and scale back your expectations about seeing sights. Your are often more bothered by your baby’s noises than those around you - they probably don’t even notice you. Jet lag, both coming and going, will really screw up any schedule you’ve established.

Will you be driving at all? European car carriers have different methods of attaching baby carrier to the seat. The law is that a baby in a car must be in an approved device, and it must be equipped with ISOFIX attachments to attach to the seat. That's likely to be different than at home.

We’ve travelled with our kids starting at about 4-5 months - it’s not as hard as when they are 2-3 yrs old ! Lol

Breastfeeding makes it much easier so how that’s the plan ( obviously they have formula etc but it’s just soooo much eaiser if wife feeds baby - no worries about washing bottles and water quality etc )

I’d go as late into your leave as possible - at least till babies had their first vaccines .

Eating out isn’t that hard - yeah no long dinners but there are so many eating options - grab food from a deli and bakery and have picnics - stay at an aparthotel ( Citidinnes is a good chain ) that had a kitchenette and eat in or take out on occasion, and breakfast is easy to do in too . My kids used to sleep a lot in their strollers so we’d look for a place that the stroller fit ( not as easy in Paris where tables are so close but not impossible ) for a few dinners out while baby slept .

Infant carriers are easier than strollers for touring around .( note most museums won’t allow the metal frame infant carriers in) so bring a snuggli or sling carrier .

Finally we never chose to save money by not buying our kids plane seats - they all traveled in car seats on the plane . An infant your child’s age it kind of great having that seat with you - we would use it for so many things ( if feeding child it’s great to have as some places don’t have high chairs )

This, it certainly changes the focus of your trip! What happened to leaving the infant or toddler with the grandparents so that you and your significant other can fully enjoy the trip (and each other!)? We found this to be a win/win for all three parties 30 years ago. Started taking our children about age 12 on major ( not Disney or beach) trips.

As everyone has mentioned, traveling with a baby is definitely not the same as traveling just with your significant other. Ultimately I think it all boils down to expectations. If you are thinking that you and your wife can do pretty much what you've always done on your trips (but at an obviously slowed pace) you may be in for a major disappointment. If you go into it expecting that it won't go even remotely as you planned and you're still ok with the idea, then go for it, anything other than that will be a fabulous surprise.
I would recommend doing smaller and more laidback towns versus big cities. They will be easier to navigate with a stroller and won't be quite as crowded. Scotland and Ireland would work well I think - renting a car would definitely be easier than relying on public transportation. Congratulations!!!

John from Georgia - times have changed. Hopefully, breastfeeding will still be happening at six months, so separation is not an option. Many things have come along in the last 30 years to make traveling with kids easier. In addition, some people just want to be with their kids no matter what. When my babies were six months, you couldn’t have paid me to be apart from them.

I think a lot depends on how those early months with a newborn go for you. I struggled a lot with the adjustment, the loss of sleep, etc. By 5-6 months the fog was just starting to lift and I wouldn't have wanted to attempt a trip like that. Others are far more relaxed and go with the flow types and it works fine for them.

Our first trip with our first child was at 10 months. The plan was a 10 hour drive in the U.S. and then stay for a week and return. By mid-week we gave up and drove home early. Baby was a big sleeper and wouldn't sleep in the stroller, so with 2 naps a day there was little time to actually get out and do anything!

As others have said, it's all about managing expectations. A few years later, when our second child was 10 months, we rented a place on a lake for a week. Since we expected to mostly just hang out, it went fine. And we traveled with our kids every year as they were growing up ☺