International Travel with a 3 month old

When our daughter was three months old we took a trip to Japan.  I was really nervous because I looked up a lot of information about traveling with newborns. There were good and bad experiences. Our daughter had flown to Boston twice and we drove to Florida prior to our trip and she had done wonderfully.  We had a few hiccups on our way. We didn’t make it through security so we missed our plan. We had to fly and stay in Dallas. Our hotel ended up costing over 300 hundred dollars for one night, but it was an amazing hotel. I will write an article on that later. We left our hotel, which was in the airport, three hours early and we had to board as soon as we made it to the gate. Talk about nerve wracking, but then it was all smooth sailing from there.

Anya did wonderfully on the way there for the most part. On our flight she decided that she would not nurse and only took some of her bottle. I stood up with her a couple times and her crying, which wasn’t loud, stopped within a couple of minutes.  The issue we had the most was dropping the pacifier and having to get hotter from the flight attendant.

On the way back we made all our flights and everything went smoothly. Anya never cried. Around her feeding times she started to fuss and I started nursing her. On the way home she only nursed and refused to take a bottle (which I preferred). We had an amazing experience. I think we were lucky on this trip because she did so well on the flights. I did get one recommendation from the pediatrician. She told us on taking off and landing have her nurse or use a pacifier to help with any pressure in her ears. We have done this on each trip and she has never had a problem with her ears.

Another thing I recommend is to not over pack. I wanted to make sure I had everything, but I don’t feel I needed all the blankets or burp clothes that I brought. Extra time is needed to go through the airport with a baby. It may not seem like extra time is needed, but it does take extra. Not only did I have my bags, but I was also carrying a baby around.

Things we bought on our trip for Anya*

• Diapers (we brought 16 and that was enough, maybe too much if you have no issues, but we missed our flight so it was nice having extras. Plus size 1 diapers didn’t take that much space.
• Wipes (1 soft package)
• 5 sleepers (We did not use all these. I think we used two.)
• Hats (we brought three and really only used one. I am a firm believer about having hats on babies, but she also got really warm so we had to take it off of her)
• onesies (I ended up taking them off her because she got too hot. I think next time I would only pack one just incase I needed it)
• Pacifiers (We brought three and I think ended up with only two. Extras are nice for times when they drop on the ground)
• Burp Clothes (I believe I brought 5. Next time I will bring two at the most, but if your child spits up more than you may want to bring more. We never really had an issue)
• A first aid bag (I had gas drops, tylenol, diaper bags for used diapers)
• Blankets (I brought too many. I had a thick one plus 4-5 receiving blankets. Next time I would only bring the bigger fuzzy one and 1-2 small ones)
• Boppy nursing pillow (This was a life saver. She wouldn’t nurse on the way there, but it was nice to use to help support her. I got a little warm, but my arms were not killing me because I was constantly holding her.) 
• Bottles and frozen milk (I brought frozen milk so it would stay cold longer. We had no problems with getting through security. They actually said they didn’t need to check it since it was frozen. On the way home, it wasn’t frozen and they had to check it, which didn’t take too long.)
• Pump (I got one from my work insurance for free since I had planned on nursing when I went back to work. This pump is smaller so it easier and lighter to put in my backpack.
• Backpack (I used a backpack because Anya was in a front carrier so it was easier having something secure on my back rather than having to fight the bag to stay on my shoulder.
• Diaper changing mat (I did not use this at all because the flights had liners for the changing table. Next time I will not bring this)
• Jiji cat toy (Tomo bought this for her in Boston because we loved watching Kiki Delivery Service. My recommendation don’t bring any toy that you don’t care that you lose. We lost this toy and this was the first toy that she received. Now I wish we hadn’t of packed it.

Recommendations*

• A pacifier strap (so if she drops it the pacifier will not fall on the ground. Her pacifier dropped countless times)
• Pacifier wipes ( I just found these so I bought them for our next trip. I am not sure if we will use them since we bought the pacifier strap)
• You have to carry your baby plus all your things so bring what you think you need, but don’t over pack.

We had a wonderful experience with our little girl and I hope my next trips are the same. She was awesome on our trip.