Travel Baby

Your baby is not a hindrance to your traveling adventures. You can still go out with your baby riding along. All you need to do is look through the variety of travel prams and pushchairs to find a great one. So how will you know if one is good for your type of traveling and lifestyle? Here are some tips to help you choose between the various options of prams and pushchairs to find your baby’s perfect match. Then you can bring your baby along on your adventure without too much worry.

First, you have to consider your way of traveling and your usual purposes. Do you like to stay overnight at a camping site or do you prefer to just travel and see other places with the plan of going home at night? You might also prefer staying on a lodge or rented rooms while on vacation. Your consideration should also include traveling by plane. This will be your basis for your choice between prams and pushchairs.

Next, you have to know the functions of each of the kinds of prams and pushchairs so that you’ll know which one is best suited for your baby when you travel. To give you an overview of each of them, here is a list with a brief introduction of the prams and pushchairs available today:

All Terrain Pushchair or ATP – This is a pushchair with three large wheels enabling the carrier to maneuver when needed and to get through when on slope, humps, and rough roads. The front wheels have lock for child safety.

Prams, Pushchairs and Strollers – These are carriages for babies to give them comfortable rides while pushed by the parents. The babies can be positioned facing forward or facing the one who pushes it.

Carriers – These are pieces of cloth designed to enable parents to snuggle the baby on their body so they can freely move their hands while carrying the baby. This is ideal for babies three months old and onwards. Before buying one, check if the materials are washable and fit the carrier first to ensure comfort not only for your baby but for you as well.

Car Seats – Since most of the travel will be done by riding cars and vehicles, it is important that you have car seats for the baby. To ensure safety, always check the appropriate weight capacity because weight is more important than the age of the baby when it comes to car seats choices. Proper installation is also necessary. All car seats should comply with the safety standard regulated by the law but not all car seats are fitted on any car, so better fit it first to your car before buying.

Travel System – This is a combination of prams and pushchairs for different travel needs of your baby. With fully reclining prams that can be convertible to back facing or forward facing seats. This is good for your baby even when he gets older. It has additional carrycots and portable car seats with rear and forward facing adjustments.

Choosing the right prams or pushchairs is not that hard if you know your lifestyle and your baby’s needs. You don’t have to deprive yourself of the adventures in traveling just because of the baby. You and your baby can enjoy any travel if only you have selected from the best prams and pushchairs to keep them comfortable along the road.

By: Brian Maclaire

Packing for travel with baby requires an entire production crew complete with roadies. Inflatable baby baths, mosquito netting, collapsible play pens, strollers, car safety seats for baby, and not to mention all the snack, bottles, changes of clothes, baby diaper bags and more baby bags, toys, educational activities….. You will find that the camel is pretty loaded and the Range Rover is dragging on the safari trails before the humans have even sat down. Let us start with a simple 2 or 3 day adventure. That should reduce the baby collateral by one third, anyway.

Start With the Basics 

1.       The number one item on your list is not baby diaper bags. Number one is the sole, single item that never fails to calm baby and put her to sleep. You can always buy more diapers. You cannot replace sleep – yours.

2.       The ultimate in baby bags; this is the kind that organizes for you, is roomy enough to hold extra blankets, a changing pad, wipes, powder, all the normal daily essentials but with many secure pockets to remind you to put something in them.

3.       Diapers need to be plentiful. Depending on how you are travelling and for how long, you may be able to get away with just what you expect to use, but be prepared to get more along the way. If you will not be near a store, bring at least twice as many.

4.       A stroller, even though it may seem cumbersome, could be the saving grace of the trip. It protects baby from sun, rain, wind, rescues your back, and keeps her by your side. 

Adding to the Basics 

Once you have the basics in place, you need to refine your list with all the necessities that you have at home, and never worry about carrying with you. The main item on the list is: 

The ultimate in baby diaper bags. Yes, this was on the basic list, but needs further definition. While you are dashing from the house to the car and back again with a slight variant of perhaps the office or the market, the ultimate baby bags for normal living could be quite different from those for travel. For example, you need the large sized bags, not a cute little clutch or elegant Mia Bossi that can be stored in your suitcase for an evening out, but is not going to handle The Trip. Try StorkSac, Reese Li, or OiOi who have baby diaper bags large enough to carry your things as well.

You need the baby bags that have adjustable straps for hanging on the back of the baby stroller, totally washable liners, and zipper bags for soiled anything. Insulated bottles are handy for longer strolls, and as many organizer pockets as possible. Reese Li is very understanding in this department. When you are travelling, make sure you have pockets on the exterior of the baby bags to handle your keys, a map, your cell, a snack, a bottle, a soother, and maybe some tissues.

On the inside of the baby diaper bags, you want to have fast access to sanitary wipes, teething gel, first aid items, rattle, sun bonnet, change of clothes, food, many bottles, a bottle of water for you, snacks for you, additional booties, towels, bibs, and perhaps a change of shirt for yourself, just in case.   

By: Cora Lee

Many parents who go traveling regularly are familiar with the dilemma of sleep. The dilemma of not having any, that is. A baby travel crib won’t solve all of your worries and is certainly no magic bullet for fixing anything. The least it will do, which is the major buying point, is provide an easy, compact sleep solution for baby.

Quality is going to impact the degree to which a baby travel crib will be a success. The Baby Bjorn travel crib has non-toxic material, which is great for those who want to take no chances. The other travel cribs, on the other hand, are a bit more adventurous. Not in a good way, though. The reason why the more expensive cribs are better comes down to testing. Quality for the baby (comfort, lack of toxicity and hazards) and yourself (lightweight, easy set up, and so on) do come at a price.

The best reason to get a baby travel crib is, to reiterate, comfort. Peace of mind! Being able to travel someplace and not have to use the hotel crib and not having to worry about cleanliness in any way. If you’ve seen any of those TV reports of hotel rooms, you’ll know what I mean. UV lights and such – it’s not pretty.

The ease of set up is a major consideration, of course. Rule number one for the viability of a baby travel crib is the set up’s ease – it must be absolute. The Baby Bjorn model can be set up with one hand. Meaning if you’re holding crying baby in the other, you’re literally seconds away from silence – well, hopefully!

Resale value of a baby travel crib is good if you follow these two rules:

1. Keep it clean!

2. Get a decent one to start with.

Point 1: It’s a no-brainer, obviously. Some cribs make this a bit easier by offering washable fabric, like the Baby Bjorn model…

Point 2: If you get a decent baby travel crib to start with, you’ll be able to recoup most of your money as long as the condition is still okay. The cheaper ones may have to be given away while the better ones will still be in demand.

In summation, the best reason to get a baby travel crib is just to not have to worry about not having one. It is such a relief to know that you’ve got something that will hold baby like his or her own crib at home. If you have multiple kids, you can reuse the crib; They are generally good for littles ones up to three years old.

So go on and get one! You won’t regret it. Read the reviews and decide for yourself which one is best for you. I can wholeheartedly recommend the Baby Bjorn travel crib. It is just superb, as the reviews show.
Good luck with your search!

By: Bernadette Stevens