Member-only story
Why traveling with an infant as a new parent is the best idea ever
Did you just have a baby? Congratulations — you can put your alarm clock into storage for a while.
For new parents, having a baby is a huge change in their daily life: lots of learning, trial and error, and repetitive skill mastery (I’m a Diaper Changer LVL 50).
When I first had a baby (currently a 20-month-old) I remember struggling with all sorts of things. I was continuously hyper-aware of every little parenting decision I made. I also worried about hazards like loud noises, being outdoors too much, and strangers. I was a newbie.
When our baby was five months old, I had to travel for work — all the way across the country. It would have been the first time that I would not see my baby for over 24 hrs. So instead I took my wife and baby with me.
Go somewhere far from home
We had about eight bags of stuff, a car seat, a stroller, tons of milk, bottles, diapers … oh and a baby! As parents and a couple, we leveled up our relationship and parenting skills rapidly. We got lucky on the flight over — baby slept, no delays.
On the flight home, I was wedged between my wife and a silent sleeper. About half-way through the flight, I had my wife sleeping on one shoulder, the other passenger leaning…