In 2008, I quit my corporate job, sold off everything I owned and moved overseas with my husband Drew. Since then we've traveled around the world, started our careers over as creative types and nurtured our love of sleeping in late. Oh and we had a baby. Cole, our almost 2 year old has been traveling since he was four months old and probably knows more Thai than me (not that he brags).
Six Humbling Aspects of Traveling with an Infant
It’s our first time traveling with an infant after almost two years of full time travel and it’s been unexpected. I know many travelers are of the decidedly childless sort, so I won’t bore you with the minutiae of a five-month-old’s daily life, but it has been fascinating to explore how this changes the way we travel.
I’m not a bumbling baby-toting world traveler, but it’s not all smooth either. I was filming an interview with Jeff Jung of Career Break Secrets, in his Bogotá apartment. Between questions (or sometimes in the middle of them) I’d run into the other room to breastfeed or soothe Cole. I’ve breastfed in the middle of the Plaza Bolivar (the main tourist attraction in Bogotá) and have walked blocks around the restaurant we were eating at in order to quiet him down. When your baby has to eat, he has to eat! Sometimes it feels like we’re on the world tour of trying to discretely unhook my bra and feed my child. I’m getting pretty good at it too. (Yes, I know I just simultaneously lost about 90% of my audience and SEO keyworded my site for some interesting search results).
People are nicer than we thought. I didn’t full understand this concept until I came to Colombia and was so warmly embraced because of my child. We’re been invited with arms wide open into people’s daily lives and I’ve never felt so instantly accepted as I do with Cole. If ever before I thought I had been immersed in a culture, it doesn’t come close to the treatment I receive with babe-in-arms. Taxi drivers smile at me. Mothers ask me about how my child eats. Parents let their kids approach me and play with the baby. We’re invited to dinner. We’re taken into conversations. Our waitress will grab Cole and prance him around the restaurant and then sit with us, chatting and bouncing Cole on a knee as we eat. It’s completely different, and I highly recommend traveling with young children, if you can do it.
I always prided myself on being a budget traveler, but yeah. So I was staying at the Hotel Giraffe in NYC, a partially comped room, in a suite that overlooked fifth avenue, with crisp AC and high thread count sheets and as my baby and I wilted in the summer heat, our room was a welcome respite. I noticed a shift in that moment, a desire to procure nice things for on his behalf, or perhaps because of him. While I’ll always travel cheaply, my days of sleeping on someone’s couch are decidedly over.
Family travelers are spoiled. I know! I didn’t expect it either. Look, the way I see it, if I decide to procreate, that’s all well and good, but then I have to deal with the consequences. Right? The world doesn’t agree. Instead, I get to board the plane first, people rush up to help us with bags and even our line in customs was cut short when someone informed us in Spanish, “You don’t don’t have to stand in line! Come!” (We went). Everywhere we go we are encouraged to skip lines, take a seat, let someone help us or otherwise relieve the burden our life choices. It’s pretty sweet.
I’m like the anti-party. No one wants to party their way around the world and then find a baby is in the room… especially if they’re from the States. I noticed this taboo pretty quickly as we stayed in a hostel in Bogotá… the American kids were definitely not into the cherubic angel cooing at them from across the room (sort of a buzz kill, me thinks). Meanwhile the Colombian men drinking Aguardiente are likely to chat with my baby — as their wife tends to the children around them. There is a cultural difference we’re discovering (especially as this is our first) about whether children should be involved in all aspects of adult life or not. (We lean towards ‘yes’.)
My life is strange and it keeps getting stranger. I met a couple from the States traveling with their 15-month-old daughter and they said, “Wow, we travel everywhere and we never meet other couples with kids.” I was talking to another traveler about trying to figure out what country is the best for having babies (yes I want more!) and as his eyes glazed over I realized – wow, have I become completely unrelatable? Who has a kid and rushes out into he world as soon as they have a passport? How many kids have 6+ passport stamps before their first birthday? Wait, is anyone still reading this?
So yes, perhaps I wish a bit for my carefree pregnant days when I stayed at the Phoenix in San Pedro, Belize and I blithely thought, “Oh this is family friendly” before completely dismissing the idea that I was soon to become one of those family travelers. It’s a brave new world of travel.
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Your little one is adorable! Thanks for this post! I’m not quite at the baby stage myself, but I’m so happy to see travelers make it work with little ones, gives me hope my travels don’t have to end with kids!
THANK YOU for this post!! Like Nicki, I too am not yet at the baby stage, but it is fast approaching and stories like these are extremely reassuring. I think for many people one of the big deterrents to having a child is the perceived inability to travel or participate in “adult activities” like they once did. It’s nice to hear from experienced parents that not only is it possible, it can be an even greater and richer experience than the alternative!
Heehee! I remember we paid a much higher price to stay in a hotel in Melbourne than we would have EVER paid without Milli. I was very pleased to have AC and an indoor pool when temps rose to 110degrees.
We’ve stayed at a couple of hostels with Milli, but we always had a double (except for the time in Milford Sound, NZ when they messed up our booking and we shared a dorm with the staff!). Even then, we had a few stares.
Having said that, our best traveling experiences were staying with other families through Couchsurfing. It was my absolute favorite part of our year abraod!
If you can travel the world with your baby Cole, I’m finding more and more reasons why I need to get out and start traveling. It’s always inspiring to read how families get out there and travel. While I’ve followed families like that at Got Passport It’s also interesting to see those with newborns. (Their daughter is already an experienced travel well before she hits a birthday with double digits)
Great post. I cannot imagine traveling with such a young child. It can be hard enough to do the day-to-day stuff. You are quite brave and, might I add, quite admirable! Can’t wait to read more about traveling with a bambino in tow!
Just wait until Cole is walking and talking and playing with local kids! Then you get to have eating/sleeping/pooping conversations with their parents in local playgrounds of every part of the world.
I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Wait till he becomes a toddler then it will be a totally different experience.
I find it was easier to travel with an infant since they sleep most of the time compared with a bored toddler. But vacation travel is not complete without the little one.
I think it’s fantastic that you are traveling with an infant. I had my first passport when I was just a couple months old (31 years ago) and it’s been nonstop travel ever since (it’s also my best passport photo with my mom holding up my head!)
Just recently came back from an 11 month RTW trip with my boyfriend and in a month we are off to Spain. Wouldn’t know what to do with myself if it didn’t involve travel and adventure!
Good for you!
Johanna
http://www.vossdufourworldtour.com
This is heartening to read as I’ll be flying cross-country with my baby, who will be three months, around Labor Day. Hopefully my experience will be positive too.
Don’t worry, you didn’t lose all the babyless readers out there. Many people have commented to me that travel has to come to an end once children are involved. My family moved to India when I was five weeks and we did a lot of traveling every year on multiple continents. Although I don’t have kids myself, I’m a believer that there is a way to continue traveling with kids. And, as you are discovering, there is a connection with locals when you have kids that just doesn’t happen when you are without. Enjoy this new stage of travel.
Oh, and for good countries to have kids, all my friends in the Czech Republic and Slovakia had great experiences.
My family moved to India when I was five weeks and we did a lot of traveling every year on multiple continents. Although I don’t have kids myself, I’m a believer that there is a way to continue traveling with kids. And, as you are discovering, there is a connection with locals when you have kids that just doesn’t happen when you are without. Enjoy this new stage of travel.
Thanks
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Thanks for the support everyone! Sometimes I seriously think I’m committing travel blog suicide by talking about these things (especially when all my analytics tells me that my audience is primarily childless) but I’m slowly trying to find a way to talk about my life that is still relevant and interesting to people — even if they don’t have kids. It’s tough and I’m sure I have a lot to learn.
All true. I will never forget the random woman who dried off my 10 month old with her purseful of tissues after getting caught up in a rainstorm in Paris. Traveling with little ones seems to bring out the best (and worst more infrequently) in ourselves and others.
This is a great post….not all of your readers are childless and those of us who look at what you do and wonder how we could do it with kids in tow like to hear about how travel is different with a little one. We have a two year-old and another on the way and we loooove to travel. The recession has hit us hard so we’ve kept our travels local, but someday soon we hope to venture abroad again. Keep up the good work and enjoy Cole in every stage, cuz it goes so fast!!
The majority of us I guess are currently childless but its great to see how you are continuing with your travels with the little one in tow, proves to us that the travelling does not need to stop, just adapt a little. And how adorable!
He is adorable!
I don’t think you will loose your childless readers but you will gain family travelers.
It’s truly amazing how much people love children, especially in Latin countries.
I personally never looked twice at a child, but after having my kids, I am overwhelmed with the kindness and love that people genuinely have for children!
Guatemala not as much as Costa Rica. In Guatemala people here are too immersed in their problems, but in Costa Rica, the love was incredible and I’m so grateful that my first son had a chance to live there until the age of 5. Now, my second little guy is enjoying Guatemala and so far we are loving it too!
I was reminding my daughters, 8 and 11, what to pack for our red-eye flight tomorrow, and they rolled their eyes at me and reminded me this is not their first trip. Sassy little things, I thought (LOL), but my point is… it gets easier.
I agree the cultural differences about where children are accepted or not are different. We found our children were included with open arms in Spain and Italy. Germany, not as much. We took our then 2-year-old to an art museum and the guards followed us around giving us stern looks the whole time. It’s not like we let her roam around like at a playground; she was very walking with us, holding our hand and checking out the art! If anything I think our daughters now have wonderful manners in adult situations; they are just used to it and are able to sit and participate and be patient.
Keep the thoughts coming!
Interesting post Christine. I note that in one of your comments above, you are concerned about how to talk with your audience about your life when most of your readers are childless. I personally feel that you are just greeting new challenges by taking Cole on the road with you. What long-term, budget traveler wouldn’t relate to dealing with new challenges? For instance, I don’t have kids, but I understand what it means to be out of place in a hostel. If I saw you out in the world, you bet I would welcome you and your baby in my dorm room any time. And probably bounce him on my knees while you get some much needed shut eye!
I totally agree with “I’m the anti-party”. For some reason in the States, people think of a baby as this thing that they have to do, that distracts them from their life.
For us, it’s been great to see how most other countries treat their kids: as part of the world around them, not a distraction. When we have our kids someday, we’re definitely going to make sure that we don’t get caught in the “Baby Bubble” and keep doing the things that we love doing!
Great post!
Hi Christine,
I can tell you for a fact that travelling with young children opens you to so much more in a culture. All through South East Asia we have been invited into homes and had moments people and families that we never would have had without children.
In Laos our bus pulled over at a rest stop and I took my 5 yo son to get a drink. Within minutes I was holding a cuddling a 6month old Lao baby. Without my son there is no way in the world a 30 something male would get that opportunity.
All through Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam & Thailand in particular we had access to another side of the culture that singles or couple travellers just don’t get access it.
Yes, it can be hard travelling with young kids, but some days back home were just as hard.
I completely disagree with Mich’s comment about waiting until they’re toddlers. When they’re toddlers at least you don’t have to carry them as much
and you get to really see how they are taking all the new experiences in…
I wouldn’t trade it for the world!!
Cheers,
Colin
Great Article Christine! Your writing rocks.
I’m really glad you’re enjoying Bogota….
Have you tasted the Aguadiente…AKA as firewater? The first time my gringo husband tasted it, he passed out at Andres Carne de Res in Chia.
My sister has an 8 month old little girl, and she’s a little worried about what it will be like traveling with a baby since the last trip to Rome they made a few months ago wasn’t very successful. This post will definitely cheer her up and motivate her! Thanks!
I’m just 3 months away from having a newborn and this post makes me feel a little better about my future Uncommon Caribbean traveling prospects.
As other commenters have noted, though, infants are probably more manageable than toddlers… Enjoy it while you can! And keep letting us know how it’s going.
What a fantastic blog! I’m apprehensive but so excited to travel abroad with our 2-year old and 7-month old. Their first trip out of country (USA) will be to Las Galeras in the Dominican Republic for our daughter’s first bday – I cant wait! I’m looking forward to the experience: stress, challenge, fun, you name it, I’ll bet we’ll get it all at some point or another.
Thanks for a lighthearted, honest view of traveling with a baby.
I wasn’t exactly nomadic with a baby, but my daughter had been to Paris, New York and Barbados by the time she turned 1. It’s a great time to travel with kids and you learn a lot about how child-friendly – or not – certain destinations are. For example, the Paris metro had no stroller-friendly exits, and the baby changing facilities in many New York restaurants were all in the ladies’ room, whereas in Europe they are often in between so fathers can get involved. I really enjoyed this post.
I love your blog’s new look. Admittedly, I haven’t had time to read up on my fave bloggers’ entries with work, school and everything. Nevertheless, this is a great post. My friend just gave birth and I’m pretty sure she and her new family (she got married last year) would appreciate a helpful article like this.
On the other hand, I give you this award:
http://wp.me/p7Fut-m4
Kudos to you for traveling with your infant. Was he quiet on the flights? If not, how did you calm him? What was the reaction of the other passengers?
It’s great that you’re exposing your child to other cultures at an early age. He has more stamps in his passport than most adults!
BTW: Some travelers are put off by children because they can be fussy on airplanes and disrupt sleep, movies, writing, and other activities. Oh wait, some adults can be like this too
Awesome post! I just found your site today, and am in agreement with the first person who commented-i too have hope that travel doesn’t have to end with kids! because right now, it’s one of the main reasons that at nearly 30, i have put off having them. so props for an encouraging word
We just got back from a year of living in Uruguay. When we moved their our daughter had just turned one; our second daughter was born in Uruguay. I completely agree that traveling with little ones has benefits, especially in Latin America. We quickly discovered that children are treasured and welcomed in the culture there, whereas here in the US they’re often treated as an annoyance. For instance, it was perfectly acceptable to let our oldest run around in a nice restaurant while we ate–no need for her to sit at the table. I look forward to reading more about your family travels as in about 2 years we are thinking about venturing out again!
I never imagined that you would stop traveling when your baby was born, but still it’s reassuring to read that you’re still out there doing what you do
Keep going – it only gets better
Breastfeeding was definitely my wife’s secret weapon when Benjamin was a baby – otherwise we would have never made it across the Atlantic Ocean – or to Florida for that matter.
I started to smile on second aspect and still keep smiling)
Oh. My. God. That kid is so cute! OK, now that that is out the way…
Having a kid is generally very humbling. I have a ten year old son myself. I remember the first time I held him – I was absolutely terrified.
I think it’s going to be great for your little one that he’ll be exposed to so many things. It’s something I wish a lot of Americans had – a better sense of global citizenship. Was it you that said he said “hola” on twitter? I literally lol’d
My family has always been skeptical about me combining travel, living abroad and working. But if it’s what you really want then go for it.
I had 2 children in 2 different countries within 15 months of eachother, plus ran a business while on my travels. I get concerned as they get older about schooling, but I will cross that bridge when it comes.
The experience is amazing, and I think people who continue to travel with kids are rare. Thanks for this article – glad to know I am not alone.
Michelle
So true! I think it’s one of the best kept secrets of travel. We have taken our two around the world to many cultures and places and all of what you write still applies (except England, where children are regarded on parr or just below dogs).
Happy traveling, and call in if ever you make it to Australia!
You are spot-on with your descriptions of traveling with child. We’ve just been through Central America (currently in Panama) and have found they are much more family friendly than anywhere in the States (especially San Francisco!). Travel is different with a child, but in most ways a lot better.
We can’t do the dorm room hostels, but still occasionally stay in a private room. Our son, who is 5, has a way with the younger backpackers. They usually find him entertaining (for a bit). We’re shipping our van to Columbia in 2 weeks and will continue our travels for another year in South America, so I look forward to more of your posts!
This is great! We didn’t start traveling until we had four kids, so I can’t compare it to ‘childless’ traveling, but I love doing it with kids!
We love the ‘butt-in-line’ treatment, the constant dinner invitations and the friendliness of strangers. There is something about traveling as a family that seems to make you so much more approachable. It’s led to so many great experiences that I don’t think we would have had if we were traveling singly or as a couple.
This blog is a superb read through, many thanks.
Pour my baby had been to 8 countries before his 1st birthday – it is easy to do in Europe only by visiting family and traveling a bit while on mat leave. Now a second visit, 2 years later, scares me more.