Why take your kid with you on vacation?

I have been asked a variety of these types of questions. "Why take your baby?", "Why take your toddler?", or "Why bother going to XYZ if she won't remember it?"

Lizzy even though at the time of this post is only 3 she loves vacations. You can say it is in her blood...since I too love vacations and got that from my dad. We tell her we are getting ready for an adventure a few days beforehand even though she will have seen the suitcases start creeping out a few weeks before that.

Why take your baby?

Simple you, yourself the parent need to get out of the house. But also even the baby needs to get out and see and smell new things. Lizzy's first vacation was at 3-months old to Texas to visit family. We stopped at a hotel and the amount of excitement for the hotel was hilarious.

Does she remember seeing the train and stockyard? No. But she does love trains and cows. Also every time we get to a hotel she gets the same excited energy!

Isn't it hard to take a baby?

Yes. It is hard. That trip down to Texas was stressful since this was also our first trip with her too.

There are a number of things to have to think about while we took our baby on trips. I was an exclusive breast-milk pumper until she turned 10 months. Luckily our Ford Escape (RIP), had a plug in so we could drive while I got Lizzy's milk. Also we packed a LOT of diapers and a LOT more clothes. For our early trips she had at times a larger suitcase than us. We were packed to the gills for sure.

Isn't it hard to take a toddler?

Yes. Our first trip with her as more of a toddler than baby was Sanibel and then a few months later Ely, MN. Every trip with her is different because she is constantly growing and wanting to explore everything. We pack a lot of stuff still like more toys now to keep her entertained.

In Sanibel, she had been walking for about 3 months and was very much into exploring or at least trying to explore on her own. She got well known for taking her stroller and stuffy around the campground.

In Ely, she very much had a mind of her own and wanted to explore and see what she could do. She wanted to help though too.

Even more recent, Ireland. This was her first international trip. She was stuck in an airplane for 8 hours! Yes, she kicked the seat in front of her. Yes, she was picky about the food handed to her on the flight. Yes, we had to entertain her with the television on the seat back. People came up to us shocked how well behaved she was.

She won't remember the vacation.

This one always frustrates me the most. Yes she wouldn't remember going to Rocky Mountain National Park at 7 months, Sanibel at 15 months, or Ireland at 2 years old. But Michael and I remember.

We remember her excitement at exploring the mountains. Her excitement at being at another hotel. Her love of riding behind on a bike (she sees my bike with her seat on it and to this day wants to go on it when it's nice out). I've been to Sanibel too many times to count. I was excited to take Lizzy for the first time. I got to experience the joys of Sanibel through her eyes!

Why bother, isn't it just parenting somewhere not at home?

Because she gets new experiences. She knows vacations are fun, are a new set of adventures.

Yes. Our vacations look different than before are more packed than before. But we still do basically the same thing just less relaxing. Yes it is harder at times to get her to nap but when she gets tired enough she will fall asleep.

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Those are the main questions I have gotten. But how about what do we do to make the most out of the challenges that come about.

Challenges of driving

First, Lizzy has always been happy with her car seats. She plays, she sleeps, she looks out the window. We take breaks every now and then. She gets out and plays outside. So when it is lunch time on a road trip we are either stopping at a rest stop to play, or McDonald's play place, or we are eating out someplace interesting.

Lizzy vary rarely gets an electronic device to entertain her. She has only gotten it when:

1. We are on a tour bus with other people and she is done with being on the bus.

2. We are stuck in an unexpected delay.

   
   

Sometimes Michael or myself are in the back with her playing or reading her a book. We let her get bored too. And sometimes she'd just rather look out the window.

Challenges of flying

Lizzy loves going to the airport and looking at the airplanes. The plane trips she has been on have been Gulf Shores, Sanibel, and Ireland. Each trip was it's own challenge. I always tried to have a direct flight.

Gulf Shores - This was our first time with her on a plane. I didn't want the pressure change to effect her. So during take-off and landing, we made sure she had a bottle to drink. We also timed it around her naptimes.

Sanibel - She wasn't doing a bottle anymore at this point but we did have her pacifier. She didn't sleep going to Sanibel but did fall asleep on our way out.

Ireland - Lizzy for Ireland no longer had her pacifier. I brought suckers in case she had issues. She was also in her car seat for the first time. The other two times she was a lap child. It was harder to keep her entertained due to not being able to put down the seat tray.

Carrying a car seat through the airport in all 3 of these were difficult.

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I really hoped this help understand why we take Lizzy on vacation with us. We changed our vacations to suit her but still be enjoyable for us as well.