Travelling with a baby

I have travelled a far bit with Charlie in his first year and a bit of life as I imagine many of you will have done with your little ones living abroad. I remember when I was pregnant that the thought of travelling with a baby terrified me, but when it actually came to it I found the experience enjoyable! The first time I flew with Charlie he was 8 weeks old and I was with my husband then. The second time he was 11 weeks old and we were alone. It was January 17th, 2007 and a huge storm hit England. My plane managed to land at Stansted Airport but I waited 1.5 hours for my luggage and pushchair because it was too windy for the captain to open the hold door! So there I was, stood in luggage reclaim, with this young baby waiting for my bags and I had a connecting flight to the Channel Islands fast approaching take off time. Finally I got my bags and pushchair and ran to check in for my next flight, got through the rigmaroll of security again, read on the screen that the plane was boarding at the gate, ran for it, only to find on arrival that the plane had been cancelled due to the bad weather!! Charlie and I ended up stranded at Stansted that night. The trains were cancelled because of the weather, trees were down on all the major motorways so a taxi to central London was not an option, all of the closest hotels were full of other stranded passengers! We just about managed to get a B&B a short distance away and I burst into tears when the guy confirmed it to me!! The following day the next available flight was full so Charlie and I had to take a National Express coach to Gatwick and get on another flight!!! What an adventure!

How were we through all of this? I was a blubbering mess.......my son was serene and calm simply sitting in his buggy gazing up at me with, I swear, a small smirk of amusement on his face at all this chaos! Bless him!

Now I always make sure I am prepared for every eventuality!! My husband actually made a remark to me that surprised me, he said that it was nice travelling with a baby as you took your time more. It is so true. Normally everyone charges off of the plane as fast as they possibly can, races to get to the passport control queue as fast as possible, collect bags and off you go. When you have a baby you have no choice but to take it at a slower pace and to a certain degree what will be will be. Far more stress free in that respect.

A good website with a growing amount of information for those travelling with little ones is http://www.holidaywithbaby.com/. It has a good section on ideal destinations for young families, etc as well as helpful packing suggestions.

Happy Holidays!