SURPRISE ME!

Travel Chronicles of a New Mom

Neha Mathur

Last updated: Apr 3, 2017

Author Recommends

Want To Go ?

There is nothing, absolutely nothing that tops the feeling of being a new Mom. There is also nothing that can prepare you for the nervousness you feel when travelling with a new born. How many of us remember silently praying as we embark on a journey, “Please let the wailing baby be nowhere around my seat!” And how many of us have felt sorry for the haggard looking lady, who is holding a baby in one hand, screaming at another little kid to not wander off, as she drags her heavy bags off the baggage belt?

It was a blitzkrieg of these thoughts and more as I decided to travel with my 20 day old infant. The sleepless nights, the cycle of feed-burp-poop-clean-repeat and the constant self-doubting guilt-tripping drama kept me busy enough. Now I was facing the gargantuan task of taking a flight from Delhi to Dubai with Rehaan, my new born. Needless to say, it scared the living daylights out of me!

For other brave new moms who venture out with their newborn babies, here are 5 things that helped me get through our trip:

The Baby’s Passport

Contrary to popular belief, getting a passport in India does not require you to sell your soul to the devil. The process is organized and simple. We logged on here, took an appointment, and went to the nearest passport office on the assigned day. We made sure to take all the necessary documents, and the whole process took around 3 hours. Seeing a little baby with us, they even fast-tracked our application, so the baby won’t have to be out for too long.

travel-tips-with-infant — Neha, all set to travel to Dubai with Rehaan

The Booking

For the uninitiated, there are designated seats in an aircraft, where a baby’s bassinet can be placed, and not all seats have the facility. We had luckily booked the seats with the bassinet, which made the journey quite comfortable. Also, we made sure the flight was at a convenient time as we wanted to avoid panic and raised tempers in the rush to catch an early morning flight!

The Paediatrician’s Go-Ahead

Before travelling with the little baby, we consulted the paediatrician to make sure it was ok to fly. We got the vaccination chart from the hospital, so we could get the vaccinations while we were travelling, and follow the schedule. The doctors generally advise you to wait a month before travelling, to avoid any infections to the baby. Traveling is good, but health comes first, so we took special care about this.

The Packing

It was absolutely essential to pack smart.The thing with babies is that they want what they want, when they want, how they want, now! We carried a separate bag in our hand luggage. I made a checklist and included couple of sets of clothes, diapers, extra blankets, etc. While you should travel smart, be careful not to pack too much, since there is nothing more irritating than having to carry a crying baby and three heavy bags at the same time! Remember that haggard looking lady? Well, you don't want to be her.

The Journey

After all the fretting, planning and packing, the actual journey was quite smooth after all. Before we got on the flight, I fed the baby, so he’d be asleep during take-off. He slept through the take off and the landing, and got up during the flight just once. I heaved a sigh of relief and so did the other passengers!

To all the new Moms out there, don’t worry! Every baby is different and every journey unique, but don’t hold yourself back purely out of anticipated fear. So, let your dil roam, and whatever the experience is, it will surely be something to write in the baby book about!

travel-tips-baby-beach — Time to start making your little one’s baby book, isn’t it?

Comments

Aysha Asif | on 12 March 2018

These tips are really very useful. I bought a pram for my baby from the mother care store in City Centre Mirdif . Its very useful while travelling to put the baby and the baby's items such as his toys feeding bottle etc. The shop has also got plenty of items which caters to all your baby's needs while travelling.