Why is it important to drag the kids with you wherever you go? Many of our friends & family keep telling us that the baby is much more comfortable at home, the baby will not even keep these memories, he won’t develop anything more than what he can do at his normal pace in his usual environment, he’ll be too tired, you won’t enjoy your trip, you’ll be wasting your money.

Why its important to travel as a family no matter at what age the children are:

As a parent I try to listen to other people’s experiences with their kids and learn from it but never to listen or do what I hear. I always trust my gut feeling and do what we love to experience as a family.

It’s great for parents! Parents don’t get to go out for date nights, spend time to talk or enjoy each other’s company like they used to, this is why it’s healthy for the couple’s relationship.

It’s great for the CHILDREN! let’s think of it this way, even if your child is still a baby, they will experience new things that will stimulate their brain in different ways, they will be in a new environment, see new people, touch new materials, look at different colors and even smell new things. If your child is a toddler or older they will have so much fun and learn more things that they might learn in the rest of the preschool/school year. So make sure you take them along and talk to them about every experience you get into together, take advantage because trust me these are life, sensory, motor skills they are building here. I’ve seen it in my son Faris.

My husband and I love travelling and the moment we were blessed with a baby boy we never hesitated to continue exploring the world. Faris got onto his first flight in a newborn bassinet at 1 and a half months old.

We went back home to Dubai in the perfect December weather and roamed all over the UAE desert, parks & walks as it was the outdoor season there and we surely did not miss it although we had that new born.

Faris was only 6 Months old when we decided it’s time for the next big trip. Bali was the destination. 6 hours economy class to bangkok where we spent two days in the city then 4 hours to Bali. It went just fine!

Traveling with a 6 months old for me was great and now that he is older I think it maybe the easiest age you can travel with.

What to expect when traveling with a 6 months old baby:

Feeding: I exclusively breastfed him and did it everywhere with no problem, just make sure you get your simple nursing cover or a fancier one.

Napping: Just make sure you take coffee breaks somewhere quiet where you feed & put baby to sleep.

Stroller: Invest in a foldable stroller which you can carry on a plane and take it wherever you go. Ours lasted in all our traveling till now and using it for the second baby.

Carrier: We like to go on hikes and enjoy the nature so make sure you get a baby carrier, try it on before you buy it, we had the Chicco carrier and learnt to carry the baby with a long cotton baby sling from the balinese people! it worked amazing! for me it was much lighter that any carrier.

Activities: Don’t compare the number of activities you used to do as a couple with the activities you’re able to do in a day with kids. You need to be patient and enjoy your vacation.

Try to plan a realistic itinerary.

Here’s what you need to know before you travel with a baby:

1- You can do everything! (If you plan correctly)

We did everything from sightseeing, hikes, waterfalls, temples, shows, markets, beaches, rice padis and cultural parks. It went smooth because we planned one big activity per day and the rest were close by small activities.

2- Pack what you need.

Snacks, pacifier, feeding bottles, swimming diapers( make sure you pack them from home because you might not find those in bali), extra clothing and be practical you can do everything everywhere and people will smile, they are used to tourists and one thing we noticed is that they LOVE babies as fewer families come, not as much as they see couples & honeymooners.

3- Plan early morning activities and LOTS of them

Parents wake up very early so make sure you make the best out of your mornings as you wont get any at night :)!

4-Consider Babysitting

Yes! babysitters exist outside of your home country. Many Australians tend to visit Bali and we got to know about a babysitting company which is highly recommended and DARED to leave Faris with a kind balinese nanny as we went on a speed boat to snorkel & dive. That was the only activity we couldn’t take him along but we sure didn’t miss those beautiful Bali seas.

After two weeks of fun in the wonderful asian skies, we got back to reality; work, home and more internal adventures.

Things we always remind ourselves with so we keep exploring in our home town and wherever we go is that we should enjoy the time we have now as it will keep changing with kids, things you’re able to do when you have 1 baby verses when you have two or when you have to plan traveling around school holidays..etc. So take advantage of the time you have now, whatever it was it will change!

Next big trip was destination Russia, St Petersburg.

Saint Petersburg is truly the imperial capital, Its fascinated us as well as faris, July was the perfect weather for visiting, It was the perfect combination of historical places, HUGE green parks where you can spend hours and hours strolling, beautiful sunsets near river Neva and good food!

It was nothing compared to southeast Asia, much easier to move, stroll, take breaks and eat. But it was a new adventure, we like to plan vacations to Europe in summer and south east Asia in winter/holiday season.

Simple reasons why we love St Petersburg as a family:

1: My mother in law was a wonderful Russian woman from St Peterburg. We visit the city yearly to connect with the Russian side of the family.

2: We love nature and how easy & accessible the parks are.

3: Street performances are not your typical European guitar guy or juggling man, I tend to see many Russian rock bands which sound great near the historical palaces and ancient buildings.

4: Modern walks & cafes You don’t have to be the typical tourist going only for the churches to visit. There are areas that are super family friendly, great theme parks and nice familiar cafes you can get to sit in and chill.

5: The food There’s something so special about waking up to have the traditional blini with the homemade condensed milk, refreshing summer drinks like the russian Mors and delicious traditional food like kasha, pelmenie and pirog.

These were the two big vacations before turning 7 months the list goes on with padded traveling in between internal UAE hopping and around Jordan’s nature.

Souvenirs

If you went to a babymoon before being blessed with that baby you plan to travel around with, make sure you remember to get him a souvenier you can remember always and keep as a precious memory.

We went to a road trip between Italy & Switzerland when i was 7 months pregnant with Faris and we decided our first toy will be that cute stuffed puppy all the way from Grindelwald, Switzerland

Keeping these memories for your children to read when they grow up! How?

Write down your adventures with funny stories about your kids and the way you felt in each trip on a travel book. This way they can get to know how much mummy and daddy loved them, took them everywhere and spent happy moments with them before they even know it.

I will be sharing the rest of our family traveling in future blogs. I would love for other mums to share their travel tips by emailing them to Contact@mumsybusiness.com so we share our experiences and knowledge to other fellow mums that could be encouraged to try their best to enjoy life and travel around with their little ones.