If you are preparing for airport travel over the holidays, consider wearing your baby rather than pushing a stroller. It is much easier to move through a crowd, and your baby will likely be happier up near the faces in the crowd rather than surrounded by a sea of legs.

Very young children might be bothered by the busy-ness and crowds at the airport. Babywearing gives your child a place to tuck into a familiar space and hide against you. Or, for a more adventurous child, babywearing gives your baby a good vantage point to see all of the excitement.

Choose a carrier that is very easy to get on and off. You may need to remove it at security and carry your baby through in your arms. Some parents find that they are allowed to wear an all-cloth carrier (like a mei tai), but you will certainly have to remove a ring sling because of the metal rings. Be prepared just in case.

Choose a carrier that is comfortable. If you have to stand for a long period of time or if you plan to wear the carrier on a long flight, you will be glad you considered comfort. I wore a ring sling on every flight with a baby, and it was very easy to nurse or get up without too much fuss.

Front carry or back carry? You might find back carry easier as you check in or claim bags, but a front carrier will make it easy to just scoot into your seat if you are flying with your baby on your lap. A baby carrier that makes either easy is a good choice for air travel.

Greet the flight attendant. I think I’ve already told the story of me getting hassled for holding my baby in a sling on my lap on an Air Canada cattle car from Toronto to London. If you are going to have your baby on your lap, my advice is to board early and make sure the flight attendant sees your carrier and knows how you are going to use it. It’s better than having them threaten to turn around because you are a breastfeeding, babywearing threat to the flight. (I got to have a chat with the pilot while I defiantly breastfed. They didn’t turn around.) I understand that most flight attendants are better informed about breastfeeding on a plane now, especially to relieve ear pressure during take off, but just prepare yourself to calmly explain your carrier to avoid an incident.

Image © Sascha Dunkhorst | Dreamstime.com

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If you are planning an extended vacation in one place or you are attending a long event, you can travel with cloth diapers without actually having to take your own diapers with you. Look for a local diaper service.

Though it is possible to fill your suitcase with dirty diapers and bring them home to wash (many of us have done this), wouldn’t it be more convenient to have someone else wash the diapers while you are busy all day?

Coming up in the next two weeks is the biggest baby product trade show in North America. A thousand vendors will be there, and many thousands of retailers will be shopping for new products for their stores. A lot of the attendees are parents who will have babies in arms. A lot of those parents use cloth diapers, so they want to find a way to continue using reusable diapers while away from home. Talking with some of these parents as they prepare to travel with babies, I have heard that they have plans to make travel much easier. They are using the local diaper service.

What a brilliant idea! (Because I didn’t ever think of it myself when I traveled.)

Most diaper services are able and happy to deliver fresh, clean diapers to your hotel when you arrive and pick them up when you leave. You keep your baby in reusable diapers, and you support the local economy where you stay. It’s a good deal all around.

Tips for Using Diaper Service on Vacation

• Look up a diaper service that delivers where you are going.
• Call the diaper service well in advance to make arrangements and reserve your place.
• Call your hotel to make arrangements for drop off and pick up.
• Bring your own covers.
• Bring a few of your own diapers for travel to and from your destination.
• Encourage the diaper service to leave a few pamphlets for the hotel to let other guests know about this option.

Image © Nadezhda1906 | Dreamstime.com

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Adding a few buckles and snaps to a Mei Tai, with some extra padding and structure, will give you a soft-pack or “buckle” baby carrier. Soft structured baby carriers include the popular Ergo Baby Carrier, a favorite for Dad, as well as the hip-carrying baby carriers that are gaining in popularity for toddlers and older babies. Just because baby is getting bigger, doesn’t mean you have to stop carrying them!

A structured baby carrier evenly distributes the weight of your baby across both shoulders and hips, making it comfortable to carry for long periods of time. Most parents find they can carry a baby, especially a heavy toddler, the longest in a structured carrier. Our best-selling Ergo Baby Carrier can be used with a baby more than 40lbs and the Beco Butterfly II can be worn with a child up to 50lbs.

Because the tiniest babies need more support for head and neck, a structured soft pack carrier is best for an older baby with head control (3 months+).

With their comfort, ease of use and mainstream appeal, it’s easy to see why soft-structured baby carriers are so popular among parents. If you do a great deal of walking or hiking with your baby, this is the baby carrier to choose.

This post is part of a series in which we give an overview of baby carrier styles, comparing the specific baby carriers available within each style. Despite the variety of baby carriers on the market today, nearly all fall into one of four basic styles.

• Baby Wraps
• Baby Slings (includes pouch slings and ring slings)
• Mei Tai Baby Carriers
• Soft Pack Baby Carriers

Soft Pack Buckle Carriers

Advantages

• easy to use
• ergonomic, so weight is evenly distributed to hips
• very supportive
• usually Dad’s favorite
• high resale value

Disadvantages

• not usually recommended for newborns who cannot hold their heads up well (3 mo +)
• does not fold compact for travel or in a diaper bag
• can be more expensive due to the amount of workmanship required in their manufacturing

Soft Pack Baby Carriers Compared

BabyHawk Oh Snap Baby Carrier
Style: Soft Structure Baby Carrier
Age: 15lbs to 45lbs
Carrying Positions: Front (in or out), Back

Beco Baby Carrier, Beco Butterfly II
Style: Soft Structured Baby Carrier
Age: Suitable for newborn to 50+ lbs
Carrying Positions: Tummy to Tummy, Back Carry
Origin: Made in the USA and China

Gemini Beco Baby Carrier
Style: Soft Structured Carrier
Age: Newborn to 35+ lbs
Carrying Positions: Tummy to Tummy, Back, Hip
Origin: Made in the USA and China

Ergo Baby Carrier also in Sport Style
Style: Soft-Pack Structured Baby Carrier
Age: Suitable for newborn (with infant insert) to 40lbs
Carrying Positions: Front (infant to toddler), Hip, Back (with older baby only)

Ergo Performance Baby Carrier
Style: Soft-Pack Structured Baby Carrier, light and durable for activities
Age: Newborn to toddler
Carrying Positions: Back, Front, and Hip

FreeHand Baby Carrier
Style: Soft Structured Carrier
Age: Newborn to 35lbs
Carrying Positions: Front (facing in or out), Newborn carry, Back carry

Pikkolo Baby Carrier
Style: Hybrid Mei Tai & Soft Structured Carrier (A Mei Tai with Buckles!)
Age: Newborn to 40 lbs
Carrying Positions: Forward Facing In or OUT, Hip & Back Carrying

Scootababy Hip Baby Carrier
Style: Soft Structured Hip Carrier; a cross between a Mei Tai & a Sling
Age: From head control (approx. 5 months) to 40 lbs (toddler)
Carrying Positions: Tummy to Tummy, Hip/Side, Back (short periods)

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This following post was an entry in our Blog to Inspire contest. The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and not necessarily those of Eco Baby Steps or Parenting By Nature.

Blog to Inspire entrant Of Gypsies and Cowboys is Deanna. She and her family a year ago started living more consciously and frugally.

“Baby wearing? Umm. Can you repeat the question?”

This stuttering response was the sum-total of my knowledge surrounding baby wearing. Expecting our first child, my husband Jeremy and I thought we had covered everything: A plush stash of cloth diapers, classes on labour and breastfeeding, a safe and toxin-free nursery, and the loopy naive grins of a couple who had yet to hit the delivery room. Given that we had a fresh-out-of-the-box stroller and able arms, we were assured that transporting our baby would be both simple and efficient (as parenting is supposed to be…right?).

Now, eighteen months later, I am on my way to living as an accomplished baby wearer.

What stimulated this unexpected choice? Perhaps it was the deep and lasting life-shift we experienced soon after Jeremiah was born; conversations, choices, and events leading us into a new journey and life-style which shaped our family into something much more fluid and organic than we had ever expected. Changes from synthetic products to natural, consumer roles to producer, urban living to mountain ranch, and employed to…not, may have played a role in nudging us towards adopting baby-wearing so enthusiastically. Or perhaps it was simply embracing the fact that when you’re a parent on the move your babe needs to move with you. While I remain unsure as to the specific event or reason motivating us to step into this incredible mode of interaction, I am confident that it will remain within our family as long as there are babies to wear.

Throughout the past several months, the following notes have been left scribbled for my husband Jeremy.

“Down at the lake, 5:00am, baby with me…”

“Took Jeremiah for a hike, back for breakfast…”

“Checking fences, 6:30am”

“Trail ride. Jeremiah’s with me.”

Through forests and across lakes, on horseback and at the kitchen sink, while nursing, cleaning, and conversing, in the company of mop, dog, or guest, my baby boy has been tucked in closely with those who love him. Beginning with a beautiful sling (presented as a gift from Jeremy after delivery), and currently with the oh-so-hardy Ergo, Jeremiah has been bundled, strapped, snuggled, and packed. On my back or his Papa’s, he knows he is safely stowed. Sleeping, observing, feeding, or simply soaking up whatever activity at hand, he is able to participate within the community of his family and with his world first-hand.

For many families, baby-wearing may be a pre-birth decision or a personal preference. For us, it has become a beautiful constant within our way of life. As a woman, and as a mama desiring to pursue natural parenting, I know this: Wearing my baby has introduced a freedom, strength, and unity to my life and family that was entirely unexpected and completely unplanned. There is a beautiful centeredness in the snuffling snore of my son dozing against my chest as I wander down our lane. There is a gentle respect and partnership as his Papa shares in carrying him through our journeys. There is secret warmth in the knowledge of Jeremiah nursing on the move; hidden and tucked away. There is an exhilarating strength in carrying my son’s growing frame upon my own; aware that my body continues to contribute to his.

“Baby wearing? Yes!”

As we journey onward, as our families grow and change, we will carry our babies close. As they outgrow their slings and wraps and carriers, we will continue to hold them; wrapping their dreams and cries and steps next to our own, wearing their lives next to our hearts.

Why did/didn’t you choose to adopt baby-wearing in your own family? What is the greatest benefit that you have experienced? What has been the most significant challenge? I’d love to hear your experiences surrounding this topic, as well as other areas surrounding natural parenting and our shared life!

Read about the Blog to Inspire contest and read posts by the finalists and by the rest of the entrants. Forty-four bloggers reached out to inspire on the topics of cloth diapers, babywearing, breastfeeding, and natural parenting.

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1. Plan Ahead
Have a flexible game plan. Know where you want to go and the activities you want to accomplish for that day but be flexible on the timing and activities depending on your kids’ moods.

2. Be Prepared
Get as much ready the night before such as

• Map to location
• Snacks prepared
• Bags packed
• Clothes laid out

3. Carefully Time Your Outing
While some events have set times, other events allow you to show up at your convenience. Consider your child’s nap time when planning when you should arrive. If it’s an evening event, try to get your child to take a second nap in the afternoon or delay their morning nap. Younger children can sleep at the event if you bring along a baby carrier or a stroller.

4. Bring Snacks
Even a quick trip usually requires a snack break. Bring along easy to eat snacks such as crackers, baby carrots, cut up apples or grapes. Avoid using plastic containers if you can, there are reusable stainless steel containers available. For the breastfeeding baby, you can easily continue walking while nursing in a sling. Nursing in public is easy to do if you wear a shirt that easily lifts up. If you feel more comfortable being covered up you can use a nursing cover which can also help keep the baby from being too distracted by the surrounding events.

5. Bring Water
If you’re spending the day out in the sun you want to make sure your kids are getting enough water. Use stainless steel or other reusable drink containers and avoid packaged juice boxes.

6. Don’t forget the diapers
Always pack more diapers than you think you will need. Some families who use cloth diapers opt to use disposables for outings. While it’s true you can’t simply toss out cloth diapers, you can easily store them in a travel wet bag.

7. Plan your Transportation
Kids get tired of walking quickly so you need to decide if you should bring a stroller or use a carrier to carry your children around. Strollers can be difficult to navigate in large crowds but can be used to hold all of your extra gear. Using a carrier such as an Ergo allows you to comfortably hold children up to 4 years old for extended periods of time. You may be able to store all your gear in a backpack.

8. Use Sun Protection
Children’s skin is especially sensitive to the sun so make sure you are applying sunscreen regularly. You can use a non-toxic sunscreen to reduce your children’s exposure to chemicals. Sunscreen is not recommended for babies under 6 months old, so make sure they are kept in the shade as much as possible. A great way to protect babies from sun exposure is to use a Peekaru baby sun protector which is a lightweight, breathable fabric that fits over baby carriers, car seats and strollers and filters out UVA and UVB rays.

9. Arrange To Go With Another Family
If you can meet another family at the event it will give your kids someone to play with as well as an extra set of eyes and hands. If you need to wait in a line-up or take one of the kids to the bathroom you don’t have to worry about your stuff being stolen.

10. Make Some Memories
Even the best laid plans don’t always work but remember that you’re there to have fun. Don’t forget to bring along your camera to capture all the fun you and your family will have.

Guest author: Freelance writer, Kelly Neufeld is a breastfeeding, babywearing, vbac mom to two toddler daughters living near Vancouver, Canada.

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General rules for Children’s Travel Games

• Make the toys age appropriate. No small parts for babies.
• Produce one new toy per hour.
• Keep a carrier or bag for all of the child’s things.
• Create play space.
• Watch for signs of motion sickness.

Small Parts

Make sure your games and activities include no small parts if you have young children. Choose age-appropriate toys, and choose nothing that has parts that will slide around and fall on the floor. Movable parts that are all connected are great for babies.

For older children, you can choose magnetic games with small parts or games where the parts stick into a play board that holds the pieces tightly.

One Toy Per Hour

Especially for babies who aren’t into imaginative play yet, I always followed the one-toy-per-hour rule. I usually made sure these were new toys or toys the children hadn’t seen in a while. If you rotate toys out of use, even an old toy can be a new toy again. Between naps, chatting, and familiar toys, one new toy per hour usually got us through any trip. The colorful HABA teething toys, which are also rattles with movable parts, can be a great diversion for a baby.

Cross-country trips require more planning and a bigger variety of diversions. Now that my kids are older, we don’t need to follow the one-toy-per-hour rule any longer. I make sure they have plenty of open-ended materials –- pens and pencils, notebooks, and clay.

Pack the Games Together

We pack a picnic basket for long car trips. It is a big, rectangular soft box with two sections –- snacks and drinks in one section and games in the other. We put this between our children in the back seat creating not only the means to entertain themselves but also a barrier between them. My kids now carry their own backpacks with their own activities, but we still pack the picnic basket for long trips.

Place Space

I make sure each child had a large lap tray. That creates enough of a space for drawing or games or just creating a driving course for toy cars.

We also have suction cups with hooks that we attached to the windows. The children then hang toys and pens from the hooks. These give them more control of their space.

Grandma also made a cloth hanger with pockets that fits over the seat in front of each child. They tuck their extras into the pockets.

Watch for Signs of Motion Sickness

Pay attention to whether your children show signs of motion sickness. For those who do, encourage them to look out the front window of the car. If they don’t, no problem. My son, for example, says he likes to read in the car, but my daughter says no way. Every child can be different.

What Toys Work for Car Travel?

I asked my children to list all of their favorite travel toys and games. We have taken several very long driving trips in the past few years to see family or to get to festivals and events. My kids are car trip pros now. The following suggestions are based on their ideas. You can keep it a bit simpler for a baby or toddler.

Dolls should travel with their own travel equipment. A baby doll with her own sling or a Playmobil figure with its own car.

Think Fun games are among our favorites for travel and all of the time. We like River Crossing and Rush Hour especially. Both come in Junior versions, and Rush Hour has several variations as well. My kids like the Think Fun maze game, Amaze, for the car because the pen used to play the game is attached to the play board, which is perfect for travel.

The classic game Fifteen has fifteen numbered squares in a 4-square frame, which leaves one empty spot to shift all of the numbers around. My husband remembers playing with this game when he was young. The goal can vary, but most aim to put the numbers in forward or reverse order within the frame. This requires a lot of concentration, and the pieces can’t pop out or fly all over the car. The game is small and thin, so it works well when you are packing light.

A toy car is perfect for car travel, since the child can imitate what is happening on the trip. My son makes massive landscapes out of sweatshirts, door handles, picnic basket, and sister. When he really gets into his own car trip, it turns into telling himself stories that can come back over and over throughout a trip.

Magnet sets stick together well – always a good choice for travel.

Look Out the Windows

We encourage our children to look out the windows. This is not only important in order to avoid motion sickness, but we want them to see where they are going. This works for a while.

We got a pad of blank maps from a school supply store. We use these to track our long trips, so they can see their progress. This is also helpful when we look for license plates. This is Granny’s favorite game. Where she comes from in Britain, there is only one license plate. She loves to see and TRACK the variety. We mark found license plates on the maps. They don’t even realize that they are learning geography at the same time.

We have a bingo game that includes images of things they can see out the windows of the car. When they see a stop sign or big rig, they close the clear, red tab with that image. Because this has images instead of words, we’ve been using it for a long time. Again, no parts to lose.

We play I Spy, which works better when the kids are older enough to have a sense of spelling. Before they can spell, they can do I Spy by colors: “I spy with my little eye something that is purple.”

Guessing how far to the horizon is one of our games as we drive across our wide open landscape. We choose a spot that we will recognize when we reach it, like a huge tree, a hill, or a mountain peak. We each guess how far away it is, then we see how close we were. When we get to that point, we start over.

Both of my kids like hand games: rock paper scissors, slapping one another’s hands, and a game they made up that involves knocking knuckles and popping a finger up when that hand is hit. I have never quite understood the rules, but I love that they create games that make perfect sense to them. As I asked them about it, they started playing it in front of me, and I still don’t get it.

My son says he likes just talking. Talking about what, I asked. “Conversations about stuff,” he said. Conversations about stuff can take on a life of their own with older children. The more conversations about stuff, the fewer toys needed per hour.

We sing Girl Scout songs, both mine and my daughter’s. Sometimes we find that our generations of songs overlap. “My Big and Tall Hat,” was a car hit for a long while.

Recordings

Audio books are great for children and parents. Grandpa sent from England 50-60 of Richmal Crompton’s Just William stories; we’ve covered Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series right up to The Last Olympian; and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories always go over well. Younger children often enjoy following along turning pages of books while they listen to audio books.

We play iPod DJ, teaching our children about the music we’ve loved.

They listen to sing-along nursery rhymes and other familiar songs.

And, sometimes, when they just can’t settle, they borrow my phone and play Tetris.

Of course, if you time things right, you can usually get a good nap in during travelling, so that the kids are well rested when they arrive.

Good luck with your travel. If you have great ideas for children’s travel activities for trains, planes, or automobiles, please let us know.

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Until you hear: “Mama, I don’t feel well.”

Not all children feel motion sickness. Our own lucky Nature Mom didn’t experience motion sickness as a child, and her own children don’t suffer from it either. I, on the other hand, was a terribly carsick child and so was my husband. It turns out that motion sickness is hereditary, so it’s not surprising that my own children experience paleness, queasiness, and sometimes vomiting when we travel. There are on long-term effects (though there appears to be a correlation between motion sickness as a child and migraines as an adult), but it does make a miserable trip when a child is feeling nauseous.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent travel sickness in children.

Out of Balance

Knowing what causes motion sickness can help you prevent it.

A child’s sense of balance can be upset when signals from different parts of the nervous system send conflicting signals. If one part of the system senses motion, like the up and down movement you feel when driving down a bumpy road, and another, such as your eyes, isn’t getting the same message, you have the situation that leaves the sensitive among us feeling queasy.

Prevent the Motion Sickness If You Can

Take steps to prevent motion sickness before you travel. Since it is hereditary, this is especially important if you felt motion sickness as a child. It is easier to prevent the feeling than to relieve it after it has begun unless you just stop the activity altogether. If you are on a road trip, you may be willing to stop for short periods, but you probably don’t want to stop your trip completely. If your child has just been on the roller coaster for the first time, however, you can certainly stop.

If you can’t stop the motion, as when you are on a plane or a ship, move to the area where there is the least motion. Don’t sit in the back of the van, sit over the wings of the plane, and stay on deck of the ship looking out in the direction you are moving.

When you are planning a road trip, choose the nice, smooth highways instead of the winding country roads. That may make the trip a bit less interesting to you as the adult, but keep in mind that motion sickness usually only lasts a short time during childhood. You can take those roads less travelled once your child is up to it. Drive smoothly, and avoid quick stops and tight turns.

Plan frequent stops, especially if you know your child has a problem.

Be sure that your child is well rested. Being tired can aggravate motion sickness.

Make sure your child isn’t hungry, but don’t overfeed or feed heavy foods. You want to avoid indigestion as well as hunger. Eat light, fresh foods, unsalted crackers, or ginger snaps. Keep water on hand as well.

Pack toys, but leave behind the books, crayons, and video games. Looking down at a book or game will interrupt that visual signal of movement and can trigger the motion sickness. If you keep games active and talk through them, your child is more likely to keep looking around and seeing and feeling the same motion.

Face forward. Seeing where you are going sends the right signals to your child’s system. Encourage your child to look forward rather than out the side window at everything speeding by. This only works once your child is over 20lbs and facing forward, but most babies don’t feel the discomfort that some toddlers and older children do. When you choose a car seat, consider whether the seat is high enough to allow your child to see out the front window. When you play games, like spotting license plates, remind everyone to look front.

Open the windows and let in fresh air. Don’t open the windows if you are in traffic, since fumes can contribute to motion sickness. Don’t smoke in the car with children or open the windows if people in nearby cars are smoking. Adjust the ventilation to keep the smells out. Keep the air fresh and cool.

Don’t talk about feeling sick. Don’t bring it up at all, and you may manage to distract your child from the feeling if it comes up. Listen to the radio, sing songs, and talk.

Relief If Motion Sickness Comes

If your child is looking pale and unhappy, it may be time to look more at relief. He prevention steps might also provide some relief.

To find some relief, put a cool cloth on your child’s forehead. If you plan ahead, you can freeze a damp cloth and put it in a cooler before you leave. It’s best if you can stop the motion and have the child lie down flat for this.

Alternative medicines might also provide some relief. Manufacturers of motion sickness medications will point out that alternative medicines don’t prevent motion sickness symptoms. Many people will counter that they do provide relief from the symptoms.

Ginger has long been used to relief nausea. People take this powdered in capsules, chew on candied ginger, in small mint-like tablets, or even in ginger ale or ginger tea. Ginger is strong, so be sure you don’t overwhelm your child. A small amount of ginger tea should be enough to provide some relief, but don’t give the ginger to a baby.

Peppermint tea has a similar stomach calming effect. Soda crackers (saltines) can also settled small stomachs.

I have found that activating the acupressure point above the inside wrist can provide some relief, but not as much as putting pressure between the webs at the base of my fingers. For my children, this spot is far too sensitive, so they don’t use it. Be aware of what works for your child. If you are going to try acupressure wristbands, put them on a couple of hours before you travel.

Prepare Before Your Trip

Before you plan a trip by car, plane, train, or ship, prepare. Go through each of the prevention steps, and make a check list.

Then, have a bag or bucket on hand just in case your child does vomit. Keep damp wash cloths or cloth baby wipes for clean up. Pack a change of clothes.

Don’t call your child’s attention to your preparations, but be sure you can travel confident that you have done everything you can to prevent your child feeling motion sickness. Have a great trip!

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