I still remember the exact moment I realized we were actually doing this. I was standing in the middle of our living room at 2 a.m., surrounded by three half packed suitcases and a baby who had decided that night was the perfect time to practice her new scream. We had booked flights to Kenya for two weeks. I looked at my husband and whispered, “What have we done?”
We went anyway. And it was both the best and hardest thing we’ve ever done as a family.
If you’re reading this with a tiny human in your arms and a plane ticket burning a hole in your inbox, I’m writing this for you the version of me who googled “traveling with baby first time” and only found pastel-filtered Instagram posts about “magical family adventures.” Here is the real version.
The Decision: When to Go, Where to Go, and Whether You Should Even Go at All
The honest answer is: there is no perfect time. The “sweet spot” everyone talks about (6–12 months) is a myth. At six months your baby might be sitting up and eating solids but still needs three naps and wakes every two hours. At twelve months they’re mobile, opinionated, and teething. Pick a destination where you can drive or take a short flight first. We chose a fourteen hour flight. That was brave enough.
Also: book refundable everything. Everything. You will question this trip at least twelve times before departure.
Packing: What Actually Matters (and the Things No One Admits They Brought)
You will over pack. Accept it now.
What we actually used every single day:
– Two baby carriers (one structured, one stretchy) making the stroller become decorative luggage
– A lightweight pop up travel cot
– Disposable changing mats (the ones with the plastic backing), airport floors are disgusting
– A “sick bag” kit: spare clothes for all three of us,wipes, nappy sacks, and a spare phone charger in every bag
– Breast pump + wearable pump (I pumped in the toilets at Athens airport. No dignity left, but milk was safe)
You will still feel like you’ve forgotten something vital, do not worry I convinced myself I can still buy it in Kenya it will be just fine.
The Airport: The Circle of Hell Reserved for New Parents
Security will take forever. Remove baby from carrier, remove shoes, remove liquids, fold stroller, put everything in trays, hold screaming baby while someone swabs your hands for explosives. Then reassemble your entire life on the other side while people have the nerve to complain because you’re “holding up the line.”
Gate agents are usually lovely. Tell them it’s your first flight with baby and they will often move you to bulkhead or give you an empty seat. But sometimes they won’t. Prepare for both.
On the Plane: The Part That Breaks Most People
Take off and landing are the only times you can actively help your baby’s ears. Feed, dummy, or breastfeed the entire descent. I nursed for 45 minutes straight at some point and let me tell you my back never recovered.
The changing table in the plane toilet is a cruel joke. It’s the size of a dinner plate and folds down over the toilet. You will perform acrobatics,smell things you didn’t know existed and pray no one needs to use the loo for the next ten minutes.
The crying. Oh, the crying. Your baby will cry at some point. Probably when everyone else is trying to sleep. You will feel every single pair of eyes on you. Some people will be kind. Some will sigh loudly.
What nobody shows you on Instagram: the silent tears of the mother in seat 23C who has been rocking for 90 minutes straight while her husband sleeps because he “can’t do anything anyway.”
Jet Lag, Sleep Regression, and the Baby Who Forgets How to Sleep
Jet lag with a baby is not jet lag. It is a full body possession. Our baby woke every 45 minutes for four nights. She refused the travel cot and the bed. She only wanted to sleep on my chest. But at least every one was helping me out and honestly I do not think I would have managed on my own.
The Things You Don’t See Coming
– You will miss your own bed so violently you’ll want to cry as much as Kenya is still my home, my bed hits differently.
– Your milk supply might tank from stress and heat. Or you might leak everywhere because you forgot nursing pads.
– You’ll find yourself Googling “is this normal baby poop” at midnight.
– Have at least one moment where you look at your partner and think, “We are never doing this again.”
The Return Journey: Somehow Worse
Everything you’ve just survived, but in reverse, while exhausted and emotionally raw. Our baby cried the entire flight home. I cried in the baggage reclaim. The flight attendant who walked with her calming her down you saved my flight and probably everyone else’s I will never forget her.
The Aftermath
It took us three weeks to feel normal again. The house looked like a bomb site. I had a breakdown in the supermarket because I couldn’t find the right brand of nappies. But slowly, we started saying things like, “Remember when she first saw the giraffes?” and “That sunset on the last night…”
So, Should You Do It?
If your gut says yes, then yes. But go in with your eyes wide open. Travel with a baby is proof that you are stronger than you ever imagined.
You will come home different. Not just because you have new photos, but because you have survived something that most people quietly think is impossible.
And one day, when your toddler is running around a playground in a different country and you watch them discover the world, you’ll realize it was all worth it.
Even the bit where you changed a nappy in an airplane toilet at 30,000 feet while your husband held the door shut from the outside because the lock was broken. Especially that bit.
You’ve got this, mama. Pack the extra muslins, bring the snacks, and remember to breathe. I’m rooting for you from the other side.
With lots of love
A mum who’s been there
(and would do it again)