Separation anxiety is a normal developmental phase, often showing up as heightened behaviors when you leave the room. It's natural for your baby to get upset, but with patience, they will adjust.
Key Concept: Attachment
- Welcome to separation anxiety, a normal phase of develop where there is often an uptick in behaviors around separation. This is normal and expected. You are doing nothing wrong when your baby gets upset when you leave the room.
What to Try: Attachment
- Encourage your baby to explore their surroundings. Remind them that you’re present and there. Try using your voice to encourage them to explore. “Go ahead, mommy is right here.”
- Give them space to explore on their own, but stay close by. You don’t need to be on top of them. This is the beginning of their developing independence.
- Remember that separations are often harder on you than the baby. Keep your goodbye routine SHORT and SWEET.
- Have a distraction ready to help you manage the separation. Flipping the light switch? Holding a lovie?
Key Concepts: Feeding
- How babies interact with food is driven by their temperament. Some babies are enthusiastic eaters, others are cautious and some fall in between.
- Your baby’s exposure to solids should not impact the amount of formula/breast milk that they get throughout the day.
What to Try: Feeding
- Schedule meals before your child is too hungry or too tired to eat.
- Encourage your child to eat independently. Messy? Slow? Terribly frustrating to watch? That’s okay. Wait to wipe their face and their hands until the end of the meal. In fact, think of this time as more of a science experiment than an actual meal. This helps parents to handle this phase calmly.
- Give your baby a chance to guide the utensil into their mouth. This is great for their hand-eye coordination.
Key Concepts: Sleep
- Emerging gross motor skills (like rolling, crawling, walking) can impact your baby’s bedtime. As they learn new tricks, they might begin doing those in their crib. This has to do with your baby’s brain being unable to shut off. This is entirely normal.
What to Try: Sleep
- Let your baby explore and roll around their crib. So long as they are safe, feel free to let them do their thing. If you go into their room each time they sit up, they will come to expect that from you.
- Continue to keep their routine consistent. Make sure to build in plenty of wind down time before bed.
Key Concepts: Development
- Baby sign language is a great way to connect with your baby and understand their needs. Benefits of sign language might include an opportunity for your baby to express their needs beyond their language skills and allowing your baby to feel seen (and less frustrated). The long-term benefits in the research are inconclusive.
What to Try: Development
- If you choose to introduce signs or gestures, consistently bring them into your conversations. If you are showing them the sign for “eat,” show them the sign before they eat, while they’re eating, and after they eat. Choose signs that will be most interesting to your child. If they are an enthusiastic eater, focus on a sign related to eating. Practice the signs in front of their eyes (not to the side).
- Provide your child with divergent toys. Look for simple choices that let them lead with their imagination. Blocks, books, and stuffed animals are a great place to start. Stay away from electronic toys or toys with only one way to play.
Key Concepts: Relationships
- Traveling with a baby can feel overwhelming - to say the least. The amount of work required to hit the road (or the air) is shocking, exhausting, and intimidating.
What to Try: Relationships
- We’ve got tons of tips on how to prepare for a travel day (and we’ve made a packing list for you, too!). A few of the most important things to consider…
- The time of day you’re traveling - adjust your expectations and prepare for it to be challenging, especially if you’re traveling during a nap time (which is very likely at this age).
- The climate of your destination and while traveling - bring layers, changes of clothes, etc.
- Your baby’s feeding schedule and bring extra food - don’t forget the various parts needed for a feed.
- How you’re carrying baby - stroller? Car seat? Carrier?
- Diapering needs for travel day - consider what you need and pack extra. Don’t forget a change of clothes for you!
Traveling with a Newborn: Packing List
Have you committed to taking your first trip with your baby? Heart pounding, sweat pouring down your face, arguments surfacing with your partner, and tears of complete and utter panic and overwhelm. Just us? Didn't think so.
Listen, traveling with a baby is not for the faint of heart. Driving 1 hour to Grandma's for a weekend or flying 6 hours across the country for 2 weeks, it all requires an obscene amount of packing and preparation.
From what to pack your baby for their sleep and feeding needs, to what they need for play, clothing, and health purposes, we've got you covered.
Our best advice is to begin packing in advance. Use this list (ok...these LISTS, plural) to guide you. Lay everything out, label, take inventory, and slowly chip away at this big undertaking.
Day of, or as we like to say T-Day (travel day) is a marathon, not a sprint. Set your alarm and dedicate even 5 minutes to yourself before the day
begins. Load that diaper bag with extra snacks (for you) and don't forget to pack a change of clothes in there...for you! The only thing that makes a travel day harder than what it already is, is being covered in baby poop.
Sleep: Consider where your baby is going to be sleeping on your trip. If you’re traveling to an Airbnb or hotel, start by asking if there’s a pack n’ play or crib (mini crib is fine too) that you can use. Are there fees associated with it? Is it a guarantee that it’s available? All important questions to ask.
- Travel crib
- Sheet - pack two of these. S&%$ happens!
- Swaddle(s) or sleep sack(s) – remember to pack extras. Laundry access can be limited while traveling.
- White noise machine – there are apps on your phone that work in a pinch
- Black trash bags and painter’s tape – yes, we know that this seems odd. But if the room is bright, these help to create a familiar and dark sleep environment
- Monitor – if sleeping in different room from baby
- Pacifiers AND pacifier case (or Ziploc) to keep them clean. Pro Tip: Have one bag marked “dirty” and one marked “clean” to help keep things straight.
Breastfeeding / Pumping: If you're breastfeeding and/or pumping, travel days can feel relentless. Constantly feeding and feeling like a human pacifier is exhausting. While you've got yourself and your pump on hand, we always suggest bringing some backup formula just in case. Here are our lists of must-haves.
- Breastfeeding pillow
- Breast pump and charger
- Pump parts
- Pumping bra
- Insulated cooler for pumped milk/bottles on the go
- Milk storage bags
- Sharpie marker
- Nursing cover
- Back up formula
Tip #1: If you're traveling home with pumped milk, we recommend looking into a breastmilk shipping company, to lighten your load on the way home. Check out Milkstork (link site) for more information. Some employers offer Milk Stork as an employee benefit.
Tip #2: If you're going to be pumping and staying in a hotel, make sure to call in advance and confirm that there is a fridge with storage space for your milk. Confirm with the hotel that the fridge does NOT turn off in the middle of the night to preserve energy.
Formula Feeding: If your baby is drinking formula, the most important thing you need on T-day is enough formula to get you through. Think about what your baby's regular feeding schedule is, and pack a few extra bottles worth of formula. We're not saying there are going to be delays/hiccups, but we're also not NOT saying that. See below for the must-haves...
Formula (bring extra) Bottles (4 bottles minimum)
Formula dispenser/container if traveling on the go Water container if traveling on the go
Moving Around: You’ll want to consider how you’ll be getting around and what is needed to transport the baby comfortably and safely.
Car seat – usually if you’re traveling, you can leave the car seat base at home
Car seat bag – if checking luggage
Stroller – compact and light is better, but with a newborn, you’ll need a newborn insert
Stroller bag – if checking luggage Bassinet – optional
Carriers – best to bring a hard carrier that has more structure/support AND a soft one to wrap baby close
Clothing: Even if you’ve got a newborn, you’ve probably already learned that it’s not a day unless there are a few poop explosions. So, it’s best to be prepared. Depending on your ability to do laundry at your destination, we actually suggest you overpack clothing for your baby. Are we the first people that have told you to overpack intentionally?
- 2-3 outfits per day. Consider onesies (long-sleeved and short-sleeved depending on weather)
- Jacket/sweaters Socks
- Footie pajamas for sleeping
- Mits & hat – depending on age and temperature of destination Swimsuit, swim diaper, swim hat - if traveling somewhere warm
- Towel/washcloths - depending on where you’re going and access to these Shoes
Health & Safety: Aside from understanding and identifying where the closest medical care is, bring these few things to ensure your baby has everything they need while you’re traveling.
- Thermometer Motrin or Tylenol Benadryl
- Diaper cream Nasal aspirator Aquafor
- First Aid Kit Boogie Wipes
- Bath soap/shampoo
- Sunscreen - if traveling somewhere warm AND if baby is over 6 months old
Diapering: Your diaper bag is everything. On a travel day, we’re guessing it’s bursting at the seams and that’s okay.
- Wipes
- Diapers - pack enough for your travel day and then some. We recommend always ordering/sending diapers to your destination so you don’t have to carry everything with you
- Night diapers
- Disposable Bags - these are for dirty diapers
- Chuck Pads - use these for diaper changes on the go
- Large Ziploc bags - use these for dirty clothing while on the go Hand sanitizer
Play: The world is so stimulating to your baby, so being in a new place and seeing new people could be enough BUT it’s always a good idea to have a few activities ready.
- Play mat - a swaddle blanket works in a pinch
- A few toys – rattles, crinkle books, mirror, for example
- Bringing a place to put the baby down is tricky, especially if you’re flying. If driving, consider bringing a bouncer so you have an option of a place to put your baby down when you make stops.
Other / Optional:
- Highchair - consider renting if you’re flying. Or bring a portable high chair Plug covers/anything necessary to babyproof IF baby is on the go
- Stroller cover for rain/bugs
- Stroller fan - if traveling somewhere hot
- Laundry bag - easy place to store dirty clothes away from your clean clothes
- Detergent - small container Stain remover
- Teething toys
- Floating ring for the pool Sippy cups
- Puffs & other snacks Burp clothes
- Bottle / pump cleaning kit (rack, brush and soap)
Okay, as if this isn't enough, we've got a few more important best practices that might make traveling slightly better.
- Pack each individual outfit for your baby in a Ziploc bag. If organization is your thing, go ahead and use a Sharpie to mark what day or event that outfit is for.
- Absolutely 100 percent pack a separate suitcase for your baby. The last thing you need is to try and fit everything into one bag. If traveling light used to be your priority, let it go. Those days are over…