I traveled to Europe with a 4 hour layover in Vienna with my then 7 month old by myself. The only hard part was going to the bathroom myself on the place. I couldn't leave him by himself and it was comical trying to pee while holding him. Other than that, I'd say it was actually a lot easier than traveling with my 7 year old or a 10 year old.

Anonymous wrote:I’m going to go against the naysayers. Baby won’t remember (obviously) but you will. Plus, our babies were always incredibly portable at that age.

We went to Paris with an 11-month-old. We have great memories of him napping in the baby carrier while we did the lourve, drank champagne in Reims, and doing other adult things. After that trip we started doing more kid-friendly trips, so it was nice to have one last hurrah for things that were adult-focused.

OP here- we are going to Paris in early December. It’s nice to know you had a great time. Ds sleeps very well in a carrier. We’ve taken him to Florida and Montreal and he did well.

You will be immediately recognized as US-tourists, because no other tourists drag their babies through european cities.

Anonymous wrote:Yes! We did lots of trips before my kid turned 2, including to Europe (and also some long-haul flights). It's an excellent time to travel, before you have to buy a seat.

I myself prefer a hotel to an apartment -- hotels have cleaning services, and in an apartment you have to clean up after yourself!

For the flight itself, as much as you can, time flights for when the kid will be asleep. Time changes and sleep is a challenge, but at least for me, sleep for a 9mo at home was a challenge, so you might as well be somewhere nice, right?

You should always buy a seat for your baby.

We did London and Scotland with a 17 month old. We also did London and Paris with a 7 year old and a 13 month old. We have great memories from both trips.

We stayed in B&Bs and used nearby fluff and fold laundry services.

9 months is the perfect age! so portable and so adorable.

1. be sure to request the bulkhead seat for the bassinet (call the airline when you buy your tickets, they may say you have to call back 24 hours ahead of flight). baby will probably sleep all the way to europe, the airplane is one big white noise machine.

2. consider asking your pediatrician for an early MMR shot (babies can get them at 6 months if traveling to a high risk area)

3. if you have a large stroller like an uppababy, consider investing in a smaller travel stroller since spaces are smaller in europe and it's much easier to have a smaller stroller on public transit with elevators that may or may not work. bonus: unlike wmata you don't have to collapse your stroller on EU public transit

4. plan to wear your baby everywhere, i have eaten meals with the baby sleeping in a carrier

5. bring a pack n play for sleeping (hotels have them but i wouldn't use theirs, plus pack n play is a safe space for baby no matter where you are)

6. get early check-in for your hotel in case you are really tired. get the nicest hotel you can afford because you can never predict a baby's schedule with jet lag, so nice to have a balcony

7. also bring way more diapers than you think you need on the plane, plus 2 changes of baby clothes and a change for yourself in case of poop situations

We went to Portugal with our 10-months old. It was exhausting but now we look at photos and think about how fun it was. It took him about 3-4 days to get over the Jetlag , that was the toughest part. Those first few nights were awful - he was up with full energy at 2 am.

We also could not eat out anywhere nice which was a pity.

I’m going to go against the naysayers. Baby won’t remember (obviously) but you will. Plus, our babies were always incredibly portable at that age.

We went to Paris with an 11-month-old. We have great memories of him napping in the baby carrier while we did the lourve, drank champagne in Reims, and doing other adult things. After that trip we started doing more kid-friendly trips, so it was nice to have one last hurrah for things that were adult-focused.

Yes! We did lots of trips before my kid turned 2, including to Europe (and also some long-haul flights). It's an excellent time to travel, before you have to buy a seat.

I myself prefer a hotel to an apartment -- hotels have cleaning services, and in an apartment you have to clean up after yourself!

For the flight itself, as much as you can, time flights for when the kid will be asleep. Time changes and sleep is a challenge, but at least for me, sleep for a 9mo at home was a challenge, so you might as well be somewhere nice, right?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why?

This is my question, too. Unless it's a family trip, this is a waste of money
Wait until the child is old enough to remember going there.

No, go because you want to go! You’ll remember the trip.

When we traveled with a 9 month old we just had him in our carrier a lot and did a lot of walking. If your kid naps well in a stroller, just have them nap as you are out and about.

I will say that flying with our particular 9 month old wasn’t fun, but flying with that child didn’t get much better until they were 9 years old. Totally kid dependent.

Changing time zones also wasn’t the best experience at that age for us. Lots of frequent wake ups.

Anonymous wrote:Why?

This is my question, too. Unless it's a family trip, this is a waste of money
Wait until the child is old enough to remember going there.

We did it to England. Trip was fine. We stayed with family.

Why?

We did it to visit with family.

What is the purpose of your trip? It will be easier if you can rent a place with a kitchen and washer/dryer.

Any successful trips with baby?