life of
dr. mom

Traveling Overseas With a Baby

When my daughter Madi was six months old, we went to France for a medical conference and included some vacation time. We spent a few days in Paris and then six days in Aix-en-Provence. During our stay we rented an Airbnb apartment so that we could prepare some meals at home and have more space to relax.

This vacation was very different to previous vacations Graeme and I had together. 

We took things very slow and did not see as we did pre-children. We would sleep until Madi woke up and then go to the market for fresh cheeses, breads, eggs and fruit. We would bring our fresh food back to the Airbnb to have a relaxing breakfast together.

After Madi’s morning nap, we would wander the streets in the early afternoon window-shopping and stop for a glass of wine at a cafe. 

We would often return to the apartment so Madi could have her second nap.

During the 6 days, we did 2 daytrips; one afternoon we went on a wine tour and the other afternoon we drove to Saint-Tropez to spend the day at Le Club 55. We loved Le Club 55!  The beach was beautiful and there was great people watching there.

Our trip to France was filled with great food, wine, walking and more downtime in our Airbnb than we normally spend.

Tips for travel with an infant:

  • Bring good walking shoes as there is a lot of walking on cobblestone streets
  • Bring a baby carrier and stroller
  • Try not to plan too many activities. Graeme and I normally love doing lots of site seeing and activities, but for this trip, we only planned two things we really wanted to do during our trip.
  • Plan activities around nap time
  • Bring snacks from home that you know your little one would like. It is stressful being in a new country trying to find snacks your baby likes.

This post was authored by Stephanie Liu, MD, CCFP, MSc, BHSc.

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