The Ultimate Guide to Long-Term Travel with a Baby

Jenn: [00:00:00] Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Travel Mug Podcast. And this week, we are excited to dive into a topic that Meggan and I actually don't know a lot or basically anything about, uh, which is traveling with a baby. Uh, so Riana and her husband from Teaspoon of Adventure decided to use their parental leave to take a nine-month trip with their baby daughter and their dog, and they explored several countries, and I'm not gonna spoil where they went yet.

I'll let her tell us. She is here to help new and expectant parents plan adventures with their little ones. So Riana, welcome to the show. Tell us about yourself and tell us where your love of travel started. I'm always interested in those answers.

Riana: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. So I was thinking back and the first kind of big trip I took, um, I sort of found my way onto a family friend's trip to the Philippines and Korea when I was 13. I think my parents were like, "Please take her. Like, go. [00:01:00] go." Um, so that was kind of my first taste of adventure, but in very, like, you know, I just went where they told us to go and sort of followed the path. And then kind of my first own foray into travel and adventure was, um, I was 19 years old and I was back home after, uh, the semester at university, just kind of feeling like I don't know what I'm doing. Like, you know, I could get a summer job, but I don't really want to. And I got this email for a flight deal, uh, to Europe.

I was in Toronto at the time, um, and it was like $400 round trip, and I was like, "Oh, this is incredible." So I, you know, messaged all my friends. I was like, "Who..." like, "Who can come? Let's go, let's go," and nobody could commit, like, you know, before the deal was gonna expire. So I kinda went to my dad and I was like, "Can I, can I just go?"

And he's like, "You're 19. Of course, like, you know, do, do what you want." Um, so I did. So I booked, that was my first trip to Europe, first time traveling solo, spent about two and a half weeks kind of bopping around to, to all the big cities, and it was... I, I say that it was kind of the trip that, that started it all, 'cause from there I kind of, any opportunity to [00:02:00] travel, I took.

I studied abroad in Amsterdam. I volunteered, um, in Southern Africa. I volunteered in Peru. I did an internship in Tokyo. I, you know, my husband and I moved abroad to Prague a couple years ago for about a year. We did road trips in New Zealand. So really just any opportunity that popped up after that to travel was sort of, I was always game for it until, um, it kind of became my job, and now I'm a, a full-time travel blogger.

Jenn: It's so funny how those things happen.

Riana: Just, yeah, fell into it.

Jenn: Yes, amazing

Meggan: That's, like, a lot of adventure, and people say they like, like to travel, but that's, like, that's super serious, and I love that for you. so I guess I'd love to sort of dive in then, 'cause most parents, um, spend their parental leave at home. There's so much going on, especially first-time parents. What made you, and I see obviously your love for travel, but what made you decide to take that and travel instead?

Riana: Yeah, so I think I had first heard of someone doing [00:03:00] this probably almost 10 years ago. I had stumbled upon an article, and it was a shorter timeframe than what my, uh, husband and I ended up doing. But I think a couple had taken, you know, a month or two out of their mat leave, and they had sort of done a little, um, trip to Southeast Asia, and they were saying, you know, "This was such a great time. We just strapped the baby to our chest and off we went." And that kinda got the wheels turning for me. And then for my husband, he works, um, at a hospital here, so very, like, you know, he can't take his job on the road, not remote. Like, he's gotta be in office, or not in office, in hospital. So for us, this was kind of the one opportunity that my husband was gonna have a huge time off of work 'cause he, um, was able to take pa- like, paternal leave and also get a bit of a stipend from the Canadian government.

So honestly, the only time we were gonna be paid to have time off work. Um, so we kinda decided, like, that would be such a great opportunity for us, like, as a little family to kind of introduce our daughter to the world, introduce her to this, you know, thing we're really passionate about, travel. And when I first started cooking up this idea, I kinda pitched it to my husband [00:04:00] as, you know, Vancouver, where we live, is such a high cost of living city that if we're able to go and, you know, live somewhere else for a few months, it actually could save us money. In the end, that didn't really happen based on some of the places we chose to go. But, but that was okay. We had saved up for it. Uh, but yeah, it was something, yeah, it kinda sparked probably back in 2018, 2019, and then we didn't have our daughter 'til 2025, so it's really been something we've been planning and saving for for many years.

Jenn: Oh, interesting. So this, you're, you're really, you were planning well before the, the, the trip, so that makes sense. Yeah, that's, that's really awesome. So did you have any, like, big fears or concerns, um, maybe in the planning process or even, like, going up to leaving uh, on your, on your trip? Yeah

Riana: Yeah, so I think sort of the, the general ones that people would kind of think of, like, you know, oh, safety, like, is the baby gonna be okay, routines and things like that. I think the way that we planned the trip, we were kind of able to alleviate a lot of those fears. Like, you know, [00:05:00] we weren't going to places where there's, you know, unsafe conditions or you, you can't drink the water, or you can get, you know, dengue fever.

Like, we were going to, spoiler alert, like Western Europe, like very, you know, everything was very clean, comfortable. We were familiar. Places we, um, countries we had been to before, so that was, you know, sort of alleviated a lot of those fears. So I think the other big fears we had were, logistical, just sort of all the hoops we'd have to jump through, like applying for visas, getting our dog's paperwork, finding accommodation.

We ended up ending our lease in Vancouver in order to go, so just sort of all the packing up and storing of our stuff. And then more on the emotional side, you know, being away from friends and family for so long, and for both of our parents, this is, like, the first grandbaby. Um, so that was, you know, I, my mother-in-law, I could hear her in my ear saying, "You're taking my grandbaby."

So that was, that was, um, a big one that we were very concerned about, and it, it worked out quite well. We actually had all of our parents came out at different times during our trip to visit with us, so that was really nice, 'cause not only, you know, did we get to see them, they got to see their granddaughter, but we also got to, you know, make really cool memories in Spain and the [00:06:00] UK and stuff like that.

Jenn: Yeah. I think that's so awesome, and I think that, um, as, like, a, a big Disney person, one thing I hear is people like, "Oh, why are you taking your kids to Disney when they're, you know, really young? They're not going to remember it." And I feel like parents need to think, like, this is not for your kids. Like, this is for you, too, right? Like, this is about you and your family and, like, bonding time and doing things together, and I think that it's so awesome that you had, like, also extended family members come and do that with you, too, 'cause that's special for them

Riana: Yeah, yeah, 100%. That was something I, I had posted a picture at one point of my daughter and I in front of the Eiffel Tower, and someone commented and said, like, "Sorry to say, she'll never remember that." And I was like, "Oh, hold on." Like, let me just let me, like, pull up my sleeves, get on the keyboard, and I said, one, like, you know, it do- it doesn't matter.

I remember it. My husband remembers it. We have these beautiful photos. We have this memory, and like, just because I'm a mom doesn't mean everything I do is in service of my baby, I'm allowed to pursue the things I love. [00:07:00] But also, like, by that logic, you know, she's not gonna remember anything till she's three or four.

Should I just put her in a, in a box and be like, "Hey, see you when you're four, when you can remember this"? Of course not

Meggan: Right

Riana: and then also, like, it's, you know, it, like, I can talk more about this later, but, like, it's shaped so much, I think, of who she is at only 16 months old. She's so open. She's so curious.

Like, you know, we've been visiting, like, day cares and community centers here at home, and, like, she just runs right in, picks up toys, waves at people, so smiley. And I, I don't know that that was travel for sure, but I'd like to think, you know, being in new environments, meeting new people every day, kinda doing something different really shaped who she is already at 16 months old.

So I, I see so much benefit to travel with a baby for a family, regardless of whether or not they can, like, specifically tell you, you know, like I can't even tell you what I had for breakfast this morning. Like, that's, that's just not a good

Meggan: Right.

Riana: not travel.

Meggan: And I think, you know, it, it will happen. I'm, I can guarantee it that later in life she'll be like, "I was there when I was a baby. I'll show you the pictures my parents took of me." That will matter to her later, even if it didn't matter [00:08:00] to her technically right then. I mean, I have had experiences like that in my life, and so as me as a kid versus me now, so that will matter to her and, and that will be something she talks about later for sure. You of course mentioned Paris, you mentioned the UK, you mentioned Spain. So can you talk to us, uh, where did you go? And like, uh, and of course you mentioned earlier safety and whatnot, but like how did you choose your destinations? What, what was sort of on your list of, "Yes, we'll go there"?

Riana: Sure. Yeah, so we started, um, we started kind of on easy mode, I like to say. We went to Toronto first, so keeping it domestic in, in Canada, and that's where my family's from, so it was, um, this was their first chance to meet their, their granddaughter. Um, so we spent about 10 weeks in Toronto staying with family.

So again, very easy, still in Canada, not, not a tough travel. Um, from there we flew to Paris, and we went to a little city called Orléans in the Loire Valley of France, and we were based there for about six weeks. And the reason we chose that really was just Paris was an easy direct flight from Toronto, so we kinda said, "We'll get to Paris. We probably can't [00:09:00] afford to stay in Paris itself, so let's look for a city that's kind of an easy train ride away, um, somewhere that's, you know, got a lot going on. We can do day trips, but it's not, you know, the hustle and bustle that is Paris." Um, so we were really happy in the Loire Valley, got to go to lots of, like, castles and medieval towns and things like that on day trips, which was really fun. From there we did a bit of a road trip up through, uh, northern France through Normandy up to, um, a little town called Calais, where you can take a train over to the UK. And the reason we did that extremely convoluted route is because it's very hard to bring a dog into the UK. You can't fly them in, and you can't take them on the, um, the Chunnel, the train that goes from Paris to London.

They don't allow dogs on that either. So the only way to go is, um, through... Well, not only way, there's ferries and things like that, but the, the kinda fastest, easiest way to go is through this town called Calais in France. And even then you have to drive them on, you can't walk them on, and we obviously didn't have a car, so we paid a lot of money for a taxi to take us on this route. You have to go to a vet. It's a whole [00:10:00] thing. so that was sort of our, our convoluted way into the UK, and, uh, there we went to London for about a month, um, and then down to Brighton on the south coast, and then back to London actually. And the whole reason we went to the UK was, I can get more into this in a bit, but we had actually originally applied for visas to France.

Our plan was to kinda spend the whole time in France, but those visas, uh, didn't come through. So as Canadians, we're only allowed to be in the Schengen Zone of Europe for 90 out of 180 days, so we couldn't spend the whole time in France, had to get out. Uh, so the options were kind of if we wanted to stay in Europe, were either up to the UK or down to some of the, um, Baltic countries, or sorry, Balkans, not Baltics. Um, and we were debating between the two, and the UK, even though it was tough to bring a dog in, at least there were very, um, firm rules. Like, it was easy to figure out what we had to do. Whereas with some of the countries, like, we were kinda looking at, like, Albania, Montenegro, it was a little bit harder to figure out how we'd get our dog in and out. And we just, we hadn't been there before, so we weren't as comfortable bringing a dog and a baby for the first time. Whereas the [00:11:00] UK, we traveled there before. Obviously, they speak English, so we were like, "Hey, if anything goes wrong, you know, it'd be easy." So we ended up in the UK. Um- London had always been a dream of mine to live in. At, like, 24 I used to say, like, "I'm moving to London." So when we started to look at the UK, I was like, "Okay, we can't do London. There's no way. We can't afford it. We can't afford it." But we were kinda just looking at other cities, and we wanted to be in a big city with amenities. You know, we didn't- especially we didn't have a car, we didn't wanna be in a small town, and London was always just, like, just a tiny bit more expensive, and we kinda just looked at each other and said, like, "Let's just do it.

Like, let's just we're gonna up the budget

Meggan: Might as well

Riana: right? We're already there." Um, and yeah, we talked ourselves into, into it, and it was, it was awesome. So yeah, London, and then we went to Brighton just to kind of give ourselves a, a tiny bit of a financial break from London, not that Brighton is much cheaper. But it's another big city right on the coast, really cool, like, artsy vibes, lots of great cafes and stuff like that, so a good place to kinda settle for a couple months. And then back to London for our final month. We originally had thought to go down to Italy, um, but it was just gonna be, again, with the dog, it was gonna be such a [00:12:00] convoluted route to kinda train our way down there. And we found out that even though you can't fly a dog in-cabin into London, you can fly them in-cabin out of London. Again, very convoluted learning all of this. Um, so we, we ended up just staying in London for our final month, 'cause it was g- we could fly home directly from there with our dog without having to, you know, do anything special, um, for her.

So that's, that's the long answer of where we went and why

Meggan: Yeah, no

Jenn: no, I mean, those are all... It sounds like traveling, uh, with a dog overseas is a lot harder than traveling with

Meggan: harder

Riana: Yeah. Yeah, when we, so I had mentioned before, my husband and I, we moved to Prague in 2019 with plans to stay for a year, and we had our dog at that time, and that was actually, like, seamless. Like, flew her, we flew into Paris as well just 'cause it's the direct flight from Vancouver. Um, but like, she was welcomed everywhere, like people putting out dog bowls, you know, super happy to have

Jenn: Yeah.

Riana: As soon as we got to the EU, like paperwork, no problem. Um, and when we, uh, once we got into the UK it was fine, it was just getting in

Jenn: Yeah

Riana: was trouble. But once we were there, like she's welcomed in the shops and the pubs and like, you know, everyone's happy, happy to [00:13:00] have a dog around.

Jenn: Yeah

Riana: just the actual getting, getting in was tough.

Jenn: Yeah. So what, uh, planning did you do before you left?

Riana: Yeah, so lots.

Jenn: Lots, yeah.

Riana: I've had, I've had a spreadsheet going for, for literally years.

Jenn: Yeah

Riana: so I think kind of on the home front, like I said, we did end up, uh, we were renting a place in Vancouver, so we ended our lease, had to kind of pack up everything, sold, donated a lot, stored a few things. So that was kind of one sort of planning logistical headache.

Um, we did apply for those French visas, so that was another sort of big planning piece, um, applying for those visas, and then kind of figuring out our, our backup route after that. Uh, we really wanted to make sure all of our accommodation was booked ahead of time. I know a lot of people when they do, like, long-term trips, a couple months, they kind of just book the first, you know, couple weeks, first month or two, and then sort of say, "Hey, we'll figure it out.

We'll see how we feel. If we like the place, we'll stay." Um, that's, to be honest, that's not really our style anyways, we're

Jenn: You are

Riana: planner. I love a spreadsheet, so I, you know, I'm, I'm always of the, you know, [00:14:00] if I can research all the places ahead of time, I will, rather than, you know, walking around on the ground, uh, and to see what I like.

And then especially with a baby and a dog, I really didn't wanna leave it up to chance. Um, even then because we did have to pivot and not, not stay in France as long as we wanted, we were kind of booking things as we went, but usually like a month or two out. So it was never a situation of like, "I don't know where we're gonna sleep tomorrow or next week."

Meggan: Yeah, no

Riana: no, was not gonna work, um, with a dog and a baby. And then same with, uh, the long-haul transportation, like we wanted to make sure our flights and our, you know, longer trains, car rentals, that sort of stuff was, was booked ahead of time too

Meggan: Now, what kind of visa were you trying to get with this situation with the, with the French government?

Riana: Yeah, so there is a visa, and I'm obviously not a visa expert, so you know,

Meggan: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Riana: get the visa so don't, don't take what I, what I'm saying as, as gospel. But there is a long-stay tourist visa for France that gives you a year.

Meggan: Okay

Riana: Um, and the idea is, like, you're not gonna get a job in France when you get there. Like, you're, you're just visiting. You might be able to work online. That part is kind of, uh, questionable. So that was the one we had applied [00:15:00] for, and it was just a situation where, um, they don't provide much information online. Like, one of the categories was, like, proof of socioeconomic status, and I was like, "What does that mean?

Like, do you want bank accounts? Do you want a tax report? Do you want like, what, do you need to see a certain number?" It was very, um, just sort of vague. And when we went to the visa processing office, they were like, "We're not sure. Like, maybe they'll call you if they don't have enough info. Maybe they won't."

Like, was very, yeah, very up in the air. Um, so that was, yeah. And when we got rejected, it was just, it just said incomplete or insufficient information, and they didn't tell you, like, what part of your application was insufficient or incomplete or, you know, a number to call, nothing like that. Um, so

Meggan: Riana, it sounds like we don't want you to have that visa really.

Jenn: Yeah.

Riana: they did

Jenn: Bureauc- bureaucracy is so, so fun.

Riana: Yep

Jenn: curious, uh, how you found planning travel with a baby different versus traveling as a couple. I think that's something that a lot of [00:16:00] people have to wrap their mind around.

Riana: Totally, totally. Yeah, so I think for us the biggest things were probably, I guess in the, in the planning stages, like before we got there, definitely the packing, we needed to be a lot more precise. You know, we did end up bringing quite a bit of our own baby gear with us, um, so making sure we had, you know, a crib and a high chair and a car seat and a stroller that were like as travel-friendly as possible, but still something that, you know, she'd be comfortable in for, for many, many months.

The accommodation, as I said, like making sure it was baby-friendly, so you know, not a lot of stairs, but also knowing that with a baby we're gonna be spending a lot more time at the accommodation, so lots of space for her to crawl and play, and like a full kitchen so we can make meals. Whereas when it was just my husband and I, you know, it's okay, it's a, it's a studio apartment, who cares?

Like we'll just come back and crash. Whereas like, okay, we need a bedroom, we need to be able to black out the, the, the windows. We have to be able to, you know, is there space for the crib? That kind of stuff. And then in terms of the actual like day-to-day itinerary planning, I think that was probably the [00:17:00] biggest change, and something that really, um, took me a long time to kind of accept that we were really gonna need to slow down our sightseeing. Like, you know, everyone says like, "Oh, with a baby, like, obviously your, you know, travel's gonna change. You'll have to go slower." And people would say like, "Just try to do one thing a day, one thing a day," and I kinda held onto that as like my like, you know, North Star. Like, "Okay, we're gonna do one thing a day," and not realizing that sometimes even that thing isn't gonna look how you want. Like, you know, "Okay, we're gonna go to this museum," and I was like, "Great, we're gonna go, you know, we're gonna spend the day at this museum. We're gonna get to see everything." It's like, oh, no, like, we're actually gonna get there after her nap, and then she's gonna be fussy, and we're not gonna get to see the whole thing, and we're gonna have to take turns going through this exhibit, 'cause there's not enough space for her stroller. And then, oh, we gotta get back on the bus to get home for her next nap, and I'm gonna have to breastfeed in a corner somewhere.

So it's just, it wasn't, um... I, I think I really had to let go of the idea that there was gonna be time for absolutely everything I wanted to do, especially as someone who reseaches

Meggan: Right

Riana: so much and had all of these, you know, things saved on Google Maps that I wanted to do, or eat at, or see. Just [00:18:00] really letting go of the idea that we'd be able to get to everything in a single day, or a single week, or even a single month. Um, that was sort of the biggest, uh, difference itinerary-wise between, like, being with a couple or j- or being with a baby

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: makes sense

Jenn: For sure, it makes sense. And I think that especially if you're a first-time parent, like, you have no idea, uh, how it's going to go. And even if you're s- having a, a, a second baby or something, like, every baby is different, and they need different things, and they, and they need different nap times, and that sort of thing.

So yeah, it...

Meggan: So we've heard.

Jenn: We've heard, but, you know. But, but yeah, like, really I, I definitely hear what you're saying about, like, letting go of, like, what you think it's going to be, and, like, really needing to just, like, roll with it.

Riana: Yeah. That might be parenting in a nutshell

Jenn: I

Riana: Letting go of expectations and rolling with it. Yep.

Jenn: That sounds, that sounds right. Um, so I'm curious why you [00:19:00] chose slow travel, and maybe that, you know, goes back to what we were just saying, uh, over, like, constantly moving around. And is this how you traveled before you had a baby?

Riana: Yeah, so it's, I think for us because we were gonna be away for so long, I think it had to be slow travel, especially with the dog and the baby. I think if it was one or the other maybe we could've up the pace, but having both of them, um, for nine months I think would've just been ... 'Cause any time we even told someone like, "Oh, yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna go abroad with, with our baby and our dog for nine months," like people's eyes would just get bigger and bigger and be like, "What?"

And then I'd kind of explain, "Okay, we're spending like a month in each place." And they'd kinda go, "Oh, okay, like you're, you know, you're, you're more living there versus, you know, jumping around every, every few days." 'Cause I think that's the vision people see. They think like, "Okay, you're gonna be

Meggan: Mm-hmm.

Riana: a plane or a train every couple days." It just would not have been sustainable, um, with the dog and the baby and the multiple suitcases and all that. It is something we've kind of done before, um, when we lived in Prague for that year. I, I kinda see that as slow travel 'cause we had that home base in Prague, and [00:20:00] we would do kinda day trips and weekend trips and week-long trips.

But when we were away on those little trips, those were a lot faster-paced. Um, so I think the idea of actually being like in a space for a long period of time while still trying to sightsee, that was kinda new for us. Um, and, and I think part of the wa- reason why I probably struggled with it so much was because it was this, this new experience.

Jenn: Mm-hmm. Yeah

Meggan: sense too. I guess, like, there's the logistics of actually getting there. So talk to us sort of about how flights went, what did jet lag look like, especially flying with a baby, that kind of thing

Riana: Totally. Yeah, so we tried to make the flights as easy as possible. Um, so our first flight was Vancouver to Toronto, then Toronto to Paris, then, um, we did actually spend a week in Spain, uh, for our daughter's first birthday, so we did a little flight from London to Spain and back, and then London back to Vancouver.

So we tried to do direct flights, um, no stop-overs. Uh, our dog was actually the easiest on the flight. She just goes into her carrier, curls up, falls [00:21:00] asleep, and she is small enough to stay in cabin with us, so that

Jenn: Yeah.

Riana: uh, that was great. We didn't have to worry about her at all. For our daughter, for the longer flights, so the one, um, Vancouver to Toronto, Toronto to Paris, London back to Vancouver, we actually bought her a seat even though under two people always say, "Oh, they fly free under two."

Not really. Usually you pay the taxes, you pay a percentage of the ticket, and then you're keeping them on your lap, so you're actually paying to not have, like, any extra space. It's the same amount of space you'd have if it was just you or just you and your partner. So we actually did buy her a seat, and we did that for a few reasons, one of them being, you know, that London to Vancouver flight is nine hours long.

I don't really wanna hold a 14-month-old on my lap for nine hours. not fun. and then especially with our dog, because she's in cabin with us she has to go at our feet, um, and you don't get an extra space for that, right? So if we didn't buy our daughter a seat, it would be me and my husband holding a 14-month-old with a 14-pound dog at our feet, and we're, we're tall people,

Meggan: True

Riana: that would not have been possible. So by getting our daughter a seat, the dog could go under her seat, and she's obviously in, in a car seat, so that [00:22:00] actually worked out really, really well. Um, and she was able to sleep in the car seat as well, and it's kind of... You know, they say it's, like, the safest place for a baby. So that all worked out quite well flight-wise.

She did great. She only cried, you know, maybe 15 minutes, um, throughout the whole flight. In fact, on the way home, the people in front of us were, like, so charmed by her they offered to take her three different times. They were like, "Can we, can we hang out with her?" I was like, "Sure." Like, "Here she, here she is."

Like, handed her over, and w- my husband and I were like, "Okay. If someone else wants to do this, great."

Meggan: right ahead

Riana: yeah, so she did great. Jet lag was, um, not too bad on the way there. I think we were all just so excited. Um, you know, you're in Paris. It's, it's pretty easy to, to get hyped to get over jet lag. She was also still waking up in the middle of the night at that point for feedings, so it didn't feel, like, unusual for her to get up. The way home was harder. Um, very early mornings we were getting up at, like, 2:00 AM to start the day, and we actually got a noise complaint in our new building 'cause we started to unpack 'cause our brains were just like, "Yeah, it's the daytime," and we're like moving boxes around. And we got a call at, like, s- you know, later in the day saying, like, "Were you making a lot of noise at 4:00 AM?"

And it's like, [00:23:00] "Oh, yeah, we probably were. That was us.

Meggan: Indeed

Jenn: Whoops

Riana: that, that took a, a week or two to kinda get back, uh, to normal. Just lots of, yeah, very early going to Starbucks, like, the minute they open 'cause we've already been awake for, you know, a hours.

Meggan: Right

Riana: But, but we all made it. We, we got over it.

Jenn: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Um, I think we, we've kind of mostly covered this, but is there... How did you manage, like, naps and sleep schedules and sort of your daily routine? Did it take you a long time to really find your groove once you got there?

Riana: Yeah, I think we were- this was probably something that would've been good for my husband and I to kinda discuss ahead of time, though I guess you don't really know until you're you're in the thick of it. Um, but we did start, uh, following a p- a pretty strict routine in terms of, like, what time we would want her to be napping, what time she's going to bed at night, and that sort of dictates, you know, when meals and things like that happen. And a lot of times I felt a lot of resistance towards that because, again, it would be, you know, we're out doing something cool, and it's like, "Okay, we gotta get going. We gotta get home for the nap." And [00:24:00] we kind of learned that she naps better at home in her crib, and also gave my husband and I time to, like, you know, we get to relax for a little bit.

I was still working at the time, so that was, you know, I'm able to pull out the laptop and get some work done if we all go home and kind of chill. But it was hard to leave things midday, and again, if we were doing, like, a fast trip, if we were only in London for a week, I think we would've just kept her in the stroller and been like, "Hey, you'll nap when you nap. Like, we'll, you know, you're coming with us," kinda thing. But because we had so much time, we were able to head back and, and do those naps and stick to that schedule, which I think in hindsight was really good. Again, it gave us that kinda downtime, it gave me time to work, and it gave her kind of a predictable, like, even though, you know, we do something new every day, we eat somewhere new, we go to new things, I always am back in this room, in this crib, napping at these times with, you know, the same pajamas, the same sleep sack, all that stuff. So I think that was probably good for her in terms of, like, having a routine, they say is important for babies, so

Jenn: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So do you think how, or how do you [00:25:00] think, having a baby changed the way you experience these destinations, especially where they're somewhere you've been before?

Riana: Totally. Yeah, it was actually, um, probably most interesting in a place like London where I've been before because we got to spend so much time there, and because having our, our daughter kept us kind of more in like a local community, it really felt like we got to kind of pretend for a little while like we lived in London, like we actually were, you know, a local family there.

Like we, when we were in Brighton we enrolled her in like swim classes, so we were at, you know, every, every Friday with the same group of people, you know, teaching our infants how to swim and you know, going to library events, going to the playground, going to the parks, the people at the coffee shop like recognizing us, waving to us.

Um, so that was really cool. I think in past trips to London it was all about like, "Okay, let's see as much as possible, cover the whole city, never go to the same coffee shop twice." Whereas this was like, okay, like, you know, every morning we're, we're, we're living above a coffee shop, we're walking in there every single morning.

They know us, they're waving at us. Um, and even just I think having a baby, [00:26:00] um, especially one as like social as ours, really just like, you know, people who are on the bus or on the Tube, they've got their headphones in, you know, when they look up and they see a baby waving at them they're immediately like, "Oh my gosh."

Like waving, smiling, chatting, and that's just such like a nice feeling, especially in a big city like London that I think can feel kind of, you know, anonymous

Meggan: Cold

Riana: cold, anonymous, exactly, as you're traveling through. Like everyone's very much in their own world. It was kind of a nice, even if we didn't make, you know, lifelong friends on the Tube, just that little moment of somebody, you know, waving at her, doing peekaboo, was always such a nice little like, "Oh," like that's cool, like we had like a little human interaction there.

So I think, uh, definitely would not have happened without a baby. No one's, no one's playing peekaboo with me on the Tube so

Meggan: Which is a shame, if you

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: to be honest. It really is. It really is. I wanna talk packing because,

Riana: Hmm.

Meggan: um, I'm an overpacker. Jenn's like the deity, pretty much she's a superhero and I'm like the anti-superhero when it comes to packing. But I wanna ask, like, what did you think you'd need that [00:27:00] you took that you never used?

Was there something, if anything?

Riana: A few things. So I think when we... So specifically when we got to Europe, um, we got there kinda mid-September, and I don't know if we just, you know, were very optimistic, but we brought, like, a bunch of summer clothes even though we knew we'd be there from September till March. So actually, luckily, my mom came out to visit us pretty quick, and we just sent her home with, like, dresses, shorts, sandals, and I was like, "I don't know what we were thinking. This was not necessary." Um, and then we actually held onto clothes for our daughter. So m- my theory was kind of like, you know, as she grows, we'll, we'll get rid of clothes, we'll donate them, and then we'll just buy new stuff, like, as, as she needs it, um, popping into... You know, there's lots of, like, charity, like, secondhand shops in the UK, uh, which we did do, but we also were given a lot of clothing before we left for Europe, like gifts or secondhand stuff, and it felt wasteful to me to not bring it, and I was like, "Oh, she's gonna, you know, grow into this. Let's bring it." So we ended up having, like, a pretty sizable, like, vacuum-sealed bag of clothing for her to grow into, and we just carried it for so long, and it wasn't till, like, the final month that we kind of [00:28:00] pulled out one or two things, and even then, like, she was still too small for a lot of it. And I was like, we should've just, you know, donated it or sent it home, sent it to somebody else.

We didn't really need to carry, um, clothing she never wore the whole time. And then I think the biggest one was we actually packed a, like, a travel high chair. So it's, um... It was, like, hard plastic, so it was, it was travel-friendly, um, and I just wanted, like, a safe space for her to be able to eat. I didn't wanna have to, you know, hold her on my lap or put her in her stroller.

But what I realized was the Airbnb hosts either had a high chair or were very willing to get one. Like, when our last place in London, you know, I said, "Hey, you, we have a baby. Is there a chance you could provide a high chair?" And, like, within half an hour there was a new one at our door. Like, they just, like, you know,

Meggan: Wow

Riana: whatever delivery system. Um, and I was like, oh, this could've saved us. You know, it's pretty bulky even though it's, it's a lightweight high chair. Um, it was annoying to have to put in a suitcase, so I was kinda like, oh, this probably would've solved, you know, a lot of problems if we just asked ahead of time. And if they had said no, it would've been, you know, whatever, 30, 40, $50 to get a, a high chair would've been worth it to, for, for staying at a place [00:29:00] for a whole month.

So,

Meggan: Yeah.

Riana: not have packed that.

Jenn: That's fair.

Meggan: see that

Jenn: Yeah, yeah. Are there any items that you consider, like, absolute lifesavers that you brought with you or maybe bought once you were there?

Riana: Yeah, I would say our travel stroller for sure. We did a ton of research on, um, the travel stroller that we wanted. We wanted, like, super lightweight but still obviously, you know, comfortable, it can grow with her, and small enough to fit in the overhead bin of a plane. That was really important to me. I wanted to be able to, like, wheel it right onto the plane, wheel it right off. Uh, so that was, you know, clutch. We used that multiple times a day. We still use it. It's our only- We've never had another stroller before or after. We still just use the travel stroller, and it's so handy 'cause even when you're not flying, there were so many times, especially in a city like London, where we did have to, like, fold up the stroller really quick.

Like, you know, you get to a tube station, elevator's out of order. Like, okay, like, fold up the stroller, grab the baby, let's go. Or we're at a restaurant, okay, there's no space for your stroller. Great, collapse it, put it under the table. Um, getting onto buses, things like that. So it was really handy to have a stroller that was, like, kind of a workhorse.

You know, we [00:30:00] put all our groceries underneath it, all of our stuff , but then also could fold up really tiny when we needed it. Um, and then another thing we did was because I was kind of working on the road, we kind of made, like, a portable workstation. So I had, like, a laptop stand that was, like, collapsible.

Like, it looks, they look like a little set of chopsticks, like super, super tiny, and then it kind of opens up to hold my laptop. Had, like, a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. So just a few things that, like, because we were gonna be in each place for a couple months, I didn't wanna just be, like, hunched over my laptop on the couch.

Like, I wanted to kind of be able to set up a little bit. Didn't bring, you know, a huge monitor screen or anything like that, but just a couple things to make it feel a little bit more comfortable for work. Um, so that was really, really helpful for me.

Jenn: Yeah. I got a travel second monitor, and it's like a, it was a game changer last... 'Cause I'm used to working with multiple screens, and then I traveled last year to the Yukon, and I was working, and having the second screen, I was like, "This is, this is a lifesaver for me."

Riana: Nice. Yeah.

Jenn: Yeah.

Riana: that

Jenn: [00:31:00] Awesome. So, uh, were there any, like, baby gear that you decided to leave at home and, and just buy locally, uh, while you were traveling?

Riana: Not too much. Um, we really did, we, we brought a lot of the big stuff, like the stroller, the car seat, the, the highchair, regrettably, uh, the crib. We actually did pack our own, um, travel crib. It folds up small, like a backpack almost. You can wear it. And the reason we did a lot of that was I, I just didn't wanna get to a place and, you know, get there and be like, "Oh, this crib's kinda old, it's not really safe," and we're stuck with it for a month. Um, and i- again, it's the only... She still sleeps in that crib right now, the travel crib. It's the one she's kinda had since day one. So I reasoned that, like, because it's our home crib and it's our travel crib, like, let's just take it, and then she can kinda have this, like, safe, dependable, it's always, you know, even though the apartments change, I'm always in the same crib. So yeah, we did bring a lot of our own gear. And then I think anything that, um, like big gear-wise that some kids might have, like, you know, a bathtub or like a little activity center or a swing, we just kinda figured, like, she's okay. She doesn't really need [00:32:00] it. If she does, we could get it. But, like, you know, we bathed her in the sink, and she was fine with that. Like, she didn't really had, she still bathes in the sink. She's very happy with that as, as a plan. So we, yeah, we didn't really buy too much on the road for her besides a couple clothing items. Just, it got cold, so we had to buy her a coat. Um, and then just, like, you know, a few books and little souvenirs and toys and things like that, um, which did end up adding up to a lot 'cause we just found so many adorable, cute things we wanted to bring home.

But,

Meggan: Right, right

Riana: in terms of gear, we didn't, we didn't buy too much.

Meggan: Makes sense to take things that you're, you know work, you know are comfortable for her, and that aren't taking up too much room anyway. And plus, when you get to a place, what if they didn't have what they said they would have, and then you have nowhere for your baby to sleep and you're scrambling trying to find something.

So like, those kind of, those things make, that makes good sense, and I think that that's just really good planning on your part, for sure.

Riana: Thanks.

Jenn: Yeah. Yeah, I'm like thinking of, you know, I, I don't have, uh, any children, but like a lot, most of my friends do, and I'm thinking [00:33:00] of like all the stuff they get at baby showers, right? Like you get so much stuff, and it's kind of like taking a step back and you're like, "Do I really need this? Like am I ever going to use this? Can I do something else, like bathe him in the sink instead of using this like plastic tub thing that g-..." Like it just, using your brain a little bit to think about like, "Do I actually need this?" I mean, Me- Meggan needs to do that when she travels too. "Do I actually need this or-"

Meggan: you, Bree? And I, I actually blank out and, like, just end up with a packed suitcase and hope that, hope for the best really

Jenn: It's like that,

Riana: it

Jenn: like that meme that's like, "Do I need three trombones or four?" And it's like, I've never played a trombone in my life. Like

Meggan: I need, I need four generally, but that's just me. What, if you were to think back, and I'm sure there's a ton, but if you could narrow it down, like, what are your favorite memories from the trip?

Riana: Yeah, I think the first ones that kinda come to mind are just, like, some of her [00:34:00] baby milestones that she happened to have in really cool places. Like, she started crawling when we were in Orléans when my mom was there visiting us in France. She took her first steps in Brighton. She celebrated her first birthday in Spain.

So those are kind of fun, you know, I think for the rest of her life, not that people talk about this daily or anything, but you know, like, if she ever asks, like, "Oh, like, where's my first birthday? When did I learn to walk?" It's like, "Oh, here's the video. We were in the UK," you know? I think that's quite, that's quite cool, those little milestones. Living in London just because it was such, like, a bucket list thing that I've kinda wanted to do for the last decade plus, um, that was so cool to be able to do that. And my vision of it, you know, growing up was always, like, just, like, I'd be, you know, the 20-something, like, working girl, like, out on my own, and to be able to go back to London, like, with a husband, a baby, and a dog was, like, never something I pictured,

Meggan: Mm-hmm.

Riana: that was very cool to kinda, like, check that off the, the bucket list. Yeah, just, uh, castles in France were pretty, pretty amazing. That was fun to to go through. We really loved Brighton just as a city. Uh, it felt very similar to Vancouver, just sort of vibe-wise with lots of, you know, [00:35:00] natural beauty and street art and cafe culture. Um, yeah, those are k- kind of broad memories, but sort of

Meggan: Yeah

Jenn: Yeah. Yeah. So I'm wondering what advice you would give parents who are considering maybe a similar adventure of, like, multi-months, but e- maybe even just their, like, first trip overseas with a baby

Riana: Yeah. So I think, um, similar to what you were saying, I think packing less is, is a big one. There is ... Yes, I think there's a lot of virtue in doing your research, having the gear that, like, works for you and your family, but I think especially if you're going to places like, you know, a London, a Paris, like, they're gonna have diapers, they're gonna have wipes, they're gonna have toys, and clothes, and books. Like, you don't need to pack, you know, the kitchen sink. Um, and just sort of taking your kid's lead, too. Like, you know, we didn't bring a lot of toys for her, and the first few days in, in France, she would take my yogurt containers out of the recycling and make towers out of those. And I was like, "Perfect. We got stacking blocks. Great." Like, know, like, they're, they're very adaptable. My next piece of advice would be to slow down [00:36:00] the itinerary. Plan less. Um, and this was one that I, you know, struggled with, but kind of keeping in mind, like, this might be your first trip with your baby. It's not your last.

You can go back to London. You can go back to Paris. Like, you don't have to see absolutely every single thing. Um, and then my final piece of advice is just to do it. If you have the money, if you have the time, which I ... is, is rare, I know not, not every parent, is able to take off this kind of time and do this kind of trip. Um, it doesn't ... Like, like you said, it doesn't have to be nine months. It can be shorter. It can be closer to home. Um, but if you are able to do something like this, it's, it's so cool. It will change your baby, the, you know, your family. It'll be something you remember for the rest of your life, even if your kid doesn't, they're still gonna get so much out of it.

So definitely, I, I highly recommend going on some version of your own, you know, trip with your baby. It's, it's the coolest thing.

Meggan: So, and looking back, is there anything you wish you would've done differently?

Riana: well, if I knew we weren't gonna get those France visas, I wouldn't have sunk so much time and money into that.

Meggan: Correct

Jenn: Yeah

Riana: that would be a big one. [00:37:00] Um, as- assuming I didn't know that. I think it is probably more just down to that pace. Um, I think I, I really did struggle a lot with, I guess, like, FOMO, for lack of a better word, of just, like, s- you know, literally we would walk past a café, there's a distinct café I can remember, and a friend told me, like, "Oh, you have to try that," and we walked past it almost daily, and just the hours never lined up with her naps, and we never got to go.

And I was like, "This is ridiculous. I'm walking by this place I wanna go to, like, and I can't go," that, that resistance. Um, so I wish I had, I don't know, sat down with myself or with my husband and just said like, like, "Yes, we are limited by, you know, her naps, her schedule, this routine that we've decided to stick to, but also, like, because of this routine, we're getting so much more. We're getting to explore our local community. We're getting to have this time as a family," and just like, especially now that we're back home and my husband's back at work, just appreciating, like, even if we're not out, you know, doing the best sightseeing that London's ever seen, the fact that we are just like, as a family, in London having a meal together, the three of us at home, and, and the dog, the four of us like, [00:38:00] that is, you know, that's really special, and just kinda cherishing those moments.

I wish I had... I, I think I did appreciate it at the time, but I, I wish I had stopped trying to cram in more. I wish I just sort of sunk into those moments and, and appreciated them for what they were

Jenn: Yeah. Oh, that sounds so, so, so special, and I'm really glad that you had the opportunity to do that with your family. I think that's amazing, uh, bonding time together. Um, so tell us about, uh, where your listener, where our listeners, anyone listening out there, uh, can find you to learn more about your travels

Riana: Yeah, thank you. Um, so I have my blog teaspoonofadventure.com Um, I put up lots of itineraries, things to do, first time tips, that sort of thing. And then I also have a Substack. It's the same name, teaspoonofadventure.substack.com, and that's where I kinda do more, like, behind-the-scenes, um, stories from our travels, things we've messed up, things we get right, that sort of stuff

Jenn: Amazing

Meggan: you on Instagram at all?

Riana: I'm [00:39:00] not, no.

Meggan: Okay

Riana: I tried it a couple years ago and then just

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: It's a lot.

Jenn: Listen,

Meggan: lot.

Jenn: I don't, I don't blame you.

Meggan: No, website and Substack is, is enough for sure. Well, you know, first and foremost, I, I, we appreciate you reaching out and initiating this because I think it's definitely something that Jenn and I do not have expertise in, obviously, nor have we really covered on the podcast, and I do think, you know, there are our listeners out there from wherever in the world that probably, A, wanna try, try some type of trip, with a baby, and I think these are all really good pieces of information for people to have.

They can learn from what you did, learn from maybe what you, you know, would've done differently, that kind of thing, and I think that those things are gonna be very important, so first and foremost, thank you so much.

Riana: Thank you.

Meggan: Um, yeah, no, my pleasure. , As for the podcast, as usual, you can find us, uh, at our website, travelmugpodcast.com.

You can find us on social media, @travelmugpodcast. Leave us a review or buy us a coffee. The link is in the show notes. Uh, [00:40:00] and either way, thank you so much for tuning in. As always, safe travels, and don't forget your travel mug.