No Mom Left Behind: Tips on Traveling with your Kids!

Do you travel with your kids, or is the thought of packing up yours and your kids life to go for an adventure seem well OVERWHELMING? Well I LOVE adventure and promised myself that I would not stop when I became a mom. I want my kids to enjoy traveling as much as I do.

On my latest work trip I took along my beautiful baby girl! This allows me to have the best of both worlds; I am able to connect with my global team, and still be a mom and get lots of baby snuggles. The reality is I am not ready to leave her at home yet, they are only little for so long.

So then comes the question, HOW do you travel and still have FUN?! I have created a list of things that have helped me over my last couple years as a mom who loves adventure! I hope these tips can inspire momma's who are leery of traveling to step up to the challenge.

1. Check your Expectations:

Traveling with kids will not be the same as before, this is a GOOD thing. You are in a new stage of your life and this means moving out of your comfort zone to get the most out of what life has to offer. You might not be able to partake in all the old activities (aka dancing till the wee hours of the night), but there will be new experiences as long as you stay open to the possibilities.

This trip in particular, I was being recognized for an accomplishment. There was a party being held for a bunch of us and I was not willing to miss out. I got Emery (my daughter) to sleep, tucked her into her stroller and we headed out. This was the best night of the trip, we walked into the suite and standing there was the founder and CEO of our company. It was surreal!! I was still able to have a good time with my baby along side me. As soon as she woke up we headed back. No I didn't get to stay all night, but I had the most amazing experience as a mom and business owner. Grateful that I was open to enjoying this NEW experience.

2. Pack lite

We tend to want to pack everything but the kitchen sink to prepare to traveling with kids, thinking they will need every gizmo and gadget from home to make a smooth transition. Guess what, kids are ADAPTABLE!! More so than us. So pack the necessities and trust your gut!

3. Bring help:

On FAMILY vacations this person is my hubby, he tackles the 2.5 year old and I am in charge of baby. The last "work" trip I went on, my sister came with the baby and I. I don't know what I would have done without her. It is so nice to pass off even for a few minutes.

4. Stay Calm!

Sometimes easier said than done! Especially if you are traveling with a little one, they feel your energy (little sponges). So if you keep calm they will often follow suit. Take some nice deep breaths and my favourite mantra is "everything is always working out for me!". This is especially important during the actual travel from A to B.

5. Find Friends:

So you are a parent now so you likely will be going places with other families. Its exciting to connect with people going through the same experience! I set an intention to do this on every trip our outing I do. It helps to know others are going through the same things, and often you can exchange tips on what is working and what is not!! Also if you run out or forget anything its nice to be able to ask a friendly face for some help!

6. Be Present:

It is easy to get carried away with the hustle and bustle of being a parent, but if you want to enjoy these family moments do your best to be present. Doing my miracle morning on vacation assists me tremendously in this process! Love my morning meditations. Setting aside a little me time is key.

7. Check in:

Yes check in to your flights, but thats not the one I am talking about! Check in with your emotions. Its easy to focus on things that aren't working or get caught up in the negative. The best way I have found to pull myself down to earth is to check in with how I am really feeling. I close my eyes, take some deep breaths and see what is going on. If you can check in, you can start to get to the bottom of things and move past it. The more you ignore, the worse things get.

8. Be Adaptable:

Life is like a roller coaster, even before kids things would happen out of my control and instead of resisting, I have learned to roll with it! On the last vacay to St. Louis our return flights were hugely delayed = missed flights = missing luggage = recipe for disaster. This time however, I just kept calm and guess what... Things worked out! Emery was a rockstar by the way; smiled and slept. She did better than me!!

9. Be Gentle with Yourself:

I tend to get hard on myself when things don't work out just the way I want. I can go to guilt or fear and start to make unhealthy decisions. Learning to be kind to myself, I have been working on making decisions based on LOVE. Your kids respond to this energy, in the end love is all that really matters.

10. Have FUN!

All of these things will allow you to have a fun trip with your kids. Life is about enjoying the journey, even the rough times have important lessons. If you can look at them as room for growth then its all worth it!

Don't let your fears keep you in your comfort zone, tap into that LOVE for traveling and adventure and let that be the fuel that carries you into your next destination!

Glad you took some time out to read my tips! Please comment below and let me know if you travel with your kids and if you found this info useful. Always looking for feedback and to connect with other momma's going through similar experiences.

Bye for now,

Rikki

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