Backpacking with a Baby, Part Two

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• Backpacking with a Baby, Part One

Considering this unique method of travel with a baby in tow? Read these tips from a mom who actually did it

By Charlotte Watson

Read about Charlotte's experience backpacking with a baby.

Based on our experience, these are the tips that made this trip work for our family:

Pack light. We traveled as minimalist as we could to enable us to carry all our luggage plus baby between us.  This reduced the stress of needing to find porters or trolleys, and some worry about pickpockets and being robbed.

Leave the toys at home. Instead of taking real toys we used our imagination and initiative to make up games, or use items that were around us anyway such as water bottles.

Skip hotels. Wherever possible we stayed in either private rooms of hostels or homestays.  As well as being cheaper than hotels, we found that there were more facilities for us to use such as kitchens.  Homestays really allowed us to see more of the real area too, and more of an opportunity to interact with locals.

Take the train. For long journeys we tried to travel by sleeper train or bus to minimalize the amount of time that we had to entertain a baby in a confined space.  Trains also allowed you the opportunity to get up and walk around.   Many a train trip we would have people wanting to take Beatrix from us so that they could play with her.

Share a bed. We bedshared so didn't need to worry about finding accommodation with cribs.   This was just so acceptable and normal in Asia, and a contrast to the dangers to bedsharing that Canada seems so focused on.

Consider breastfeeding. I breastfeed the whole time which meant we didn't have to worry about whether we needed to supplement the local food that we all eat, and aided Beatrix’s immune system in adjusting to the local conditions.   I was acutely aware of how this might have been offensive in some Muslim areas but was constantly reassured that skin exposure was not offensive for the purpose of nourishing an infant.  In the Philippines it is normal for children to be breastfed up to 3 or 4 years old, and I had many a local mother giving me the thumbs-up when they saw me nursing.  In contrast many Malaysians see using formula as a status symbol of wealth, so were  perplexed as to why seemingly rich, western Caucasians were breastfeeding.  It still feels surreal when I recall how one woman in China unlatched Beatrix and took out my arms whilst I was breastfeeding her so that her husband could take a photo of her holding Beatrix.

Learn the local language. Even just enough to say the baby’s age, her gender, and where we were from was really appreciated.  Beatrix also leant to wave “hello” and “goodbye” in many of the local languages, which people adored.

Have a bedtime ritual. Despite her bed and surrounding smells and noises constantly changing, Beatrix always knew it was bedtime.  This included reading Good Night Vancouver every night as her bedtime story to remind her of her home!