Traveling from Texas to Vietnam with my 6 month old baby
I was SO anxious when planning for this long trip but we MADE IT and I hope this sharing would be helpful for any mama out there. Traveling with babies is challenging and exhausting even, but the memories are SO worth it. I know it’s gonna be so much more difficult when baby Thy is bigger but I will just treasure any moment any lesson we learned together when traveling.
About baby Thy 👶:
- Never flew before
- Only done 2hr road trip, never spent the night anywhere else than home
- Been sleep trained and was able to sleep independently from 7.30pm - 6.30am most of the nights, no more night feeding
About our travel plan:
+ AUS - SFO (4 hrs)
+ SFO - SGN (16hrs, destination: Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam)
+ SGN - HPH (2hrs, Hai Phong, Vietnam)
+ HAN - SGN (2hrs)
+ SGN - SFO (13hrs)
+ SFO - AUS (4hrs)
- a few 1-2 hours road trips by cars
- 15min boat ride
- 30min-1hr taxis almost every day in Vietnam
Most important items that we used throughout the trip:
- Babybjorn carrier: helped us so much to walk her on the airplane when she is bored or fussy. Also helped us to secure her when traveling by taxis or cars in Vietnam (they don’t use car seats here).
Baby carrier + 2 checked luggages + 1 carryon suitcase + 2 backpacks
- Diaper backpack: we used this one from Skip Hop
- Travel fan: this is lifesaver for baby Thy because Vietnam is very hot (the battery is amazing!)
- Cooler: for breastmilk storage
- Non-wifi Baby monitor: we use this one from Hello Baby
- Disposable changing pads: super convenient, especially for places that don’t have changing tables.
- Inflatable foot rest: very helpful to rest our legs
Things I thought I would use but ended up not that much:
- Cozigo bassinet cover (too hot inside)
- Lillebaby carrier (she is still small enough to fit the babybjorn and my husband don’t mind carrying her - while I would prefer the Lillebaby more because of the back support)
- Wired breast pumps: I ended up using the Elvie throughout the whole trip and didn’t touch the Spectra at all
- Baby shoes: she just didn’t need them at all
Some highlights about our travel experience this time:
Flights:
We have to fly 2 legs, from Austin to San Francisco (~4hrs) and then from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh city (Vietnam - ~15 hrs). This was Thy’s first flying experience.
- Departure flights: We flew with Alaska Airlines for AUS -> SFO. They didn’t have bassinet for babies but we brought our own portable bassinet so she can hang out in the lounge when waiting to board and also we put it on 2 tables to save our arms. We kept her awake before boarding and she just slept right away when we sat down, making it easy for us. Then we had a layover for 6 hours in SFO while waiting for the direct flight SFO -> SGN with Vietnam Airlines. They provided us a portable bassinet and baby Thy was very cooperative, thankfully. She slept when we boarded the plane.
Baby Thy slept nicely in the portable bassinet on the plane, although she can only slept for 3hr max and multiple wake-ups
- Return flights: She refused to sleep in the bassinet provided in the long flight, so I ended up holding her to sleep for almost 8hrs (terrible, I know), but then it was a bit easier after because we only had to entertain her for 2-3hr before landing. We flew with United for SFO => AUS. I requested bassinet through customer support and they said they “put a request on our boarding pass”, but I’m telling you, it’s not up to them, it’s up to the airplane. So we didn’t have a bassinet for the last leg either, but they were very nice to give us a full row so I had some space to rest my leg. I held her to sleep for 2hr in this last leg.
- Entertainment: We realized she didn’t need a lot of toys, but more like an entertainment outlet. She enjoyed listening and talking to others the most, so we carried her to greet the flight attendants and she was very cheerful.
Transportation gears:
We didn’t pack strollers or car seats because baby Thy was too small for any travel stroller (she was only 5 months when we started the trip and couldn’t sit up yet) so we decided that we would carry her around the airport. It's actually the best decision because the stroller can be a bit troublesome for some stairs and small areas in Vietnam. She is still small enough to carry face forward. We are lucky that our family has extra strollers to use in VN already so we don’t need to bring ours. In Vietnam we didn't need carseat to get around either.
As mentioned above, we carried her most of the time with the Babybjorn carrier, and it saved our arms; in addition, it’s more comfortable for Thy because sleeping on our arms would make her sweat a lot. Baby Thy has done 2-3hr road trips and slept in the carrier perfectly. We also used Lillebaby to carry her when walking around the airports because it has better back support. I imagined it’s still ok to use Babybjorn for now because she is still little but maybe we have to move up to Lillebaby when she is heavier.
Sleep:
Sleep on plane: we asked for a bassinet during the long flight and it saved our arms a lot. We also brought a Cozigo with us, but it seemed a bit hot for her so we only used it once during the first flight from SFO -> SGN.
The Cozigo was cool at first, but I realized it was steamy hot inside and getting the baby in and out was not that easy
Jetlag: It was not that terrible to be honest, I feel like she adjusted to the new timezone quicker than us. It took about a few days for her to get into nap times and bed time like she used to in the states. Tips are to get her exposed to sunlight as much as possible. When we arrived home in Austin, it took her like 2 days to adjust her sleep and nap again.
Sleep in Vietnam: not sure because of the new sleeping environment or her wonder week coming up (22-26w), she didn’t sleep through the night like she used to. We sleep trained her and she WAS able to sleep independently back home, but when in Vietnam, she would wake up around 2-3 times (sometimes at 10pm, and mostly once at 2am, another time at 4am). Due to multiple home visits and travels (we went back and forth between my parents’ house and my in-laws, also took her to the North, took her to the beach, etc.), we ended up co-sleeping almost every night.
Feeding and pumping:
One thing that I am so grateful for baby Thy is that she takes bottles and breasts altogether. It simplified so much for us when traveling, especially on planes. I prepared Yeti tumbler to warm up her bottles but we ended up not using it that much because it’s just faster by breastfeeding her, especially when taking off and landing (although I never timed it right, she usually slept during those times, and only nursed once). Thanks for her taking my breasts, I actually didn’t have to pump a lot on the plane. I only pumped once and stored the milk for a bottle when we landed so my husband or my parents could feed her when I rested.
💥💥💥 Key take-aways
- Don't overpack, your baby might not need that much of stuff. For baby Thy's backpack, I would only pack diapers (enough for 1 diaper/3hr), diaper changing kit, 2 clean clothes, some pacifiers, and a bag of 2-3 new toys. The rest can sit in a carryon suitcase.
- Have low expectation for flying. Babies will cry, people will understand. Don't stress yourself.
- Get babies exposed to a lot of sunlight to cure jetlag
- Don't hesitate to ask for any priority or support from airlines crew and hotel staff, they would always be happy to help you and your baby. I asked for baby bassinet/cot/crib and they happily provided if they have one available.
- Don't overthink, babies might not remember, but the memories live with us and are very worth it!
We are now more confident to travel with her, see you next time if we get any new learnings on the way! 💕
If you have any questions, just leave a comment and I'll try to reply you asap.
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