Traveling solo with a baby can seem like an intimidating feat for any mom. And I won’t sugarcoat it, it can be quite challenging. But then again, doing most anything with a baby while solo can be challenging. Yet, there is something so rewarding about exploring new streets in unfamiliar places with your little one. It's those shared first experiences that make it all worthwhile.
My husband has to travel for work and occasionally it’ll be for days at a time, leaving me to solo parent. If you’re a parent, you know this is a scenario that demands a lot out of you. You don’t get much sleep, rest or breaks and as much as your love your beautiful baby, everyone needs time to themselves.
So when it was my turn to take on 3 days of solo parenting when Ziggy was 3 months old I was not exactly excited. That’s when I was struck with the idea to travel to a nearby city, Vienna Austria, during this time. I kept going back and forth with the idea because it gave me some anxiety to think about what it would take logistically to travel with my son, by myself. And then my beautiful friend Clare (seasoned traveller and mom of two) said something that has always stuck since then. “You can solo parent here within the four walls of your apartment or you can solo parent in Vienna! Both options are hard but with one you’ll be in Vienna!”
So, off we went to Vienna. We boarded the train, thankfully securing a seat in the family cart – a spacious haven for strollers and bags -The train attendant was entranced by Ziggy. Getting little smiles and giggles from him made his day. He didn’t even care that I couldn’t find my train ticket. “Don’t worry about it! Just enjoy the trip” he said. A little glimmer of the decency of human beings.
Arriving in Vienna at night, bags in hand and carrying Ziggy in his carrier (he never liked the stroller when he was a baby so in my little kangaroo pouch is where he resided the entire trip), I wandered the streets looking lost until I found our hotel. When I checked in I had to sign some paperwork, show my passport and all the normal stuff you do when checking into a hotel. The only difference was my overtired baby was crying. “Don’t worry about it” said the hotel attendant. “you can check in later”. Ahhh kindness again. How sweet a touch of understanding can be when you’re in the throws of a baby meltdown.
For the next three days, Ziggy and I roamed Vienna's streets, indulging in cafes with tempting dessert menus and coffee. Occasionally, I'd pause to rock Ziggy to sleep or nurse him, but nobody seemed bothered. We window-shopped, admired architecture, and simply wandered without a schedule. It was simultaneously quiet, serene, and challenging, yet not entirely lonely with my little buddy by my side.
One of the nights I went to dinner and just after ordering my Tafelspitz I heard an all too familiar sound coming from the carrier. I took Ziggy out and saw that he had an explosive poop that was on my white wool sweater and all up the front of his outfit. So we made our way to the dungeon basement bathroom that could fit about 1.5 people, only to find that they had no change table. I had Ziggy on the cement floor trying to clean up the disaster as woman after woman walked into the bathroom to see my struggle and squeeze by me to pee. Every single woman who walked in asked if they could help me. “Do you need me to hold something for you” “do you need help” as they saw me squatting over my baby, calves and thighs burning. Humanities tender heart in the oddest of places. I didn’t accept any of the offers because there’s somethings that only mom can do but the offers helped soothe my nervous system. If you’re wondering, yes I did go back upstairs and finish my dinner with shit all over my sweater.
The journey home from Vienna had its own challenges. Forgotten seat reservations led to a fully booked train where I stood, in between train compartments rocking Ziggy for five hours straight, Taking breaks to sit on the ground and feed him. No one offered me a seat. I walked up and down the aisles to busy my mind, my legs feeling like I ran a marathon by the end of it. This was one of those tough moments where all the breath work and mindset practices you’ve done for years come into play. You have to take every moment as the only moment that exists because if not the ride feels infinite and never ending.
My husband had to leave for another trip for a few days recently, so I decided to go to Paris with Ziggy. We took the train again and when we got on the train my stroller would not collapse. With my baby in one arm and my dominant arm trying to close my stroller for 20 minutes, sweat dripping down my face, I decided to just tuck it out of the way and leave it there. 3 hours into our 6 hour travel day, a train attendant came to me and asked if that was my stroller. Once i confirmed she said that I had to collapse the stroller. I asked her for help because I had to hold my baby in one arm. She reluctantly tried to help me and after about 20 minutes of us trying and failing she walked off in a huff without a word. I figured this meant the situation was done.
Another 30 minutes later a passenger came to me and said “I just thought you should know the train attendant is trying to close your stroller and she is very angry”. I went back to the stroller to see what was happening. She was throwing my stroller around trying to get it to close (she cracked it in two spots). When she saw me she started to yell at me in her french accent “YOU NEED TO CLOSE THIS STROLLER OR WE WILL KICK YOU OFF AT THE NEXT STOP” This phrase took me in a panic, I knew I had to be nice to her or she could kick me off in a random city at 9pm, 4 hours away from home, with no idea how to get home or to Paris from there. I tried to reason with her and sympathize. I told her I was sorry and that I tried with no success. I’m far away from home and I need help to close my stroller. The lady continued to yell at me and tell me she would kick me off the train. “This is not my job!!” She yelled. Baby in one arm (he was smiling this entire time), perspiring all over my body, I started to ugly cry in front of all the passengers and this stewardess. “how can you kick me off with my baby and I so far from my home” I cried, “I don’t know how to close it, it won’t close , I need help” She was not sympathetic at all.
Cue humanities heart when three passengers jumped up to help me. One was a tall, slim elderly woman who tried to calm the attendant down in her native language. She had a soothing voice and although I couldn’t understand what she was saying, I could tell she was on my side and trying to help me. Two other passengers, a girl about my age and a younger male jumped up too and together they worked on my stroller until they figured out how to collapse it. (Yes this stroller took 4 different people to eventually close, very convenient). Once it was closed the attendant walked off in a huff again. I was still crying at this point, rattled anyone could be that mean to me. The elderly lady soothed me and comforted me. She asked if I wanted a sandwich and gave me some water. This lady was like rain in a drought. After the commotion was done and settled, and I was done crying in front of all of these strangers we settled back in our seat and had an uneventful rest of our trip to Paris.
As my anticipation for our final stop started to well up, I thought about how the heck I would get off the train and set my complicated stroller back up, with Ziggy in one hand, my bags in the other. Thats when all of the strangers who previously helped me told me they would help me off the train without me even asking. When they helped me off the train, they took my bags and told me I definitely shouldn’t walk to my hotel alone. They got me a cab and again took apart my stroller and put it into the cab along with my bags. Sweet sweet humans. This act of kindness turned an extremely hurtful and stressful moment into a beautiful moment I will cherish forever.
I have travelled to Vienna, Paris and London all solo with my baby. And each time there is a mixed bag of emotions and moments. Some so sweet and magical. Some stressful and upsetting (like getting the worst bed bugs in Paris and having a strange man banging at our door at 2am in the morning). All of these moments have strengthened me and made me grow as a mother and as a person.
Gone are the care free travel days of my single, youth, when I would travel to the Taj Mahal with two strangers I met that day. Now a days, I need to put a little more care into how I travel and have less expectations on the amount of things I can do in a new city or country. But it doesn’t mean it is any less valuable and enjoyable to do.
I also notice the ebb and flow of humanities kindness and cruelness a lot more when traveling with a baby. A simple gesture of holding open a door can make your entire day, just as much as being disregarded on a train when you don’t have a seat can break your heart a little.
So if you’re wondering if you should travel solo with a baby, my advice is YES! It won’t be easy or even fun all of the time. But the lessons you’ll learn and the growth you’ll achieve will be like a masterclass in personality development.
And if you ever see a mom struggling with her hands full or rocking her baby to sleep or running to catch an elevator, give her a smile or a hand. You don’t know how a simple gesture could change her entire day or experience.
My husband has to travel for work and occasionally it’ll be for days at a time, leaving me to solo parent. If you’re a parent, you know this is a scenario that demands a lot out of you. You don’t get much sleep, rest or breaks and as much as your love your beautiful baby, everyone needs time to themselves.
So when it was my turn to take on 3 days of solo parenting when Ziggy was 3 months old I was not exactly excited. That’s when I was struck with the idea to travel to a nearby city, Vienna Austria, during this time. I kept going back and forth with the idea because it gave me some anxiety to think about what it would take logistically to travel with my son, by myself. And then my beautiful friend Clare (seasoned traveller and mom of two) said something that has always stuck since then. “You can solo parent here within the four walls of your apartment or you can solo parent in Vienna! Both options are hard but with one you’ll be in Vienna!”
So, off we went to Vienna. We boarded the train, thankfully securing a seat in the family cart – a spacious haven for strollers and bags -The train attendant was entranced by Ziggy. Getting little smiles and giggles from him made his day. He didn’t even care that I couldn’t find my train ticket. “Don’t worry about it! Just enjoy the trip” he said. A little glimmer of the decency of human beings.
Arriving in Vienna at night, bags in hand and carrying Ziggy in his carrier (he never liked the stroller when he was a baby so in my little kangaroo pouch is where he resided the entire trip), I wandered the streets looking lost until I found our hotel. When I checked in I had to sign some paperwork, show my passport and all the normal stuff you do when checking into a hotel. The only difference was my overtired baby was crying. “Don’t worry about it” said the hotel attendant. “you can check in later”. Ahhh kindness again. How sweet a touch of understanding can be when you’re in the throws of a baby meltdown.
For the next three days, Ziggy and I roamed Vienna's streets, indulging in cafes with tempting dessert menus and coffee. Occasionally, I'd pause to rock Ziggy to sleep or nurse him, but nobody seemed bothered. We window-shopped, admired architecture, and simply wandered without a schedule. It was simultaneously quiet, serene, and challenging, yet not entirely lonely with my little buddy by my side.
One of the nights I went to dinner and just after ordering my Tafelspitz I heard an all too familiar sound coming from the carrier. I took Ziggy out and saw that he had an explosive poop that was on my white wool sweater and all up the front of his outfit. So we made our way to the dungeon basement bathroom that could fit about 1.5 people, only to find that they had no change table. I had Ziggy on the cement floor trying to clean up the disaster as woman after woman walked into the bathroom to see my struggle and squeeze by me to pee. Every single woman who walked in asked if they could help me. “Do you need me to hold something for you” “do you need help” as they saw me squatting over my baby, calves and thighs burning. Humanities tender heart in the oddest of places. I didn’t accept any of the offers because there’s somethings that only mom can do but the offers helped soothe my nervous system. If you’re wondering, yes I did go back upstairs and finish my dinner with shit all over my sweater.
The journey home from Vienna had its own challenges. Forgotten seat reservations led to a fully booked train where I stood, in between train compartments rocking Ziggy for five hours straight, Taking breaks to sit on the ground and feed him. No one offered me a seat. I walked up and down the aisles to busy my mind, my legs feeling like I ran a marathon by the end of it. This was one of those tough moments where all the breath work and mindset practices you’ve done for years come into play. You have to take every moment as the only moment that exists because if not the ride feels infinite and never ending.
My husband had to leave for another trip for a few days recently, so I decided to go to Paris with Ziggy. We took the train again and when we got on the train my stroller would not collapse. With my baby in one arm and my dominant arm trying to close my stroller for 20 minutes, sweat dripping down my face, I decided to just tuck it out of the way and leave it there. 3 hours into our 6 hour travel day, a train attendant came to me and asked if that was my stroller. Once i confirmed she said that I had to collapse the stroller. I asked her for help because I had to hold my baby in one arm. She reluctantly tried to help me and after about 20 minutes of us trying and failing she walked off in a huff without a word. I figured this meant the situation was done.
Another 30 minutes later a passenger came to me and said “I just thought you should know the train attendant is trying to close your stroller and she is very angry”. I went back to the stroller to see what was happening. She was throwing my stroller around trying to get it to close (she cracked it in two spots). When she saw me she started to yell at me in her french accent “YOU NEED TO CLOSE THIS STROLLER OR WE WILL KICK YOU OFF AT THE NEXT STOP” This phrase took me in a panic, I knew I had to be nice to her or she could kick me off in a random city at 9pm, 4 hours away from home, with no idea how to get home or to Paris from there. I tried to reason with her and sympathize. I told her I was sorry and that I tried with no success. I’m far away from home and I need help to close my stroller. The lady continued to yell at me and tell me she would kick me off the train. “This is not my job!!” She yelled. Baby in one arm (he was smiling this entire time), perspiring all over my body, I started to ugly cry in front of all the passengers and this stewardess. “how can you kick me off with my baby and I so far from my home” I cried, “I don’t know how to close it, it won’t close , I need help” She was not sympathetic at all.
Cue humanities heart when three passengers jumped up to help me. One was a tall, slim elderly woman who tried to calm the attendant down in her native language. She had a soothing voice and although I couldn’t understand what she was saying, I could tell she was on my side and trying to help me. Two other passengers, a girl about my age and a younger male jumped up too and together they worked on my stroller until they figured out how to collapse it. (Yes this stroller took 4 different people to eventually close, very convenient). Once it was closed the attendant walked off in a huff again. I was still crying at this point, rattled anyone could be that mean to me. The elderly lady soothed me and comforted me. She asked if I wanted a sandwich and gave me some water. This lady was like rain in a drought. After the commotion was done and settled, and I was done crying in front of all of these strangers we settled back in our seat and had an uneventful rest of our trip to Paris.
As my anticipation for our final stop started to well up, I thought about how the heck I would get off the train and set my complicated stroller back up, with Ziggy in one hand, my bags in the other. Thats when all of the strangers who previously helped me told me they would help me off the train without me even asking. When they helped me off the train, they took my bags and told me I definitely shouldn’t walk to my hotel alone. They got me a cab and again took apart my stroller and put it into the cab along with my bags. Sweet sweet humans. This act of kindness turned an extremely hurtful and stressful moment into a beautiful moment I will cherish forever.
I have travelled to Vienna, Paris and London all solo with my baby. And each time there is a mixed bag of emotions and moments. Some so sweet and magical. Some stressful and upsetting (like getting the worst bed bugs in Paris and having a strange man banging at our door at 2am in the morning). All of these moments have strengthened me and made me grow as a mother and as a person.
Gone are the care free travel days of my single, youth, when I would travel to the Taj Mahal with two strangers I met that day. Now a days, I need to put a little more care into how I travel and have less expectations on the amount of things I can do in a new city or country. But it doesn’t mean it is any less valuable and enjoyable to do.
I also notice the ebb and flow of humanities kindness and cruelness a lot more when traveling with a baby. A simple gesture of holding open a door can make your entire day, just as much as being disregarded on a train when you don’t have a seat can break your heart a little.
So if you’re wondering if you should travel solo with a baby, my advice is YES! It won’t be easy or even fun all of the time. But the lessons you’ll learn and the growth you’ll achieve will be like a masterclass in personality development.
And if you ever see a mom struggling with her hands full or rocking her baby to sleep or running to catch an elevator, give her a smile or a hand. You don’t know how a simple gesture could change her entire day or experience.
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