Sydney Ludden | From Postpartum Funk to European Adventure
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Traveling Abroad with an Infant: A Journey of Personal Growth
Traveling with an infant. A daunting task.Traveling internationally with an infant and packing up to be abroad for an entire month? I had some nerves.
Traveling is one of my love languages. From childhood visits to my grandparent’s house to high school trips to Europe, my appetite for wanderlust has only increased with age. When I first met my husband, one of the first things I loved about him was his thirst for adventure and exploring new places. We’ve always made travel a priority and love having these adventures together, taking road trips, and visiting at least one international destination each year.
So, when our daughter Emersen arrived in January, I knew it would be a matter of (short) time before we started traveling with her too. We eased into it with road trips and a few domestic flights. (Her first was when she was 3 months old!) However, I was still nervous about our first upcoming international journey.
I know some parents prefer to wait until their children are older to travel so that they can remember it. I empathize with that thinking, but I also believe any experience shapes a child's brain, especially while they are under three. Plus, I still want to travel! While motherhood has forced me to change many aspects of my life, there are some activities I refuse to give up entirely. Compromise or alter, sure. But stopping travel is not one of them for me.
So I only had one choice.
I'll skip the typical baby travel tips you can find elsewhere online. There are a thousand blogs, Instagram Reels, and lists that have helpful ideas. Instead, I'll share two key lessons from my experience: pack less (and check out baby gear rentals where you are going) and adopt a flexible mindset about your baby's behavior on the plane. Every baby sleeps differently and you just don’t know what they are going to do once you board. This uncertainty and lack of control still stress me out. My mantra has become, "I'll do my best to soothe her, but after that, people will just have to accept that babies are babies."
So what happened when we got to Portugal?
After a month abroad, what I didn't expect was for this trip to be such a powerful personal healing tool. Sometimes, you just need a change of scenery to get out of a funk. The postpartum experience can be isolating, challenging, and emotionally draining. No matter how much help you have, nothing changes the fact that as a mom, you really are the one who has to do most things for the baby. At five months, I was technically out of the newborn bubble, and on the outside, I looked like I was doing great as a new mom. But my internal dialog was struggling. I was grappling with feelings of resentment, body image frustration, and sadness about missing out when I couldn’t experience the same social life as those around me. I expected a month in Lisbon to be a fun taste of what life would be like in another country, but I didn’t expect it to be the balm I needed during this transitional period of my life. It was truly perfect timing for the Detour I didn’t know I needed.
As my friend Sheryl says, “Travel shifts your perspective.” It does this simply because it gets you out of your day-to-day. And I know that there’s nothing like the renewed appreciation for the life I have when I’m returning home from a trip. It is one of my favorite things about travel.
Living in Europe for a month was truly nourishing to my soul (and yes, my stomach – the food quality is amazing). Lisbon is a fantastic city (check out my guide below), but honestly, it could have been anywhere. This trip forced me to let go of my rigid schedules and routines. When I couldn't stick to Emersen’s normal bedtime due to jet lag, we embraced leisurely evenings at corner wine bars. I relaxed about nap schedules, realizing that my baby could also sleep in her carrier, in an Uber, or on a train. It forced me to let go of my scheduled workouts and go for long walks throughout the city. To let go of my daily consumption of podcasts, blogs, and social media because I was too busy exploring the city. It made me realize that I can still live my wanderlust-driven life, even if it looks different post-baby.
I also learned to slow down. With a baby, you quickly realize traveling anywhere takes three times as long, and one big outing per day is often enough. This slower pace allowed for deeper conversations and a calmer nervous system. More time was spent people-watching and relaxing at our house. In a sense, Emmie had her own idea of what Detours she wanted to put in our day, and that made for a whole different kind of travel adventure. I was also able to get childcare help more readily. I used a babysitting service and had baby-free adult dinners with my friends for the first time since she was born. I said yes when people offered to watch her so I could go for a run or take an hour for myself.
When challenges arose – teething, skipped naps, or activities that weren't baby-friendly – I was able to handle them with more grace. The mantra "This is only temporary, we’re only here for a month" became my touchstone.
Returning home, I realized how much my perspective had shifted. I felt different in my body. My self-talk and energy levels were different. I recognized how tightly I'd been holding onto control, especially in my transition to motherhood. I realized what I can let go of or loosen my grip on, knowing from experience that things don't fall apart – they often become more easeful. Easier said than done! (But hey, travel does help.) I just needed the physical change of space to bring that shift of perspective into my field of reality.
This Detour abroad was the balm I needed to soothe my transition into my new life as a mom. It taught me that while I can't recreate vacation life at home, I can control how much I choose to control. And my little adventurer is teaching me this lesson every day.
It turns out, a Detour was exactly what I needed to help me embrace a new chapter of life.
Practical Tips for Traveling to Lisbon with a Baby
While our month in Lisbon was transformative on a personal level, I also learned some practical lessons that might help other parents considering a similar adventure:
Embrace the Baby-Friendly Culture: The Portuguese adore babies. I read somewhere that Portugal is one of the aging populations of Europe - meaning they have more elderly people than young so they welcome the sight of little babies. You'll hear plenty of "coo-coo-coo-coo" (their version of baby talk). This welcoming attitude made us feel at ease while wrestling with her in our arms at restaurants.
Baby-Wearing is Key: The granite cobblestone that Lisbon’s sidewalks are made of (and hills!) is not ideal for strollers. I did see a few parents and caretakers with babies in strollers but it was mostly on the paredão walk along the water or in the parks. We brought our carrier and Osprey pack and walked around with her in it all over the city.
Adjust Your Expectations: Pre-baby, we'd pack multiple activities into each day. Now, we learned to savor doing just one thing daily. It's a change, but it allowed us to experience Lisbon more deeply.
Utilize Babysitting Services: We used this babysitting agency and it was awesome. We booked 2 different sitters who babysat for us multiple times on our trip and they were both wonderful. They are very easy to communicate with and schedule through WhatsApp. They also speak wonderful English. It was such a treat to have some adult-only outings and we did this multiple times because babysitting is much more affordable in Portugal. Rates are typically $10-12 euros/hour.
Embrace Park Life: Lisbon's “Jardims” are fantastic for baby naps and people-watching. Many have kiosks serving drinks and snacks so you can grab a beer or a glass of wine to sit down -- or take with you if you need to stay in motion and keep walking.
Recreate A Home Away From Home: If you’re staying at least a week or more, renting an Airbnb instead of staying in a hotel creates more of a “home” feel, which makes a huge difference with a baby. So does having a washing machine. You can also filter Airbnbs that have the option to provide a crib so you don’t have to haul over your Pack n Play.
Dining Out Strategy: Eating out is often a game of "baby hot potato." My tip is to look for restaurants with booth seating, especially if you need to nurse. I also threw my travel nursing pillow into our carrier when we went out to make nursing on the go a little easier.
General Lisbon Tips
While we're on the subject of tips, here are a few general pointers about Lisbon that might come in handy, whether you're traveling with a baby or not:
Transportation: Ubers and Lyfts are significantly cheaper in Lisbon than in the United States. This was a pleasant surprise and a real lifesaver when we were too tired to tackle those hilly cobblestone streets on foot!
Airport Transfers: For hassle-free airport transportation, I highly recommend Welcome Pick-Ups. They're reliable, affordable, and allow you to schedule a car in advance - perfect when you're juggling a baby and luggage.
Dining Hours: Here's a tip I learned the hard way - restaurants in Lisbon typically open at 7:00 PM for dinner. If you're planning a pre-dinner drink, most bars and cafes open at 6:30 PM or 7:00 PM at the earliest. I once booked a babysitter for 5 PM, hoping for a quiet drink with my husband before dinner, only to find everything was still closed! 😅
Outdoor Activities: If you're looking for a good run, head to the Paredão (the waterfront promenade). If you're up for hikes, walks, or mountain biking, Monsanto Park is the place to go. I did many morning baby walks here during our stay.
Final Thoughts
To parents considering traveling with their baby: yes, it's challenging, but it's also immensely rewarding. It forced me way out of my comfort zone. And when I returned home I had a newfound confidence in my parenting skills. And really, isn't that the best souvenir of all?
