Traveling with Tots – Documenting expat life and travel with two, two and under

General Pregnancy, Baby & Toddler Life

Travel with Baby, Toddler, or During Pregnancy

Living Abroad in London with Kids

OVERVIEW

The Mom Behind the Blog

Hi! My name is Shaina (pronounced like the country China, with a ’S’). I am a Pakistani-American, living as an Expat in the UK with my husband, toddler and baby. Our kids have added some extra logistics to our lives, but we love traveling, eating, and exploring with them. This blog is to share our lessons learned so that anyone can travel with their tots (or even move abroad) – because life continues to be an adventure, even with kids.

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High Tea with Tots: My babies are assimilating int

High Tea with Tots: My babies are assimilating into the British culture with #hightea ☕️ High tea is a special occasion event we do every now-and-then, and my favorite one has been at @fortnumandmason. Not only did I enjoy the food and tea more than I usually enjoy high tea items, they were absolutely wonderful with my young kids. Here are some ways they enhanced our experience!

💺 Provided clean high-chairs at our table prior to our arrival

🖍 Provided colors and paper to use during the meal

🍲 Provided complimentary kids high tea to my kids b/c of their ages (and the amount we ordered 🤷🏽‍♀️ )

🍪 When the fancy options arrived, all my toddler could ask for was a cookie, and they kindly brought English biscuits that my kids devoured (before realizing how good the rest of the treats were as well)

📦 Continuously replenished all the sandwiches, scones, and desserts during the experience and then pacakged everything we asked for take-away, so that our kids could continue eating after we left

😊 Consistently smiled and talked to us with kindness as my kids created a disaster on their floor

Additionally, they provided us delicious take-away chocolate cake and a Halal menu for my aunt!

There are TONS of high tea places in London, and this one is a bit pricey, but the high quality of service and food means I will be back with my kids for a special occasion!

Things to do in London: One of my favorite spots t

Things to do in London: One of my favorite spots to take visitors to London is @sg_skygarden. You have to reserve tickets in advance, but the good thing is they are free! When my bestie was in town, we were able to enjoy our drinks in the warm, covered portion of the venue, and then browse outside for views of the city.

Visiting with a baby: I took my toddler and baby with us! I wouldn't expect a venue like this to have a great option for baby changing - but they had a great baby changing station! I had brought my kids food from home, and fed them comfortably in the lounge area in their stroller.

Edinburgh with Tots: I’ve wanted to go to Scottl

Edinburgh with Tots: I’ve wanted to go to Scottland for years, and was so excited to kick off 2022 with a trip to Edinburgh! Our highlight of the trip was exploring the Royal Mile. Listening to bagpipe players on the street, enjoying pastries/coffee, and taking in the beautiful architecture was worth the cold!

I’m glad I had our @cybex_global Gazelle double stroller with us, so the kids could sit cozy, and we could easily push it around the town. There were a few areas that had more steps, but for the most part, the town was stroller friendly!👏

Full blog post on Edinburgh coming soon 🙂

Favorite Tool to Organize Trip Details: I'm usuall

Favorite Tool to Organize Trip Details: I'm usually the family lead on travel planning, EXCEPT when it comes to keeping all the trip details consolidated - that's my husband's value add to our travels 🙂

My husband uses @tripitcom in order to help us stay organized. TripIt offers a free app, which aggregates all your travel plans in one place. From info on your flight, train, hotel, tours, reservations etc. the app syncs plans onto your calendar, creating an organized trip planner and master itinerary.

There is a free version of the tool, and a paid version ($49 per year), which includes extra benefits. See the full blog (link in bio) for more details!

This tool is a great way to streamline group travel or multiple trips! Have you tried TripIt? What did you think?

Cold Weather with Tots: I loved our trip to Edinbu

Cold Weather with Tots: I loved our trip to Edinburgh, but it was SO cold. I couldn't even relax, and enjoy our outings until we got to a store and got the kids some more thermals to wear under their clothes. Here are my key essentials that I suggest to take beforehand:

1️⃣ Proper winter attire for the kiddies:
✔️ Pant and shirt thermals for the kids (I love the ones from @Primark and @HM)
✔️ Long socks that go over the thermals and under the pants (this helps cover the gap between pants and socks)
✔️ Warm pants/sweater
✔️ Warm shoes, hat, and gloves (I love the ones tied together by a string that goes inside jacket)
✔️Thick winter jacket

** Parents: It’s important to not forgot keeping ourselves warm too!

2️⃣ Footmuff for the strollers: A footmuff is an insert for a stroller which attaches to it with the harness fixings. They're available in various sizes and colours, to be compatible with most strollers. The footmuff is MUST for our baby. I have one for my toddler, as well, but TBH he refuses to sit in the stroller if it's on. I'm currently seeking tips on how to get him to cooperate with the Footmuff, and until then, I will continuously try to sneak blankets on him (for him to generally throwoff).

3️⃣ Baby carrier cover: I baby wear A LOT. And it wasn't until I made this error a few times, that I found out it is not recommended for a baby to wear a snow suit under a baby carrier. There are baby carrier covers for winter, that are sold separately! This is something I have not personally used, but plan to if I wear my baby during wintertime again.

What are your go to winter accessories?

Rosemary Beach with Tots: I was surprised at how m

Rosemary Beach with Tots: I was surprised at how much I loved @rosemary_beachfl for our family trip, and two weeks later, my sister's bachelorette trip. Both times, I had both my kids (2-years-old and 5-months-old) with me. Here are my favorite things we did, that at least one of my children accompanied me to each time!

✔️ Beach time
✔️ Pool time
✔️ Yoga on the beach (@beachyoga30a )
✔️ Bike rental with a child trailer
✔️ Private chef at home (@platetoplate30a )
✔️ Photoshoot on the beach @jessicagreenephotography
✔️ Bonfire on the beach @30ablaze (I skipped taking my kids to this due to bedtimes)
✔️ Explore @alysbeachfl

Check out my blog for more details (link in bio)! What are some of your favorite activities to do with kids in Rosemary Beach?

How do you plan a girls trip (along with a baby)?

How do you plan a girls trip (along with a baby)? It can be tricky to balance schedules, preferences, and budgets! Thankfully, the digital world has made it easier to coordinate. Here are my go-to steps when planning:

📆Select a Date: Use @DoodlePoll to select a date. It's simple to create options and send the link. People who are pregnant or have children, can think through when it is feasible to travel.

✈️ Select a Destination: Use @SurveyMonkey to vote on the preferred choice! Having the date in mind helps to make sure the weather/season is right for specific destinations. It also allows people to do searches on flight pricing.

🏨 Select Lodging: Conduct research and ask the attendees on preferences on an house rentals vs. hotels. When I book hotels, I like using @Booking.com, and for house rentals, I prefer @AirBnB. Find out what amenities are available for kids.

📝 Book excursions/activities: Check tools like @TripAdvisor and @Groupon. If there are set timings, think realistically if it'll work for the kids (i.e., if your infant eats lunch at noon, you likely don't want to book anything for then). Additionally, make a list of activities that don't require bookings, but that your group would like to do.

🍱 Make restaurant reservations: Check @OpenTable and @TripAdvisor. Book for the exact number of people you have in the party, and make sure to request any necessary high chairs.

👩‍💻 Consolidate the trip info into on Google Spreadsheets: Include content such as flight info, an itinerary, links to activities, a packing list, etc.

💵 Divide expenses: When planning a group trip, usually one or two people manage bookings on their cards. I prefer to sort expenses prior to the trip. I like @Splitwise to calculate who owes who what. To complete the payment, I like @Venmo or @Zelle.

What were your lessons learned in planning a group trip?

With my January girls - no wonder you are both per

With my January girls - no wonder you are both personality twins. Happy birthday to THE Khala of our familia. Proud of the person you’ve become 😘 @sumer.azam

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