NoTravelIsFree

I agree with your wife that babies can go most places - barring significant civil unrest or physical danger of course. My daughter is 8 now but by the time she was two had already travelled a fair bit, including to most of the countries you mentioned and including places like Iceland and memorably Big 5 safari in South Africa (we did by and large stick to non-malarial areas for that one though as we did not want to give her malarone and we worked with a family travel specialist to source places that took children and had private vehicles and car seats for game drives). She has continued to travel extensively and we have never regretted introducing her to new experiences from such a young age,...aside from premium cabins and "bed planes" - that might have been a mistake lol.

Re what to take - if your wife is breastfeeding that will be half the battle. If not, do some research to ensure you can access compatible formula. Diaper quality and access varies from country to country but not having to lug around a suitcase full along with everything else is a god send so again - research is key. A lightweight folding, reclining stroller with a good canopy and a strap for carrying it over your shoulder makes it easy to lug things up steps in Europe (or anywhere). If it stands upright when folded even better because you can squeeze it into an out of the way corner. I loved the UppaBaby ones. Another life saver was a cloth "Highchair". I think it was My Little Seat and it went over most high back restaurant chairs and we did not need to rely on dodgy highchairs at destination. That was a lifesaver as we could have her sit with us at the table and not worry about her sliding out of old wooden seats...and was much cleaner than some specimens we were offered too. Aside from those things, I never found much else essential (well aside from any special food, bottles, medications and such). Have fun - it is a bit intimidating initially but sharing the world with your child (even if they won't remember) is such a special privilege.

TravelDoorsOut

hey all, thank you for your advice. We ended up booking an AI in Mexico, since his schedule is so iffy we didnt want to put him through a time change (he is a terrible sleeper as is). We were thinking about things to bring and going of all the things you recommended. What do you guys think of a pool/ocean floaty? Do you like any specific ones that are super compact and dont take up a lot of space?

CDTraveler

If the kid is a terrible sleeper, for the sake of his health and yours, you might want to consult somebody. Not the average pediatrician, because that's not a subject well covered in their training (I used to train pediatricians, I know what they don't know). Sometimes a nurse practitioner or developmental specialist can make a world of difference for you.

TravelDoorsOut

He is a good sleeper, until you mess with his schedule. Thats why we are doing the same time zone. My wife and I are both med professionals, so trust me, I agree with you. There is no training on sleep.

TWToKM

Not sure if we are talking about the same thing, but I went to Mexico with my son who just turned one at the time and just bought a cheap one on Amazon. I kept it in the box until we got there, so it packed pretty easily. It worked out well as he could float in the pool and while you have to be close by, I didn't have to hold him the whole time. Not sure how it would pack up after being inflated, but given it was so cheap and given I didn't want to deal with folding it up wet on my last day, I just found a mom who had been holding her baby up in the pool and passed it along to her.

There are tons available, but for reference, I brought this one with me:
(Less than $7 and also super cute in photos.)

Here is the second one I bought after I left it in Mexico as the one above was not available at the time:
(It is currently around $9 on Amazon, but I got it for less than $6 when I bought it.)

CDTraveler

Do you mean something the kid wears, or something he sits in?

My first suggestion would swim lessons. No, he's not going to master the crawl stroke before 9 months, but he could acclimated to the water and learn to keep his head up. My kid was able to swim by 2 (actually swim, like crawl stroke) and one occasion that saved his life.

Floaties: my comment on them would be get one with an adequate sun shield attached. Any sunscreen you put on the kid will be gradually rinsed away by the water, and in Mexican sunshine there's a strong chance the Chicago kid will burn.

swise

A rashguard (swim shirt) and a hat should be sufficient (along with sunscreen, of course). Kids that young are generally not out in the pool or the sun for very long. For the trip, don't forget swim diapers!

We didn't do float things for our kids. I think it gives a false sense of security. We just held them.

It's not quite so relevant at such a young age, but as they got older, and floaties/puddle jumpers/etc were an option, we skipped that. I've seen 3-4 cases where kids have jumped in without their puddle jumpers, because they simply didn't realize they weren't wearing it. Vigilant parents saved the day. But that convinced me that floating aids are just not safe. Much better for them to learn how to move in the water independently and unaided. Then, they are fully aware of what they can and can't do in the water, what their limits are.

Ours wear coastguard approved life jackets on boats and in the lake -- from the moment they step on the dock. Very occasionally they sometimes wear them in the pool, but only to get a sense of how they feel, so they could know how to move around in them.

Our boys sail on small dinghies (optimists) by themselves or sometimes with another kid since age 4, and we have a big sail boat, so swimming skills are a big deal for us. They've been in year-round lessons nearly all of their lives.

swise

Oh- and one more protip...

Swim diapers are not absorbant! Pee will go right through them. They're only meant to contain the solids --and only for a very brief time while you gingerly exit the pool. So take a peek in there every now and then and make sure there aren't any deposits. And plan to have your baby in a normal diaper until right before going into the pool, then change back into a normal diaper upon exiting the pool. ^

Reda HL

First of all make sure the baby is on date with all vaccins and take with you some emergency medecine for stomach pain and diarreah which may affect the baby if you change his eating habits: Also I would advise you to take with you a baby bag like this one ministyle.co.uk/products/multi-function-portable-travel-bed-for-baby they have also many others similar available on the website and offer 20% discount for the first order it will be very useful and handy when moving around

swise

I'm afraid that would be way too small for a 9 month-old. And he would surely crawl out of it, even if he did fit.

We use the Bjorn Travel Crib Lite. There are several similar to this one nowdays, but it is still a really good option. Sets up and packs up in literal seconds. We used ours until our youngest boy was about 2 and then passed it on to touring opera singer friends who were on the road with their baby (and an older son).

The resort likely has cribs available, too, for those wanting to pack light.