Traveling can be an exciting time for parents, but a bit nerve-wracking when you have a baby along. You don’t know what types of germs or diseases you might be exposing your child to. Your best bet is to bring some essential items to keep baby comfortable and protected when you’re away from home. Here are her germ-free tips for traveling.

1. Bring a floor pillow

When traveling you don’t always have the space to bring a pack ‘n play with you and sometimes a blanket on the floor just isn’t comfy or warm enough for baby. A floor pillow provides a good cushion for baby so she can sit by you on the floor while you’re visiting with friends or family. The pello is a luxe floor pillow for infants and kids with a distinctive donut shape and a padded center. It keeps baby protected from germs on the floor and is great for tummy time. Best part is, the pillow can safely be used by babies, toddlers and kids of all sizes, and its machine washable and can be tossed into the dryre!

2. Carry wet wipes

For those times when there’s no place to wash your hands or your baby’s hands, wet wipes will do the trick. You should also use them to wipe down all surfaces that baby might touch to kill germs. These are especially handy while in the car and to clean up after a messy snack time.

3. Use a head support

When traveling with baby, keep her head and neck supported while she is seated for some extra comfort by using a baby support pillow. Baby Elephant Ears is a multi-use headrest providing spinal/neck alignment and comfort for babies -- and they're designed to look like adorable elephant ears! Baby Elephant Ears go wherever baby goes -- stroller, swing, car seat, changing table, etc. The headrests are fully washable and require no attachments, straps or special skills, and they're offered in diverse prints and organics.

4. Bring your own bowls

Instead of borrowing dishes and utensils from people you are visiting, bring all of your own baby bowls and bottles so that you can be sure they’ve been sterilized first. A great baby bowl to use is the Baby Dipper bowl, which makes one-handed feeding of babies and toddlers easy for parents. Parents can use their free hand to clean or entertain baby or to keep baby's hands out of the bowl.

5. Wash everything

After a long travel where baby has been exposed to many different environments, take some time to put all of her things through the wash. This includes clothing, bed linens, towels, etc. You especially will want to disinfect all of her toys, pacifiers, bowls, and bottles.

6. Always wash hands

Washing your hands with soap and water is the best thing you can do to protect against germs. Wash your hands each time before you go to pick up baby and before and after meals. Ask any others who will be handling baby to do the same. Also think about washing your hands after holding open doors, shaking someone’s hand, petting an animal, etc.

7. Keep contact minimal

When visiting friends and family, make sure everyone washes their hands first and try to keep contact minimal. Carry hand sanitizer with you as an extra precaution and don’t let anyone who is sick or has a cough touch baby.

8. Pack her favorite toy

If baby gets cranky you can try to calm her down by bringing out her favorite toy. A familiar item brings comfort to your baby and can help her feel relaxed enough to take a nap, even if she is not familiar with her surroundings. PullyPalz are great toys for baby because they help baby retrieve her own pacifier so it won’t fall on the floor and pick up germs.

9. Recreate her sleep environment

It’s important to stick to a sleep routine once you’ve got it down, and that includes while traveling. If you are visiting friends, bring some things to recreate your baby’s sleep environment. This can mean bringing a swaddle (Woombie is one of our favorites!), black out curtains, her favorite pacifier, and her soothing sound machine.

10. Keep away from crowded places (use a cover when in public)

If your infant is still very young, try to keep away from visiting crowded places in indoor spaces, like a shopping mall. It’s a lot easier for your child to pick up an illness from a confined space where there are lots of people. Visiting a park and getting some fresh air is a much better idea. Sometimes going out cannot be avoided so use a cover for your car seat or stroller to protect your little one from germs when in the car seat, stroller, shopping cart and more.

Guest Blog by Cindy Perry, Inventor of the pello, Luxe Floor Pillows

Cindy, a Texas girl, put herself through college working at a children’s library and sewing at night. When she met her husband and had her two boys, she decided to stay home to care for them while designing window treatments and bedding.

When Cindy’s first son was learning to sit up, he would always fall through the pillows she set around him, hit his head, and cry. Besides, setting her child down on the hardwood floors on just a blanket always seemed so cold. Using her years of sewing and design skills, Cindy took inspiration from a woman in her breastfeeding class and got to work. With some scrap fabric and a few tweaks, pello was born! pello is a luxe floor pillow that helps children feel safe, warm and protected.

For more information, visit mypello.com.

Interested in writing a guest blog for Baby Elephant Ears? Send your topic idea to pr@babyelephantears.com.

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