Traveling to Sonoma, California with a 4 Month Old Baby

In California, I think the best place to experience the fall season is in Sonoma County. I was craving a little bit of that crisp air, auburn hues and autumnal feeling so I decided that Sonoma would be the perfect getaway with my mother and my 4 month old daughter.

Baby at SFO

Sleepy baby at SFO

TRANSPORTATION: Flight + Rental Car

Just a quick one hour flight from Los Angeles, we landed in SFO and had a two hour drive ahead of us to Sonoma. All things considered, this wasn’t too bad of a commute! I made the mistake of booking an off-site rental car company, but besides that hiccup, we were cruising north, crossing the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and admiring the countryside in no time.

Tip: Call your rental car company, who may have ordered some cool car tech accessories, and ask for a child safety seat to be added. Ours was only $42 and well worth it since we didn’t have to carry a heavy car seat.

baby with wine!

TOWN: Healdsburg

We chose Healdsburg as our homebase. I had visited only once before for the day but was immediately smitten by the quaint town green, the charming mom & pop shops, along with the fine restaurants and posh hotels. This town has the right mix of class, charm and dose of energy to keep it interesting. It also happens to be smack in the middle of some of the most picturesque areas of wine country.

Tip: Make sure you are in walking distance of a main town so you can pop in and out of the hotel for food, shopping and groceries. It’s great not to have to drive!

Harmon Guest House

HOTEL: Harmon Guest House

The hotel is always very important to me but this time, it was EVEN more important as I knew with a young baby, we’d be spending a lot more time in the room. I also wanted a hotel that was very close walking distance to the town center so it’d be easy for the three of us to get out quickly or go to a nearby restaurant.

Hanging in Healdsburg

I was very happy to discover the brand new Harmon Guest House. The sister property to the well known, high brow Hotel Healdsburg, the Harmon Guest House was just a block away and boasted large suites and a rooftop restaurant. I was definitely interested in a suite as with a 4 month old, bedtime is around 7pm but that doesn’t mean that my mom and I wanted to go to bed then either. Having a separate room allowed us to put her down for bed, then order diner and have a glass of wine together.

Tip: Book a suite or a room type that has two separate rooms. You don’t want to be forced to have lights out at 7pm and you don’t want to put your baby in a bathroom for bedtime!

We opted for their Founder’s Suite. It came with a private outdoor terrace, which was surrounded by bamboo and greenery which helped to make it feel more private, even though it faced the glass hallway and other rooms.

The suite was quite spacious with the living area that had a coffeemaker and sink, refrigerator and countertop area. You can visit website to learn more about the material used on the countertop.

There was a small desk and a rather small couch and coffee table. Given that there was a lot of empty space, I felt the furniture was a little small in comparison to the room. There was also a bathroom (no shower) out here.

The bedroom as large and had a very, almost too soft, feather bed. There was a tub that worked well for bath time with Aurora, though I had to get in too! The outer sink and vanity area was lovely and the shower/toilet shared a very large separate space. It could have almost been another bedroom, it was so large!

A gift for Aurora from the hotel 🙂

Little details like daily coffee and pastries, sparkling water on tap in the hallway and the rooftop just above, definitely made this stay very comfortable. I have to say, the staff, from the valet to the front desk, went above and beyond to help us in all ways–and felt genuine and sincere in doing so.

TIMEFRAME: Midweek!

We traveled mid week to minimize the crowds even though we were in the high season. The Crush as it is known, draws lots of tourists from the Bay Area and beyond and for good reason. The scenery, the golden light and the activity on all the vineyards made this prime time to visit.

Tip: Travel to Sonoma during the week makes the rates much better and it is far easier to get around. Weekends get hectic!

ITINERARY: 1 Destination per Day

We picked up one big adventure per day and aimed to do that after her first nap. With one good nap down, we at least knew that we were in better shape for the rest of the day, even if her second nap wasn’t as great. Sleeping in the car is hit or miss for our girl, but for others, they can use a car ride for the first nap and get them to their destination sooner.

Cuties

I had a list of vineyards to check out and we stopped at many of them. However, we didn’t stay at all of them. Some were not kid friendly, not as scenic as we thought or were just too quiet. It is hard to gauge that until you see it for yourself! The ones we did stay at though were fantastic. After our wine tasting, we would either have a picnic there or stop somewhere for a bite, before heading back home for an afternoon nap. My mom enjoyed some shopping in Healdsburg while I put the baby down for a snooze.

DINNER: Takeout to the room

Unless you have someone like a nanny or babysitter, you will need to be in the room when baby goes to bed. For us that meant we would start bedtime at 6 or 6:30 and she’d be asleep by 7-7:30pm. So our evening outings were limited! We were able to sneak in a 5pm happy hour here and there, but mostly, we either grabbed food to go at 5pm or one of us snuck out after the baby went to bed to pick up food. As long as you have good food options nearby and a separate room to enjoy them in, it’s actually kind of cozy!

Tip: Choose a hotel that is close to restaurants with takeout options–ideally walking distance!

Hotel Healdsburg

 

Below I have rounded up the most scenic and BABY FRIENDLY stops from our trip to Sonoma:

Arista Winery

You turn off the main road into this stunning property, and wind your way up a hill past rows of grapevines glistening in the sun. At the top, there is a small tasting room that is very elegantly decorated. Though reservations are needed, and we didn’t have one, the obliging winemaker allowed us to sit outside, which was our preference, and conducted a personal wine tasting for us before the reservations came. This was ideal as we could sit and entertain Aurora and not have to worry about her disrupting others.

We liked that the wine tasting was an abridged version so we got the “cliffnotes” on all the wines. Also, we were outside and enjoying the Japanese inspired landscaping while two of us were on sipping delicious wine and one had a her own lovely bottle.

 

Dutcher Crossing Winery

Aurora had fallen asleep in the car and not wanting to wake her, I actually went in, explained the predicament and they allowed me to shuttle a wine tasting outside so my mom and I could enjoy together, even though we were in a parking lot.

Eventually the curious little bugger woke up and we all went into the tasting room. It was bright and airy, but the real selling point here is the well landscaped vineyard. You can tell they take great pains to keep every detail in line. It was truly breathtaking. The wines happened to be big, bold and wonderful as well. We had a great winemaker, Collyn, guiding us through the tasting in an unprententious and fun way. I ended up joining the wine club and now when I sip those special bottles, I am reminded of such a wonderful afternoon with my best girls.

 

Dry Creek General Store

This is THE place to get lunch in the area but guess what, it is actually delicious. We checked out the funky shop that is a mix of old time general store and fancy provisions, while we waited for two excellent sandwiches. My barbecue chicken was the perfect to go meal for lunch at a winery. It’s also well located right in the middle of a lot of great vineyards and just 15 minutes from Healdsburg.

 

Bella Vineyards & Wine Caves

At the very end of a lovely road is Bella Vineyards, famous for its tastings in the wine cave. The cave goes into the side of a mountain and is very interesting inside, but I loved the outside even more. The farmhouse, the views and the laidback atmosphere made this a place you wanted to linger.

MacRostie Vineyard

Perched on a hilltop with unobstructed, sweeping views, this one called to us every time we passed it. We finally stopped and while we loved the greeting with a taste of chardonnay and the intimate setting, we didn’t stay as it was too quiet and a bit serious for a baby. We were going to loud, up and down, singing songs and playing with toys and we felt the other guests there would be bothered by that…

 

Other favorite spots in Healdsburg…

 

Hotel Healdsburg

We came here for happy hour and enjoyed it at their modern, ivy clad outside decks. It was just a few steps from the Harmon Guest House so it was perfect for a quick drink before bath time!

 

Campo Fina

You’d never guess that this a bustling bar, bocce court and outdoor seating if you stepped in the front door. But clearly, word got out as when we got there around 5:30pm, the back area was packed. We grabbed a drink and ordered takeout to be enjoyed later at the room. It was really a delicious meal and fun atmosphere.

 

Pizzando

We had take out from here two times in our four nights and we were glad we did. The pizzas and pastas were incredible–I especially loved that bolognese. Their arugula salad had a tasty lemon dressing too. Perfect for an easy meal in the room.

 

The Shed

It might be overhyped but we did stop by to grab some bread, cheese and a cupckae for a little late lunch on our suite’s terrace. The bread was fantastic but that cheese.. I still think about it.

 

Oakville Grocery

We grabbed salads here and took them to go, to be enjoyed at a vineyard! They had a lot of great wine and some nice local products as well. When it comes to local products, ensuring they have impeccable packaging is crucial, which is why I recommend visiting this site here for more information.

 

The Toy Chest

I had to include this back-in-time toy store as a must stop for anyone traveling with kids. They had a great mix of modern toys and old-time classics. I love family run toy shops and it was nice to see one in action!

 

Noble Folk Ice Cream & Pie Bar

The pumpkin ice cream was out of this world, and all the other flavors at this artisanal ice cream shopped looked amazing as well. The apple pie wasn’t our favorite but definite come her for some ice cream!


Overall, we felt Sonoma County was very baby friendly since it was relaxed, very welcoming, and had a nice, slow pace. Many of the streets we drove on were so breathtaking, we had to pull over just to admire the beauty in all directions. I am so happy that we did this trip and though we couldn’t see and do everything at the fast pace we wanted too, it was nice to slow down and appreciate the simple beauty all together.

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Tips for Flying Across Country with a 2 Month Old Baby

We popped Aurora on a flight when she was just 9 weeks old. It was a bit daunting at first but we really wanted her to meet all her grandparents, so we decided to brave the West to East Coast flight over Labor Day Weekend.

Choose your Destination Wisely

Since grandparents’ beach house was the destination, we were lucky in that there was a lot of baby items already there. A pack n play, stroller and car seat were already there, so we didn’t have to bring any of that. However, we still needed to bring a lot for the plane journey. Read below are some of our must-haves.

Avoid Traveling on Holidays

Though we had to take advantage of the day off for LDW, we made sure to fly out on the Thursday of Labor Day Weekend, versus the Friday or Saturday. Going one day earlier made it a little easier as there was less traffic going to the airport and the airport itself was less busy. However, we didn’t have any luck with extra seats on the flight as it was jam packed.

 

Book a Window and Aisle Seat

My husband and I have been doing this for years now–never booking a middle and always booking a window and aisle, in the hopes that no one sits between us. If someone does, you can kindly ask if they’d prefer a window or aisle, so you can sit next to your travel partner. I doubt any person would prefer the middle. Or you can just choose to have a little separation from your travel partner and each of you can enjoy the modicum of more comfort with your respective aisle/window seats.

Let me just moderate your expectations: this rarely works. Especially now with flights being over-booked and standby, just about every available seat will be taken. However, once in a while it HAS worked and then we have a whole row to ourselves! It is the broke man’s first class! (I would even dare say better in some ways). This has not worked so far on our flights with Aurora, but it is worth a shot. An extra seat with a baby is ideal!

Bulkhead Rows

Our return was in a bulkhead on Alaska Airlines. If you can book that, do it. It is even worth the extra upcharge. I cannot tell you how much nicer it was to have that extra space. We were able to pass Aurora back and forth easier, even stand up to bounce her and we could step over the aisle passenger without disturbing them. The bulkhead also meant we got off quicker and were closer to a bathroom. It was too bad that we had to store our carryon for takeoff and landing, but it is a price that we were willing to pay.

 

Must Haves for Plane Travel with a 2-3 month old:

Dockatot

Though it is light, the Dockatot is a larger piece of luggage. However, we found it to be so worth it. We layed it across our legs and Aurora was able to nap in it, her only nap on the flight. She was still being swaddled at that time so something like a Dockatot gave her room, was familiar to her and allowed my husband and I to have our hands free. No, we couldn’t get up, but at least she was sleeping!

Hush Hat

I feel like the overhead announcements are just getting louder and more piercing, but maybe that is because now we are more sensitive to them with a baby. I tested out the Hush Hat, since it looked more comfortable than baby noise cancelling headphones. With built in sound absorbing padding, this cute hat worked very well and Aurora had no problem with it! It doesn’t eliminate sounds but definitely helps mute them.

Finding Dory for baby. Wine for mom and dad.

TV (as a tool only)

Some people might disagree, but I only use a screen when I desperately need it. On a plane with an upset baby counts as one of those times. She was crying and overtired and the only thing that calmed her down, and thus calmed us down, was watching some Finding Dory. Sometimes, a screen can be very useful for everyone–including our fellow passengers.

Baby Bjorn Carrier

No matter what carrier you prefer, it is so nice to be able to be hands free and wear the baby in the airport. I’ve done both stroller and carrier now, and it is far easier in my opinion to wear the baby. Our daughter is extremely interested in the world around her so when I wear her, she is delighted to look around and smile at everyone.

I personally have liked the Baby Bjorn when she was smaller, around 2 months, because it was easy to put on and felt comfortable. Now that she is a bit older, I have added in different carriers that are more secure for a forward facing baby (see my post on traveling with a 4 month old).

 

Toys

Obviously toys are key for the long plane ride. Definitely get a pacifier clip and clip any toys there if you can. The smaller, lightweight toys that don’t make too much noise are best. As you are on the go, they will be dropped so make sure to have several back ups, clip any that you can and also bring the toy sanitizing wipes.

Munchkin Arm & Hammer Pacifier Wipes

These are food grade safe, so you can use them to clean off the toys, teethers and pacifier that inevitably drop while traveling.

 

Portable Diaper Kit

I use the Skiphop set as it is easy to keep everything together and get in and out of those awful plane bathrooms quickly.

 

Nursing Cover

I used this one as it has an opening at the top so I can see her (and she likes to see my face), while nursing. This was key when we were nursing during take off and landing.

 

Footed Pajamas

Planes get cold and I like to make sure that she is fully covered (no missing socks!) so the full, one piece footed pajamas are my go too. I like the Magnetic Me for travel as they are lightweight but warm and the magnetic closures make them very easy for diaper changes.

 

Overall, no amount of “stuff” will make air travel easy, but it surely can help limit some of the stress. At the end of the day, the baby really just needs you, food, diapers and hugs. You can do it! The more you travel with them now, the easier it will get too.

xoxo

Kelley

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What else do you bring on the plane for little ones? Tell me below!