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Since I have travel on the brain right now, I thought it would be fun to share some of my travel tips and lessons learned from our many adoption trips.
These days, with the high number of international transracial adoptions and the high number of parents adopting domestically who have to travel to another state for their adoption, the majority of transracial adoptions involve some amount of travel.
Travel can be stressful, and adoption related travel can be ultra stressful. One of the things that you can do to relieve some of the stress is to do some careful planning, and to start that careful planning as far in advance as you can.
Often times adoptive parents spend months and months in angst as they wait and wait for a referral and news of their travel, only to have that news come and to be completely unprepared for the trip. I can tell you from much personal experience that the week or two before you leave for an adoption trip are going to be overflowing with things to do. I can also tell you that once you get “the call” that you can travel, your brain is going to be running on overdrive and it will be really difficult to calm down and make important decisions.
Here are some things that you can do in advance that will make your life easier when the time comes for your travel.
- Find and print (or write out) some good packing lists. You can find all of my very detailed adoption packing lists here. It is helpful to break your list up into sections, for example “clothing for parents”, “clothing for the child”, “medical supplies”, “toiletries”, “paperwork”, etc.
- As you go over the packing lists, make a mark next to anything on the list that you have to buy, and then make a new list of things you need to purchase. Doing this helps you get prepared early on (and avoids the need to run around Walmart the night before you leave trying to find a travel alarm clock). It also gives you something to do when the wait is hard, and allows you to spread out your spending so do aren’t having to do tons of shopping right before your travel. Some things you may need to buy are over the counter medications, first aid kid supplies, power adapter and converter, toiletries for you and your child, clothes for your child, diapers, etc.
- Make sure you have good luggage.
- Arrange carrying supplies and donations if you are adopting internationally. Many adoption agencies ask traveling parents to carry over donations. If you can do so, getting these donations early and getting them packed early is a good idea. It will be one less thing you have to do right before you leave.
- Pack anything you can in advance. Your child’s clothes, supplies for your child, donations, spare toiletries and plenty of other things can be packed several weeks before you go. Doing so will help you be more organized in your packing and will leave less for you to do near your departure.
- Make a to-do list for the week before you travel. I always make a list and hang it on the fridge with all the little things I need to accomplish, such as writing notes to kids’ teachers telling them we will be out of town, making lists of phone numbers for babysitters, writing out the kids’ schedules, getting the dog to the kennel, checking our international calls plan, getting money and/or travelers checks, and on and on and on. (When you look at that to-do list, you will know why all this preparation is going to help you a ton).
- Find a good travel agent with adoption travel experience. I will write more in my next post as to why this is important.
Keeping busy really helps pass “the wait”, and you will thank yourself later on. 
You can read the rest of my travel tips posts here.
* Photo from Liquid Library
