So you want to bring a baby to a conference
Last year was quite the conferencing adventure for me. Well, for us. My whole family and especially my little B. She has taken one bottle in her life and she didn’t do it well, so she depended on me as her food source and thus got to attend some pretty awesome conferences with me.
Of course, not all conference, especially non-blogging conferences are baby-friendly, but fortunately, the ones that I attended were either completely baby-friendly, or had options to help make it baby-friendly.
{B has no idea who Robin Meade is, but I think there might be slight smirk under her pacifier!}
Six tips for bringing your baby to a blog conference
1. Make sure it’s okay to bring a baby and check to see if there are any age requirements for certain parts. You might have to sign a waiver for having your baby in a place serving alcohol, or you might have to skip part of an event, but just make sure to ask beforehand. At least that way, you will know what to expect. Also, some might have a childcare option if that is something that might work for you.
2. Bring supplies and then pack extras. Take whatever you think you will need for the time you will be there, and double it. You don’t want to have to hunt down diapers, wipes, baby food or a change of clothes. Yes, you will probably have to carry a ton of stuff and won’t end up carrying your laptop or usual conference supplies, but you will be well-prepared. Plus, you might be able to help somebody out that forgot something.
3. Bring a carrier and stroller so you have options. As you can see above, my LILLEbaby carrier paired with a backpack and maybe a cross body purse is my preferred method of getting around. But, I also like having the stroller as an option. At Disney Social Media Moms, it came in handy to have a place to set B down so I could eat and also so she could rest.
At Type-A and Blogging Boot Camp, the stroller doubled as a highchair for her lunch time as well. The stroller was a great place to throw all my things, too and use almost like a cart.
4. Plan to sit near a door just incase you need to make a quick exit. It probably goes without saying, but just something to think about. B has been a super good conference baby and I think fussed like once at each conference. Thankfully, I was always right at the end of an aisle and near the door so I could make a quick exit and not disrupt a speaker or session.
I was also able to pace around the back of conference rooms with B in the carrier when she got sleepy. There were no stroller naps at Mom 2.0 or Type-A, but there was a lot of walking around on my part for sure.
5. Dress practically (especially for breastfeeding) and wear layers. Conference centers are typically very cold, but baby wearing is warm, so make sure you have a lot of practical layers to add or take away, and make sure you have some for baby, too. If you are breastfeeding, make sure your clothes are easy to nurse in. I specifically bought dresses and blouses that would allow my daughter access to nurse while still being comfortable and yet appropriately dressed. Also, I wore flats the whole time. Pacing + baby-wearing + heels = Krystyn on the floor somewhere.
6. Be flexible. You aren’t going to make it to all of the sessions and get quite as much out of it as you would without having a baby with you. BUT because it’s harder to tweet/share, etc, you might get more out of it because you are walking a baby to sleep and hearing every word the presenter is sharing. Also, you might not be in sessions, but walking around and chatting with people. You can make some amazing connections and contacts by NOT being in all of the sessions. And, bonus? You might just win a PRADA bag for getting your sponsor passport completed and entering into a drawing.
I did recaps of conferences with B this past year if you’d like to check them out, too.
We went to Disney Social Media Moms, Mom 2.0, Family Forward, Blogging Boot Camp and Type-A.
Have you ever brought a baby to a conference or considered it? Would you add any tips?
Buy your LILLEbaby carrier at lillebaby.com or on Amazon.com.
Talk about multi-tasking! I think it is great that conferences are open to welcoming parents who may need to bring a child along. Thank goodness B is such a good conference goer…just think of all she is soaking up…she’ll be the next kid blogger 🙂
Ha! A baby blogger..that might be fun…sort of like Honest Toddler!
You’re clearly a pro! 😀
Awesome tips! I’ll also be scoping out the hotel we’re staying at to see all the child-friendly amenities. In room PNP? Sign me up!
Good point to think about the hotel and their amenities. Always make sure to add it to your reservation asap. Some places don’t guarantee them!
Thanks for the tips. I will have to re-read these in October.
I took my baby Jonah to Blissdom when he was 5 weeks old…it was awesome. I had my expectations low and it went sooo great. I would really encourage people to go for it! These are great tips, Krystyn!
Yes! Exactly this! I want to encourage people and let them know that it’s not that hard..I mean, it’s hard, but no reason not to go! The littles are really easy before they start moving around, too.
My kids were already preschoolers when I started going to conferences, so I never brought them. These are great tips though! I love how so many blog conferences are baby friendly.
You have covered all the bases when it comes to bringing a baby to a conference. These are great tips for parents of little ones that want to stay in the game.
You are ambitious!!! And it’s funny, I think many of these tips would also work in other situations as well 🙂
Not too ambitious! Just enjoy getting out and thankfully, so does she.
And, yes, they definitely apply to many other situations! I guess I wanted to put it out there so people didn’t limit themselves or were scared they can’t do it, but at the same time, have expectations inline with reality!