Flipflops and Floaties

If you are reading this blog post, you are more than likely preparing for a trip with your little one(s) or you are considering booking one. If it is the latter, then take some advice from the guys at Nike and ‘Just do it’.

Travelling with a baby for the first time can be daunting, but it is nothing to be scared of. When it comes to travelling with a baby, the younger they are the easier it will be. From experience, I can honestly say that the pre crawling period is the easiest and you should make the most of this time by travelling as much as you can. Not to mention the fact that it is so much cheaper as you won’t have to pay for a seat until your baby is 2 years old.

We brought Oscar on his first sun holiday when he was 7 weeks old, and it was a dream.

I have put together a short list of tips and tricks that we find work well when travelling with young babies, hopefully this helps to ensure you have the perfect holiday.

• Deciding on a destination & resort: You don’t have to opt for the typical family resorts with splash parks and kids clubs when they are babies. I would suggest choosing a hotel, resort or villa with a heated swimming pool. Ideally you want to have a pool that is heated to 32 degrees Celsius if your baby is 3 months or younger, and 30 degrees Celsius if they are over 12lbs. It is no harm to invest in a little wetsuit for them too. You can buy baby wetsuits from Amazon, Mothercare, and a million other places I am sure.

• Packing: Don’t over pack! It is not worth it, remember you are going to another country not another planet, the chances are that you will be able to buy most things that you need over there so there’s no need to bring 500 nappies and 10 packets of wet wipes. Make a list of everything you think you need to bring for your baby, read the list a few times and anything that you are unsure about, remove it, you obviously don’t need it. It is not worth the hassle of having to drag tonnes of stuff around with you that you won’t even use. Remember too, that baby clothes are tiny so you will be able to wash and dry them in no time at all. We made the mistake of bringing a heap of night time outfits for Oscar on his first holiday, he wore a grand total of none of them. We changed him into his pyjamas in the evening time when we were heading out for dinner and he slept in the stroller for the evening, which meant we could just lift him straight into the cot when we got back to the room without having to disturb him to change his clothes. Milton tablets or liquid are both perfect for sterilising bottles in cold water, you can pick them up in most supermarkets before you go. Check with your hotel/resort before you go though as they may be able to provide a steriliser, which makes life even easier.

• Hand luggage:
  • Plenty of nappies and plenty of wet wipes, you do not want to be caught short at 31,000 feet.
  • A spare change of clothes is a must also, just in case there is an explosive nappy to contend with.
  • Bring a blanket as it can get quite cool on the plane.
  • I would highly recommend packing a baby carrier for the flight. This is a godsend for securing the baby so you can have a bite to eat or a drink, and also makes it easier for them to nod off during the flight.
  • Babies are easily entertained, so don’t fall into the trap of weighing yourself down with a bunch of toys for them, they will more than likely be just as happy playing with plastic cups, keys etc.
  • Download some baby shows from Netflix onto your phone or tablet so that they can watch them during the flight, especially for short haul when no wifi or entertainment systems are provided.
  • If you are formula feeding, bring at least 2 bottles of milk. Give one for take off and one for landing to try to avoid your babies ears popping.
  • A bottle of calpol or other suitable medicine to treat pain/fever, just in case you need it whilst on board the flight.

• Airport:
  • When checking in, ask the airline staff member if there are any free seats on board. If there are free seats, ask to be seated next to one. This will come in handy as babies generally don’t get there own seat until they are 2 years old (unless you pay for a seat that is). The extra seat, if available, will make it easier to get your baby to sleep as he/she will be able to lay down on the seat whilst in the air.
  • Check in everything that you don’t need on the flight, so that you are not carrying a million and one things through the airport.
  • Keep your stroller until you get to the airplane as it will be handy to have it while walking the 15 miles to the gate 🙂
  • Before you get near security take out all liquids and electronics and pop them under the stroller or somewhere handy so that you are not rummaging through bags and stressing yourself out while a queue of people forms behind you in the security line.

If you have made it this far and you are still undecided as to whether you are going to book the trip, remember it is the things that you don’t do that you always end up regretting. They are only small for such a short time, make the most of it 🙂

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