Travelling with 7/8 mths old bb to Europe

[Lana17]

Hi mummies,

we r planning to hv 2-3 weeks holiday in mar 2013 with bb who will b 7.5mths .. as it will b a long haul flight n with time difference, would like to take some precaution n help my bb to adjust the best possible...

mummies who have (or have not - can also give any advise ) had travelled long/ short distance flight with their bb, pls share yr experience, advise, comments etc etc during the flighht with bb, food to bring, what kind of food we can bring on flight, how to adjust bb to the time difference n how to re-adjust back once back home, what thing to pay attention to etc etc...

Thx a lot

 

[rachelleling]

Wow! That will be a huge task!

Which part of Europe will you be going? cos I rem when I traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Paris that area in May, it was rather cold in the night. so I suppose it will be colder in March. So, bring more clothings for the little one, esp those which you can layer. so that you can remove layer or put on one layer as and when. get those thicker jackets and thicker pants. the most impt is to keep baby warm cos there was once I brought my son to Perth and so cold at night he was shivering and turned a bit blue. a little scary.

I hope you will still be bf by then cos bf helps to calm the baby during the flight. have to entertain baby during the flight else very difficult to handle him. You can bring water put into milk bott/drinking bott on flight. they are always kind to mumies with babies. so they will close an eye with reg to the liquid restrictions. so, if let's say you are giving fm, you can ask the stewardess to add hot water for you. That time, i even brought along a thermal food warmer with porridge to feed him during the flight.

you may also want to consider getting a good baby carrier. you cant be possibly carry him with your hands. a good carrier can help you ease the strains. I use manduca and it is the best carrier! I used it and both my babies can zzz inside for 2 hours in it without me feeling any strains! imagine my boy was about 10 - 12kg when he was 2 and i carried him in it and walked along the streets of Perth for 2 hours without any strains. best part is he was zzz soundly inside!

I suppose you will not be giving outside food to your baby. i would say the food there may not be so suitable for 7.5 mth baby cos is rather "flavourful" and rich unless you are talking about bread. so, get those cereals and mix with water for your baby. also can intro him to the heinz food jar. I brought about 1 dozen of food jar to HK when my boy was 1 yr. very useful. but then is fragile so got to pack properly.

I also dun trust the kettle in the hotels. So i normally bring my own travel kettle to boil water for my son. the water he use for drinking or rinsing the milk bott, all i boil in my own kettle. also, not so sure if you are pumping or bf or fm feeding by then. that time I was exclusively pumping and needed to sterlise my pump parts so, i tot bring a travel steriliser is more convenient than having to rinse every parts with hot water.

with re to time diff, my fren just brought her 2 yr old son to europe and she said it took some time for her son to adjust to the time diff but then just need some patience. shd be ok.

 

[Lana17]

Thanks rachelleling for yr input yah, i'm a bit nervous too actually

we will b heading to France n planning to rent a car visiting diff part of France...
unfortunately, i will not b bf anymore as i've planned to stop it once i head back to the workforce.. so by then my bb will b on fm n solid food.. i was thinking to bring fm so bb still drink his normal milk n not hv to adjust to another brand which dunno if suits him or not.. n then get the solid food frm local store...

ok, we plan to bring a carrier n stroller..

what i'm a bit worry is the adjustment for the time diff.. since there will b 8hrs diff, i hope it will not mess up his night sleep when we will b back..