I was SO nervous travelling with a baby, I heard so many scare stories and didn’t want to be THAT family on the plane with the screaming infant. However, with a little research and preparation; we had an amazing first family holiday and Willow was honestly so good!
I thought I’d share my Top 10 Tips for travelling abroad with a baby, as this was something I looked for ahead of my trip.
*Please note, we went to Spain in late September, for a week at an all-inclusive resort.
I also want to point you in the direction of Amber at Barefoot Blonde and this post she did on Travelling with a Baby, this was hands-down the most useful thing I read!!!
- Baggage Allowance – Now is not the time to be frugal with your luggage allowance, I don’t mean take every appliance and the kitchen sink, but it is better to have more with you than less and worry about trying to find some obscure baby item in a country you don’t know! We traveled with:
- 1 x 20KG suitcase
- 1 x 15KG suitcase
- 1 x 10KG suitcase, a Nappy Bag, 1x Carry On bag and a light travel buggy.
We hit the limit both going out and coming back (even after dumping left over toiletries, nappies etc) and this didn’t include Formula (we bought airside) and Nappies (we bought in Spain). We did have wedding outfits in with this too, but they were’ THAT heavy.
2. Travel Buggy – We purchased a cheap and light buggy to travel with, instead of taking our Stokke Crusi travel system pram. The buggy we bought was the Joie Nitro, it was light, affordable and was by far the best thing we took with us on holiday for Willow, we’ll definitely use it in the UK too. After seeing how they treat buggies at the airport, I’m glad we didn’t take our expensive pram and also it was much more practical having something small and light that we could throw in the back of the Taxi and didn’t take up too much room in our hotel room. We also purchased an insert to pad the seat out, although the buggy can be used from birth, it still seemed too big for Willow. We also hired a car seat whilst we were out there for taxi journeys, however this wasn’t completely necessary as we didn’t always use it (we put her in our carrier instead) as we didn’t want to be carrying the seat out at and about! Obviously if you hire a car, then a seat is a must!
3. Baby Carrier/Sling – We have a Baby Bjorn carrier, which we love and use a lot here at home. This was perfect, for once we gave the buggy at the gate and then coming off the plane before we picked up our luggage and buggy again. Also, not much for this trip but when you are out and about exploring, they really are so useful, especially on cobbled european streets!
4. Take medicines with you – I always take the essentials with me on holiday: Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Strepsils, Bug Spray and Bite cream. However, travelling with a baby I took a lot more and I used EVERYTHING! We took:
- Calpol, Baby Ibuprofen, Calpol Nasal Drops, Bonjela teething gel, Ashtons teething granules, Calpol teething gel, E45 cream, Bepanthen, Baby Cotton Buds, Baby Nail Scissors and a thermometer.
Bar the Ibuprofen, we used all items; both Willow and I got a cold on the plane and she had a bit of a cough and blocked nose. The saline drops were a lifesaver and so was the thermometer, we actually took her to see a doctor (she has never had a cough and I was worried) and he would have prescribed us the drops but was glad we had some already. We also had to use all her teething products and she is having issues with this most days; one night it was quite bad so she needed to have some calpol. We had a pharmacy close to the hotel, but its good to take bits with you that you can have to hand and don’t need to spend money on, they don’t weigh much or take up much room.
5. Take lots of toys and home comforts – Their favourite toys, new toys to keep them entertained. Home comforts, we took her sleepyhead and placed it in the cot provided by the hotel, her own blankets and her elephant light projector. These are all things she has that help her to sleep at home, they don’t weigh much and she slept just as well whilst we were away, we even got a lie-in most days!
6. Feeding – Obviously, in this instance breast-feeding would be so much easier BUT we weren’t exclusively breast-feeding so needed to take everything with us for Formula feeding. You have to be prepared – beforehand and whilst you are there to make sure you have clean, sterile, warm/cool enough bottles for them (without any home luxuries!); I emailed First Choice beforehand so I knew what was in our room (no kettle + no microwave). For the journey, I planned to feed Willow for Take-Off but it worked out that she fed just before and slept (with a dummy) for this both times! Going through security, take whatever you need, they just test any liquids in a machine.
- We took: 6x Bottles, 1x Formula storage pot, 1x Pack sterilising bags, 1x pack of Milton TabletsMilton Tablets, 1x Travel Kettle and 2x Ready-Made Formula Bottles.
- We purchased airside: 1x Tub Formula, 6x Small Ready-Made Formula bottles (FYI you can do Boots Click & Collect but this needs to be 5 Days ahead for airside, not the usual 1 day service! But they still had what we needed in-stock).
- We purchased in Spain: 6x 1L Bottled Water (checked NHS Guidelines), 1x Washing Up Liquid. (They did have a formula in the local Aldi and then a version of Aptamil in the Pharmacy)
7. Sun Protection – Whilst we were in Spain it was high 20’s early 30 degrees, so not too hot, considering we have had a warm summer in the UK. Willow has her dad’s tanned skin tone, but she is still a baby and needs extreme sun protection. We took, Banana Boat Factor 50 Baby Lotion (I had been using this in the UK so I knew it didn’t affect her skin) and applied this every two hours. We had a bottle and a half but we didn’t even use half a bottle in the end! Willow also spent 99% of her time in the shade (always covered in cream) and we always had sun loungers with an umbrella and extra large swaddle muslins to cover the buggy. She was occasionally in the sun but for short periods of time and did get a little tan on her legs. The pools were freezing, so she didn’t get out much in the sun to play in them sadly. We also took multiple different sunhats and she wore these constantly, even when we were in the shade.
8. Clothing – I definitely took too much, clothing wise, she had a different outfit for each evening, lots of daytime options and plenty of basics. During the day, she could easily have just worn a swimming costume, sleeveless vest or just her nappy. In the mornings, for breakfast it was still quite chilly so she wore her sleepsuit and in the evenings, whilst she occasionally wore a nice dress out, it was easier to put her in a sleep suit. That way, if she fell asleep whilst we were out or before we would head to dinner, we didn’t have to wake her up to change her when putting her to bed and it was also much cooler in the evenings and she needed the extra warmth. Obviously if you plan on doing my day trips, then more daytime outfits would be needed, but the little t-shirt rompers that we took were perfect for that sort of thing!
9. All Inclusive – We definitely did not make the most of this facility on this holiday and therefore it was probably a bit of a waste. We chose this route as it meant everything from transfers, flights, rooms, food etc was sorted for us and it did help for our first holiday not having those worries. I’m not sure if it was just the hotel we stayed in, but all-inclusive just wasn’t the best thing for us as a family this trip (apart from transfers being sorted). We wanted to go out and explore more (we also attended a wedding) and we didn’t enjoy the food or having strict meal times. We also weren’t drinking lots of alcohol or being involved in the ‘night-time entertainment’. My favourite night, apart from the wedding, was going into Marbella Old Town and exploring together as a family, whilst at the hotel, we ended up back at our room quite a lot, with no where quiet to sit and enjoy the evenings. I think perhaps a villa holiday with a car would be a lovely option as a family, having more freedom for the babies to play around and a quieter private pool and no restrictions on when/where to eat; especially when you begin weaning and want control over what your little one will be eating.
10. Don’t stress – Easier said than done, I’m a stressful flyer, I literally cannot be calm until the plane has take off (I think this stems from missing a flight once!). But I think you need to take the attitude of “What will be, will be” and that everything will be OK. I think if you prepare as much as you can beforehand, you can be calmer. I wanted to buy nappies at the airport, but airside they didn’t have any in Willow’s size, I started to panic and realised they have babies in Spain, there will be somewhere to buy them… and there was! Leave plenty of time for the airport and security, that way your not stressing about missing your flight/getting what you need in shops before you board. Your babies feed off of your energy, the calmer you are, the calmer they will be. And if they scream all through the flight, don’t worry about anyone else around you! There were plenty of sad babies on our flight, but it didn’t ruin anyones holiday and to be honest you’ll never see those people again anyway, leave the grumpy people to it!
Most importantly, enjoy your holiday and time together as a family, make lots of memories and take plenty of pictures!
The Letter B 