Blissed Out BabiesBlissed Out BabiesHolidays are usually the highlight of everyone’s summer. However, item #165 on the list of Things People Don’t Tell You Before You Have Kids is the fact that post-kids a holiday will never be the same again.
Holidaying with children is basically dealing with the usual drama, but in a hotter country, with any form of routine shattered into a million tiny pieces. It’s a formula for potentially volatile and sometimes stressful time.
Fortunately for you, I have ten top tips I would like to share with you to minimise your risk of meltdowns and optimising your chances of having a fun-filled family holiday.
If you and your child(ren) have different surnames, or if you share custody with another parent, you might need further evidence that you are permitted to take them out of the country. You might need a: birth certificate, marriage or divorce certificate, or an official document authorising travel. Check with the airports directly for what they require.
If you use a pram, consider borrowing or buying a stroller as opposed to taking your full travel system. A stroller is much lighter and folds up to be more compact.
Using the stroller around the airport can also save a lot of stress, you can use it right up to the gate so don’t be too keen to check it into the hold at check in.
Equally, you might like to think about investing in a sling/carrier for hands-free parenting. A sling is a life-saver for getting through the airport.
Can you take your car seat? Whilst lots of rental companies will have car seats available, you don’t know how ‘well-used’ they are, so you may feel better taking your own. Many airlines allow extra items like this in the usual luggage allowance.
It’s hard to know what your holiday bedroom will be like. If you’re heading off to a sunny destination, that sun sneaking in through the windows could be an early morning wake-up call you don’t want!
A portable blind like this might be an excellent addition to your suitcase. This blackout blind is foldable and can stick to any window with the suction cups provided.
A really obvious one, pack a blanket, soft toy, and dummies your child is particularly attached to, so they can enjoy a little piece of home while they are holidaying with you.
Life hack alert! Take a tanning mitt or make-up brush to apply sunscreen. A make-up brush is soft enough to apply sunscreen to your baby’s face with plenty of control around the eyes. A tanning mitt is good for getting sun cream over your child’s body without sliming your hands, just make sure you’re putting plenty on!
If you’re self-catering and worry about how you’ll sterilise your baby’s bottles without your countertop steriliser, microwave sterilising bags are going to change your life. Simply open one up, pop the bottle in, pour in a bit of water, seal it, and stick it in the microwave for a few minutes, sorted!
You can also get sterilising tablets which you can use to soak your items clean.
When traveling with a baby, you are allowed to take enough baby food, baby milk, and sterilised water for your journey, which is likely to be over a hundred millilitres. Also, know that you can carry breast milk in your hand-luggage but you can’t carry frozen breast milk in hand luggage. You can have individual containers of breast milk but they must have been no more than 2000 millilitres each or two litres. This link gives you more info.
You may think that you need to pack everything but the kitchen sink to make your life easier when you’re going away. But travelling with lots of heavy bags will most likely just add extra stress. Think about the essentials you need and take those but can you order bulky items like nappies and milk at your destination?
Change your baby’s nappy right before you board the plane, you don’t know how long you might be sitting on the runway before taking off so the last thing you want is to need to change them when the seatbelt lights are still on!
Due to the change in pressure during take-off and landing, consider bottle or breast-feeding young ones and offering others a dummy or lolly to suck on to relieve the feeling of pressure change.
While children under two must sit on your knee for take-off and landing, you can buy them an extra seat for the remainder of the journey. Definitely worth considering, especially if it’s a long flight.
Travelling can be stressful at the best of times, give yourself twice the amount of time that you’d usually need. Babies have that intuition for needing feeds/nappy changes at the most inconvenient of times.
If you feel less in a rush, the usual complications won’t feel as challenging.
Hopefully, these tips haven given you some food for thought, off you go and make some wonderful memories. Happy holidays!
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