Hello everyone, I’m back with my second blog post, and this one will hopefully be of some use to you all as we’re coming in to the summer months and planning on travelling with your little ones. You all seemed to really love my first blog, and I hope you enjoy this just as much, (if you missed the first blog you can read it HERE).
Travelling with a baby- the very words can cause a shiver of fear in parents, particularly those of us who are new to the game, but, once done, the big old plaster has been pulled off and we find out that it’s not that scary!
Organization…
Organization is the key & everything else, well, you will just have to figure it out as you go. My sister -in- law Dervla, lives and works in Melbourne, and a few months ago we decided we would finally take the plunge and go visit her (before Ella amps up her crawling).
Figuring out what you need to bring to feed your baby is the most important thing. Ella uses Aptamil Follow on Milk at the moment and Australia do not carry the same brand of formula. Therefore, 3 boxes of Aptamil went into our case. I also brought the ready -to- feed Aptamil bottles which were super handy for on the go. These can be bought in any supermarket or pharmacy and can simply be poured into a sterile bottle for your baby (no powder, no boiled water required). Thankfully Ella is not that fussy about whether or not she gets her bottle warm or cold, but if your baby is, best do a trial run with the ready to feed formula before you go.
What did I pack?
Airport staff are well used to people travelling with babies and we found them super accommodating. They made it so much easier getting though security and all the airport checks. I brought a wheelie bag with all of Ella's stuff. In it, I packed lots of sterilized bottles, some with boiled water and some without for the ready to feed formula. I also packed the following:
Calpol
Nurofen
Syringes
Munchkin sterilizing bags(Buy Here) (just in case)
Always over pack in terms of bottles/liquids as there are no restrictions within reason for a baby on the plane. Wear something comfortable yourself because there is a lot of lugging about and you don't want your fancy heels being another problem on the day. I also packed an extra top for myself, just in case-(BTW I had to use this).
Ella absolutely LOVES her Sleepytot (Buy here). She has loads of teddies but this one is my life saver. It has velcro paws which allow a soother to be attached. I have one in her cot and when she wakes in the middle of the night she reaches for it and puts her soother in herself so no need to bother Mum & Dad! I decided I would pack two of these just in case (good job as one never made it out of Dublin airport).
Another thing I would have been lost without was the Clevamama travel container (Buy Here). This is the business for carrying around pre-filled formula. It has three stackable pots which allow you to carry food/formula without spilling into the other compartments. It has an extra lid if you just want to carry one supply of formula and also an easy pour spout. I have had this since Ella was tiny and I would be lost without it. My Dad thinks this is a marvel! Clevamama products in general are fantastic. Really practical and useful-made by mums for mums. Shop the Clevamama Range & all my top buys for baby here!Let’s talk food…
In terms of travelling with food suitable for your baby things get a little more complex. I didn't bring any homemade food as I was afraid of it not surviving the journey and staying fresh, so I brought along a few pouches of Ella's Kitchen (love the name). You can buy these in any supermarket and the claim is that there are no baddies, just a mix of veg/fruit preserved with lemon juice. These are super easy for on-the-go and only need to be stored in the fridge once opened. I use the Munchkin White Hot Infant spoons for feeding (Buy Here) which are great as they are soft, malleable and go white if the food is too hot for your baby, (Bring extra of these too as they tend to disappear!). All in all the food situation worked out fine for us. When we got to Australia I tried to track down an Ella's Kitchen equivalent which she refused point blank but I was able to make some dinners up for her when we were there. Staying in a hotel for two weeks would have presented a problem with this, but thankfully we had rented an apartment and it gave us the freedom to do all of that for Ella.
Little Miss Sunshine…
Sunscreen was obviously another important item to bring along. Babies’ skin is so delicate and some babies can suffer from sensitivities with certain products when applied. I had used Avene's Spray SPF 50 (Buy Here) on Ella previously and I knew that she was fine with that so I brought a bottle of it with me. If it’s your first time using sunscreen I would recommend a patch test and be sure to get one specifically for kids with a high factor. It is so important to make sure that your baby’s skin is protected at all times from the sun’s harmful rays so reapplication is critical too. I also made sure that her clothes were loose and covered as much as possible. I brought some Avene thermal water (Buy Here) as well which I sprayed on Ella to cool her down. This also comes in handy at nappy changing time as its very soothing if the skin is aggravated. If you have access to a fridge be sure to keep this in there for extra cooling on sunburn and hot skin, (It also came in handy to cool the adults down!) I am a big fan of Aden & Anais swaddles (Buy Here) and the two that I brought with me were invaluable. Perfect and light for those balmy evenings (I look forward to reusing them here at home!) Ella loves them as they have that familiar feel from when she was very small.
Final thoughts…
All in all, it was relatively easy travelling with Ella despite the distance. She is now crawling and climbing so things would be different now as entertaining her would be harder. We had a short time in airports while we waited for our connecting flight and Emirates supply a pushchair free of charge to allow transport within the terminals. This was really handy as otherwise we would have had to carry her around for two hours and she is not light!
I am sure there is loads more information that I could put down in this blog but, again, feel free to contact any of us should you have any queries. You can PM us on Facebook, or email myself on olivia@foodyspharmacy.com. We have made some great memories and while Ella won't remember her trip, the mountain of photos I took will show her how she hung out with her Aunt down under!
Up Next in Keeping Mum Series....
Ella's Weaning Journey... Stay Tuned!
Until next time everyone,
Love Olivia & Ella x
