Bon Voyage!

[Jess&Frank]

Hello

We're putting together a feature on taking a baby on holiday. We need contributions from local mums - tell us about your experiences, top tips!!

Have you been away on a long car journey? On a plane? On a train? Boat... can't think of anything else. Tell us how it went and we'll pull it all together in a special summer feature.

You can either post the info on this thread or email (http://www.moormums.co.uk/forum/sendmessage.php) it to us.

Thanks

J

PS: Pictures especially welcome - I've got one of Frank getting on a plane!!

[Diane&Rose]

Great idea, I am flying to Andalucia next week from Leeds, and will be happy to report my adventures! Am a bit stressed about a few things at the mo - the sun for one; intend to keep her out of it as much as poss but don't really know what to dress her in - worried she will over heat if wearing too much, but that she will be exposed if wearing too little? Also hoping to keep the pram til boarding - its not a buggy but it is very collapsible, I think we need it for the airport bit and have spoken to jet2 by phone to check that I can do so - they sauid I could but I have to admit I am still girding my loins for a fight about it at the check in desk!!

[Lucinda]

This is just a very quick one as still in spain but some things that I wish I had known;

It cost us £28 for a box of milk out here so more than double formula prices at home!!! So we have been through 2 so far, quite a bit.

Dont forget your E111 for your baby ( or whatever it is called now) if you do not have it and have to go to hospital you have to pay yourself.

Things I did get told which are very helpful;

I flew Jet2 from Leeds and we took our Maclaren and Maxi Cosi car seat for free as outsize luggage no hassle. The pram to the steps of the plane is a godsend.

You can take water for baby feed onto plane you just taste it at customs.

All supermarkets are closed on sundays ( I forgot and was panicking as had no milk and no car to get to a pharmacy)

will update when back... back to the pool.

oh last one, try suncream on baby before you go, I sprayed Charles with one factor 50 and he had nettle type stings all day. E45 suncream works well for us.

[Barbara & Imogen]

We recently flew out from Liverpool which has baby changing both land side and air side. I used the papoose to cart Miss H around in and so we didn't need a pram at the airport at all.

[kat]

Hi all,

this is my first post so hello to you all. We've recently got back from a fortnight away with our 15 month old boy, which is our second overseas holiday with him (first time he was just over six months).

We flew to Palma with Jet2, and we were able to take the pushchair right up to the plane doors. However, last year when flying from Leeds Bradford we had to use the stairs to get on the plane and had to leave the pushchair at the bottom so make sure you've got someone with a spare pair of hands nearby to help if that happens to you!

When we arrived at Palma the pushchair was at the plane door which was a huge relief. But beware, on returning to Leeds you don't get your pushchair until baggage reclaim (and then they don't come off the carousel first!), so if your little one is still small enough it would be a good idea to take a sling in your hand luggage to keep you all going.

I would definitely recommend you take with you a harness and reins if your little one is using a highchair. Only a couple we used while away had adequate harnesses to restrain Charlie so if you have the harness and reins with you you can use these to keep baby safe!

Also make sure you take your car sunshades if you're hiring a car, and as someone has already mentioned, formula milk in Spain is crazily expensive so might be worth taking some with you from home. Can't think of anything else that worked well for us this time which would be of use to anyone - other than where possible take your own car seat. We did the first time but not most recently and I regretted it. You can check the car seat in, but the airline takes it on the basis that they aren't responsible for any damage it suffers.

Hope some of that has helped somebody!

K

[Jess&Frank]

this is my first post so hello to you all.

K

Hello Kat and welcome to MoorMums. Thanks for your advice, I have added it to our travelling feature.

And thank you to everyone else who has been in touch so far for your suggestions and tips.

We are planning to publish the feature at the weekend, so any more suggestions, get them in quick!!

J

[loulouh1973]

We travelled to Cornwall recently by car and spent a lot of time debating how to do it. We decided to set off at bedtime, 7pm, after doing Evie's bedtime routine as normal. Then stopped at around 10pm south of Birmingham which was 3 hrs. Worked out quite well, and she settled easily in the travelodge. We got up early the next day and carried on through with a couple of stops in Bristol and Exeter. The main thing was not to rush and give yourself plenty of time. Evie did have one tantrum whenwe had to stop, but settled o.k.
We rented a lovely apartment overlooking the sea, but Evie had trouble sleeping at night. I would recommend packing as many familiar things as you can, toys etc to help settle them, and try to keep your bedtimes the same as at home. It's tempting to kept the babies up later as they're on holiday, but, I think it unsettles them even more.
Another top tip would be to get one of those pop up tents for the beach, or take a bouncy chair to sit them in. It's lovely for them to feel the sand between their toes but I was always fretting about Evie getting the sand in her eyes! And of course, she loved to crunch it!
On the way back, we did the journey in one day, set off at 8am, had two good stops where Evie could have a good stretch and got home at 4pm. In hindsight, we would do it that way again rather than stopping overnight.
If anyone is doing a trip tot he SOuth West, I would recommend a lovely stop at a place called Clevedon, south of Bristol. It has a lovely park and playground and is near the sea.
Or you could just fly from Leeds Bradford to Newquay!
L x

[Jess&Frank]

A big thank you for all your tips.

We've put them all together in our travelling feature (http://www.moormums.co.uk/baby-tips/bon-voyage-going-on-holiday-with-baby/).

Thanks!

J