Long haul baby - what do need to pack?

[Mississippilessly]

We are taking our 7 month old baby away for 10 days - long haul tropical destination.

Hit me - what do I need? Taking the car seat seems ridiculous but we will have a short transfer from plane to hotel. I believe the hotel supplies strollers but not sure they would be suitable for such a young baby? He is breastfed.

Awaits the 'what were you thinking' comments because in truth I'm not sure!!!

How long is your flight?

At 7 months you should be ok with an umbrella fold stroller - can you ask the resort what they provide?

I have always booked airport transfers with car seats.

My tips - Take changes of clothes for you and the baby for the flight, the pressure made both of mine quite sicky. Definitely book the basinette seats - my kids at 6/7 months were quite tall and filled them, but you’ll welcome the leg room and somewhere to dump your stuff even if the baby only sleeps on you. Bring large muslins and a couple of pegs - in my experience there are usually lights right above the basinette which is BLOODY annoying when you’re trying to get a baby to sleep/stay asleep.

If you’re weaning take (or pre order at airport boots) a good supply of purée pouches or similar - they’re a godsend.

And have fun! 6/7 months were the easiest flights with my two until they were about 6.

We took ou LO to NZ when she was about that age. Got the bassinet/bulkhead seat and she slept really well. Maybe take spare clothes, something to block out the light (scarf?) and some calpol sachets for emergencies. Wipes, dummies etc. We took a lie flat McClaren with us but my MIL rented us a car seat for when we go there. Enjoy!

Where are you going, tropical country with roads and infrastructure or a tiny island in the middle of the Indian Ocean?

For example btw

Insect repellant
I always bought my nappies on holiday- just the local brand but I took swim nappies (enough for two or three a day) - they were much more expensive. Also I found that not many places sell nappy bags.
Pack a plug in night light.
I'd take a swim ring. I hate arm bands! Even with a float suit, you still have to be guiding them the whole time because if they tip forward they might not be able to right themselves. A swim ring will allow you more freedom.
Rinse or bath your LO after being in the pool because their skin is more sensitive to chlorine.
Take your own sponge for bath time and perhaps a universal bath plug (so you can turn a hotel sink into a baby bath. just put socks over the ends of the taps).
If your LO is sharing your room, it might help to bring a headtorch if you have one so you can do nappy changes etc... without turning the main light on and disturbing your sleeping OH!
For first-aid I'd take plasters, calpol, piriton, sudocrem and a thermometer.
A baby monitor is also useful.

Thanks guys this is brilliant!
I dont know about seats on the plan - I'll check.
We are going to Mauritius so 12 hr flight. We decided longer flight and less jet lag was better

I'd disagree about the nappies! For the space they will take up I would just take what you need. We went to Niagra Falls with dd when she was 12 months old. None of the local shops sold nappies in anything bigger than packs of 3! DH has to get a cab to a supermarket. I've been to Mauritius and our hotel was quite remote, you would need to get a taxi to the shops.

Car seat, order one with your transfer. Saves lugging it through the airport.

A lie flat umbrella stroller will be fine for a 7 month old. But I'd get one over here and take it with you. Most airlines take it off you once you board the plane.

-Change of clothes for you and at least 2-3 sets for the baby for the plane (pressure, sickness etc meant lots more colic and nappy changes..)
-Seconding the bassinet seats - they're a bit annoying if you hit turbulence tho as you'll need to take the baby out each time (even if sleeping) and reconnect them via your seatbelt
-Wipes for everything!
-I pack carry on stuff in separate ziplock bags (outfits, nappies, toys etc) as then its really easy to separate, you don't have to haul out your entire bag looking for stuff, plus its good if you need to quarantine clothes etc from a sick / nappy explosion
-Seconding taking your own basic first aid stuff, we also found a jug or something you can use in the shower / bath for washing them and a toy duck or similar
-The floating sit in ring was great at that age for pulling around the pool, I also bought a proper ventable (if that's the right word) SPF stroller shade so DS could sleep in the stroller without heating up
-I bought great breathable SPF 50 wide brim hats from an Oz company which helped with no burning
-Also worth calling the hotel before you go -loads of the package places we've stayed at had stuff like sand toys, beach mats etc to use when you got there so you didn't have to drag it with you

Keep them coming!
I'm phoning the airline tomorrow to see if I can get bulkhead seats.
The car seat issue is stressing me. It's an absolute faff to take it. I'll phone the company I booked with and see what can be done.

In hand luggage:
Lots of spare clothes
Bags to put dirty clothes in
More nappies and wipes than you think you'll need
Blankets
Sling

Calpol in hand luggage, just in case. Plenty of snacks, try and bf or offer water on landing to help with ear pressure.
Take something that smells of home, blanket or something for familiarity.

I'm already thinking this was a bad idea!!

I second bringing a change (or two) of clothing for you and baby in your carry on. (this is all for carry on)
A bag to store dirty things in just in case.
Lots of wipes. Blanket.
Comfort toy but not too many as the stress of looking after all the belongings challenging.
I would also take nappies as my DC got nappy rash from other nappies.
Lots of ziplock bags with complete outfits in so no digging round to find stuff.
Jumper in case plane is cold-dress baby in layers in case it is warm. Breastfeed to cope with take off and landing.
Anything you could not replace in case of luggage being lost.
Def calpol.
I always put swim suits in everyones carry on's in case the luggage is delayed at least we can swim.
Babies are very portable at that age-we had a few family holidays in Mauritius and they were brilliant.
Have fun!!

We've booked this quite last minute so I dont have much hope about the bulkhead seats.

Do you think jetlag will mean his bedtime will be slightly later? The restaurants only start serving dinner at 7 which is his bedtime!

I traveled a lot as we lived overseas. I highly recommend a reclining umbrella stroller with canopy, they aren't very robust but the airlines always stowed it on board. I would take food with you - back in the day you could get powdered baby food not sure if you still can, was a godsend as you just add boiling water. A car seat might be essential but check and see if one can be provided - I doubt they insist on use there but I wouldn't risk it unless it's a bus perhaps (there may not be seatbelts anyway then). Take a wide brimmed hat, baby safe sunscreen and insect repellent, long sleeve tops and bottoms to cover up from the sun. Is a cot being provided, if so take your own bedding unless it's a 5 star hotel. Take a picnic blanket to lay on the floor. Infant medications, buy sachets to get round liquid ban. Ask if nappies can be at your hotel on arrival.

Actually easiest time to travel was under 6 months not on solids! We co slept but it's out of vogue I know, life was simple then.

Just thought- are any jabs needed?

I love travelling with my baby.

We preorder baby supplies for the plane at the airport Boots to collect on the way.

On the plane, I'd suggest downloading something for him onto an ipad. We don't normally do much screen time, but this isn't the time to stick too rigidly to the rules!

Also, feed him on the way up and down. The sucking will stop his ears from popping.

Don't worry about his bedtime clashing with dinner. We've let our baby sleep in the stroller next to us for an hour or two until we'd eaten. It did no harm.

We bought a Snoozeshade to go over the stroller. Works both for sleeping and sun protection (although you need to keep an eye on the temp inside if using in the sun).

Take plenty of sunscreen and use all the time. Even if your baby is in the shade.

We got a cheap hauck lie-flat stroller from Ebay for £35 to travel with. It has got some fabric damage from 2 of the flights we've been on but we expected that.

That's all i can think of for now

I'd bring your own buggy - much easier in airports to help carry the baby crap but also if dinner is later you can put them to bed in it - lie flat Maclaren for £50 second hand works well and it's no bother if it's damaged by the flight. dummies if you don't already use them are good for ear
popping on take off. Bring some washing powder - they will likely puke all over something important and you may struggle to get some

Hey OP, not a bad idea at all, this is a good age. If no bulkhead take a sling for him to nap in. My daughters bedtime is 7pm, we let her take an extra nap on holiday so she'd stay awake a bit later to allow for the restaurant opening times. At that age she slept through but jet lag caused her to wake at 4am, we fed her and she went back to sleep until 7, had that the first 2 nights then she was back to normal.

Sadly mine is nowhere near sleeping through!
Our buggy has a UV hood but it's an uppababy Vista - I'm guessing I cant take that on board a plane!?

It could go in the hold if your booking allows, you can get tiny strollers you can take as carry on, think babyzen yoyo, but they are expensive! You can take your pushchair to the gate though, no need to check in when you do the suitcases, they just put a tag on it for you for gate check in which is nice and easy.
The snoozeshade as mentioned is great for daytime naps by the pool etc as has the UV filter but also provides some darkness, we ended up doing her naps in the room with the aircon though.

When we took LO abroad we each had a backpack as hand luggage- one for all the baby stuff & the other for our stuff, so good being hands free walking around the airport & not digging about bags to find pads, wipes, blankets etc We took a lie flat stroller with umbrella and UV shade (mothercare) most airlines allow you to take it upto the gate which was handy..

Ok so I phoned Air Mauritius and they said I can only reserve seats on check in. But that's not what their website says.

I've also looked up reviews for the airline and they are shit.
Now dreading it!

Not to be a merchant of doom, but get on those seat reservations asap as you could end up being seated separate from your DH - not what you want with a baby! We once had BA insist we couldn't reserve a bassinet even tho we had bulkhead bassinet seats and it took tons of arguing

Seconding a PP point about rucksacks - DH and I both carry one now when we fly which is way more handy than roller bags etc for all our shit.

I recommend getting a buggy bag to put the stroller in the plane - we gate check our stroller every time we fly, and I always use the bag. It keeps it clean(er) and helps it not to get caught in stuff (altho that spectacularly failed one time..) we also did the same with the car seat once - you can check that plus the buggy plus luggage for no extra fee on most airlines if you do long haul

It seems daunting atm, but once you've done the first flight,, its not too bad! I actually found it harder with an 18month old who refused to sleep on the trip, but couldn't yet be pacified for more than 15 mins with anything and kept trying to climb out of the seats and seatbelt. I still have anxiety flashbacks now