Holiday advice needed for first time Mum

[MummyToBe89]

We're looking to book a holiday for when our DS will be 4 and a half months old and are pretty set on Thailand. He's our first child and I'm just looking for some opinions on whether you would take your baby to Thailand at that age.

Will he have all the relevant jabs by then?

We'd be staying in a 5 star resort so no worries about cleanliness, taking our own travel kettle and using bottled water for his bottles, we'd also take enough sterilising tablets etc but his bottles can also be sterilised in a microwave.

Is there anything else we should consider?

I'm just looking for a bit of feedback/reassurance. Please go easy on me if you think it's a terrible idea :)

If you want April heat maybe consider Oman or Dubai. Parts of Oman are stunning (dolphins leaping around boats etc.) Much cleaner than Asia / less jabs / shorter flight.

We didn't need extra vaccinations for Thailand. The NHS only advises additional vaccines (hep A, B and typhoid) for those in high risk groups. I have hep B vaccine through work anyway but DH doesn't.

If you were breastfeeding I would say go for it, but it's much trickier with bottles, most bottled water isn't suitable for making bottles and the conditions bottled water are bottled in can leave a lot to be desired in Thailand (we saw some, it just came from the tap). I'd also worry about what you'd do about getting more formula if you needed it- Asia has a very poor track record on formula safety standards.

@99problemsandthecatis1 That's because as adults you've completed your full set of standard vaccinations already.

If you're travelling to Thailand and haven't had your MMR yet (which would be the case for a 4 month old), then it is advised you give them the MMR jab.

All the info is online - travelhealthpro.org.uk/country/221/thailand#Vaccine_recommendations

wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/thailand

Thank you for all your suggestions. I'm afraid Oman is a no go as I believe it's illegal to be gay there. Dubai is another option I hadn't considered but may be too expensive to go there for 2 weeks.

If we were to go to somewhere like Tenerife would the bottled water there be OK do you think?

Sorry for all the questions, but it's a minefield!

Oman is fab for sun at that time of year. We’re just planning our third trip there for when our daughter will be 18 months. The length of the flight would put me off Thailand but if that doesn’t bother you then go for it! Random thing but i would make sure the hotel you choose has carpets in the rooms, where we stayed for our first holidays had tiled floors and I was so paranoid about putting her on the floor in case she banged her head! She spent a lot of time being held that week!

If we were to go to somewhere like Tenerife would the bottled water there be OK do you think?

So long as the mineral content is ok (I think it just had to be under a certain level of sodium?) - then you should be fine. With it being Europe it should be clearly shown on the label. You could always boil it too if you were unsure.

What do people who live in Tenerife do though? The tap water is safe to drink so I'm guessing you could just boil that?

I just looked it up - looks like it's sodium and sulphate levels that need checking. And it does need boiling. www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/can-i-use-bottled-water-to-make-up-baby-formula-infant-formula/

But I'd trust bottled water in most places in Europe so long as it had clear labeling.

We live in Portugal, the Algarve. April is a beautiful month, warm not muggy, yes there is a chance of rain but only (fierce) showers, last April it rained on about 5 days and that was spaced out. It would avoid Albufeira and try Vilamoura. Very baby friendly, lots of excellent restaurants. Not as exciting as Thailand, better than Tenerife.

Having been to Thailand, its beautiful but you'd have to pack SO MUCH to make sure everything is 'safe' if you're bottle feeding.

Have you though about Hawaii? Thats pretty spectacular, and as its a US State im sure the bottled water would be ok? Unsure though, someone else might know better than me about that.

Other than that id stick to somewhere in Europe. Croatia? Its stunning there. Greece as pp said is nice and a 'safe' bet.

Yes European bottled water I'd trust and most brands suitable for bottle making have it on the label (usually a picture of a baby or bottle). If also trust European formula if it were needed.

Curiosity101 my response was more to those posters questioning why the OP didn't have vaccines when they went to Thailand last. Though I would take an infant Thailand personally, without the MMR as it isn't suitable for those under 6months and they are likely to retain maternal immunity at that time. But that's a personal choice.

My DS had the most horrendous sleep regression at 4mo. I can't imagine how bad that would have been with jet lag thrown into the mix.

Thailand in April is effing hot. It's well into the 30s. The best time for thailand is in winter.

It's also a long way. 11 and a half hours to Bangkok, but I presume you are not going to stay in Bangkok, so it's another half day to get to a resort. Then the flight is longer on the way back. I was there not long ago and I found the jet lag pretty awful. It took 3 or 4 days to not be lying awake at night.

April is a lovely time in most of southern Europe. Greece, Croatia, any of the ex yugoslavia countries, Italy, Malta, Corsica, you really have a lot of option a couple of hours flight away. If you like the idea of being somewhere very culturally different, how about Morocco?