Travelling to OZ from UK with a 4mnth old - worried about hot weather!

[Made4it]

Hi. DH & I are travelling to Australia with DS(4mnths) for a month in mid Jan with BA(poor us I know). My main concern is baby adjusting to the climate change - middle of winter in UK to 40 degree + temps in Australia. We will be staying with family for the first 2 weeks, they don't have air conditioning. Will I need to give baby cooled pre-boiled water to help with heat/dehydration etc?

Also we have a 5hr stop-over in Hong Kong, any ideas what we can do in the airport with a 4mnth old? and what transit procedures are like, will we have a buggy to use, should we take a front or back carrier to use for these 5 hrs?

Also, does anyone know if I will be able to take my Bugaboo stroller upto the plane doors? I am considering using the bugaboo with my maxi-cosi car seat, and checking the car seat as hand luggage? (I was going to get a carseat carry case and fill it with stuff for the flight?

so many questions - any help/suggestions would be extremely appreciated.

Thanks

Can't help with climate - how are you feeding your ds? if you are breastfeeding then just feed more often.

Take a baby carrier - do not depend on seeing your stroller or indeed any stroller in any airport. Personally I would check stroller with suitcases as BA lost my buggy for most of our holiday in the UK because we took it to the gate.

As for Hong Kong - well you will be last off the plane and first on the next one so that's at least an hour gone. I would have a walk around, then have a drink, then another walk around and it will then be time to get on the plane probably.

Australia have different rules about car seats, they have to be tethered. So you may want to rent one there. I live in NZ and we are more cool about using British seats, but I think Oz are stricter. Someone will be along that knows more.

Has the Bugaboo got a shade cloth cover thing - can't remember name?

are you breast feeding?
if so it is a doddle, baby will take the breast all through the flight and transits and providing you are taking enough fluids, at least 2 litres a day, then she won't need any extra water. Just remember never ever sit her in the sun, it's fierce over here and all the sun cream in the world won't protect delicate 4 month old skin.

As for what to do with her in the airport, rather than specific activities, I should just keep her very close to you and let her join in with your shopping or meals or relaxation. At that age any activity is an activity IYSWIM.

You should be able to take your stroller up to the plane doors, or if not they will provide you with one of theirs at the gate and put yours in the hold. You have to let everyone know at every stage that you will need a stroller of some kind up to the plane doors.

Can't help you with the car seat. You do know that in Australia a car carrying a baby capsule as they call them must have a special anchor point fitted in the boot or at the back of the seats, it's an extra thing to what you need in the UK. If you are hiring a car then make sure you ask for one fitted for a baby capsule or if you are using the family's car you must make sure they have this device or you will be travelling illegally not to mention dangerously. ( I forgot to re-attach ds2's seat to this anchor when I took the covers off to wash it and was travelling around for a fortnight like this - dh was rather cross when he discovered it, whoops).

HTH

tethered - far better word than anchored

Oh no - I didn't realise that about the car seat needing to be tethered. That raises a whole new drama. I was wanting to take my own car seat/capsule because it fits my buggy. We will be hiring a number of different rental cars - one from Bris Airport for 2 wks, another in Sydney for a 1wk then in Uluru and again in Perth for a week. I was told that you can't rely on your hire car always having a car seat even if you pre-book one, and that you should take your own. Also, what if we take a taxi in Brisbane, Sydney or Perth what will I use then? If I can't use my own car seat I wonder if there is any point in taking my buggy (bugaboo) perhaps I should get a cheaper stroller to take in-stead?

Unfortunatley we are bottle feeding (another story) so I will have to go thru the drama of steri-bottles etc. Does anyone know if I can get steri-bottles out in Aus. I don't really want to travel with a months worth if I can help it. Because we are moving around a lot it is making it difficult to organise anything. Grrhhhh.

Speaking of milk/bottles - does anyone know if I cen get SMA Gold & SMA White in Australia?

I think SMA is Karicare in Australia - it certainly is in NZ. It won't be exactly the same.

I don't think we sterilise here after 3 months - just wash in warm soapy water, rinse in hot water and leave to air dry on kitchen towel. So I would go native and save yourself the drama. I've never seen a steri bottle here - unless you mean those self sterilising microwave numbers.
You may get looked at very strangely wandering around with hundreds of bottles.

I wouldn't trust BA with a decent pram, but I had a very bad experience. I wouldn't use a car seat on a stroller either as I think the angle would catch the sun too much.

If I were you, I would ditch the car seat and buggy, phone ahead and get a relative to buy you a cheap stroller from Kmart or look for one in the second hand ads, there's still time.

You can book taxis with baby capsules easily. Or you can slip me fifty quid and I'll pick you up from the airport in Perth (joke).

Can't help about formula, sorry. But there is a full range here.

Hi
We took DS to Oz at the same age,on the plane I took steri bottles and the formula cartons.They don't sell either of these in OZ though I'm afraid.We used Karricare formula in OZ and DS was fine with it.Also for sterelising whilst travelling around we just used the cold water sterelizer tablets from Boots.Have to say I would ditch the carseat and just use a cheap buggy it is so much easier.Have a great trip.

Message withdrawn

We went last christmas with a 7 month old and a 2 1/2 year old. We used a Maclaren stroller which we were allowed to take up to where we boarded, it was then put in the hold but waiting for us when we got off in Singapore and Sydney. I wouldnt recommend taking an expensive pushchair. We didnt take a car seat, hired one from a baby hire place in Sydney,who were great and coudlnt recommend them enough, nice clean seat. We used a limosine service to collect us from the airport and they supplied two car seats, all this was arranged by email. We thought that the car seat would take up the whole seat on the flight and that we would need as much space as possible. I'm glad we didnt take one, one less thing to lug around. We arrived at the beginning of Dec and left the beginning of Jan, and the heat didnt seem to bother either dd's at all. We werent staying in Air Conditioned accomodation either. There was lots to do in Singapore to keep both dd's happy. Coming back we were there for 6 hours so rented a room in the hotel attached to the airport, you can hire rooms in blocks of 6 hours, this was a godsend.

1. no steri bottles in Australia. When we first came out with dd1 - she was bottle fed - jsut buoght a set of 6 from somewhere like target and cold water sterilised....We used Karicare for dd1.

2. suzy is right about the car seats.... We just ordered one with a hire car and it was there ready for us when we flew into brisbane. We have used Thrifty every time and they have been fabulous.

3. would purchase a cheap layback stroller rather than lugging a bugaboo around.... so much easier. Target or K-mart do one - very reasonably.

4. I also took our baby sling and it was handy for using in the airport rather than trying to deal with luggage and push stroller etc... however our stroller was available during our short stopover in Singapore.

5. IN th heat - my dds simply run around in their nappy and a vest - can purchase lightweight vests for all sizes from birth - Bonds... great for sleeping and as a top during the summer and then as an extra layer in the winter. I just sponge dd2 down and make sure they have plenty of fluids and keep them out of the sun as much as possible BUT especially between 11 and 3,

from memory you can order taxis with car seats....