Packing list for 9 month old caribbean holiday

[HeidiHole]

Next year we are booked to go to Antigua with my (then) 9 month old.

I'm wanting to pick up a few summer things now in the sales that are age 9-12 as obviously with it being February when we go all the clothes that fit him then will be wooly jumpers and I'm not sure that any shorts etc will be available to buy as easily in February.

Where I'm coming unstuck is what on earth does a 9 month old need for 2 weeks in 25-30 degree heat? He'll have an all in one UV suit for days by the pool and a sun hat, that is easy. However when we go for dinner in the evenings what should he wear? Will he be so hot that just a body suit is fine or will the restaurants be air-conditioned and so he will want "proper" clothing?

At night what tog sleeping bag should I take? With the air conditioning in the room I suppose a baby gro and a 1 tog bag would be OK?

I'm probably over thinking but once I"m there in Antigua there's not really a lot of options to realise you've bought the entire wrong wardrobe for your baby!

Never been to the Caribbean with a baby but I should imagine you'll need the same stuff as you would in any hot country. We have been to Spain with 7 month old and although bedroom etc was air conned we didn't have it at fridge temp so used a 1 tog bag and a babygrow. Is your baby a boy or girl? For my DS I found the all in one rompers that are t shirt material ideal along with shorts and t shirts. Makes sense to pack a cardi and maybe some thin trousers. A sunsuit is a must along with hats and factor 50!

Hi mamababa yes i'm sure it's exactly the same anywhere hot you go. Baby is a boy. Ooh yes shorty rompers are a good idea i'll get some of those. Thin cardigan, excellent idea for evenings. See I just needed someone to nudge me in the right direction. You'd think it'd be easy but I can't get my head around deciding if I need to pack for roasting heat... or fridge temperatures (with air con)

I guess a bit of both can't hurt

When we went on holiday with my (then) 10mo DD I needed a couple of outfits a day as one would inevitably get sweaty and covered in sunscreen. We took a range of shorts and t-shirts with some lighter leggings and long sleeved thin shirts to cover up with if needed. We didn't have air-con and DD just slept in a 1 tog sleep suit and nappy. Short sleeved pjs are another option.

If your DS is small, bear in mind you might need 6-9 month size. Also, to avoid taking loads of clothes, you can buy travel washing liquid to wash them with. And if you just want some cheap bits for the holiday, eBay might be a good place to look too,

I would get at least three uv suits and plenty of swim nappies (poo explosions in a uv suit are NOT fun and if you can get two piece ones.

we took ds to St Lucia when he was four months old. Despite air conditioning in the bedrooms he still wore just a short sleeved vest in bed. When we went out for dinner in the evenings most of the restaurants were open to the outdoors so quite warm, so I usually dressed ds in what he was going to sleep in that night (ie the short sleeved vest) and took a cotton blanket to throw over him when he fell asleep.

During the day he spent most of the time wearing just a nappy, but then he was much younger then your ds. UV suit and sun hat should be sufficient. To be honest you'll need much less than you think. A few teeshirts and pairs of shorts really is all you'll need.

One thing we did need to buy for ds was medicated talc as he got quite bad heat rash.

I took too much stuff but there you go!! It's a shame you'll be looking for 9-12 months mine are all 6-9 and I won't be needing them again!!! Ours are from m&s, asda and boots not sure if anyone has any left. Try boots online - they are good for the swim suit stuff too! My local sainsbury's had some too reduced it just getting what's left. If all else fails, you will get them from next in feb - the new directory comes out after jan sale. It might be cutting it fine though and why pay full price when you do t have to! The good thing about those T shirt shorty rompers is that if you go to dinner with him bathed and in one of those and he falls asleep, you can just put him to bed, that's what we did sometimes in Spain.
Try www.slumbersac.com for the sleeping bags, mine is from there and was only about 15 quid

HTH

thanks everyone. Yes definitely will be 9-12 as he's a big boy! thanks for the advice on the UV suits...two pieces make a lot of sense! also some travel deterrent for washing tshirts.. I can imagine him getting through a few different tops a day with food spilt and suncream and drool :)