clothes/gadgets/accessories to take on hols?

[bossykate]

we are off on holiday to the med at the end of next month. can't wait! i was hoping for some advice on holiday stuff to take with us for ds (aged 10m when we go). For example:

those little wetsuits?
beach shoes?
baby sun cabana?
buggy sunshade?

are any of the above worth investing in? it's all so expensive and i get more and more miserly with each passing month/year! of course, i don't want him fried in the sun either...

i would be very grateful for any hints and tips plus any other essential items!

thanks very much in advance

Possibly skip the beach shoes unless he is walking (always a possibility!) and you know your beach is rocky. I would be surprised if the sand was hot enough already in most of the Med to burn his little feet.
We used our sunsuit and beach shoes continuously in France last year - August. We got a Splosh Suit from Urchin because it was cotton mix and seemed cooler than a 100% synthetic one. A wide-brimmed hat, if your baby will wear one, is good too.
Take talc, even if you don't normally use it. It is the best for getting sand off small people's bodies without causing a riot. And we definitely made use of Huggies Little Swimmers under the sunsuit.
If you really want to cut a dash on the beach invest in a rooster poncho towel (tokens on Cornflakes packets). Our son had heaps of fuss made over him wearing it, and it was good, thick cotton towelling. Excellent to stop him getting chilled after a dip and a big ice-breaker with other bathers.
Have fun, bk!

I'm sure you'll be deluged with advice bossykate but if you are feeling miserly, I would suggest a tube of high factor sun tan lotion - you can get up to Factor 50 from good chemists a sun hat and some light t-shirts that you don't mind getting ingrained with sand and sun tan lotion.
If your 10 month old is doing lots of walking then the beach shoes are pretty useful, particularly around pools as they are non-slip - otherwise wait 'till next year for those.
I guess a buggy sunshade wouldn't go amiss, you never know you may even be lucky enough to use it later in the year in the UK!
Another top tip would be to take, Calpol, infant rehydration sachets (in case of runny bum) and any other medicines you have ever given your ds and then you can be sure that you will have no reason to need them!
Have a wonderful holiday - where are you off to?

We went to Greece at the end of August with ds who was nearly 1 at the time. It was obviously a lot hotter, but we found the Baby Sun Cabana a god send - he wasn't crawling much (had just started a commando crawl), so we could even leave him in it while we went for a swim (only ever a few metres away!) and he could see us while he played with his toys and books.

Beach shoes - depends on whether ds is walking yet. if not, I wouldn't bother.

Little wet (sun) suit: depends on how hot/sunny it is likely to be. if you get one that will last him through the summer here, it's prbably a good idea. At least it means you don't need to worry about him burning through his clothes.

Buggy sunshade: Wee parasol, yes, full canopy, no.

Other hints: Buy a harness (about £5 from Mothercare). You can then use it to "attach" ds to seats when you are out for lunch/dinner (it's a bit Heath Robinson-ish, but it works - you use the "lead" bit to wind around the chair). Don't assume you'll find high chairs wherever you go!

Great advice so far. Bossykate I was going to ask similar questions as we are going abroad this year for first time with the children.

Marina I had been looking at the suits, and saw the urchin one, agree with you on the cotton.

Great talc advice, didnt know that one.

As for the rooster cape, I get great wear out of my dressing gown!! Great quality, will look at rooster cape.

For our trip to Dubai I was wondering whether a pop up tent for the baby (almost 4 months) would be a good idea? or whether it would add unecessarily to our no doubt already pverloaded suitcase. Marina, where do you get Huggies little swimmers - are they in big supermarkets?

We have found Little Swimmers quite hard to source - I got mine in our local Waitrose, but don't think they currently have them (clearly no call for them in Bromley in Feb). We DID NOT see them in shops in France so I was glad I had ignored DH jeering about over-packing.
I would also try any big branch of Boots.
Are they for Miss or Master Bells? Because we do have some left over from last year that might do him if you want. They'd be rather on the roomy side for Little Miss! (or Master bk, come to that.)

I found the sun cabana thing a nightmare, by the time you had got it up, secured it etc etc DS was over tired & really didn't want to be out in the sun at all (5 months at the time) - big waste of money IMO. Then trying to get baby plus equipment back in the car whilst DH wrestled with sun cabana ('easi fold' hah hah!).

Have just made a fool of myself by posting this on the wrong thread (must be the 3rd glass of wine!)

My DH was looking over my shoulder as I posted previous message & suggested we offer our sun cabana for sale, it cost £40 last year, used twice, suggest £20 plus postage. Contact me using Lindy1.

I agree about the Huggies little swimmers, Our sainsburys stock them & I've seen then in boots too. We also got the 'sun suit' as it was agodsend, it protects them from the sun for longer and it also okay in water. Incidently we got ours from a larger Boots store (I used my advantage points on that & the huggies swimmers).

*A little sub note regarding huggies swimmers for those who haven't used them. The orange printed label inside should go at the back!!

our baby sun cabana has been great. as it is designed to stop the suns rays we tend to encourage the kids to sit inside for their picnics - it gets them out of the midday sun and stops sand from getting into their sarnies! Those still napping during the day time can then curl up with their towels and escape the sun and sea breeze.
we also keep all our belongings in it including the ice box as it helps it stay cool.
All that combined with highfactor sun cream meant that we haven't yet shelled out for expensive clothing

lindy, i will take the cabana, how do i contact you using Lindy1? sorry, if being a bit dim on this!

or you can contact me at [email protected]

On the advice of a mother shopping for something else in Born, I got the Kooshies swim cotton nappy. She had used the little huggies and just left them to dry overnight if they weren't dirty (save on precious supplies as I have not seen them for sale in Europe). However, she did say that separating the baby, a squished pooh and a tight fitting wet cold nappy was somethingelse. Hence the reusable one, it fastens with velcro and has ties for security.

If you get a sun umbrella get the one that unclips from its holder if you want to take the brolly off (you do in the evenings). The fasten on holder makes a fantastic year round bag holder. It's worth taking a tea towel and a couple of clothes pegs. The parasol alone won't shade a complete child it's easier to construct something that have 2 parasols. Peg the tea towel to the bonnet of the buggy to shade the head and angle the parasol to get the feet.

I don't think anyone has mentioned mosquito and bug stuff. Boots does child friendly creams and the things to plug in walls to protect the room. I did carry and never unpack a mosquito net, DH is the only man I have gone out with who gets bitten as much as me so was worried about ds (he was fine and was ignored by the flies). Waspeaze.

Some familar small bath toys for playing the pool. It might be worth getting a cheap bucket and spade out there and leaving it behind rather than taking up precious other junk space.

A sunhat with an elastic band. The backpack was really handy for mobility.

Hi, buy a small inflatable paddling pool to take with you. You can take it to the beach to keep your baby away from the deep water. This worked a treat for us.

Take some leggings, if he's still crawling so he doesn't get sore, hot knees.

I've found in the past that there are high chairs in restaurants but they have no straps or fronts so reins a definite.

You could take a towelling dressing gown to put on straight from the pool.

Calpol sachets or has this been mentioned? R

Cheers Marina - they are for Master Bells. I am actually going to Lilliput though on Monday so will look there - otherwise may just take you up on it.

I think I might not worry about the pop up tent as I am completely unable to fold up a road map or similar so supect it may defeat me. In any case, I guess Dubai is probably the sort of place where pools and beaches come fully equipped with loungers and umbrellas.

thanks so much everyone - this is great! although i suspect my miserly urges will be firmly repressed as i will of course now buy every single thing recommended on here! including lindy's sun cabana - after such a rousing recommendation how could i say no?

btw - we are off to Taormina in Sicily so no probably won't be boiling hot - i expect it means we have to pack for any/every weather eventuality! aargh! except snow i suppose.

anyway, thanks again everyone, great tips

now, where are those catalogues...

Taormina - you lucky thing! Our best ever holiday was in Sicily when our son was 8 months. Terrific food, fantastically friendly people and amazing sights.

Taormina, utter bliss, you lucky, lucky things. Have a superb time, Sicily is out of this world. (PS Don't be put off if flying into Catania, which as I recall was not so picturesque).
Don't forget to try granitta di mandorla, an almond milk water ice made with local produce.
(You might need beach shoes for your son, I think the beach is quite gritty in places).

Bells, Marina

Great to hear some positive comments on Taormina - we're really looking forward to it! I've only been back to work ft for six weeks and am definitely in need of a holiday already.

Do you have any recommendations for things to see and do?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Bossykate, definitely go to Etna. Drive as far as you can and then hike for a bit (although it will be cold at the top). Unfortunately we didn't have time to go on one of the island expeditions but I have heard that they are well worth it. I can't remember if our day trip to Siracusa was from Palermo or from Taormina (can't lay my hands on a map at the mo) but if it was the latter, I would highly recommend a day there. The Roman Villa (Casales??) with the mosaics is also worth an expedition. If like me you have any sort of linen fetish, Taormina has the most gorgeous handmade tablecloths etc. There is an excellent take away pizzeria just near the turning into the street for the Grand Hotel Timeo which is fab for picnics. And most important of all, don't forget to gorge yourself on the local speciality of nougat in chocolate - its divine.

Hi Bossykate!!

Regarding a back pack, really recommend you get the best possible, I am a skinflint so don't usually spend much on equipment/anything for DS but we did get a really good back pack - Ergoform made by Vaude, from specialist camping type shops.

Costs about £100 but well worth it IMO.

I remember buying a cheap babysling & then having to go out & get a babybjorn as well, so the first purchase was a complete waste of money.

We took our boy abroad when he was 9.5 months. The only things we took were his seat swimming ring, a sun canopy, his pushchair, drink beaker and baby blender. I got high factor suncream from Superdrug. He would wear a washable swim nappy if we were on the beach, otherwise just shorts and t-shirt. As for medicine - just some Calpol (rehydration sachets aren't necessary if you are breastfeeding) and a few plasters. You should be able to get any specific medicine from chemists abroad (take your phrase book!) if necessary.

We would use the pushchair as a 'high' chair to feed him and a bed if he fell asleep when we were out in the evenings. We took a small cot blanket in case it got chilly. Have a lovely time.

You are all so organised. I must be the only person who packs only two days worth of nappies (in case we get delayed), one pack of baby wipes (in the flight bag), a hand-towel which doubles as something for ds to lay on for nappy changing if need be - I tend to buy everything there. Clothes wise I always pack trousers that you can take the bottoms off and hey presto they're shorts, a couple of long sleeved t-shirts, normal t-shirts, a double coat (with a sweatshirt type material as the lining and raincoat material on the outside zipped together, blanket and a towel. I also make sure I find out if there's a washing machine at the place I'm going before I go all out and pack every item of clothing ds has!! I always find ds has tons of stuff where I get to my destination and find I've forgotten my swimsuit. One thing I did learn and that's only to take three toys. First time we went away I packed everything but the kitchen sink and ds wasn't interested. I'm very jealous, I wanted to go at Christmas but dh said it would be too cold then.