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Original poster

First holiday with a baby in 3 weeks - badly unprepared - HELP!

26 replies

Jolay100 · 08/01/2015 20:11

We taking DS to tenerife for some winter son. We've got flights and self catering accomodation booked. Thought we'd hire a car for a couple of days but nothing prebooked as not sure when. We wanted to keep it all quite relaxed and easy going but suddenly I'm panicking.

Packing list so far is: clothes, cot sheets / sleeping bags, a couple of days worth of nappies, a few Ella's emergency pouches, calpol and teething gel, toiletries /sunscreen, sling, buggy part of the travel system, a few toys.

Is there anything else? A cot is provided. We hope to hire a car seat with the car, but then what happens in the taxi to our accommodation?
Also what happens on the flights - can we take pouches of baby food on?
Any other advice, anything that you really wish you had taken or would have been without
Thanks in advance!

OP posts:
specialsubject · 08/01/2015 20:23

just to check the really obvious that you have travel insurance and the baby is included.

you need to request a car seat from the taxi firm.

check out supermarket locations where you are going, google maps should help. Remember that the Tenerife resorts are hilly!

baby food rules on flight:

www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/baby-food-and-baby-milk

Liondemer · 08/01/2015 20:48

I've never had a taxi with a baby seat... Dd has traveled on my knee.
But when you hire a car you will be able to get a seat from the hire company. And I've never taken sheets with me either. Every hotel or apartment I've stayed in has provided them with the cot. But you're probably right to take them with you.

Other than that, sure you'll be fine. You seem to have everything you need and anything you forget will be available there. Have a great time!

Stevie77 · 08/01/2015 20:55

Sun hat?
Do you BF? If not then do you need bottles, bottle brush, formula etc? You've not said how old he is.

Take some small toys and a couple of books. YY to the bed sheets, will help him settle at night to have a familiar smell to his bed.

Are you taking a pushchair?

Taxis don't usually have car seats so you'll have to have him in your lap and strap the seatbelt around both of you.

You can take pouches on the plane but you can usually also buy them in Boots past security.

Original poster
Jolay100 · 08/01/2015 21:16

Thanks for the advice folks. He's 7 months , and yes, breast feeding. Insurance is sorted and we have a sun hat too, so we're not as disorganised as I feel.
We're not planning a pushchair, just our Uppababy vista - heavy but we're familiar with it and he naps brilliantly in it. We're flying out with Thomson and can take a buggy for free so thought we'd just take that.

OP posts:
Heels99 · 09/01/2015 10:33

Take swim nappies they can be hard to get.holding baby on lap would be b disaster in the event of an accident! Would you do that in the UK?

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 09/01/2015 10:47

If you need to give the baby water, look out for low sodium water. It's got a baby symbol on the packaging so that it can be used for bottle feeding.

Some babies seem to explode on airplanes in a poonami. Put two nappies on the baby for the flight and make sure you have a change of clothes for the baby and preferably at least a t-shirt and shorts for yourselves.

If the weather is good, the baby will wear v little so you really don't need to bring much in the way of clothes. Sunscreen is a sod to handwash out though so it's worth minimising white clothes if you have a stack of stuff and you are trying to pare down the luggage.

Don't forget his red book and to check that he/she's had any vaccinations required. Morrocco is next door so hepatitis might be recommended for the Canary Islands too. Not sure.

Gautami · 09/01/2015 11:12

Check the car seat you will get. We had problems once when only booster seats were available and we should have requested a car seat suitable for our babies age. Do it by email, and take a print out of the confirmation with you.

You do only really need a few days worth of everything. Go to a large supermarket on the first day and buy all you need there. I always preferred the Spanish nappies anyway.

We usually transfer to our accom on a coach in spain and get a taxi to and from the airport in UK and don't use a car seat for either. A UK taxi sometimes has a small child seat, but only one, so our oldest child has sat in a normal seat. I think this is ok, for a one off journey. You do see some people taking their car seats on holiday with them, so that's a possibility. Don't ever sit them in your lap under the seatbelt though. V dangerous, the baby can be injured just by sharp braking.

Just make sure you've got what you need if you have a long delay. We were once delayed in Menorca at the airport for 12 hours with 1 and 3 yr olds. The airport didn't sell any baby stuff at all.

Consider that your pram will get thrown about by the baggage handlers. It is better protected in a buggy bag if you can get one to fit. Otherwise resign yourself to having bits bent or missing. To minimise this, take every removable thing you can off it before you go. Either leave it behind or pack in your case.

Suncream: Strip him off completely (in the shade, or indoors) and apply suncream all over. give it a good 20 mins to soak in before dressing again and it wont stain clothes. It'll also be more effective and last longer.

make sure you've got EHIC cards too.

Have a lovely time!

Heels99 · 09/01/2015 11:43

Buggies can sometimes be offloaded via a different baggage carousel than standard baggage, so if you are waiting for buggy to appear, check as it may be on a belt for ' oversized items ' or similar. Also although you can take buggies to the plane gates, you don't usually get them back at plane gate, so as long may be handy for carrying babymoon through airport.

Lol at Morocco being next door to the canaries, they are islands, nothing is 'next door' and hepatitis isn't a virus!

hulahoopsilove · 10/01/2015 09:45

I would:

Incase cases get "lost" distribute babys items across other suitcases.
Make sure babys items are on top of suitcase so when you get to your destination you can simply see to baby first
take change of clothes in your hand luggage incase of sickness accidents
Pop up sun tent - we bought a very small one from ELC and packed this in suitcase was a god send. Also maybe a paddling pool with sun viser again ELC do these
Sun parasol for buggy/pram
stock up with foods/baby milk in Boots after security you never know how long you may be delayed

Christelle2207 · 10/01/2015 09:55

Be vigilant at baggage pick up- as others suggested buggies may be delivered somewhere slightly different. When we went abroad a few months ago someone buggered off with ours- we didn't complain because they left us with a slightly nicer versionWink

lapetitesiren · 10/01/2015 10:02

Somebody up thread suggested putting a seatbelt around you and the baby. Please, please don't do this. The weight of the adult will push against the child and crush them.

Artandco · 10/01/2015 10:08

We have always just taken own car seat. You can just check it in with suitcase and then you have for taxis and for car hire.

I don't trust car hire car seats as usually very old and could have been dropped or hit without you knowing.

topsmart · 10/01/2015 10:15

Is baby sitting unaided? Copy trick we nicked from other parents in the canaries last year: buy cheap inflatable mini dinghy from one of the tourist tat shops. Then when you're lounging by the pool, baby can play in it happily with their toys, under nice shady umbrella while you get on with serious business of sunbathing.

Other than that, just assume the travel part of the holiday will be horrible but remember it's only a few hours out of your life! Have a lovely hol Grin

poisonedbypen · 10/01/2015 12:16

Hepatitis A is s virus (so are B, C etc etc) but you don't need vaccinations for the Canaries.

poisonedbypen · 10/01/2015 12:19

And it's about 20-22 degrees at the moment. I'm not very good at temperatures but I'm not sure that it's lazing around the pool & sunbathing weather? Nice but not boiling. Sounds lovely!

Artandco · 10/01/2015 12:30

Oh yes the temperatures aren't hot arm so make sure to pack warm clOthers for baby also

Stevie77 · 10/01/2015 14:25

So how would you sit in a taxi with a baby? Years ago that's what we were advised to do (by I can't remember who now). Unstrapped is just as dangerous as baby can fly out of your arms Hmm

Heels99 · 10/01/2015 17:38

You use a car seat in taxi.

Artandco · 10/01/2015 17:43

Car seat in taxi here also

Stevie77 · 10/01/2015 19:41

I meant, when you don't have a car seat...

Artandco · 10/01/2015 19:45

Stevie - I would try and not be in taxi without car seat. So if we use taxi to go to go and return from somewhere we would ideally take car seat, on holiday or to visit friends on train or plane with car or taxi at end we take car seat. We mainly don't use car seat for just London taxi trips locally in which case baby stays in pram and gets strapped into wheelchair space.

specialsubject · 11/01/2015 12:45

there's no safest answer to the no-car seat thing, obviously. But NEVER share a seatbelt as that WILL kill the baby if there's a crash. It may survive going flying.

remember the sun strength in the Canaries. Deliberate sunbathing is daft but that's your decision. The baby should be plastered in suncream and kept in the shade.

Gautami · 11/01/2015 14:53

Travelling in a taxi/bus/coach/train without a car seat is just a risk you have to factor in. Try and do it as little as possible.

Best option would be to take your own car seat for use in the taxi/car to airport before you fly then pay extra to take them with you and hire car from the airport.

Gumps · 11/01/2015 15:11

We go to Tenerife every year as my mil has a place out there. I've a few tips but feeling lazy so hope you don't mind bullet points.

  • the car hire places in my experience have dreadful car seats. This is the only thing that stresses me out every time we go and I spend ages as the car hire place swapping and fitting to get it right. I would take your own infant carrier. It's free to take with easy jet and monarch.
  • auto resign the cheapest to hire a car from
  • buggy used to come out miles away in Tenerife. You had to go down the stairs and then over to the far side. Think this changed last year though and it was in the same floor but not sure.
  • don't leave anything loose in the buggy. We had a beautiful fur liner go missing.
  • gatwick is a long walk back to passport control so if you are flying back there and have lots of hand luggage take a sling/carrier
  • nappies in Tenerife are useless and expensive. A lot are plastic backed which made my kids come out in a rash. Also you can't buy swim nappies or certainly I have never found them.
  • if you formula feed, the formula isn't the same. Either take with or order to collect plane side at the airport
  • even when warm in the day, Tenerife is cold at night. There is always a breeze so take layers for the evening.

It's a great place to go with kids as its so child friendly. Have a brilliant time.

Gumps · 11/01/2015 15:13

Also depending where you are staying it may be cheaper to hire a car than the cost of two taxi trips to the airport.
If you let me know where you are I can recommend places to go.