Clothing for baby in Thailand

[Loxley1]

I'm due to take my 8 month old son to Thailand (Phuket) for a couple of weeks next month as we've been invited to a wedding. I pre-bought a lot of clothes for him in the sales at the end of the summer (tshirts and shorts) however have now we're getting sorted to go I'm wondering if these will be sufficient for protecting him from mosquitos or if I should be dressing him in long sleeves and trousers. I've bought infant friendly mosquito repellent so won't be relying on clothing alone but wondered if anyone has any experience of taking their little one to Thailand and what worked for them? And also if anyone knows what the mosquito situation is in Thailand in April?

Thanks so much for any advice

There is dengue etc all the time so he needs covering and repellent 24/7.

We stayed not far from Phuket a couple of years ago for our wedding (pre-children days) there are a lot of mosquitos on an evening! I'd recommend taking a mosquito net for over his cot/your bed on an night time. I'd also take onesies for bed as they cover his arms and legs (rooms are usually air conditioned so they're cool anyway).

Definitely take some long sleeved cotton tops and trousers for on an evening. It's very humid so he may still be too warm. I've just bought a snooze shade for our pushchair for our upcoming holiday so when mr 10 month old is asleep on an evening in his buggy no mosquitos will be able to get to him.

Thailand is amazing, the sea is so warm! and the people are really friendly. Hope you have an amazing time!

I’ve just come back from Thailand with my 6 month old - we just put a vest on at night it was too hot for anything else and used spray with deet. We had a pram but used a sling more often than not

That's great. Thank you all so much for your advice, good to hear from people with experience. Just packing up ready to set off...how do little people need so much stuff?! He's taking far more than I am!

My sister has just been on holiday to Thailand - it's very hot there at the moment.

Yes to thin, long loose sleeves/trousers and cotton fabric wherever possible. Hats hats hats - lots come with SPF50. Don't forget a pool-proof one to shade the face and neck when swimming. A couple of those huge muslins as extra sunshade/something non-sweaty to sit or lie on. A maclaren pushchair, that reclines and separates from the hood allowing shade and a breeze to pass through is ideal and also easy to take on planes, buses etc.

You can get Avene or Evian spray mist aerosols, they're great with a hand held fan for cooling baby down.

I've had success from protecting similar age baby from mosquitos (Caribbean) using lemongrass and citronella essential oils. I kid you not - better for babies to have that than chemical insect repellents which you often can't use under the age of 2. I dabbed equal quantities onto his clothing and bedding regularly (I'd say every 4 hours). Us adults, covered in jungle formula and even DEET, got bitten loads. The children weren't touched once!

And yes to the travel cot mosquito net, BabyDan do a great tie on one. Happy travels!

I found key ring things that are supposed to sound like dragonfly wings clipped to the pushchair worked. Think I got them off amazon. You can’t hear it unless it’s totally silent. That and a net + age appropriate repellent.

Also for keeping cool get a fan that clips to the pushchair.

Slightly off topic for the original question..... we bought some mosquito small plasters from B&M / Home Bargains type place - they are small clear sticky discs about 1cm across which you can stick directly on a bite - they have itch relieving stuff on them and we found them really helpful in relieving Thai mozzy itch, and they stayed put for a couple of days.
A pack of 20 is only around £1.