Any tips for 1st holiday abroad with baby???

[BigHotMama]

I'm trying to organise my list of things to get for our holiday to Villamora in the Algarve in early August for 2 weeks. Its our first time abroad with our ds who will be nearly 1 by the time we go away. Am looking for any tips or advice for things to pack or not to pack as dont want to overload on luggage.

We are staying in a villa with some friends and luckily there is a washing machine so can wash clothes and just take 1 wks worth of clothes instead of 2.

What should I take onto the flight to keep ds entertained?

We have a hired carand have hired a carseat, we have hired a travel highchair over there and have decided to take our own travelcot which we think is too hjeavy so may have to buy the light ones I've seen in Boots with a mosquito net around them.

Milkwise he is still having around 18oz per day pf SMA Progress, do I take sachets? Or is it ok to use full fat cows milk as he will nearly be 1? Can you buy SMA over there??

Trying to get organised as dont want last minute panics.

Is there anything else I need to take?

Help needed TIA

Don't think anyone has mentioned arnywear mosquito deterrent fabric. You can put it in a buggy, in the cot or wrap around. Available at supermarkets. Agree about ready mix formula and also some disposable bottles for trips away from villa. don't worry too much about overpacking.. Most airlines are pretty flexible with luggage allowances with children. I couldn't manage at airports without my sling.

I agree with Janek. We went to Menorca when DD was 10 weeks and we invested in a Shade A Babe. We got it from John Lewis. It was £30.00 but worth every penny. It is a thick black net that velcros onto most buggies. It covers the whole buggie and most of it is 50 SPF and I think some of it is 90 SPF.It also keeps out insects and bright light (and strong breezes!). The downside was that as DD grew up she became resistant to it (as she did her rain cover) and screamed and kicked if I attempted to put it on. i don't think she liked being so closed in so it might not be so good for an older baby. We have been to a few resorts and they have catered well for older babies - nappies, baby food, milk etc. If anyone is taking a fairly newborn on hols, I would recommend taking nappies as the small resort we went to didn't have very small nappies and we had to travel out to a hyper market to get them. On the plus side, taking a 10 week old baby was fantastic. She loved it and got so much attention and everyone thought we were 'so brave' so we got loads of attention too but it was so much easier than taking an older baby as she just went with the flow - she didn't really know any different. good Luck Big Hot Mama. And remember Portugal is not too much different to the UK these days - except hotter, friendlier and far nicer to children. Enjoy.

Forgot to add - definitely advise getting a UV sun suit. Make sure you get a proper one that has a label that tells you what the SPF is. You can get swim suits that look the same and are cheaper but don't necessarily offer the same level of protection. We also bought a great sun hat from GAP. It had a chin strap and was water repellent and 40 SPF so DD was pretty much covered up from top to toe so we didn't have to keep reapplying sun cream. GAP is doing a similar sun hat this year. It is in the boys section and is blue with tractors and trains I think.

Loads of great ideas thanks everyone got my list ready

Does anybody know what the luggage allowance is for babies if there is one?

On our flight, the allowance for babies was zero!!!

However, we were allowed to check in our car seat (covered in bubble wrap) for no extra charge! We had also booked a car seat from the car hire company, then phoned and found out that all their seats were forward facing and as our little one is only 8 months, we wanted her still rear facing.

Ditto for UV suits - we got 2, from woolworths and matalan - both UV50 and a fraction of the cost of any others I'd seen (about £6 from memory)

Just saw this - re what baggage an infant is allowed, see this link - it only covers about 5 airlines but gives you an idea of what your baggage allowance is plus charges