Holiday in Skiathos with a one year old !!

[Portia]

My husband and I booked a two-week holiday in Skiathos earlier this year and we're due to travel in four weeks. We'll be self catering in an apartment.

Our daughter will have just celebrated her first birthday. I've recently given up breast feeding so she'll be bottle fed and I'll be giving her plenty of drinks in her feeder cup. I'm not sure whether its best to try and take jars of baby food or try and buy food over there.

It seemed like a good idea at the time but now as a first -time Mum I'm dreading it. I feel totally unprepared for travelling abroad with a baby. Does anyone have any tips on how to survive ?

I've taken children to greece aged 2 1/2, and 5 months old, and to spain at 4 months, and never had a problem with buying what I needed. Own brand nappies are just as good and a LOT cheaper than trying to get hold of pampers or huggies. I didn't bother buying jars, just found something on the menu that the 6 month old could eat, so she had a lot of moussaka, yogurt, potatoes in lemon etc. If you are sterilising still then I would suggest taking sterilising tablets with you. I used to do it all at night in a plastic bowl and keep it covered. I generally used bottled water , but if I couldn't then boiled the tap water, and she was fine. We were on very isolated islands too, pretty much off the beaten track, and managed to get nappies and the basics no problem, so as Skiathos is quite a popular place you shouldn't really have too much trouble. Don't forget a sunshade and plenty of sunscreen, and if you can get one i would recommend getting one of those fans that clip to a pushchair. It would also be a good idea to have a siesta for a couple of hours in the middle of the day when the heat gets too much and go out a bit later when the temperature is cooling a bit.

Ooh getting really jealous now, am spending the next two weeks packing my house up ready to move - want to swap?!

Portia - we are going to Majorca in 4 weeks and have 2 dd 2.5 and 15 mns, and I know how you feel regarding the doubts - its because you are trying to think of all the things you need etc !

We took dd1 to Cyprus at 4ms and found that local supermarkets did a wide range of jars of baby food - I know your dd is 1 but sometimes it is easier to take a jar esp if going out for the day, and also sold Pampers etc. Agree with lou33 about sterilising - I also did it in a bucket with tablets - they are light and easy to pack, and I bought a bucket over there. Or you could just boil the bottles.

If dd is onto cows milk, that will make it easier, as most restauraunts will fill up a bottle and heat it for you, if dd is still on formula, as my dd was, then I took the formula with me as I don't think you will be able to get UK brands in Skiathos - you will be able to get some type of formula though - I packed the tins in the hand luggage just in case I lost the case !

We took the umbrella type buggy right up to the gate, and the crew put it in the hold at the last minute - great as you can push dd round the duty free for those last minute duty frees !

Also found parasol attached to buggy essential, and maybe take a back carrier if you have one as both our dds loved theirs, and would sit for ages in them, good if you go for a meal or drink, and you can attach a parasol to some of them - looks a bit silly but let dh carry it !

Don't forget to take food/drink for the flight - and allow for any delays - you may want to take a small cool bag with her food in which would also be useful over there.

You can buy lots of cheap buckets etc, and things for the pool - inflatables etc out there.

You may want to take aquanappies as some pools require them, or mothercare sell swimming pants that are a nappy - reusable for about £7 - good because you get through a lot of aquas as they are always in and out for short periods of time !

I also would take a bit of baby food to tide you over until the shops are sussed out, and maybe a thermos - to heat jars/bottles whilst out.

Well, I've gone on a bit ! Better do some work - I'm in the holiday mood now!

Oh and don't forget her passport..!!!!!

Hi Portia

Don't dread it. Took ds abroad at 10mos and he loved it. Lots to see from his pushchair and mum and dad around all day - he thought it was great. we had nice lunches & a few glasses of wine while he slept in his chair, he saw cathedrals and historic sights, sat by the pool in the shade etc. It was totally fine. In the evening he slept while we ate outside our cottage. We gave him some local baby food (this was France but I'm sure they have baby food in Greece - it's not outer Mongolia!) but if he didn't have any he ate mushed stuff and even had his very first omelette cooked for him in a restaurant. Greeks love babies and will make such a fuss of her - don't be suprised if they carry her off in restaurants to show all their family and give her a tour of the kitchen! He woke early but if this happens you can just ignore this for a bit and I'm sure your dd will get back into her routine - our ds did. I brought enough baby food for the journey and first couple of days (eg about four jars, plus baby biscuits and a banana) but once there we went local. There's always bread, cheese, pasta and moussaka as someone else said. Just make sure she gets plenty of water, and you have sunscreen and mosquito cream and some citronella patches or a mossie net to put on her cot to keep the mosquitos away. I bet you'll all have a fantastic time.

I don't think you'll need anything to heat food - I think the temperature out there will heat a jar to lukewarm pretty fast! Am I the only person who has never heated a bottle or jar in her life??? I agree, buy the little swim pants, not aqua nappies as they are reusable. I think it's fun giving babies real food abroad. My ds loved to try our food - everything from croissants to chocolate mousse (particularly chocolate mousse!). Don't pack too much and remember you can take your pushchair right up to the plane which makes life a lot easier.

I wish I was going...

Agree with you about the food, Aloha. I have lovely memories of ds sampling his first spaghetti very muckily outside a cafe in Switzerland when he was 10 months old - he also discovered the delights of salami on that holiday, and still loves it.

Portia - have a wonderful trip. We've travelled lots with our two children (starting with a weekend in Paris when ds was only 5 weeks old - as a first-timer that was a nerve-wracking prospect, but turned out fine), and we've had some great trips. Just make sure you've enough nappies to allow for plane delays!

Hello, i'm new to Mumsnet, although discovered it when i was pregnant - what a good website!
Re the travelling thing, we are planning to take our 18 mth old to Turkey and have the option of night or day flights. I am leaning towards night flights as hopefully she'll sleep through this long journey as she is awake through the day. Can anyone advise me on the best option?
Thanks

Hi Hayleyr1. Personnally I would travel in the day, as then hopefully you can be arrived and settled by nightime at your hotel/apart. If you travelled at night then dd may sleep, but you probably won't get much, and then she will be up the next day and you will be tired ! Hopefully if you travel by day she will be so tired by all the excitement that you will all have a great first nights sleep.

Hmm, difficult one. How long is the flight? If you go at night and she sleeps then it will be perfect - however if she doesn't it could be very stressful trying to keep her quiet in case anyone else was trying to sleep. The other thing to remember is that if you go for the night time option and she sleeps, then she will be waking up bright and bouncy when you've had a night of no sleep (unless you can sleep in a plane seat with an 18 m.o. on your lap ).

Yep i see what you mean. She has slept through noisy parties at home since she was born and is generally a very good sleeper, hence my consideration. Do children sleep well on planes or not?

PS also forgot to say that flight time is 4hrs and 2 hr transfer time. So including check-in times etc it'll be minimum 8 hrs total (and that's if it all runs to schedule!)

Hayley, I have to say that neither of my children has ever shown any inclincation to sleep on planes (it's their father who's so good at that ). When ds was 18m we were on a badly delayed flight, and although he was dog tired he didn't fall asleep until 23.30, just as we were about to disembark from the plane. When we flew with dd at 19m, she was just far too excited about it all to sleep. Friends of ours took their 16m dd abroad, and she so detested having to be strapped in on her mum's lap that she screamed for over an hour each way.

I guess what I'm saying is that I wouldn't bank on your dd sleeping on the plane!

Azzie - I thought it was only my dh who slept on planes! We've done both day flights and night flights with dd1 (sleeps through anything) and dd2 (the slightest noise wakes her up). For the night flight we gave dd2 Pirriton which gave her a coughing fit and made her throw up. Mind you she did sleep for 1 hour, dd1 slept through!

We personally prefer night flights due to speed of driving back from Airport. However, dd2 still doesn't give us a lie in the next day!

Portia - echo everyone's comments re: Greece - they love children, no problem getting food/nappies(inc. pampers)/milk. When we took dd1 we had to wake her up at 12 noon every day, so it was certainly the holiday we wanted! One tip that I picked up from Mumsnet was to pack a non-slip mat for the bath. You'll find this a godsend! Thanks Mumsnet!

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You'll have a great time! Skiathos is beautiful and we've been twice. Where on the island are you going?

There were always lots of families with buggies and babies every time we have been there.