First holiday abroad with children in tow - help!

[Jen306]

I need your collective help and advice! We’re going on our first holiday abroad since having children thanks to Covid and pregnancy complications we’ve not made it before!
We’ll be travelling to Majorca with our 4year old and 10months old.

I have some questions and need advice!

What does everyone do about milk? I gather I can take ready made for the flight in hand luggage. Do you then take formula powder in hand luggage too or in hold? And a couple of bottles of extra ready made in hold luggage for return?

We’ll be taking the stroller, and will leave it at the plane to go in hold but can I put it in its storage bag or has to go as is?
Also didn’t know if a buggy board a good idea for the older one but not sure how to take that!

What if anything do you do about children and insect repellent? I always get bitten so wary! The baby will be more covered up and his stroller has a mosquito net if needed but more for the 4yo!

And what else do I need?!? 😂

If you know your 10mo will drink the ready made formula, yes take that in your hand luggage, but take extra in case of delays or lost luggage. You do have to be prepared for security to want to test / make you taste it, so have it at hand, not buried deep in your bag.
You can also order stuff from Boots to pick up AFTER security. So if you think you're going to need a lot, or you just can't be faffed with taking it through security, this might be the option for you. In fact you can order most of your baby essentials, so if you're short on time or space, you can do things this way. Just be sure you've ordered to the Boots in the right terminal!
Regarding powder, I normally take a few pre-measured amounts in a stackable formula tower in hand luggage just in case our hold luggage gets lost.

Take the stroller with you through security and all the way to the gate. At the gate, the agent will put a tag on your stroller. Just tell them you want to gate-check it. When you board, drop your stroller off at the end of the bridge, before getting on the plane. It’s the best option because it requires the least amount of travel through baggage handling. When you counter-check a stroller, it touches a few additional hands along the way.
Plus, when you get off the plane, the stroller will be delivered to you – you don’t have to go to baggage claim to get it. Though, it may take a couple of minutes. I always put ours in a bag to keep it clean and dry.

I think we bought an insect repellent from Boots years ago plus a sting cream suitable from 2 years.

Milk - I know you asked about formular but you should also know that fresh milk is rare on the island and tastes differently. DD always got off drinking milk when we went (she was 2 and 4).

Depending where you are, there is a German chain called Müller in Palma and Alcudia, similar to a Boots who will stock all kind of baby stuff.
But you will also find formula everywhere in Supermarkets in case you have any issues.

You can take as much formula milk through to the plane as you need. However I did a boots click and collect order to pick up in the airport terminal too with extra milk and supplies, to include Ella meal pouches and snacks as back up baby food.

Buggy board I wouldn't bother but take a sling for the baby and if the 4 year old is tired they can go in the stroller for a rest whilst baby is in the sling. You can also use this sling to carry the baby onto and off the plane. Our stroller hasn't always been delivered back to the plane doors. So needed to carry baby through passport control to get the stroller from baggage reclaim.

Thanks so much everyone. I’m sure we’ll be fine and just overthinking it all!

@Forgottenmyphone great tip for the pre measured formula just in case! And I’d heard about ordering to click and collect but wasn’t sure how best to do what we need. He’s not drinking loads now 2 bottles a day, but might want more in the heat!
When you put your stroller in its storage bag do you need an extra tag for that bag? Or is the label on the stroller enough?

@reluctantbrit thanks we’re not too far from Alcudia so good to know!

@Donimo thanks - I wasn’t sure if it was limited because of the EU rules and it seemed to suggest exemptions only on powder formula not on ready made.
yes was planning on taking carrier for the airport in case don’t get stroller back until baggage.

You can buy infant formula in any pharmacy and many supermarkets. The brands may not be what you're used to but in many case it's just relabelling of the same stuff made in Belgium or whatever. What do you normally buy? I can try to look up what it's equivalent to.

Nobody will be searching your baggage for contraband food products at Palma. The luggage hall is shared with EU arrivals and they are really not in the business of pulling families with children over, who might well not have come from outside the EU anyway.

You can get night-time plug-ins that gently repel mosquitos all night. Your hotel might actually provide these for you, otherwise they cost about €6 in a tourist supermarket or €3 in Lidl (there is a Lidl in Alcudia). The Lidl ones are good because they have nice little night light too. You can also get an after-bite roll-on stick from the pharmacy. The Alcudia area is reputed to have more mosquitos than elsewhere in Majorca but that's mainly the bits near the marshes, and it varies a lot by year and season.

Remember to take your GHIC (you need one for each family member) so you are set up for free care at a public health centre if you need it. Anywhere that says "Doctor" is private and may or may not take your travel insurance directly. Can you say where you are staying?

@samarrange thanks for the reply.

We use cow and gate formula, yes I have GHICs for us all.

We are staying in playa de muro.

Apparently the closest thing to Cow & Gate in Spain is Almiron. It's also made by Danone but may have a slightly different formula. It could be that it is the same as Aptamil. (I'm reading between the lines of some online posts here.)

Playa de Muro is basically the southern extension of Alcúdia. It's a purpose-built resort town, so there's not much "authentic Spanish feel", but you can get to Alcudia old town on the bus for a couple of Euros (tap in and out with your debit card, like on the Tube, for the lowest fare).

We were in Majorca with 9 mo and 3.5 yr old 2 weeks ago- think I saw one mozzie the whole time, kids got zero bites! Not sure if it was location or if there aren't many at this time of year.

Re formula- we use mamia which doesn't come in the ready made option, so I had a little box of formula in hand luggage and was able to get hot water either in the airport or on the plane. Just had to think ahead so it could cool down for when she needed it.

Hope you have a great trip!

@samarrange yes we’ve stayed in Alcudia near the port (prechildren) and know the resort, it was just the best option for a hotel with a great deal and we’ll venture to Alcudia and probably up to Pollensa too.

@cinnamonbiscuit glad you had a good time! Did you take anything else for the 9m old that you would advise?

We took a cloth highchair (from jojo) so that we didn't ever have to worry about germy plastic ones, it also meant I could feed her in the hotel room on an ordinary chair. We also took a carrier for the airport as we didn't have a stroller- this worked really well apart from in the luggage drop queue coming home when DH was dealing with the cases and the 3yo also wanted to be carried 🫠I'd have sold my soul for a stroller at that point!

The only time we had issues with mozzies was in Parc Natural de s'Albufera which is around the Playa de Muro.

It's a couple of years since we went but it's more for walking and bird watching so it depends what you do on your holiday.

At the beach/hotel/villa we were fine. And I am normally one who sends out large signals to every mozzi around that the blood buffet has opened.