tips for long haul with a three month old?

[chandellina]

Hi, we are taking DS to South Africa in a couple of weeks. He will be 3.5 months.

Any tips for stuff to bring and/or how to deal with the flight? Thanks!!!

I breastfeed, though we give one bottle a day of mixed EBM and formula.

Take all your own bits and pieces if you can (ie travel cot, carseat and buggy) it really helps make you feel at ease.

The flight might be tricky or it might be really easy, just remember it is only a short period.

Some of the bigger airlines will give you a carrycot and bulkhead seats, gives you a bit of extra space.

You might not be able to get your chosen brand of formula in south africa so take some with you if possible.

You can take formula on the plane, and although we don't use a dummy we took one with us on the flight.

South Africa is lovely, you'll have a great time and the weather will be perfect. Have a great time.

make sure you book a bulkhead before hand and remind them before flying by calling a few days in advance to remind them that you are travelling with a small infant and will want a bulkhead seat

we travelled back and forth a number of times with our dd1 to sa earliest at 6 weeks and went saa, virgin and ba
bizarrly ba were probably best as they seemed better set up to deal with dd

as it's a night flight make sure you have more covers with you than necessary as the bulkhead cot isn't very padded and the flight can go through a number of heat changes.

Feed when you ascend and descend as it will protect your lo's ears

All made up formula will need to be tested so if it is a made up bf bottle make sure you have no squeamishness about tasting it!!

The younger the better for airtravel as far as i'm concerned

my last tip is get your viewing screen out before they put the cot in place as mostly they won't go past the cot once in place and by the time you think I'll just watch a movie your lo will be asleep and you'll have no way of getting the screen up

have a lovely trip
x

I took DS to SA at exactly that age too! I was travelling alone with him, and was terrified that he'd scream for 11 hours!

As it was, he just beamed at everyone on the plane... I fed him/gave him a dummy for takeoff and landing, and the rest of the time he slept soundly - it was bliss!

Honestly, it's the best age to travel with small children!

thanks for the advice. we are flying BA and they assure us we will be in the bulkhead but i will call them a few days before to confirm again.

Hi chanellina - I took my DS to NZ, Australia and the States on a big 3 week round the world trip (various weddings and visiting friends etc) - all in all we took 10 flights. The usual advice of feeding on take off and landing is standard as it helps with their hearing etc.

Our first flight was messed up as I wasn't given a cot for DS (despite requesting and double checking) so I had him on my lap until Singapore - however stressed I was on taking off it was lovely to have him all cuddled in snug next to me for the flight as I felt he was safe.

For changing nappies, I pre-packed a nappy in one of those throw away nappy sacks so when he needed to be changed I just grabbed a bag, wipes and I was done. However I did have one of the skip hop mini changers www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/detailfash.php?type=FASH&code=A6735&branch=IF&category=ECH82 - which when I was on the move when away was brilliant as I didn't have to lug around a massive change bag, I just threw everything into a rucksack and had him in the baby bjorn.

you can get pre-packed formula (already made up stuff) and some steri-bottles which you can get from Boots on-line if you are bottle feeding (plus, gives you a nice break on the flight).

The other thing I took was some sterilizing bags which you can pop in the microwave. They are made by Lindam and can be purchase online.

Last of all I would recommend that you have a great time, as Gumbo says above, this really is the best age to travel with small children, I've got a trip booked to Thailand in 2 weeks (if anyone has any accommodation suggestions?)

x

NiaWyn - thanks for that. sounds like you are the expert after all those flights.
Thailand is next on our list - that's where DH and I met 8 years ago.

You can reserve your seats by logging onto Manage My Booking on the BA website. The seat map will show you where the 'COT's are located so you can select what is best for your whole party. At 72hrs before departure a computer allocates seats to others so it is therefore a good idea to check through MMB that you still have the seats you originally reserved. If not you can sort it out then with BA. Online Check in at 24hrs before departure will again help you check to see and confirm your seats.

All of the above I reckon just helps everything to be sorted before arriving at the airport where stress levels can rise anyway, therefore removing a potential stressor seems like a good idea to me!!!!

South Africa is a great place- enjoy your trip.

thanks Catper, good advice.

have your norks on constant call
that is the best tip I can give you

good luck

and do make sure he's had all his jabs before you go in the petri dish that is a modern aircraft

Hi, just wanted to report back that our trip was a total success. DS had a fabulous flight out- he slept about 8 hours - his longest sleep EVER. way back wasn't so good but no real problems, just a little crying on landing from his ears.
I highly recommend travelling with them at this age...