Travelling with a newborn

[TinkyTaylor]

I would love to know if anyone has travelled to Asia with a newborn and how you found it? I will be making a trip to Bangkok with my 8 week old (so pre-jabs) in three weeks time and want some advice on what is an absolute necessity to take? how you found it? General experiences really.

Hi,

I went to SE Asia (Singapore) with my DS when he was 4 months old and again when he was 7 months old (went to Phuket on our second trip). The good news is it's a lot easier when he was 4 months old. He just slept a lot.

Feed your DS/DD on takeoff and landing, it helps with the air pressure changes.

Bring a sling. Even when my DS was 7 months old, it helped sometimes to have him in the sling while on the plane as they make you take the baby out of the bassinet during turbulences, which is very annoying. Also, we found a sling a lot easier when sightseeing in hot weather. The pushchair just got too hot for him to sit in a lot of the time.

In Bangkok, I would make sure you only drink bottled water and if feeding formula, make sure you use only bottled water as well.

Child safety in cars - Just to warn you that they have a very relaxed attitude towards safety when babies are in cars, which is practically non-existent. We took DS in the tuk tuks several times while in Phuket and they don't bat at eyelid at you just holding the baby on your lap in a not very safe vehicle. That attitude is very common though!

The Thais love babies and would want to hold your LO! My DS got taken out of my arms several times and they would just walk off with him to show him stuff. I didn't mind this at all so just to warn you as this obviously doesn't happen much around here!

Watch the mozzies! I think Bangkok is fairly safe (in terms of malaria) but I would buy something here that is safe to use on babies as again, you might not find a product made just for babies in Thailand. My DS got bitten quite a bit.

I think you just need to go with the flow and enjoy it. I always tell people that even when you go to less 'developed' countries, you have to bear in mind babies are born there all the time so try not to worry too much. Enjoy! We had a great time with DS in Asia and looking forward to taking him there again very soon!

Ax

We lived in Bangkok for four years from when dd was 2.5. As the previous poster said, Thais love babies and children in general.
Flying with babies is much easier than when they are toddling. Beware of the up and down nature of thai streets, prams are not always the best transportation option, so a sling is a fantastic idea. I would question the wisdom of taking a child that small away at that age, but respect your decision to do so. The heat at that time of year is not as fierce as April, but your baby may experience discomfort. Malls are ferociously air conditioned and you'd be wise to take blankets with you. Avoid the tuk tuk's in Bangkok, they are death traps and hugely overpriced for the tourist market. Due to the recession, you may be able to hire a driver for a day/week at an excellent price, this would enable you to take a baby car seat with you. If you aren't bf'ing, take the formula you generally use. Nappy's are obviously available all over and health care is incrediably cheap and good. In Bangkok I'd recommend either Bumrungrad or BNH depending on where you are staying.

I would say this is actually a pretty good age - we took dd to Morocco (so nowhere near as long haul) at 7wks - she was a dream and we all had a fab time.
Go as plush as you can wrt accomodation etc though - even if you are not normally the 5* all-inclusive type, which we aren;t, it can be very nice to have people bringing you food/drinks, taking care of cooking / cleaning / laundry etc without you lifting a finger.

The single thing that will make it easiest/safest for you and her is exclusive bfing - even means that she will be protected by some extent by the antibodies from your jabs.

We took DS2 to Malaysia when he was around 7 weeks old and he was so easy.
As others have said, try to feed on take off and landing as it makes it easier on their ears. A sling is a really good idea too and a lightweight folding buggy if you can find one that lies flat.
Don't forget to book/request a sky cot/bassinet if you have not already done so. Very useful, particularly when you want to eat.
Won't your LO have had their first jabs by then to give a little protection?

Thank you so much ladies! Luckily I am exclusively breastfeeding and have now arranged for my little one to have the first set of jabs a little earlier. We are actually visiting in the intention of moving out there in Spring, so I may be wracking your brains 'kreecherlivesupstair' for advice later on with this!

Ask away. It really is a fantastic place for kids, domestic help is cheaply available so it's great for the parents too. Cost of living is marvellous and the travelling opportunities vast. One word of caution, I've had contact with friends who are still there, the King is currently unwell and (whispers) not looking likely to live for much longer. Once he is dead, the whole country will be in turmoil, I'll not write anything else on this subject though.
I will however, recommend a site I used a lot when we lived in the 'kok
Google 'BAMBI thailand', it's a site for mum's in the kingdom and can give you some great info and advice.
Enjoy.

If you ever get to read this message Kreecherlivesupstairs (love the name by the way!!) where abouts in Bangkok did you live? As am busy researching suitable family friendly areas near the lower Sukhumvit area.