taking a 7 month old to Portugal - what do I need?

[GoldenSnitch]

In July, we'll be taking our children abroad on holiday for the first time. DS will be 3.4, DD will be 7 months.

We've stuck to UK holidays since DS was born so this will be the first time we've ever gone abroad with children. TBH, we would probably have waited a bit longer before trying it if it were just down to us but PIL are paying for the holiday because they want to celebrate 40 years of marriage with a family holiday so we can't really say no.

We have passports and I'm hoping to be able to carry on breastfeeding for long enough to not have to take bottles etc through customs. Any tips would be greatly appreciated - what do I need to take/know?

suncream
hats
some way of shading the pushchair
stuff to amuse the 3yo on th flights

We're going to take our umbrella fold Maclaren I think as it's lightweight and a hand-me-down so I don't mind if it gets bashed. Someone suggested a shade-a-babe for covering it in the heat.

Any suggestions for the 3 year old plane amusement? Colouring maybe? and story books?

Have you sorted out EHIC cards (which entitle you to free medical treatment in the EU) for each of your children?

Is there anything you need for the 7mo food?

Have fun!

Yep, DH had one but I ordered one for me, DS and DD once we'd got her NHS number.

I was considering one of these for mashing fresh food while we're away. Either that or starting BLW so I can just give her chunks of stuff.

Hi GoldenSnitch
I have travelled often to Portugal, to a family villa, with children.Are you self catering or in a hotel?
You can buy everything you will need over there,the supermarkets sell nappies,baby food/milk,hats,suncreme,you name it.I tend to take only what's necessary for the flight.
I find th wee ones are no bother on the flight,the 3 year old is more of a challenge.We take small toys,ipod,comic,and raisins/sweets etc.

There are 15 of us in total so we've taken over a couple of self catering villas. Both SIL's have children and have been abroad often with thier children too so I'm hoping they'll be able to offer some advice too.

It's reassuring to know that we'll be able to buy anything we forget though. I've never been to Portugal before so I have no idea what it's like.

It had not occured to me that there would be supermarkets

don't buy portuguese baby food in jars - its foul.

luckily I had taken some organix jars and snacks with me (despite dh moaning about the extra weight in the case) so they were useful when there was literally nothing on the menu that she could eat.

she did eat stuff while we were out there that she probably wouldnt have had so much of at home, but i reckoned a week of odd food wouldnt kill her, and it didnt!

of course if you are self catering its a lot easier but we were restricted to hotel buffet and restaurants. we did do a lot of mashing!

if you can try to take enough nappies with you as well to save having to go and get some, take less clothes and more nappies for sure. i pretty much took dds whole summer wardrobe (well she is my PFB ), which was totally pointless as we only really dressed her to have dinner in the evening. if you take some travel wash you can rinse out bits in the sink so she can wear them more than once.

have a great time. I am very as ds's arrival 7 weeks ago has put paid to us going abroad this year!

I was thinking maybe some of those Ella's pouches for emergencies? They're probably the lightest option and easy to squeeze into gaps in the suitcase (suitably double wrapped in food bags in case of popping obviously) We should be OK most of the time as we are self catering and there are a lot of children and therefore lots of child-friendly food but there is bound to be the odd restaurant trip and the possibility that nothing on the menu would suit.

I was thinking nappies would be the easiest thing to buy out there (after I remembered that there would be supermarkets ) Why would you suggest taking them over buying them?

SIL has a sunsuit that she's said I can have for DD. Was thinking that she'd probably spend most of the holiday wearing that so I guess we'll only need clothes for evenings. I might buy a second one just in case of accidents. DD is my NSB? (neglected second born) so she's lucky if what she wears even matches most days

My recommendation is to take a double pram or two singles.

All my children were out of pushchairs at 2yrs old except when on holiday. The combination of heat plus possible eating out later in the evenings gets to them.

We went to eurodisney when DD was 1 and DSs were 8 and 7. I ended up carrying DD whilst the boys took turns in her buggy.

MIL has another Maclaren, we could take that rather than my bulky P&T - it's too shiny and new to trust to baggage handlers too!!

Thanks mysteryfairy

I agree on having two buggies.But not good ones,the baggage handlers here are really rough.I have picked my 3 three wheeler up from the carousel with only 2 wheels left! Wasn't impressed at having to carry 2 kids and bags myself.
Don't worry about eating out,the Portuguese love children and are very accomodating.A waitress once cut up my toddlers food for him!
They have always had plenty of high chairs,and you can always mash up a banana or give wee bits of pasta.You can buy fruit puree or yogurts to take to restaurants.
Maybe by baby 4 I have got too laidback?
Take some calpol and antihistamine with you as the pharmacies aren't so easy to negociate.

Right, the two old Maclarens it is then. They're both well used and hand me downs so no-one's too precious about them - although wheels at the other end would be handy obviously!

Calpol and Antihistamine - good call. Maybe Calpol sachets so I don't need a spoon?

yes,sachets are lighter too.I don't know if you can get piriton in sachets.You can't buy it in Portugal,its banned because it causes drowsiness,I thought was the point of it.

Never given the children antihistamines before. What would you give it for?

Insect bites, prickly heat rash,chicken pox,

Hoping to avoid all - especially the last one! But best to be prepared. Good suggestion, thanks

Hi Lee - thanks for all the advice

Will have a look for one of those bags. The Maclaren hoods are fairly flimsey, I can see how they'd get broen easily. Was going to get a shade a babe for at least one of them too so that DD can be out of the sun while she's in it. Will make her a nice cool, dark place to nap too hopefully.

Am hoping to carry on breastfeeding so that I don't have to worry about bottles and milk and sterilisers. DD seems happy with that plan as she still won't take a bottle!! Just hoping she's not dropped any further down the weight graph in the red book next time I ahve her weighed. Will leave more space in the suitcase for nappies too.

Was looking at pop up cots with mosquito nets but DH says his parents have rented a cot to be there already so will look to pick up a net. I think we may already have one that SIL passed on. Not sure if that's not just a cat net though so will have to check.

I have a hand fan that I bought when I was expecting DS to cool me down in labour. Will dig it out and put some new batteries in it. He's going to love that - great idea. Ditto on the pad and pens too and the special thing for the way home.

All the SIL's children will be in sun suits too so we won't be alone. SIL even has one of those mini sun tents for DD. I intend on bringing my children home as pasty as when we leave

Not sure what's happening about car seats. What happens with it on the plane? How do I know that's not going to get damaged?

I think we might be able to follow your lead Lee.

MIL has car seats that will fit both DD and DS that we can use. They're older and well used but have also been well looked after and we know the history. My only slight worry is the baby seat will be well over 5 years old and I had heard that you should bin them after 5 years because of plastic degredation.

I can only comment on small supermarkets around Vale do Lobo/Quinta do Lagos etc but nappies are hugely expensive so try and take your own. We too ds when he was 5mths and took an inflatable doughnut - it took up some space int eh suitcases but was a lifesaver, as we inflated it and he sat in it for the whole 2 weeks. Also took some small collapsable sunshades for the hire car - meant on the way to beach/supermarket/dinner in evening we had shade in back of car without having to rig up towels etc.
This yr for ds now 3.4 I have started to buy some books, sticker books and games that I am hiding so they are all new and interesting on plane. Have also been making compilation dvds of his favourite tv programmes for the portable dvd player for those downtimes like when you want to get ready for dinner etc. Am also trying to get a new game for the ds for him (if I can only win my ebay auction!)
Every year I also taken Dialyte (sp?) sachets in case of major stomach bugs. Especially for children, and although I havn't had to use one yet, it makes me feel better to have it incase along with junior ibuprofen. Will the self catering supply swimming/beach towels or do you need to take your own? Often, they give towels for bathrooms but don't like you to take to beach or use around pool. Worth checking as can take up lots of space.
Restaurants love kids in Portugal on the whole, so you should be fine finding things for your 3yo to eat, and they are always friendly, have highchairs etc.
We have been to Portugal for the last 4 yrs, 3 with ds) and love it there. Hope you have a wonderful time. Have started making lists now though and we don't go for another 6 weeks, but I find it takes some planning!

Will do some more research on the plastic thing.

That £15.99 seat is a definite maybe though.

I wonder what's worse. Old plastic or a cheap seat?

Finally got round to looking this up. Car-safety.org says "How many years can I use my carseat?

Many manufacturers now put "expiration" dates on their carseats. Six (6) years is the general recommendation. At most, 10 years is the accepted maximum lifetime of a carseat. The reasons for these limits involve possible degradation of the plastic shell and other parts, the possible loss/breakage of parts, and the fact that older seats will often not meet current government safety standards."

At most, the seat MIL has is going to be 11 years old.

Going to do more looking but I don't think I'm going to use it

Thought this might be helpful - it's an article about flying with children. We wrote it because when we started flying with our DD she was 3 months old and we were a bit terrified (she's now 4 yrs), but we have taken loads of flights since - some good & some bad!! It's about how to deal with the actual flight and doesn't cover what you need in various places but hopefully you can find one or two useful snippets.