Please help me work out what my 6MO baby will need on holiday!

[Bellyrub1980]

I have a 2 MO and when she is 6 MO we are going to Italy to stay in a villa for 2 weeks.

We have friends who are going to drive over there a month before us and are happy to take some od the bigger items like a buggy and high chair. And then we will bring the stuff that can be packed in a suitcase.

The problem is, I've never cared for a 6 month old! At the moment I'm just working stuff out as she grows older.... So I'm finding it hard working out what she will need so far in advance!

So what does a 6MO baby need in a hot country?

Any help much appreciated :)

I don't think a six month old needs that much at all. A high chair of some kind to eat in- but that could be a booster attached to a dining chair. Yes, a pushchair- with parasol? A few small toys maybe?

Does the villa have a cot or will you need to take a travel cot?

I would say to bring a variety of 'safe' places to put her down. A six month old won't be held all the time, and the villa won't be baby safe the way your house will be. My dd1 crawled between 6-7 months, and dd2 could sit up (and fall backwards) at that age. So soft playmat for hardwood floors, travel cot as baby cage when you want to turn your back for a second, lightweight bouncy chair to keep baby in one place while you shower etc.

It will be great fun!

How will you manage for the month before the trip without a pushchair?

I think the main difference in equipment between 2 and 6 months will be weaning stuff, so bibs, spoons, little bowls, etc. The baby will probably be taking a lot more interest in toys too so things to handle/chew. Teething powders/calpol.

Won't you need a pushchair for the journey?

What equipment does the villa have? Most villas have a stash of baby equipment or the owners can often get hold of the vital bits such as a travel cot & highchair. The rest will fit in your suitcase, well, other than the pushchair but you will take that with you on the plane.
When we went on holiday with DD, she was sitting & rolling but not crawling. It was bliss! If you're weaning by then, you'll need some form of steriliser. She had started weaning a week or so before we went but really slowed it down whilst we were away and just gave her the odd bit of mushed up banana, a bit of an Ella's pouch and some finger food to gum on.
We took

• pushchair
• door bouncer (unusual choice but it folds up really small and DD loved it)
• rug
• a few toys (inc some new ones)
• some giant Muslims
• clothes
• sun protection stuff (sun hats, sun cream, swim suit)
• swim seat for the pool
• beaker, spoons, some Ella pouches
• nappies & wipes
• a lot of medicines, none of which were used!

Giant Muslims?!

At that age what I found useful when travelling was:

• a travel cot
• regular buggy (travel with it, don't send it with your friends, you just need to leave it by the door of the plane and pick it up from the same place on arrival).
• one of those cheap ikea £2.50 blankets that can be rolled small enough to fit in the hand luggage, but that when folded can make a nice playing/sleeping mat if the flights are delayed.
• a change of clothes for DS and me in the hand luggage. (If they don't vomit, or put their juice on you, they will smudge you with whatever they are eating)
• something for them to chew on at take off and landing as it helps them to aliviate the pain in their ears. A bottle is just perfect (if she is taking them by then)
• Any essential food I would find difficult to find at destination

And most importantly, go with the flow, the world won't come to an end if she eats different stuff for two weeks or changes her routine during that time.

Muslims? Muslins perhaps?

When she is a bit older, carry a notepad round for a whole day and night, and make a list of everything you use. That should give you a good starting point

I think you'd be amazed at how little is essential, although undoubtedly there are things that would make your life easier. For example, you don't have to have baby plates/spoons - you can use a teaspoon to feed baby off a normal plate. Or put bits of food on the table or on the highchair tray for her to eat.

What are you doing about a car seat? When I flew within the UK last summer the airline would take a car seat and pushchair free in addition to checked luggage.

Will you be using bottles at that point? If so, you would need to think about how you would sterilise them, and whether you can get her usual formula in Italy or whether you need to take it.

High chair and travel cot were both essential for us at that age. Everything else was just what we'd take for a day out - buggy, nappies, clothes etc.

(Disclaimer, we never used bottles so no idea there)

We took DS away at about that age. Apart from what has been mentioned, think about how you plan to wean and what you will need for that. Also whether you will need to sterilise anything. We took some Milton tablets and sterilisation bags with us just in case and we did end up using them.

I have travelled frequently with my now 9 month old. At 6 months we went away for 3 weeks. I bring her through the airport in my Ergobaby carrier. In Italy in the summer a lightweight sling/carrier would be brilliant- maybe chat to local sling library. depending where you are staying it may be more practical than buggy. At 6 months you can sit in a cafe in airport and pop baby into highchair so I would check in buggy or send in advance. Travel cot- you may be able to source that over there? Can also double up as a safe place to play. Babies mobility levels are very variable at that age- my little one was sitting and rolling/commando crawling at that point so a safe place to put her down was essential. Car seat will be needed if doing any car travel. I also wouldn't bother with special weaning equipment, we just gave her some of our own food on highchair tray. If going with traditional wearing a normal teaspoon would suffice. I would bring a sippy cup she is used to for water, and obviously if bottle feeding bottles anything you need for that. Some toys to entertain her in airport etc. pack up the nappy bag with lots of nappies, wipes, bibs and one or 2 changes of clothes. Things that are easy on and off! Lots of high factor sun cream in checked luggage, sun hats etc.

LMAO at giant Muslims!

You really don't need that much. A 6 month old is easily entertained! To give you an idea, we took our 6 month old on a trip abroad last month, travelling very light. We took:

Pushchair/baby carrier

A small holdall for baby with following items:
Clothes & PJs
Nappies, wipes, etc
Calpol, snuffle babe, cal proffer (he had a stinking cold at the time!)
Dummies
Favourite teddy
Couple of small toys
Sleeping bag
Muslins & towel
Ella's food pouches, 2 bowls and spoons
Ricecakes
Cup for water

My usual handbag/changing bag with usual bits

No milk needed in our case as breastfeeding.
No high hair needed as pushchair can be used in upright position for feeding on the go and many places have them anyway. Baby will be happy to eat scraps from your meal to keep him occupied while you enjoy your food, e.g. soldiers of toast at breakfast time.

Oops. Posting on my phone which does some odd spell checks. Whilst I'm sure giant Muslims along with anyone of whatever size or religious persuasion would be very useful on holiday especially if they were prepared to babysit I meant muslins. Giant ones being helpful as you can drape them over pushchair etc when your baby is sleeping.

To be honest, I'm not sure we could convince an average sized Muslim to baby sit for us, let alone a giant one!!

Thank you all very much for those suggestions. I agree that I've probably over-thought/complicated it. But we will be in the middle of nowhere so I suddenly started think 'OMG what if this happened or that happened' etc etc

One thing I'm really looking forward to is the fact that she'll being wearing minimal clothing. So far I haven't experienced life with a baby without having to bundle her up in lots of layers, hats, mittens etc to go anywhere!!

2 more questions for experienced baby travellers:

How do you cope/prevent mosquitoes??

The villa has a salt water pool, is this safe for babies?? Just remembering how much pool water my niece used to drink!!!

That's great to hear. Thankyou zzzzz

We went for 6 weeks away when my DS was 6 months. The most useful thing was inflatable ring where we could put him down to sit with some toys. He was already starting sitting unsupported, but it meant I could safely put him on any floor, etc, and he wouldn't bang his head if lost the balance. And he loved it. We did without a highchair, he was feeding sitting on our laps.

UV sunsuit
Hoody towel
Armbands

Tomy Hide and Squeak eggs. Best travel toy ever.

Oh yes! The eggs were our holiday you at 6mo. Took them again at 9mo and will again in March at 18mo!!

Toy not you!

Highchair not needed. Ask the villa for one or do without, most babies hardly eat anything at 6 months. We got a really cheap 2nd hand buggy for travelling that folds up small, and we weren't bothered if it got trashed on the plane. We also took a baby bjorn and an umbrella for sunshade. We also had a very useful pop up cot thing which provided shade on the beach and would've been great to sleep in if our accommodation didn't provide a travel cot. Check, the villa might provide a travel cot. At 6 months my baby didn't need much more than at 2 months. A sippy cup for water, plenty of sunscreen. Swim nappies and an all in one swim/ sunsuit with hat. Oh, and if you don't want to travel to a supermarket for nappies, bring plenty. The nappies in local shops can be very expensive. Also, travel handwash so you can wash clothes and dry them in the sun instead of packing loads. And warm clothes for the plane.