Flying/Travelling with a 5mo

[snowchickie79]

I am taking DD with me next week on a trip interstate and wondering what "pearls of wisdom" some other mummies have for flying with a 5mo.

Anything to do with packing, to actual tips during the flight (inc take off and landing), would be GREATLY appreciated.

I have planned to take DD's porta-cot, I had bought a stroller version of my pram so it's smaller, lighter and just in case the airline damages it (better than damaging my big pram), I was planning to take the Easy Carrier (harness thing) with me so DD can ride along in that and I'll have my hands free..

I am a little worried about how her ears will go with take off and landing. DD had an ear infection for almost 3 weeks so worried she might get some pain with it.

Also been told that the airlines do not have microwaves so warming a bottle on the flight is out of the question. DD will not drink cold milk so anyone have a suggestion?? My only idea was to take a thermos of boiling water and tip some into the bottle before i give it to her to warm it up.

I've organised a rear facing car seat in our rental car so that should be ok but I'm thinking I may get to the airport and they will want me to hook it up to avoid any liability.

Any suggestions would be fabulous..

[Mother Goose]

On the plane they should be able to give you a thing of hot water to heat up the bottle. Or you could put 1/3 of the water into the bottle (bpiling hot) and when you need it, just add the rest out of a purchased bottle of water (you can buy these on the plane if need be or pack one to take) and then add the powder. But the thermos works jsut as well

For take off and landing, let her suck something whether it be your finger, bottle, breast, dummy. That should help her ears. If you're worried about pain, perhaps give her some panadol 30 min before you're due to fly.

On the plane, make sure you have a spare set of clothes and a few nappies for bub and a spare shirt for you. A friend of mine travelled from Melb to QLD and her DS did a mammoth poo... all over her nice white dress!!!!!

Be prepared for her sleep pattern to be out of whack for the first night or two.

If you're staying with family (or near) or have access to a laundromat, don't take too much clothing as you can always wash it - saves on room and luggage allowance

Don't forget to pack a couple of tried and tested toys for whilst you're away.

Try to stick to her routine as much as possible - esp the night one!

Have a great trip!

MG

[MamaPan]

I have travelled a lot with DS from when he was 9 weeks and I must say it is never as bad as you imagine it may be...
here are some tips for when they are young:
1. they will heat bottles for you, they dont have micrawaves but they do heat them in hot water... ask them to do this as soon as you get on that way you have it as soon as you need it (I was bfeeding then but i did that once DS was weaned)
2. change nappy just before you board - goves max time before you have to do it again, the toilets are small and awkward to chg in
3. tie a few toys on a ribbon, that way if baby drops it you can easily pick it up - she will be on your lap and so it is hard to bend down to get things from the floor
4. use a carrier to get on and off plane, baby will have to come out for takeoff and landing but it helps a lot with transition
5. eat something yourself beforehand. hard to eat on the plane if you are alone with a small baby
6. i never found ear probs with DS in takeoff or landing but i heard sucking is good for that - bottle, dummy, breast, your finger etc
7. if you are struggling with hand luggage and baby, the staff will usually bring your bag on for you - ask them when you are giving in your boarding pass
8. car rental companies in my exp always fit the seat for you - i usually call on the morning to make sure it is set up as i need it - ie rear/front facing, straps through the right hole etc - you dont want to be waiting around for ages at the end of the flight
9. i often feed ds when we get off the plane and chg nappy etc, so he is more comfy when we get to the car
10. agree with above re washing, it helps if you can minimise the amount of stuff you need to take (also if you can borrow/rent a portacot i find that helps too)

have a great trip - i promise the anticipation is worse than the reality!!!

[TreeTops]

Some great suggestions so far. I'll be watching with interest to see if there are any more, as I'm thinking of taking our bub to England when he's about 5 months old....quite possibly without DH (crazy!?).

[snowchickie79]

Thanks ladies, some great ideas here..

Hopefully it will go smoothly but because we are going QLD they are not on DST and so everything will be out of whack by 1 hr. I'll still try as best as possible to keep her on home time. Luckily it's only for 2 nights so will mean not too much stuff to pack but knowing me I'll over pack, "just in case"..

Biggest thing will be having to take the steriliser and porta-cot. Not an option to borrow or rent. We are staying in a hotel so i'm a bit "iffy" about using their kettle also as I've done my fair share of staying in hotels for work and the kettle isn't always top priority on the "cleaning" list for some places, and unfortunately not usually something you can tell before hand. Contemplating if I buy a cheap one and take it with me or what.

Luckily I have my Mum coming with me so she'll be able to help out and be a spare pair of hands and we can do "swap" half way through the flight.

I was thinking of taking a normal backpack instead of DD's nappy bag (kapoochi and not a small one) and my Mum is going to take a "wheelie" suitcase as hand luggage so I can jam in as much as I can in there and just have change of clothes, bottle, few toys and nappies in the backpack.

I know I've gotten cool on flights before so do you think I should dress DD in a short sleeve jumpsuit but take a blankie with me in case she gets cold??? I don't really have a jacket which would fit her at the moment.. I could probably grab one before we go and take a jacket and some long pants in case. Would prob be easier and smaller than carrying a little blankie. DD does tend to get cold hands/feet easily.

Hmm sure i'll come up with more questions..

[nagromeyk]

thanks for starting this thread snowchickie. I am travelling to NZ with Kye in March so it was good to read the responses

How funny that Kye was born just one day before Chloe

[MamaPan]

snowchickie - i would take a blankie for her, this may also help her sleep.. a jacket may be hard to get on and off in the small space...(and who wants to buy a new jacket at the moment). sounds like you will be fine, esp with your mum there!!! i bet you find it a dream and want to go all the time.
you will be fine with the portacot etc as well with the extra pair of hands... re the kettle i am not sure i havent been in that situation, i woud personally just buy a cheap one when i got there but that is a bit wasteful. i think you can also get'travel' ones from a campings hop - may be smaller to pack?
i agree i would try to keep her on home time.. but dont stress too much if she is a bit unsettled, i find the 1st night away ds would be a bit unsettled... just getting used to the new place.
one other thing i meant to say is if you can plan it so you get to your accom about an hour before she needs to have a nap. this works well for ds to get used to thenew environment - though at that age it will matter less (v critical now that he gets to play in the new place when we get there, then he will sleep)
good luck!

[belfie]

Hey Belinda,

We flew with DS at 3 months (just to Tassie, so nice short flight) and I found the following:

1. I got caught by the scanner gates - I had to take off my boots AND belt (wearing jeans) all with DS in the baby bjorn harness!!!! I could NOT get them back on myself and DH had to do it. The entire queue enjoyed the sight I'm sure! So don't wear anything with metal (I was in sneakers & trackies on the way back! Oh and on the way back I had to take him out of the harness and put the harness through separately.. I'm like..WTF?!?!?!
2. He had a cold on the way back so I was worried about his ears (plus he's a congested baby generally)... BUT he feed on both descents after a brief grizzle (we basically shoved the bottle in lol)... and that kept him happy (he is very easy-going tho...).
3. They make you take baby out of the harness and put this feeble infant restraint on (it has a loop that your belt goes through and then is a lap belt for bubs). Pretty useless IMO, but you can have bubby quite comfy on your lap sleeping. I was told to sit him up (at 3 months!?!?!) which I promptly ignored.
4. On the way back we found it was easier for DH to hold baby and I was the "getter" of things from the nappy bag (DH is 6'4" so couldn't reach down to the nappy bag easily in such a confined space).
5. Think about taking a snack & pop-top drink bottle for yourself... I found it was difficult eating their food & juggling bubs in such a small space.
6. And I agree with others that the routine might be a bit out in a new place.
7. Have a spare teat in your bag JIC you drop the bottle!

Otherwise, have a great trip! Overall, ours was easier than I'd expected

Cheers,
Belfie

[Cassius2]

this is fantastic advice! i wish i had of know about BB when DD was little!

i too recommend a little blankie/swaddle thingy on the plane over a jacket. in our case we used our ring sling (carrier and comforter in one LOL!).

one great piece of equipment i got for travel (we have travelled way too much LOL!) is the kinderkot. folds up nice and tiny and fits into my suitcase. i think P&T do something similar. this takes out alot of the hassle of lugging around too much stuff (i travel solo most of the time).

HTH

[teruteru]

we'll b travelling both interstates & overseas next month within the week so would b interestin to know what to pack etc...
for international flights take note of restrictions, luck baby products r exempt.
jetstar website under travel info/family travel has pretty good info for travelling. there's even a packing list generator
i jst read abt the slings/carrier, pretty stupid if u ask me!
another thing, u can carry a nappy bag & hand luggage if u need. just check the airline u're travelling with as they may be allowed baggage allowance for baby too.

snowchickie- instead of bringing the whole steriliser, could u possibly use the microwave steriliser bags? ive seen them at target before...

i'll pop back to see whether there's any other suggestions or if i can think of anything

[Snacks]

one great piece of equipment i got for travel (we have travelled way too much LOL!) is the kinderkot. folds up nice and tiny and fits into my suitcase. i think P&T do something similar.

Yup - if you are going to be doing lots of travelling with bubs, this is a worthy purchase. We bought the P&T for a camping trip (looked into the Kinder-cot but DD was already toddling, so we wanted something more like what she was used to sleeping in. Kinder-cot is kind of like a tent, P&T travel cot is more like a port-a-cot). It is a really light frame, rolls up like a small tent. Possibly still too big for your suitcase if you are already carrying a lot, but it only weighs 4-ish kg.
Just out of interest, do the hotel not have port-a-cots that you could hire with the room? You can take your own bedding of course, but we found on a trip to NZ a year and a half ago that all except 1 place we stayed had port-a-cots we could borrow or hire with the room...
Is the flight around sleep time? When we flew with Natty, both when she was 4 months and then when she was 9 months, she slept for most of the flight, each time. I suppose we were lucky with the timing of our flights, but just wanted to reassure you that your DD will probably be happy as Larry having a sleep in mummy's arms for a few hours!
GL

[snowchickie79]

Sasha28 - oh how cute our bubba's were a day apart. The Sunday was actually my BIL birthday and I was out for dinner for it and then next morning 5am labour started!

Belfie - I hadn't even thought of the security station and potentially issues. Good reason to make sure everything we carry is easy and not awkward. Blankie sounds like the go I think...

Cassius2 - Interesting about the kinderkot you mentioned.. It would be easier to carry and we have another trip at the end of February so might be worthwhile looking into.

Teruteru - I hadn't heard of microwave sterilising bags. I might look into them. If not i was thinking of getting a small microwave steriliser but they are not exactly cheap. Would still be smaller than taking my large avent electric one.

Snacks - It is possible the hotel does have one to hire but I'd hate to get there and find that it's yucky and then be stuck having to use it. I'd rather be happy knowing I have my own with me and that DD will sleep in it and I don't have to worry about it. Yes I have to cart it up there but at least I have the knowledge knowing it is all good.
The flights are around sleep times and DD will happily sleep in my arms given the chance so I"m hoping she has a nap.