Flying/Travelling with a 5mo

[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.