Taking a small baby abroad..................................
Taking a small baby abroad..................................
Author
Discussion

Tuscanless Ali

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

226 months

Tuesday 29th June 2010
quotequote all
what am I forgetting?

We will be taking a 5 month old to Tenerife next week and having never taken a baby so young on holiday before, wondered if there is anything we really must take to make life easier.

Going to take Milton to sterilise the bottles, and make them up as we go with bottled water.

Enough jars of food to last a week as presumably everything cooked will be seasoned.

Pop up tent to shield the sun, plus one of those UV protective suit and hat things.

Mosquito net.

Calpol, bonjela and dioralyte.

Swim nappies.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something really basic, so hoping for some pearls of wisdom. smile

getitupya

181 posts

212 months

Tuesday 29th June 2010
quotequote all
wouldnt worry about food or milk, apart from what you need to get there (and first night), all easy to find, and adds a considerable amount to already tight baggage weights. A battery fan is handy for the buggy though........

E31Shrew

5,953 posts

209 months

Tuesday 29th June 2010
quotequote all
Gave ours a dummy for the flight to try and counteract screaming due to ear pain....

Tuscanless Ali

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

226 months

Tuesday 29th June 2010
quotequote all
getitupya said:
A battery fan is handy for the buggy though........
thumbup Good one, now added to my list.

Re the food: There are enough of us going so weight not an issue, would rather take what she's used to just in case.

BenElliottRacing

375 posts

238 months

Tuesday 29th June 2010
quotequote all
IIRC Mineral water (am assuming you mean this in your post) isn't good for babies.

Remember being told off by Katie for trying to make Shelby (my little girl) a drink using bottled water.

Apologies if I've made the wrong assumption reading your post.

Tuscanless Ali

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

226 months

Tuesday 29th June 2010
quotequote all
BenElliottRacing said:
IIRC Mineral water (am assuming you mean this in your post) isn't good for babies.

Remember being told off by Katie for trying to make Shelby (my little girl) a drink using bottled water.

Apologies if I've made the wrong assumption reading your post.
That is what I meant, the health visitor told us to use bottled water, and then I checked with the chemist and they verified it would be OK.

touching cloth

11,706 posts

256 months

Tuesday 29th June 2010
quotequote all
You may do this already but spread stuff far and wide across all the bags would be my tip Ali, especially if taking multiples of same items (nappies/food etc) then a few in each bag. We didn't on our first trip away with Linus and sods law lost that key bag. Spent a lot of holiday time tracking down and buying more and more bits, as it became more and more apparent with each day that the bag was never going to arrive.

Puggit

49,193 posts

265 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Tuscanless Ali said:
BenElliottRacing said:
IIRC Mineral water (am assuming you mean this in your post) isn't good for babies.

Remember being told off by Katie for trying to make Shelby (my little girl) a drink using bottled water.

Apologies if I've made the wrong assumption reading your post.
That is what I meant, the health visitor told us to use bottled water, and then I checked with the chemist and they verified it would be OK.
Evian tends to have a lower salt/sodium volume than other bottled waters, so try and find something with a similar amount locally if possible.

Amateurish

8,148 posts

239 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Don't you use boiled water to make up formula? If so, tap water will be just fine.

If you have the space, take nappies and wipes as they are way more expensive over there.

Baby suntan cream.

Bluebarge

4,519 posts

195 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Puggit said:
Tuscanless Ali said:
BenElliottRacing said:
IIRC Mineral water (am assuming you mean this in your post) isn't good for babies.

Remember being told off by Katie for trying to make Shelby (my little girl) a drink using bottled water.

Apologies if I've made the wrong assumption reading your post.
That is what I meant, the health visitor told us to use bottled water, and then I checked with the chemist and they verified it would be OK.
Evian tends to have a lower salt/sodium volume than other bottled waters, so try and find something with a similar amount locally if possible.
+1, some mineral waters have a very high sodium content, so either read the labels v.carefully, or take a travel kettle so that you can boil up some tap water.

Puggit

49,193 posts

265 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Amateurish said:
Don't you use boiled water to make up formula? If so, tap water will be just fine.

If you have the space, take nappies and wipes as they are way more expensive over there.

Baby suntan cream.
nono

Tap water in the Canaries is not recommended for adult consumption, let alone babies!

Cleaning adult teeth, fine - drinking, nooooooo!

Amateurish

8,148 posts

239 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Maybe, but boiling it will make it safe.

Lemmonie

6,314 posts

272 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
definitely nappies and formula.

Both are mega expensive out there.

if you are self catering I would ditch taking babyfood in jars and make your own whilst there, easy to knock up a bit of veg or mash a banana etc. At five months old she wont be eating that much surely?
Mine didnt eat till they were six months

V-spec

775 posts

268 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Just done this with a 1yr old to Portugal for the first time
The only things we had which you don't on your list were
Bottle warmer (and plug adapter)
Clothes - especially what she will sleep in considering the temperature - and a sunhat
Bed linen for the crib, towels
Lots of toys (maybe not at 5 months though?)
We took a blender and made our own food

For what it's worth, we use Evian to make up bottles even at home

oilydan

2,030 posts

288 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
In-ear thermometer, so your Mrs can diagnose tropical diseases. Or is that just mine?


JRM

2,063 posts

249 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Don't forget to arrange a child seat if you are taking a taxi or the hire car

chrismcg1

508 posts

190 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
If you check babyworld.co.uk it states that not all bottled water is suitable for babies - if it is suitable it will say so on the bottle. It adds not to use spring water as they do not have to state mineal content. Have a good trip btw as well! (When they start walking then the fun really begins on hols!!!!!)

LuS1fer

42,714 posts

262 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
Look for pics of kids on the bottled water as that's safe for kids. You want low sodium levels. We spent a whole day in majorca once looking for the right stuff.
We took a baby seat for the car hire as the seats you get given are sh*te and involve a lot of wrestling and they're just unsafe. Most airlines allow this as extra luggage FOC or for a small charge. Just do it.
Other than that, plenty of wipes.

Asterix

24,438 posts

245 months

Wednesday 30th June 2010
quotequote all
We have a similar water issue here in Dubai - the mineral water has a high sodium content and while the tap water is safe to drink it is not recommended for long periods of time as it has high mineral contents and can lead to kidney stones.

We buy the bottled water produced by Pepsi and Coca Cola - I know it is a rip off, paying for essentially treated water, but its the best compromise and has a lower sodium content - maybe look out for those brands.

Tuscanless Ali

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

226 months

Thursday 1st July 2010
quotequote all
Lemmonie said:
definitely nappies and formula.

Both are mega expensive out there.

if you are self catering I would ditch taking babyfood in jars and make your own whilst there, easy to knock up a bit of veg or mash a banana etc. At five months old she wont be eating that much surely?
Mine didnt eat till they were six months
Going all inclusive so it's not going to be easy to knock anything up, banana is OK, but that's the main reason we are taking jars. She was weaned as soon as she got teeth and could sit up on her own (4 months.) she already has 3 meals a day yikes

I got the battery fan yesterday. thumbup

Mum and baby have gone this morning, but I'm not going until Sunday, so still got time to get anything else if need be.

Thanks all.