Tag: travelling
Travelling with a Baby
My baby and I travelled all the way from London to Auckland. We flew across the globe together and had a stopover in Hong Kong for a night to refresh ourselves and catch up on a few hours of sleep.
The build up to our flight from London started a couple of weeks before our departure. I didn’t want to think too much about the flight as it would kick start butterflies in my stomach, whilst I wondered how I was going to manage such a long journey on a plane with my baby.
The very thought of leaving hubby behind in London for 8 weeks was daunting. Knowing how much he’d miss us and how much we’d miss him made it almost impossible to fathom. On the bright side we’d Skype daily and Imogen and I would be spending Summer with our family and friends in New Zealand whilst hubby was busy at work in London during the coldest months of the year.
It was the bit in the middle, the journey, that I didn’t want to do. I tried to keep as calm as possible. I was going to travel across the world with my baby. Just me and my baby! I found it easier not to dwell on it too much and put all of my energy into the preparation of fun activities for us and what we’d need to pack in our on-flight luggage.
Here’s my list of on-flight essentials that I’d travel with again:
Fun Activities
- Samsung Galaxy Tablet with CBeebies episodes downloaded from iPlayer
- John Lewis Shape Sorter and Stacking Cups
- Baby Book Sets
- Farm Sticker Book
- The Gruffalo Colouring Book
- Crayola Coloured Crayons Pack of 8
- Soft Toys
- Favourite Toy Charley Bear
Food and Drink
- Organic Baby Pouches and age appropriate baby snacks
- Formula Milk Powder in formula pots
Essentials
- Nappies
- Nappy Bags
- Sudocrem
- Baby Wipes
- Sachets of Calpol and Nurofen, should they be needed
- A change of clothes for you and your baby
- If your baby is walking Baby Reins are brilliant when you’re at a busy airport and queuing for check-in and security
Knowing how hard it was travelling that distance myself made me realise how important it was to make it fun experience for my baby. And last but not least a positive attitude, a strong resolve and a calm approach all helped.
What are your tips for flying with a baby or toddler?
Baby Sleep Aids
A good night’s sleep is essential for the health of the whole family. You need a restful sleep to regenerate your mind and body. And a peaceful night’s sleep is crucial for the development of your baby.
Thankfully there are some incredible baby sleep aids that really work.
Top 3 Baby Sleep Aids
It has been found that babies will go to sleep more easily to the soothing sounds they heard when in utero. The comforting noises heard daily from their mother’s womb and her heartbeat are reassuring to a newborn.
Ewan the Dream Sheep is one of the most effective baby sleep aids.
Ewan the Dream Sheep replicates the soothing sounds of a pregnant mother’s womb and heartbeat. The sounds have been combined with household, musical and natural sounds at low bass frequencies of 125hz to produce pink noise which is the type of noise babies predominantly hear when in the womb.
Research has shown that babies are comforted by certain aspects of the womb. So a pink ambient glow is the natural choice for Ewan the Dream Sheep’s tummy.
The Grobag Egg Thermometer and Night Light is a simple to use thermometer that changes colour according to the room temperature and acts as a warning if the room is too hot or cold.
It also provides baby with a soft and comforting glow at night.
The Grobag Egg Thermometer and Night Light uses a digital thermometer and permanent backlit LCD readout. It is conveniently mains powered so you don’t need to worry about batteries running out.
The Gro Anywhere Blackout Blindfits directly onto the window glass using suckers which gives it the closest fit possible to block out light.
Gro-Anywhere Blackout Blinds can be used vertically or horizontally and will fit most shaped windows.
Gro Anywhere Blackout Blindconveniently pack into a handy travel bag and are the ideal way to help children to sleep in unfamiliar surroundings when travelling or on holiday.
Each hem can be shortened for a proper fit and fitting takes just minutes. The Gro Anywhere Blackout Blinddimensions are 198cm x 130cm.
Chicco London Best Baby Pushchair
The Chicco London Pushchair has flown across the world with us from London to Auckland in New Zealand. It is truly brilliant! You won’t go wrong with this pushchair if you want a lightweight yet sturdy pushchair for travelling and everyday use.One thing we needed for our first overseas holiday with baby was a travel friendly pushchair. This was going to be our first flight with our baby to Brittany in France.
My husband and I searched shops and online retailers for the best baby pushchair, wanting a pushchair that was lightweight, had all the essentials and a compact umbrella fold for travelling on aeroplanes.
After plenty of research we decided on the Chicco London Pushchair.
Even the budget airline we flew with allowed us to fold the pushchair with the footmuff still attached, saving us additional space in our already bulging suitcase!
The Chicco London Pushchair comes complete with a beautifully soft, fleece lined footmuff which zips easily to the seat cover and a fully protective raincover. The seat has four positions that you can change easily using one hand and fully reclines so your baby or toddler can lie almost flat for sleeping.
There’s a shopping basket under the pushchair seat which holds a generous amount of items. Our Babymel Changing Bag fitted comfortably under the seat with nappies, changing mat, bottles and food.The Chicco London Pushchair went on the beach, gravel tracks in the countryside and throughout towns. It was great in all locations.
The Chicco London Pushchair is a fantastic pushchair and we have been surprised at how versatile, robust and easy it is to use. The Chicco London Pushchair is suitable from birth to 3 years and weighs just 7.2 kgs.