People tell you lots of different horror stories about screaming babies or exploding nappies but our experience was the polar opposite & I don't think we're unique either. If you're worried about taking your baby on holiday & want a couple of tips here's some of ours:
- Plan ahead & pack early. If you're visiting somewhere with a washing machine then pack light, if you're not then only pack things that aren't disposable - you can find nappies in most places even if they're not your favourite brand. (I'll write a full post about what to pack in the next few days.)
- Feed before you leave. Evie had breakfast just before we left for the airport, it wasn't her usual feeding time but it was important to get some milk in her tummy because the last thing we wanted was a dehydrated milk-monster
- Get to the airport ahead of time. Queues are tedious enough without a baby, getting there early meant that we walked straight to the luggage desk & straight through check in without Evie being a worry at all.
- Car seat or sling/baby carrier. Because we needed it for use in Sweden we did carry Evelyn in our car seat & I've got to admit it would have been a bit annoying if we wanted to look around shops, so if you think you might & you don't need a car seat then a sling/baby carrier is more than good enough. I don't personally think I would ever pack a pram, there's enough to worry about without that.
- Find a lounge. Obviously this is absolutely not an essential, but I did find that being able to access the airport lounge was a real God-send. George & I have "airport angel" membership which allows us into certain airport lounges & because Evie is an extension of me at the moment we could all go in & enjoy the free food, free drink & comfy seats. I also stashed a few of the apples & crackers into my hand luggage for the plane journey (though I'm not sure that is actually aloud.)
- Feed during take off & landing. If you have a long flight then no doubt you'll need to feed more often than twice but no matter how often you need to feed you should try to keep your baby hungry enough to take some milk at take off & landing. Swallowing milk will get rid of those annoying pressure bubbles that you get in your ears. Evie was so sleepy that I had to wake her to feed but its better that way than her waking up screaming.
- Share the load. Even though you might think that you want your baby with you at all times, try to let someone else that you're travelling with have them on their lap for part of the journey or you might find yourself with leg cramp.
- Take time to enjoy yourself. I know that sounds so silly but making sure that you have enough time to read a book or drink some wine is super important. Enjoy yourself: that's why you decided to take the trip in the first place.
