Travelling with Babies & Young Children

A few days ago, I helped MIL book her flight to Manila online, then suddenly DH said, "we should go too...". The one thing we have in common is definitely the passion to go places. We both love to travel.. Before Mia was born, whenever we have the opportunity, the time and of course the funds, we'd go somewhere. The furthers we've been to together was USA, then South Africa, then Australia.. Most of the time we'd go to Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand and traveling around Sabah.

Mia started going places when she was 7mths old; she's been to KL 3 times, Malacca, Shenzhen and Singapore. When she was younger, traveling with her was so much easier. All she needs is her nenen, cereal, diapers, biscuits, raisins, her blankie and some toys for entertainment.

Judging from our last trip to Singapore (Apr'09 @ 18mths old) and KL (this mth @ 19mths old), I could sense that future travels would be slightly more complicated.

1. Food ( I noticed that she hardly have the interest in eating.. we even offered her a wide range to choose from; i.e. from the hotel's buffet spread). So, i carry around baby bites, raisins, biscuits, bananas, etc and try to get her to eat some snacks whenever possible.

2. Plane ride (Getting her to sit still in the airplane without any form of entertainment is next to impossible. So, I decided to be creative by bringing some stickers & coloring books, crayons, flash cards and laptop -for her to watch Dora/Blue's Clues/Playhouse Disney). My diaper bag wanna koyak oledi due to the weight..

3. Out & About
- Lightweight Stroller/Buggy (good for naps and to hang shopping bags too). I don't bring the 'dinosaur' type stroller. Bad idea, especially if you come across non-stroller friendly areas and you'll have to lipat the thing and carry it on your back.
- I also carry my Little Pod Sling in the bag - sometimes she wants to be carried around. She weighs abt 12kgs now, so it's a must have item. I didn't bring the sling during our trip to Spore, my arms macam mau putus sudah that time!! DH was also complaining of sore muscles..
- Safety Harness. Good for crowded area. Mia insisted on walking during our shopping trip in Shenzhen. The area was packed! Thank God I had the harness in the diaper bag.

4. Extra Clothing & Swim attire (for me/DH & Mia)
I went to the Spore Zoo with Mia and 2 friends and I didn't know there was a kiddies waterplay area there. As soon as Mia sees the water she was 'demanding' to play in the water!! After much screaming and crying, I gave in. Luckily my friend Gerard wore Bermudas & slippers, so he agreed to take Mia to play. Mia had to swim in her onies. I'm glad I packed extra clothing for her. Next time, I'd have to pack xtra-xtra. Depending on where I plan to go, I normally pack long sleeved shirt & long pants.

5. Medical supplies
I always bring Mia's Medicines whenever we travel. It came in handy during our Spore trip. Mia came down with cold & was coughing. What's inside Mia's medicine bag; Fever, Cough, Flu Med, Ear thermometer, Nasal cleaner (pigeon brand), Egozyte, Eucalyptus Oil, ORS, vicks, diarrhea meds, medicine dispenser, her medical diary etc). However, I only carry small sized version of these in my diaper bag; Eucalyptus oil, insect repellant, egozyte, calamine lotion, sunblock.

6.Mia's Blankie!!! She can't live without it!

7.I always keep a foldable umbrella and Mia's hat in the diaper bag.

8.Extra formula, diapers & water.

Check out other tips in this site.