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Top Tips for Travelling With Tots

Baby Shopping

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Having recently turned from our second trip away with the troll I thought I’d share some of my top travel tips. I also picked the brains of some other seasoned travellers to see what their essentials are…

Calpol
Never underestimate the power of the mighty Calpol. For our most recent trip and with teething in full swing I made sure I packed some handy sachets.

Microwave Sterilising Bags
Medela’s microwave sterilising bags are fab for when you’re away from home. Each bag can be used 20 times so 1 bag lasted us a week easily. Each bag fits a couple of bottles and are safe to use for dummies also. I’d definitely recommend investing in some of these as a changing bag back up.

Toys
Last time we travelled the little one still slept quite a lot and so we didn’t need to take that many toys. This time around I made sure I had plenty of toys to occupy her on the aeroplane as well as toys in my hand luggage.

Baby Carrier
If you’re travelling without a pram I’d definitely recommend taking a baby carrier to make sure you have your hands free to carry bags, juggle passports etc.
Laura from Life With Baby Kicks seconded this “I couldn’t be without mine, so often the pram is taken off you at the gate and returned at the carousel leaving you to deal with a tired toddler.  Or worse, a running one.  This contains them, comforts them and means that you have your hands free!”

My Petit Canard
Knowing that Emily at My Petit Canard had bravely undertaken a long haul flight with a newborn and a 3 year old I knew she’d have some top picks:

Changing Mat
Emily swears by a good travel changing mat which is handy for airplane toilet nappy changes, in the hotel room, on the beach, by the pool etc. The possibilities are almost endless. She loves the lovely Aden + Anais portable changing pad but any will do. The ones you get with changing bags are perfect!

Sky Baby
After jetting off to Mauritius, Emily can also swear by the Sky Baby which is a fantastic little travel mattress for babies to sleep on mum or dads lap on the plane. It also makes a nice liner or mattress for the basinet on the plane and is also handy for using on the beach and by the pool.

Sam at Mouse Moo Me Too shared the following top tips, which as always made me chuckle. I’ll definitely remember the I-spy list, far better than t for tree for the millionth time!

Sticker Books
Now, this sounds slightly wasteful – but load up on a few cheap sticker activity books or magazines and chuck them in the bin when you reach your destination. Once they’ve been mangled and ripped they’re really not worth keeping, but I have the Minions to thank for keeping my toddler entertained on a connecting flight with no TV screen. Just check your bum for stray stickers when you disembark.

I-Spy Lists
Rip them off the internet or whip up your own – a tick sheet of things to spot on your journey can distract the busiest of toddlers from being bored little buggers. Simplicity is key and you can theme the objects around your journey, for example “a man asking for tickets” or “a red bus”. Incentivise the activity by giving them a quid to buy a prize if they spot all the things on the list – just be prepared for the desired prize to be plastic crap, or sweets.

Napping
Just let them nap. Seriously. Worry about botched sleeping patterns and delayed bedtimes later – a snoozing child will always make your journey infinitely easier and more peaceful. Plus less irritating for your fellow passengers.

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Laura from Life With Baby Kicks was an obvious person to ask after I’ve been following her antics moving from Dubai to erm, Derby and now in Qatar- so it’s safe to say she’s a pro at travelling with little ones in tow.

Her top tips are:

Snacks
an assortment of favourites you can dish out while travelling

A decent travel bag
I use my babymule changing bag which has several compartments for the neat freak in me.

Changes of clothes
because when you don’t you’ll all end up in a mess….

Books
 I always bring one or 2 of their favourite stories to wind down and keep bedtime consistent.

 

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And even if you’re not jetting off, travelling in the UK needs planning. Fi from Beauty, Baby and Me shared her tips from their recent break:

Ella’s Kitchen
This was a must on holiday as it was so convenient for feeding and he loves them.

Little Life Adventurer Baby Back Pack
We bought this to carry him round in which is brilliant and he loves!

Toys & Teething
Also for the car journey we took several Lamaze toys which he loves and of course the holy grail for any teething child Sophie the Giraffe! Oh and Ashton and Parsons teething powders – thank god for those!

What are your travel must haves? Gin is also a good essential..

My Petit Canard
Best of Worst
Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday

Comments

  1. Calpol is so needed! I regretted not taking any when we went to Disneyland. We also had an activity bag with colouring stuff and my daughters leap pad for train journeys. She’s quite a good traveller now she’s six to be honest! #bestandworst

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  3. Some great tips in there! I’ve travelled quite a bit with my little one too, he’s still just a baby, but I can only agree that a baby carrier is brilliant! Packing snacks, and I would say a new toy or a toy that the kid hasn’t seen in a while has worked well for us too. Another tip is if you know you have waiting time at the airport I would recommend looking into weather the airport has a family Area. A family area where the kids can roam free for a bit and the parents relax is a God sent! Happy travels 🙂 #fortheloveofBlogs

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  4. mine normally naps, thank goodness! Then its just snacks, she’s never been that bothered about playing while travelling so it’s quite hard to keep her occupied.

    The Boy when he was younger was terribly travel sick. Which ruled out almost anything. Snacks made him sick, so did playing. If he napped he was sick when he woke up. He seems to have grown out of it now.

    #marvmondays

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  8. Snacks are definitely a main one for us! My 19 month old can eat a very surprising amount in a very short amount of time! Also I’m planning to get her a kiddie tablet to keep her entrained watching Peppa Pig and paw patrol – something we will definitely be using every time we go on short journeys too #MarvMondays

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  9. Brilliant list! Saved it in my notes for when we next travel somewhere. Recently took a trip to Cornwall and there were times I could have done with some of these ideas! Thank God for napping though eh? Xoxo #marvmondays

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  11. Ah travelling with toddlers! I’m still not over the horror! My little one seems to be angelic for one leg and then a total terror for the other. There’s just no winning. I think the snacks are a great idea and i’ll definitely be trying the sticker books now she s a bit older. Distraction is definitely the name of the game 🙂 #marvmondays

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  13. Some great tips. I would definitely second the calpol as we needed ours on our one holiday abroad when a nasty bug struck. If we travelled with my daughter now, I’d definitely take sticker books and some crayons which I wouldn’t get precious about if she lost some. And her cuddly animals! But I’m definitely sticking to car-based holidays for a while… #MarvMondays

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  14. Great list. With my first baby and even my second I was SO prepared even when leaving the house for an HOUR…the twins came along and I am lucky if I remember all of the KIDS!

    #marvmondays

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  15. I never ever go any where over night without calpol and sticker books are a fantastic idea that I have never thought of bringing to keep the kids entertained even though the kids have loads each. I agree that a baby carrier is a definate must especially if you have a fussy baby who doesn’t like the pram. Besides the pram can still make good use by holding all that shopping 😉

    Thanks for sharing your tips and for hosting #Marvmondays

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  16. We’ve yet to brave going abroad with our 15 month old. But I can certainly see sling coming in handy. We couldn’t live without ours.
    And I totally agree about car journey toys. Baby Bee hates the car so we have all our noisiest, flashiest toys in the car to keep her distracted.

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  17. We went to Dubai last Christmas with our 3.5 year old, 18m old and 7 week old. It was an interesting journey to say the least! Other than the iPad and tons of snacks, my top tip would be – take a Granny! #MarvMondays

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  18. We’ve yet to brave going abroad with our 15 month old. But I can certainly see sling coming in handy. We couldn’t live without ours.
    And I totally agree about car journey toys. Baby Bee hates the car so we have all our noisiest, flashiest toys in the car to keep her distracted.
    #MarvMondays

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  20. Completely agree on the baby carrier – perfect for airports, we didn’t even have to take him out at security as it was a metal free one. Would recommend a million times over. I would also take a thin blanket such as the Aden + Anais swaddle cloths – perfect for wrapping them up on the plane, giving them a play area, great for sleeping under on hot nights and as a makeshift change pad if needs be! #marvmondays

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  21. Some great ideas! Ours are 4 and 6 and I’ve not yet been brave enough to take them further than Devon when we used Kindles to keep them calm on the long journey. I love the idea of cheap sticker books that you can just throw away at the end of the journey. We’re hoping to go on a plane for the first time next year so always on the look out for good tips! #marvmondays

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  22. Some great tips here! We went to Denmark when Parker was 12 weeks old. The sterilising bags are a must as well as the Aquaint Sterilising Spray. We also used a baby carrier, it was a life saver! #MarvMondays

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  27. Brilliant practical tips! I love the sound of the SkyBaby mattress – although I’m guessing we may have missed the boat on that one now that my youngest is two. I remember taking half a case of Ellas Kitchen pouches to Spain when we were weaning our first. You know – Just in case they didn’t have any food in Spain. 😉 I’ll be back to browse this again next year when we next try a trip abroad! #MarvMondays xx

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  29. Thanks for this list, this is super helpful, as we are off on a 9 hour flight to the Caribbean next week, taking our 16 month old with us. I’m that it’ll be fine. I’ll be loading up my ipad, taking Ella’s, taking Calpol and spare clothes for her and me. Claire x #MarvMondays

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