We want your travel stories!

our first holiday with emily jade was a bit nerve wrecking as i panicked about being away from home with her, it was only a weekend away on the east coast but i planned it for the month before.

I took bottles of water to boil for her bottles (i feared the change of water may give her tummy ache), i took 5 changes of clothing per day we were to be there as i wasnt sure about the weather and i didnt want her eating anything from there so i took plenty of jars of baby food. I didnt even want her bathed in the water from there in case it was harsh on her skin so i put the water i had taken with me in the microwave to warm up and bathed her in a basin.

Took pleanty of toys for her to hold in case she got fed up on the way.

plenty of anti bacterial hand wash-in case she touched anything that lots of other people touch etc.

I have to say i took way too much and we really enjoyed the weekend (when i relaxed) but i would definitley go to that much trouble again if not just for piece of mind.

It is a little bit easier now she is a little older but i still take lots of clothes and the water and the antibacterial handwash.

We took Laila and Louiza to Disneyland Paris - would agree its very child friendly the best bit for me (being the mum of a very independant toddler) the toilet doors dont go all the way to the floor in fact they have such a big gap if a child cant undo the door they can crawl under - I loved that (embararssed wink) I could let her go in herself and not be worried she'd get stuck

The best thing about the day all we needed was sunscreen - eveything else on site and I didnt think too expensive - would really recommend for an easy but fun day

Kimx

Just a little tip - if I'm going away for a short break, I try to lighten the load by using all the samples of body wash/shampoo/lotion etc that you get in magazines, both for me and baby. I also take a small pair of sharp scissors so I can cut all the way round the edge of the sample and get every last drop out!

Hi Guys

i got today from asda a pack of 3 sterile single use disposable 9oz bottles as we are getting married on saturday and didnt want to pre make 48hrs worth of bottles, so we bought the bottles and cartons of formula and we can chuck it all away after not taking up valuable space in your suitcase.

they were only about 6 quid which is invaluable if it means your baby gets fresh feeds and you dont need to pay any excess on your luggage lugging large formula tins and bottles. xxxx

I would appreciate any travel tips going as my in laws live in Australia. Our first baby is due in december and we will be travelling to Brisbane at some point next year - how on earth will I cope on such a young flight with such a young baby?!

I've been travelling with my baby since she was less than two months old. the toughest time was when I was breastfeeding and did not want to know a bottle. I had to cover myself with a shawl. But accept for that she was perfectly fine. The only really useful thing I had to have everytime we traveled was a baby carrier. Cant imagine to get on the plane with a changing bag, my handbag, a blanket and a baby in my arms.

For anyone taking a baby on the beach, I can throughly recommend taking a one man tent. 

It was great for keeping the sun, sand and wind off the baby, and a private space for me to breastfeed. It also acted as a windbreaker for the rest of the family.  

We managed to find a tent for about £6 - cheap enough that we could have left it there, but it was no trouble carrying it as it folded up so small.

Kate

Hi,

After much persuading (on my husbands part) I finally relented and we bought our first tent!! A few bits of advice for new campers.

 On our first trip we learnt that our 2 year old could crawl out of the back of the tent as it didn't have a fitted groundsheet - make sure your tents have one. After returning from this holiday we invested in a tent with a fitted groundsheet and found the whole experience so much easier and better. It did help 2nd time around that the weather was glorious but we also learnt that you never quite know your children as well as you think you do.

 e.g. - We went into skegness and saw the donkeys, ''don't sit him in there he'll hate it, he screamed last time'' i said to my hubby. Obviously our son went on and told his daddy that he was a big boy and daddy should go away as he could do it on his own.

 - We went to the beach after this and sat having a coffee and an old couple asked why he wasn't on the beach, again my husband replied - ''he doesn't like the sand on his feet'' to which our son took off his own shoes and ran for the sand squeeling with excitement.

- After this we popped into the fair and our niece and nephew had a wrist band but we bought our little man some tokens as he wasn't keen on the rides and then Daddy could take him on, after using all of the tokens we then had to go back for a wristband as he loved the rides so much.

We now realise that it may have only been 6 weeks since our last visit but every child changes so quickly that it's best to let them just try or else they will make you look silly. LOL.

 Kim

Hi, we took our baby Isaac (8 weeks) to North Wales two weeks ago for two nights.  We planned it in advance and I made a list of everything I would need.  I took his steriliser and 6 bottles. I did not want to make the milk up and have to worry about chilling it, so I brought some little pots that can hold up to 8 ounces od the dry formula.  They fit into the bottles, and rest on the rim you then po the teat and lid on as usual.  When it was time for a feed I just mixed the milk with the water.  We also took him for a walk in the hills using a baby carrier.  We stayed in a b&b which was in the couples own home, we were they only guests there and the owners were very helpfull and could not do enough for us.  I took 6 sets of clothes plus lots of sleepsuits and warm clothing, I fould we did not need lf the stuff we took but I would rather take it to be on the safe side.  We have a problem free 2 nights away and would take him away again at a young age.

Bec  

Hi we took our five week old daughter skiing in March 2007 and it was an absolute doddle.  She slept through most of the plane journey and I breast fed her during landing and take off without a murmer from her. (The people behind commented they didnt even realise we were travelling with a baby). We then had a three hour coach transfer which went just as smoothly. My Partner skied in the morning while baby and I stayed in bed then we wold go out for lunch together and a leisurely stroll in the afternoon. I had worried she might get cold but she was snuggly in her snowsuit and baby carrier. I even managed to ski a few afternoons while baby stayed with her dad. She slept in her portable moses basket at night and in the evening for the whole week she slept throughout dinner in her pushchair while we enjoyed fabulous meals in the hotel. Everyone came to talk to us and admire our tiny little angel and she enjoyed all the attention, I really enjoyed reading my book in front of a lovely log fire each morning it was so nice to get away on holiday away from the house and baby mess at home.

It was a problem free holiday from start to finish and would reccommend it to anyone.

We might even try it again in 2008 as I am expecting again and will have a four week old baby at about the same time to accompany our one year old!

Tracy   

   

Hi, im going to Spain from Belfast to my wee apartment for new years and also to book a church to get married in, as I just got engaged last month. What makes this trip all the more exciting is that my new baby is due on 16th December so will be 2weeks old. I also have three other children aged 6, 5, and 3. I will definately be using a baby carrier as I will need both hands free to keep hold of the other kidywinks in the airports, wish me luck......