This year was Eliza's first holiday abroad as last year, we decided, we weren't ready to brave the plane journey and heat with her only being 5 months old at the time. I was a little worried this time around as we've never done an overseas holiday with a toddler before as Abi was 7 the first time we went. However I have to say it all went a lot smoother than I could have possibly imagined.
One of my major worries was the travelling involved. I know it's only at 2 hour flight but nevertheless after a drive to Luton airport, a wait in the airport, a 2 hour flight and an hour bus transfer I thought I may be tearing my hair out. I have to say she was the most miserable on the drive down to Luton which I think was just a little over-tiredness. Once we got to the airport we kept her in the pushchair till we'd gone through security and then one by one we took turns at walking her round and round the departure lounge which she thoroughly enjoyed. I'd taken her tons of snacks and even some sandwiches which she ate just before the flight. After eating she had her nappy changed and we put her sleepsuit on ready for the flight. We wheeled her down to the gate in her pushchair and then handed the pushchair over to the ground crew for storage in the hold.
Once aboard the flight I expected her to start fidgeting the way she had done on numerous train and bus journeys. As with most 15 month olds, Eliza is not one for sitting still for very long. I was actually pleasantly surprised as once strapped in (using a lap extension belt) she sat beautifully for the majority of the flight. I'd taken an array of toys, snacks, gadgets and gizmos after reading lots of online blogs and pinterest posts (more on this below) but I didn't even need to get these out till about half way through the flight. She was quite happy to play with the magazine and laminated safety instructions in the pocket in front of us. I even got the Easyjet sickbag out and put it on my hand like a puppet! I can't actually believe how long these mundane things kept her occupied!
Snacks & Drinks for the Plane
I did a shop at the big Boots before our holiday and found they had a great choice of snacks, most of which Eliza had not tried before. Hence we made sure that she liked everything before the journey. Here's a selection of what we took with us, the mini rusks in particular were a hit and great for while we were there too:
Milk
We were a little concerned about the lack of fluids allowed in hand luggage so I did a lot of reading up beforehand. I learned that although the normal allowance is 100ml you can take more than this in the way of baby milks. Due to the length of time the milk would be sitting out we didn't think fresh milk would be suitable so we took several cartons of Cow & Gate Growing up Milk 1+ (200ml). I put two of these into a plastic bag and put through the security screening in the normal way. I anticipated having to open the cartons and take a swig to prove their safety but didn't have to do this in the end. I took an empty bottle which I then poured the milk into on the plane and Eliza had this as we were taking off.
Water
I filled Eliza's cup with water and she drank from this before security. I then just emptied it out and refilled once through security.
Toys and Gadgets
After reading online, I spent a lot of time scouring the pound shops and so on to look for cheap colourful items that would occupy Eliza on the plane. I ended up buying bits from ELC, The Works and Amazon to create our novelty goody bag. I bought a cheap plastic 'swim bag' from Primark to store everything in and then put the lot in my hand luggage. Picture below:
iPad Apps
On top of our novelty goody bag I also packed our iPad. Yes, I know, I know, all you defenders of the 'electronic gadget free toddler world' are probably now rolling your eyes at me but who cares, it worked for us. We didn't actually use it until around the third day of the holiday when she was having a bit of a grumpy hour, at which point the BBC Kids iPlayer came into its own.
First word of warning with iPad apps is if you intend to use them on the plane or don't have access to wifi whilst abroad, you need to make sure they will work. As I've mentioned above, BBC's Kids iPlayer is a fantastic app but you need to make sure you download the programs you'd like to watch beforehand. I downloaded a couple of all of Eliza's favourites and they were then on hand for stressful or tired moments. In additions to this, here are some of the apps we downloaded (but didn't actually use in the end):
- Ladybird - Baby and Toddler Toybox - App bundle - £3.99 (2016)
- LEGO DUPLO Train - FREE
- Shapes Toddler Preschool - FREE
- Smart Tot Rattle - Cause and Effect Sensory Stimulation - FREE
- Fisher Price - Laugh & Learn Where's Puppy's Nose? - FREE
- Fisher Price - Laugh & Learn Animal Sounds for baby - FREE
- Fisher Price - Soothing Sights & songs for Baby - FREE
- Fisher Price - Development with Contrast Colours for Baby - FREE
- Touch Animals Lite - FREE
- Bubble Wrap - FREE
- Nursery Rhymes:Volume 1 - FREE
- BBC iPlayer Kids - FREE
Sleep Aids
Eliza finally decided to fall asleep on the bus transfer from the airport to the hotel which was nice. When we arrived in our apartment the travel cot was already set up for us but I'd made sure to take her favourite teddy and a new addition, the Fisher Price Soothe and Glow Owl.
At home Eliza is used to having either her mobile or Winnie the Pooh Sweet Dreams Light show at bedtime, both of which were much to bulky to pack in the case. I was looking for something to replace these that would play music and also light up and the Soothe and Glow Owl was just the thing. We gave it to her a few days before the holiday so that she could get used to falling asleep with it. The first night in new surroundings it took her a while to settle but from then on it worked a treat.
Packing
Clothing
As we were staying in a self catering apartment I can honestly say I took her way too many clothes as we had the use of a washing machine and she spent most days in a UV swimsuit! Plenty of hats are advisable however and at least a couple of swimsuits. At night she slept in either a short sleeved bodysuit or a shortie sleepsuit (H&M) with no covers. I did take her thin cotton sleeping bag but she just didn't need it.
Food
Between myself and the 2 Nan's who travelled with us we took Eliza around 7 or 8 ready meals, mainly Hipp Organic or Asda for 12 months plus. These were very useful as were not available in the local supermarkets. Just having them there made things a lot more convenient as we could feed Eliza first if needed before heading out later to eat ourselves. She loved the yogurts from the local shop though!
Nappies
Besides the 3 or 4 nappies in the changing bag itself I packed 10 nappies in the suitcase just to get us through the first couple of days, I took an extra packet of wipes too. Pampers nappies were readily available even in the local Spar along with baby wipes etc. so this was never a problem. I took a whole pack of Boots swim pants and found this was enough for our whole holiday as Eliza never spent more than a couple of hours a day in either the pool or the sea. I would take her to the beach on the morning in her normal nappy and change her into the swim pants when she was ready to go in the water. That way she was never in the 'less absorbent' swim pants for too long.
Sun Protection
Obviously a no brainer, but we used Ambre Solaire Kids Factor 50 sun cream which was just fine. However, we decided that our usual pushchair parasol was just simply not up to the job so invested in the Snoozeshade Plus which was such a great purchase. The temperatures hit 35c while we were there so the Snoozeshade was invaluable.
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| Eliza asleep under the Snoozeshade Plus |
Initially, Eliza would have a small tantrum at being unceremoniously covered up and unable to see the world around her but she soon realised it was a much better option than melting away in the sun! It wasn't long before she'd be fast asleep and oblivious to the scorching heat outside.
A first for Mom too!
All in all a superb holiday and one which was also a first for my mom. Mom-in-law has been coming with us now for several years and each year we ask my mom but the answer is always the same....."you won't get me on a plane!". So this year, for the first time ever at the age of nearly 70, Mom had her first trip abroad. After much apprehension she absolutely loved the flights and I think she now has the bug for overseas travel. I'm glad she got to experience Eliza's holiday first too.
Thanks for stopping by! x
