A Few Miscellaneous Tips

Here are a few thoughts that haven't fitted into any other posts.  Maybe something useful for you?

• Planning ahead is important.  Before you travel - particularly if you are staying in a private residence or holiday rental, without a front desk - research your local area.  Find out where the nearest playgrounds are, where the local supermarket is, the location of the closest 24-hour or late-night chemist, the details for an English-speaking doctor or ER details of the closest hospital (ideally with a paediatric department).
• Consider Brolly Sheets.  These are waterproof, highly absorbent pads which tuck in over the top of a made bed.  Even if your toddler is night toilet trained (as our girl has been, for many months), the combination of new places, new beds and upside down body clock / jetlag may lead to accidents.  Hotel beds are unlikely to have a mattress protector and / or spare linen, so tucking a Brolly Sheet over the sheets is a good idea.
• When using a porta cot (we love the Phil&Teds ultra light one), bring along a spare set of sheets and mattress protector.  It's a good idea to bring along the sheets straight off your child's cot at home, so they have a familiar smell.  Zach is mostly in bed with us, but I put him in the cot for naps and the start of the night, when I'm not in bed with him, or else he tries to crawl off the bed if he wakes!  So we are bringing a porta cot.
• You can download some fabulous white noise apps for your iPhone.  I have a free one called Relax Melodies, which allows me to create a blend of river and wind noises (or multiple other combinations), which helps drown out background noises in strange places (or when we have dinner guests at home, as our bedroom is off the main living area!)
• We use MCN (modern cloth nappies) at home.  I love them because they are incredibly comfortable for Zach, cute, and environmentally friendly.  The only downside to travelling with MCNs are a) the drying time, b) you need to have easy access to a washing machine.  If you use a fast-drying nappy like a Pikapu, you can easily get away with only bringing four or so along!  Use the four nappies during the day, then put a disposable on for night time, washing the day's nappies then hanging them out to dry overnight.  Just make sure you have some disposables as backup in case.  The Aldi disposable nappies are quite good, made in Germany, and are available all over the world.  The other advantage of using MCN on holidays, if in hot weather, is that you can just pair the nappy with a t-shirt, no need for pants!
• I am bringing along a jar of almond butter.  Spread onto a sandwich with some wholegrain bread, I have a simple meal for Zach, containing combined complete protein, good fats and carbohydrates, without sugar or salt.  Add a piece of fruit and you're set!
• Bringing along a room thermometer can be useful, particularly if you have a small baby and use baby sleeping bags such as Grobags.
• I like to travel with small Australian gifts for any children you meet along the way.  Stickers, paperback books, badges.  It's a nice way to interact with new friends at parks, planes or cafes.
• When considering room layout, if at all possible, arrange a seperate bedroom for any children used to sleeping on their own.  If your children are used to their own quiet bedroom, trying to get them to sleep on a rollout bed at the foot of your bed, in a single hotel room will likely be a nightmare ending in a lack of sleep for everyone.  I'm not a massive fan of 'adjoining' hotel rooms - that is, two independent hotel rooms with an interconnecting door - with small children, as they feel too far away for me to relax.  In addition, you may find that a baby monitor reception will not carry between adjoining hotel rooms.  My ideal layout is a two or more bedroom apartment or suite.  In KL, we have a serviced apartment with two bedrooms, in Netherlands we are staying in a little farm cottage with two bedrooms, and in both Aix-en-Provence and Paris, we are staying in private two-bedroom apartments.  Tabitha gets her own room, and Zachary is in with us, just like at home.  When we travelled to the US with Tabitha, 10/11 months old, we managed to get away with mostly booking large hotel suites, with separate living areas, and putting her porta cot in the living area while we retreated to the bedroom.  Since about 6 months of age, Tabitha has been a funny little thing, preferring to sleep without any company or distractions.  Zachary, on the other hand, sleeps best with his face firmly nestled into my chest!
• Consider all the options and factors when booking flights.  Going for the cheapest option may be a false economy if the flight is so traumatic that the family takes days to recover.  Consider nap and sleep times, meal times, early wakeups, stopovers vs direct flights, stopover options in terms of airport facilities and entertainment.  Compare airlines in terms of seat width and pitch, opportunity to select seat allocation, reputation of airlines when dealing with children and availability of airline lounges if applicable.
• I hesitate to even say this, for fear of sounding incredibly out of touch, but if it is at all possible (points, savings in other areas of the trip etc), consider business class travel.  Paradoxically, I never found it to be that important when travelling alone (a good book and a cosy blanket and I am happy anywhere), but with children, there are many factors which make it incredibly alluring.  Cleaner bathrooms with shorter queues (I've seen small children have accidents while waiting in line on flights), far higher staff-to-passenger ratios meaning better service (for extra water, hot drinks, an additional blanket etc), priority checkins and baggage claim (less time at the airport and less standing around), lounge access at airports (somewhere quiet to let the children nap, lots of snacks, even kid play areas at some lounges), and, most importantly to us, flat beds.  Tabitha doesn't sleep in her pram or car - she only sleeps in her bed.  I've been on a night flight with her once, 9pm - midnight (long story, we were delayed) and I've never seen her loose control like that - delirious, falling over, screaming, sobbing, nearly falling asleep then flailing around.  I will do anything to avoid her getting into that state again - it was heartbreaking.  Having a fairly quiet business class cabin, with a flat bed for her, will hopefully assist in getting her to sleep.  Also, for myself and Zachary, we can curl up together, feeding him while we lay down, and sleep happily together, just like we do at home.
• While on your trip, try to avoid eating all meals out - it's exhausting for everyone if children are expected to sit quietly at a restaurant three times a day.  Find a deli or nice supermarket, stock up on bread, cheeses, cold meats, fruits and salad, and go have a picnic somewhere (even in your rooms, if you are desperate).  Some of our nicest meals while travelling have been 'picnic style', where we could all relax and enjoy ourselves.  Also, try pubs and even ghastly chain family restaurants (Denny's, I'm talking to you!) once in a while - they will have lots of kids' activities or play equipment, and probably other children for yours to watch or chat to as well.  While I roll my eyes about Denny's, I should explain that we had a really lovely meal there en route from NYC to Lancaster County, PA, when Tabitha was 11 months old.  The food was average, the menu fun in its hilarity ('the food pyramid of bacon' was topped with a bacon sundae in the 'eat sometimes' category).  What really set it apart, however, was the most energetic and enthusiastic male waiter we had - he had two small children himself, and absolutely doted over Tabitha, even giving her his plastic bracelet (she had been pointing at it) 'don't worry, m'am, I've cleaned it up real good with soap and hot water for her first!'.  We were so touched by his service and care that we left him a $100 tip, and the meal still holds wonderful memories for us.  So try a restaurant that might not be rated in the guidebooks - you never know!
• Try to avoid overcrowding your days.  One scheduled activity is plenty.  We found a good rhythm on holidays in the past, which worked for our family:  Wake up, get out of the house for breakfast, fresh air and some physical activity (a local playground, a garden or just a walk around the neighbourhood).  Home for a good morning nap.  Out for the rest of the day, including lunch, an activity in the afternoon (second nap in the pram or carrier), early dinner, then home in time for bed.  Having a fairly predictable routine worked well for everyone, and made planning the trip straightforward.
• Mix in a few child-focussed activities where possible.  A children's museum or gallery, a petting zoo, a ride in a horse-and-cart, lunch at a fun place, a boat ride.  These sort of activities are infinitely more fun for small people than hours at an enormous gallery, or an afternoon spent shopping.  A mixture of all types of activities should keep everyone happy!
• Put away the camera.  Of course we love photos from our trips - we take plenty, and they are treasured.  But I try not to take the camera everywhere, and when I use it, to take just a few quick photos rather than trying to capture every moment.  Live the trip, don't document it.  Don't spend the trip on a smart phone.  For overseas travel, it's often easier to just use a basic call-and-text sort of phone with a local SIM.  Even The Daddy, who is constantly on his for work at home, and does need to bring it with him, leaves it switched off for most of the day, turning it on and spending a set amount of time each day attending to business matters.

What other travel tips for children do you have?  I will add to the list if I, or you, think of any more useful ones...

In Flight for The Mummy

What do I take carryon for myself?  Long gone are the days of leisurely long haul travel either solo, or with another adult.  Ahh, the luxury of many hours to watch films, read a good book, massage in some hand cream and take a nap.  Air travel with small children is a little different.  Here is what I take in the cabin for myself:

• Two complete spare changes of clothes.  If I get vomited on, or dribbled on, or hand-wiped on, I will want to change.  For clothes which are comfortable enough to sleep in, but still stylish enough to arrive at the hotel feeling human, I favour leggings with a stretchy dress, or jersey harem or loose pants (tricked up pjs, really) with a simple t-shirt and soft cardigan.  I add a colourful scarf (or large soft cashmere wrap which can double as an extra blanket), a few pairs of soft socks and underwear, and possibly a light jacket (depending on destination).
• Wet bags for any soiled clothing
• Beaded Chinese velvet slippers.  These have been a carryon staple for me since my first solo international trip (age 12!).  They are perfect for shuffling to the bathroom, to protect your socks from getting wet from the floor.
• Cashmere or hand knit socks.  This simple touch makes travel so much nicer, keeping your feet warm.  Slather on some thick lotion before going to sleep, under the socks.
• Small leather zip case for jewellery - obviously you don't want to check in expensive jewellery, but you probably also don't want to sleep in it, so I always tuck mine into a secure little leather pouch, then into an unobtrusive compartment of my carryon.
• My 'hydration kit'.  I have naturally dry skin, exacerbated and dehydrated by air travel (cabin humidity is incredibly low - did you know that flight attendants can claim moisturiser creams as a tax deduction?).  Furthermore, I always break out after a flight if my skin gets too dry.  So I take rich hand cream, creamy face cleanser, hydrating serum, a moisture mask (you want one that's 'hydrating' as opposed to 'moisturising', that is for 'dehydrated' rather than 'dry' skin,though the terms are not set in stone.  Basically, one that contains hyaluronic acid is a good start, and it will probably have a gel texture, and not be too greasy.  Slather it on after cleansing, then sleep with it on, wiping off any excess when you wake up.  Try these masks from Aveda, Clarins or Origins), moisturising cream (a good tinted moisturised such as Invisible Zinc is a great choice, containing a sunscreen, as UV rays can be incredibly powerful up in the sky, without cloud cover, and certainly come in through the windows), and an under eye hydrating gel cream.
• The standard toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, eye drops, ear plugs, lip balm (I am obsessed with this Malin+Goetz one, on recommendation from Miss Kitty Cat), water spray (a mini Avene one is nice).
• Basic makeup (tinted moisturiser, mascara, creme blush) to help me feel fresh on landing.
• Hairbrush and ties
• Breastpads (glamorous!), Panadol, antihistamines.
• Saline nasal spray - in the dry, low-humidity air of a plane cabin, dry sinuses are more susceptible to infection.  Keeping your nose moist will help prevent this, hopefully keeping away the post-fight cold.
• Some aromatherapy balm, such as Badger Balm, which I rub underneath my nose periodically to help block out the general Plane Smells.
• Ear bud headphones and an iPod with audio books.  Honestly, I will be unlikely to watch a film with the baby on my lap!  So I choose to bring an iPod full of audio books, which I can listen to while lying down with Zach while he sleeps (we have flat beds on this trip, hooray).
• Kindle - in case I get lucky and manage to snatch some reading time
• Tea bags.  An older friend of mine claims that you are Officially Old when you start carrying your own tea bags.  Well, I have certainly reached that point - I am fussy about tea, and in absence of leaf tea and a tea pot, I would at least like a cup of my preferred blend in a bag.
• Miso soup - I buy, from Japanese supermarkets, little soups that come in two foil packets - one containing white miso, the other containing bonito granules and freeze dried tofu, wakame and spring onions.  Add both to boiling water and you have a lovely snack!
• Water bottle - I mentioned in my travel with kids entry that I like to bring along a proper water bottle, and fill it once we've passed security (darn liquids laws).  This way, I can keep track and make sure I drink a good couple of litres in the air.
• Sunglasses, wallet with destination currency, phone, travel wallet with passports, tickets, photocopies of children's birth certificates etc.

Any flight tips you want to add?  Are you a sedative-and-sleep sort of solo traveller?  Or, like me, do you simply try and stop yourself getting dehydrated while you bounce a baby on your lap?

Babies and Toddlers on a Plane

Personally, I would rather have Snakes on a Plane - but then, as I have a pet snake, I would say that.

Long haul plane travel with small children is dreadful.  Let's not beat around the bush.  There is nothing good about the actual travel part.  It is means to an end - the end being travel, wonderful new experiences, visiting friends and family.  It's worth it, I think, but it's still dreadful!

The best case scenario is a baby or toddler who will happily sleep on the plane (in which case, a night flight is the way to go), or who is content to sit relatively still, with stickers, colouring, movies and the like as entertainment.  Many children are like this - I have heard from friends with incredibly easygoing toddlers who literally watched Peppa Pig for 8 hours straight, with the odd pause to snack.

My children aren't like this - Tabitha is a wriggly worm Class A.  She's never sat still through a movie at home - she likes to potter around, dancing and fetching dolls as she watches.  Zachary has been crawling from 4 months and has never stopped going since!  So clearly, I need to plan ahead.

I have always maintained that ages 12 months to 2.5 years are a International Travel No-Go Zone.  That is, if it can possibly be avoided, long haul travel for that 18 months is a bad idea.  Of course, this is a gross generalisation, and I'm sure there are kids out there who will travel just fine in that age range.  I just haven't met any!

With this in mind, we were keen to get a big overseas trip in before Zach turned one.  Zach is 7.5 months, Tabitha is 3.  Babies under 1 are relatively easy to distract, tend to sleep easily in new or strange places (wrapped up in a carrier or with a mouth full of breast).  Toddlers over 2.5 / 3 have far greater language and comprehension, and can (sometimes) be reasoned with.  They are also hopefully toilet trained, and capable of walking reasonable distances on their own.

I mentioned night flights - truly, this is the path of least resistance.  If you can spend the majority of the trip asleep (or at least, your child can), you have far fewer hours in which to provide entertainment.

Most babies will sleep fairly easily on a plane.  In the past, I (and other parents I've travelled with and alongside) have put the baby to sleep in carriers, wraps and slings, or on the breast or bottle, or by walking-and-patting.  The baby then either sleeps on the parent, or is carefully (and perhaps riskily!) transferred to a plane bassinet (if one is available, and if the baby fits in it, and if the baby will have a bar of it whatsoever - mine don't).

While the baby is awake, he or she can be entertained by scrunchy paper, new shiny toys, a rusk or snack, babbling to her parents or the passenger in the seat behind.  It can be tedious, but it is perfectly manageable.   If you have easy-going flight attendants (luck of the drawer) your baby can possibly crawl up the aisle with you every now and then, or sit and play on the floor at your feet if you have a bassinet seat (which has a little more foot room than regular seats).

If you happen to be flying business or first class, and therefore have a flat (or nearly flat) bed, you can hopefully just pop the baby on the breast or snuggle him to sleep, and both get a reasonable night of sleep.

Moving onto toddler sleep.  If you are travelling in the 12m - 2.5 year age gap I mentioned (The Mummy's Avoid-at-all-Costs-Flight-Zone), my thoughts are with you.  It might be tricky, as your munchkin is thrilled and stimulated by the new environment, break to normal bedtimes, new faces trying to chat and engage etc.  All you can do is your best.  Try to follow the bedtime routine - PJ on, night nappy or toilet, brush teeth, milk, a few bedtime stories and then perhaps some quiet guided meditation with either parent ("focus on your feet.  Think about how much they have walked today.  Feel the toes getting very sleepy.  Feel your feet getting tired and still" etc, for possibly an hour, until sleep appears - yours or theirs!)

Do prepare your child for the trip - talk them through what will happen on the plane.  Discuss what their meal might contain.  Practice laying still.  Let them bring a favourite stuffed toy.  Perhaps introduce some 'portable' elements to their bedtime routine in the weeks or months leading up to the trip (for example, a hand and foot massage with a lavender oil or balm).  Try some calming music or an audio book with headphones.

It may be possible to bring your car seat with you on the plane.  Many sources recommend this, as your child may be used to (and happy with) sitting for prolonged periods of time in their car seat, and it can be more supportive for sleeping than a regular seat for small children.  You will need to contact your airline, and it will depend on the type of car seat you have.  Also, bear in mind that once the seat is installed on the plane, you are stuck with it for the entire trip - you can't decide to stash it in the overhead lockers if it's not working out.

Certainly bring an extra squishy pillow, comfy clothes, a snuggly toy, warm socks, perhaps a favourite lightweight blanket, and likewise pack light clothes in case your child feels hot.

Speaking of clothes - pack plenty of spare, for the baby or child and for yourself.  Long-time readers of the blog may recall our flight to America when Tabitha was 10 months old.  She developed a stomach flu a few hours into the flight, and spent the rest of the flight to LA (and the 5 hour stopover in LA, and the 5 hour flight to Boston) with a 40 degree fever, vomiting non-stop.  From this I have learned two things:  firstly, pack lots of clothes, wipes, plastic bags.  Now add some more.  Certainly a full box of wipes.  You might not need them all, but if you do, you had better hope you have them!  Secondly, it takes a lot to deter The Daddy and myself from international travel.  Many (either made of weaker stuff than us, or else eminently more sensible, depending on how you view things) would have sworn off travel with children forever after that trip.

Apart from clothes, you will need an ample supply of nappies, wipes, smell-proof bags for nappies, a lightly padded change mat (those airplane change tables are rock hard), bibs, a small tub of nappy balm (pick one which can double as a lip balm or salve for dry skin, such as CJs

On the opposite end of stomach flu, we have eating and drinking.  Many children (and adults) become dehydrated on long flights.  Remember to drink plenty of water yourself, of course, but you might also need to remind and encourage your toddler or small child to drink as well.  I recommend bringing along their own familiar drink bottle - bring it empty (darn liquid and travel laws), then fill it up on board or once through security clearance, buying bottled water and decanting it into your child's water bottle.  Remind them often to drink.

Snacks and meals tend to be plentiful and regular on long haul flights.  If you have a child who eats properly, and happily eats the same food as you day-to-day, it might be tempting to turn your nose up at the children's meals offered on flights, and request a regular meal.  After all, you don't order from the nuggets-and-chips kiddie meals at restaurants.  I urge you to reconsider, and request the kiddie meal on the plane.  It comes out first (meaning that you can help them with their food if necessary, and they don't get hungry and ratty waiting), and it is includes a couple of fun treats that (if you are like us) aren't things they regularly eat, so the novelty adds to the entertainment.  If you are travelling with a baby, it might be worth ordering a 'special' meal for either yourself or your adult companion (such as a vegetarian meal, low fat etc).  This is because the special meals come out earlier, giving one of you a chance to eat your meal first, while the other adult holds the baby, then vice versa.

How about baby meals?  Infants under the age of two, who have not purchased a seat, can order a baby meal.  This differs between airlines, however generally includes some pureed and / or steamed veggies, meat and fruit.  You can try requesting a children's meal for your baby - we have always done so in the past when Tabitha was under 2, and the airlines always accommodated this request, providing her with her own children's meal instead of the standard infant meal.  If you are doing Baby Led Weaning, the children's meal is possibly a better choice for your baby.

Speaking of BLW - we all know it can be messy, these clever self-feeding babies!  Obviously, you don't want to have to sit in a seat covered in tomato puree and chewed up meat-and-veggies, dropped from eager baby hands, for the rest of your journey.  You could certainly try only offering your baby milk for the flight - nothing wrong with that at all - but most babies will protest once they see food, and demand their own.  I suggest packing your own food for a BLW baby - some sandwiches, perhaps some salad veggies, some cheese, things like that.  You can also use a bunny rug to cover yourself and the seat while your little one eats on your lap.  Cleaning up messy hands and faces can be done with baby wipes, of course, but I think that a proper wet facecloth does the job better, so consider bringing a couple of them in a snaplock bag, to wet and use as required (you could even get a cheap pack of them from the supermarket and dispose of them along the way).

Of course, if your baby is puree-fed, it’s probably a good idea to bring jars or pouches of food for him.  The infant meals on airlines vary wildly and are incredibly unpredictable.  They might include pouches of organic puree, with a rusk, some water and perhaps some applesauce.  Then again, they might not have anything pureed.  Then again, they might completely forget to provide your infant meal (it happens) so you really want to be prepared if your baby doesn’t eat regular food yet.  You can bring a stash of those pouch-foods, just show them at security, as long as they are properly sealed they do not count towards your liquids limit!

How about snacks for toddlers and small children?  Honestly, the airlines tend to bring out a reasonable amount of food.  Main meals, a few snacks, sometimes a pre-bed treat such as a Magnum ice cream or a hot chocolate.  Often pieces of fruit are available too, either offered or on request.  You can generally ask for other snacks, such as nuts, confectionary, museli bars etc.  Something about flying also seems to decrease the appetite for most people - perhaps the lack of movement and exertion, combined with increased pressure?  So you might find you're just fine without extra snacks.  But it certainly wouldn't hurt to throw in some of your own fruit, museli bars or a sandwich, particularly if you happen to have a fussy eater.  As I mentioned earlier, it is a good idea to bring your child's water bottle from home, and fill it up once you have passed security or boarded the flight.

If you think you will really struggle to get your child to drink enough water on the flight, consider some fun straws (those bendy straws are awesome for toddlers), or even a little juice mixed in.  I know, I know - but hydration is really important on flights and changing timezones.  Dehydration leads to all sorts of unpleasantness including irritability and constipation.  On that note - our lovely GP suggested administering lactulose in a low dose each day on the trip, to Tabitha.  We anticipate there will be a lot more refined carbs than usual (croissants, baguettes, cake...) and possible dehydration from the flights, so we want to prevent any possible constipation for her.  She's suffered from it before (not enough water was the cause) and it's so distressing and stressful for everyone.  If you think this could be a problem for your child, chat to your GP before you go.

Moving on to activities and entertainment.  The Big Topic for flying with kids.  Maximum entertainment with minimum carry-on luggage (bearing in mind that your carry-ons will already contain ample changes of clothes, baby wipes etc, right?  Right?).

The obvious first choice is an iPad or similar portable media player.  Load it to the hilt with movies, television shows, interactive games and apps, and picture books (this is an underrated part of the iPad - you can load up all your favourite picture books!).  Purchase some kid-friendly headphones (which prevent the volume reaching damaging levels for delicate little ears).  Let them go for it - it's hard to silence the Sensible Parent voice in your brain, "too much television!" but don't listen to it.  It's just one day, and if movies and games work, brilliant.

You will need other entertainment, however.  There are a good 20 minutes on either end of the flight where all electronic devices must be switched off, and, of course, you want to try to give those little eyes a rest from the screen.  Also, if your child is like ours, they simply might not be happy to sit and watch the screen for any prolonged stretches of time!

Here are my entertainment tips and ideas:

• Pipe cleaners.  They weigh nothing, take up no space, and can be thrown in the bin once everyone is bored of them.  You can bend and twist them into all sorts of fun things - little dolls, flowers, animals, jewellery.
• Drawing paper and crayons (obvious choice, but worth mentioning).  You can draw pictures of all the things you are going to see on the holiday, too, which is really helpful for small children, who struggle with the concept sometimes - that is, where they are going to sleep, where they will sit and eat their breakfast in the morning etc. can all be explained with crayons and a story.
• Stickers.  Then some more stickers.  I don't know what magical powers stickers possess, but give Tabitha a sheet of good-quality, raised and thick stickers (such as a sheet of dozens of little shiny cakes and lollies or animals) and she will stare at them for aaaaages.  Comparing them, peeling one off, finding a matching one, choosing her favourite.  I have packed about 10 large sheets, to be pulled out one at a time, every couple of hours.
• Sticker activity books.  These are often found at the bookstores at airports, actually.  They are large thin books, containing several pages of themed stickers, and 'scenes' on which to place them.  They are generally themed along a specific character, such as Peppa Pig.  Small children will need help with these, generally.
• Colouring in books.  You could even make your own by printing sheets off the internet - perhaps related to your trip?  Ditto for mazes, find-a-word etc. for older children.
• Magnetic dressup dolls.  These are great fun, though the sets can be a little heavy.
• Lego or Nanoblocks
• Small cars
• Small dolls - a family of dolls house dolls might be a good thing to tuck into the carryon.  Tabitha loves 'talking' these dolls to each other for ages.
• Some eye spy / scavenger hunt cards (possibly with pictures for small children).  Choose a bunch of things you would expect to find on a plane, such as a hat, someone in a red top, a bottle of water, a newspaper etc.  You could also play the game with the online magazine (an animal, a woman with brown hair, the letter P etc).
• Do you know Daiso?  It is a chain of Japanese stores where everything costs $2.80 (cheaper in Japan and the US, by the way, not that I'm bitter...).  If you have one near you, pay a visit without your child/ren, and fill your little basket up!  If you don't have a Daiso, you can try a newsagent or $2 store, but seriously, Daiso is brilliant and superior.  I bought stickers, erasers shaped like (startlingly realistic) cakes, biscuits and fruit, erasers shaped like animals and characters, notebooks of shiny, picture-covered drawing paper, pens with fruit-scented ink, pencils with a stack of rainbow leads (which you swap by pulling out the bottom one and inserting it back into the top), a little pinwheel, some miniature containers, sheets of origami paper, nail-art crystals (yikes, but if I get desperate...), some little dolls, a couple of toy cars.  Produce them one at a time, spaced throughout the flight.  If you can be bothered, wrap each one in paper and let your child 'lucky dip' every hour or half hour.  If each of these toys takes up 5 - 30 minutes of your child's interest, you will be a good way towards providing entertainment for the whole trip, if combined with some movie watching.
• If your child gets bored with the Daiso toys by the end of the flight, don't just throw them in the bin.  Put them in a cute bag and gift them to a random family you see at the airport, checking in or boarding a flight.  You might just have given them an additional hour or so of sanity!

How about getting around the airport?  From checkin, through security and customs, to the gate.  From the gate to the car.  With a mountain of luggage.  Your best choice is a carrier.  A good woven wrap is almost always my carrier of choice - it is the most comfortable and supportive of all carriers.  You can wear your baby or toddler on your front or your back.  Most babies and toddlers will nap in a wrap.  A wrap can also double as a pillow or blanket on the plane.  A wrap can be scrunched up and stuffed into the front pocket of a carryon.

The only disadvantage of a wrap is that it is not super easy to put on.  Yes, if you are used to it, you can wrap your baby onto yourself in less time than it takes to open a basic pram.  However, if you don't have someone else to hold your baby while you wrap (your travel companion, for example, might be wrangling other children or carrying luggage), you will need to lay your baby on the ground or a chair. Not ideal, particularly in a situation where there are loads of people and cases rushing past.

"Why would you have to unwrap your precious little sleeping angel?" I hear you ask.  Good question.  Bad answer.  Most security screening officers will make you remove them to pass through the metal detectors.  Yes, even if they are sleeping.  Yes, even if your wrap is simply a single piece of woven fabric without any metal.  Yes, you may want to attack them in anger.  It's no use - they are allowed to use their discretion, and if they ask you to unwrap your baby, you will have to.  Maddeningly, there are no laws around this - I've been informed by one supervisor that you do not have to remove your baby from a carrier, however most will ask you to do so.  It's incredibly frustrating.  I'm going to stop now, lest I enter a rant that reaches a thousand words.  You will also have to remove your (possibly sleeping) baby from a carrier or wrap once on the plane, for takeoff and landing - any time the seatbelt sign is on.  Again, so frustrating, because unwrapping a sleeping baby may cause them to cry and scream, which is not what anyone wants on a plane.  It is also annoying because the baby seems much safer and more secure in a carrier, rather than a flimsy, loose lap-belt attached to your lap.  The reason relates to being able to quickly release the child in the event of an accident, but I would hazard a guess that injuries are much more likely from poorly restrained babies and children, in the event of extreme turbulence, than by being 'stuck' to an adult in a crash.

So, I love a wrap, but appreciate the convenience of a quick buckle-on soft structured carrier (such as an Ergo or Manduca).  What to do?  I take both.  Neither are particularly bulky, both can be stuffed into the front pocket of a carryon suitcase.  If the baby is going to be in the carrier for any length of time, I use the wrap, or if we are needing to get the baby in and out quickly (security clearance) we use the Manduca.  This is the way we always travel, and it works well.  Also, The Daddy prefers a buckle carrier to the wrap, so it's handy to have both.

What about a stroller?  If your child is heavier, or prefers to nap in a stroller, you might find this a good choice (or a stroller in combination with a wrap).  Generally for international travel (and sometimes domestic) you can gate-check your stroller.  That is, you can take it right up to the gate, then hand it over when you are boarding, and they put it in a separate part of the plane.  There are even some strollers which fold up compactly enough to take on as carryon luggage, because they fit in the overhead lockers (Quinny Zapp Xtra with Folding Seat or Quicksmart or a few others).  We are taking an umbrella stroller (a Maclaren Quest), which we will gate-check, for Tabitha.  We also bought a brilliant universal scooter board, a Bumprider, for use while overseas, which will allow us to have Zachary in the stroller, and Tabitha riding along on the scooter board.  I would absolutely love to take our regular pram (a convertible single-to-double Bugaboo Donkey), however it is just too bulky to warrant taking with us, particularly as we are taking a few flights and trains within Europe during the trip.  It would also mean that our luggage would not fit into a hire car or chauffeured car for transfers.  So an umbrella stroller, scooter board, wrap and Manduca are our chosen methods of child transport for this trip!

There you go.  Travelling and carryon with little people.  If I have time, I'll write something about the rest of our packing.  Departure is around 48 hours away!

Europe Holiday Imminent

Goodness.  This has really snuck up on me.  Next week, we're off on a holiday for three weeks, to Netherlands, France and a two-day stop in Kuala Lumpur on the way.

The Daddy's best friend Chris is Dutch, and has just had his first baby with his lovely partner Cyrelle.  Their little girl Neala was born in February, and we planned our visit even before she was born.  Then, we thought, if we are going to take the children on a plane trip all the way to Europe, we want to go somewhere else as well, but somewhere fairly laid back, so we added a week in Aix-en-Provence to the trip.  Then, we realised we would need to leave from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris for the trip home, so we may as well spend a few days in Paris as well.  Then, after chatting to some friends who travel to Europe with children quite often, we decided to add a couple of days in KL on the way over, to break up the long flight and to help the kids adjust with the jet lag - and to catch up with friends of ours, who are popping over to visit from Singapore.  Coming home at the end, we elected not to stop over, merely spending 5 hours in KL, as we prefer to just 'push on' and collapse in a heap in the comfort of our own house at the end!

So, the trip is as follows:

Two days in KL, a week in Netherlands (in a small-ish town where our friends live), then fly down to Aix-en-Provence for a week, then catch the fast train up to Paris for three nights, then home.  Total of exactly three weeks, including travel time.

The weather will be lovely - mid 20s to mid 30s between NL and Aix - and our schedule is incredibly relaxed.  In the Netherlands, our plan is just to mooch around and enjoy spending time with our friends and their new baby, and Chris's three siblings and their total of ten children under six (yes, you read that right!).  Plenty of time for Tabitha to play with all the children, a good week to adjust to Euro time, and lots of Dutch food.

Once we are in Aix, we have similarly low-key plans.  We spent a little time in Aix on our honeymoon, and adored the town (it's a very pretty university town in the Provence region in the South of France).  Mostly, we will spend our week just wandering, eating and people-watching, though we are also hiring a car for a few days, to allow for day-trips to some of the local areas (considering St Tropez and / or Monaco via Nice).  My darling friend Shalini, who currently lives in London, is also coming down to Aix to stay with us for a few days, which will be fabulous!  Our apartment in Aix is right overlooking the old town square, where a divine farmers market is held a few times a week.  I cannot wait!

Up in Paris, we have an apartment in the 8th, walking distance from most of the things we want to do, so we will hopefully have a relatively calm few days in Paris.  A little shopping, some macarons, a trip up the Eiffel Tower at dusk.  Then home, with five hours in KL on the way back through (not too terrible, as we are flying Malaysia Airlines, and their gorgeous flagship Golden Lounge is in KL, so we can hopefully have some quiet time there, and it also has a wonderful kids corner with comfy chairs, art supplies, movies etc.)

What am I looking forward to?  Spending quality time with the family, especially The Daddy, seeing our friends' new baby, buying some gorgeous boys' clothes for Zach in Paris (no one does boys' clothing like the French!), strolling around the food markets in Aix, watching the children splash around in the waters of St Tropez.

What am I dreading?  The packing (I've been working on our packing list for months and I'm still tweaking it!), having the children on several long flights (mostly night flights, praying hard that they sleep), the possible jetlag leading the 4am wakeups for everyone for the first week.

If you follow the 'travel' tags on this blog, you'll find some of my musings after our month-long American trip when Tabitha was 10-11 months old, including packing lists.  I'll write some similar posts after this trip, including our experience of travel with two children this time.  

We are not taking my beloved Bugaboo Donkey pram, sadly - we decided it was too large to lug around, considering we are moving around a fair bit - opting instead for a lightweight Maclaren umbrella stroller with a scooter-board.  So, Zach can be in the stroller with Tabitha riding along on the scooter, or Zach can be in the wrap or Manduca carrier with Tabitha in the stroller.

On our US trip when Tabitha was small, most days our days went as follows:  Awake, go for an early walk (with breakfast, coffee, a quick play in a park), then come home for the morning nap.  We would then go out for the rest of the day, letting Tabitha have her afternoon naps in the carrier.  This meant we could go out for lunch, do an activity in the afternoon, have an early dinner, then be home in time for bed.  We found this worked really well - her morning nap was time for her to properly rest, and for The Daddy and I to rest, and plan our days.  We then had ample time to get out for the rest of the day.  Honestly, it was probably much more relaxing and sensible that cramming so much into every day, as we were inclined to do when we travelled before kids!  Spending time each day at local parks is also a lovely feature of travel with kids - you get to meet local families, as well as 'stopping to smell the roses', so to speak.  Also, it was on one of our early-morning park trips in New York with Tabitha that we got to play with Hugh Jackman's beautiful French Bulldog Peaches!

Any questions or requests?  Advice?  Warnings?!

The Biggest Photo Post Ever

So, I've been a bit busy.  I haven't been blogging.  Instead, I have been drifting around in a loved-up haze of baby and family.

On 3rd December, we met Zachary.  The most divine, enormous, happy, mellow, cuddly giant baby boy I've ever had the privilege of knowing, let alone producing!  But more of that later on.

What's been happening since I was last on here?  In October, about 7 weeks before Zachary was due, we went on a holiday to Palm Cove.  I waddled around on swollen ankles, complained about the heat, napped, and ate enough for 2.  I was very ill right up until the final days of pregnancy, so I must confess I was a bit of a wet blanket on the holiday, but Tabitha had a marvellous time, spending hours floating around the pool in her swim ring.  We went with my parents, sister, and good friends of ours, M & M, with their twin daughters.

I stayed in the shallows, despite Tabitha's constant attempts to pull me in:

Thankfully, my little sister Q was on hand to entertain Tabby:

After reaching near hysteria over horrendous options in maternity swimwear, I managed to cram myself into a regular pair (albeit size 16).  They were actually quite nice!  The trick is to find a pair with a very low cut back, so that the fabric can pull forward over the bump without stretching too much.  I am most certainly not a bikini kinda gal, so I was pleased with this discovery.

Tabby enjoyed riding the 'baby beanbag':

And told me she was 'playing sand games with the baby brother':

Thankfully, the pregnancy passed relatively smoothly.  Apart from the shocking sickness, that is!  But we made it to 10 days over (as I did with Tabitha) before Zachary decided his time had come.  Unlike Tabitha (43 hours of labour), Zach was fairly obliging with his arrival.

Despite being 10 pounds, 56cm, with enormous shoulders, labour lasted only 5.5 hours from first sign to babe-in-arms.  No drugs, no stitches.  Quite a breeze, all things considered!  Unfortunately, we decided to transfer to hospital for the final half hour - he was born 30 minutes after we arrived at the local hospital - however my midwife was a little concerned that pushing was taking a long time for a second baby, and we decided that it was better to be on the safe side.  As it turned out, he was taking so long because of how enormous he was!  You see, everyone had predicted that he would be around 8 pounds or so, so it was a big shock when he was so large.  He arrived in excellent spirits, quiet and cuddly, 8 and 10 APGARS, and we were back home a couple of hours later, snuggled into our own bed with Tabitha, who was beyond thrilled to be cuddling her beloved baby brother.  After such a straightforward labour, I was pottering around the house that very afternoon, doing loads of washing and baking a cake.  It was nice to spring back so quickly - it took me a few days to even feel like walking after Tabitha's birth.

I will post more of a birth story (although there isn't much more to it!) and some photos from labour soon.

Here are some photos from when Zach was 2 days old:

All of the family hanging out in bed breathing in the beautiful newborn smell:

Tabitha has taken to her role as big sister beautifully, and is the most loving, protective, entertaining big sister Zach could possibly hope for.  His face lights up when he sees her, and she makes him laugh constantly.  Likewise, each morning Tabitha runs into our bedroom, to see "Mumma and Zachy" in bed, and tells him, "I love you Zachy!  Awww Mumma he's so cute!  His hair is so nice and fluffy!"

Lots of cuddles for my big girl, too, in the newborn period:

Miss T counting Zach's tiny toes:

And showing off her 'baby' for the camera, too:

Right from a couple of days old (below, too), Zach has been quite alert, so it's been very fun getting to know his personality.  He is the most happy, delightful, cheerful and easygoing baby - and he loves his mumma cuddles, around the clock if possible!  So he sleeps in my arms at night, and often snuggled into me in a wrap during the day.

Of course, he is also very happy to sleep snuggled into Daddy.  Below, also 2 days old.  He's not exactly tiny!

One of the best parts about a new baby?  The constant refreshing of beautiful new bouquets of flowers on the side table!  Here are a couple of the arrangements I received from thoughtful friends - along with all the new-baby essentials (water, tea, Kindle, skin salves and nipple creams!)

Finally, here are a few quick snaps of Tabitha over the past 5 months, just to get us up-to-date before I launch back into 'business as usual' blogging.

Fluffy hair and Mumma's shoes:

Pigtails:

That's Dr Pigtails to you, Mumma!

Helping The Daddy in the garden - in regulation toddler uniform of tutu, gumboots and a sunhat:

No more sunscreenm Daddy!

How about I put some on you, instead?

Cuddles with Pudding:

Best friends:

Zach loving the beach (holiday in Byron Bay over Easter):

 Tabby's favourite part of the Byron Bay holiday?  The swings.  Ahh yes, travelling 3 hours by plane for a week to swing - toddler logic!

Mr Happiness, AKA the Gentle Giant:

Zach had his baptism in February.  Tabitha got another wear out of her gold dress, from her 2nd birthday party:

Yep, she's still a cutie:

Still loves eating cake:

And helping to bake cake:

Thankfully, she's just as happy with a big bowl of fresh corn:

And here is a visual of overdue mumma (about a week overdue here):

But still smiling!  I actually got a second wind after 40 weeks - I suddenly felt a little lighter and healthier, and started to suspect the baby would never arrive:

Here I am the morning of the day I went into labour, out at Yum Cha (10 days overdue).  I thought maybe if I stuffed myself very full of dumplings, the baby would be pushed out!

Well, actually, it worked, because here I am less than 24 hours later:

Typical new baby photo, right?  He's about an hour old here, and I think I look completely exhausted but very content.

So there you go.  Up to date!  Let's get things back to normal, with some food and some cooking and some baby gear tips.  Stay tuned...