Search my mind...: 2014

I thought this might be a very interesting topic for all the new parents who are planning for their very first family trip with their little ones to other countries! This is not the ultimate guideline to follow, but I would only like to share from experience on what's best to do if you plan to travel with an infant or baby (under 1).

Last July 2014, we headed to South Korea as a family. Back then, my baby girl was just 11-month old. My baby was still on breastmilk (plus her usual solid food). The way I saw it, there was really a lot of advantages to that. What tops the list is being able to feed her without having to worry about not bring enough formula powder whatsoever.

Checklist

OK, let's move to the important stuffs. Here's what you must bring along:

1. Baby carrier - you cannot live without this when going to a hectic city like Seoul. It is not very stroller friendly. I was so grateful I brought the carrier along, and I used it almost all the time! I regretted using stroller once during the trip.

2. Baby stroller - I needed it to let my baby take her nap during our 4-hour transit in HK airport. If your transit is less than 2 hours, you may consider skipping this item. It really takes up a lot of space which may leave you with no option but to take the cab from airport to your hotel. I did that, it costed me RM240 one way. Compared to public transportation, probably around RM30 or less.

3. Baby toiletries - shampoo, baby bath, diapers. You may not wanna try new brands if your baby has sensitive skin. Stick with what works.

4. Baby lotion - If you are travelling during the dry season (mid July was pretty dry for my baby skin actually), bring along a really good baby lotion. I use Cetaphil Intensive Moisturizing Cream for her, BUT... I DID NOT BRING IT! I felt so bad I forgot that and her face got so dry those red flaky patches slowly appeared on her face. I thank God at least she doesn't have very sensitive skin so I bought Johnson & Johnson Soothing Balm from one of the Watson's in South Korea. Here's a pic you can see those red patches on her face :(

5. Snacks - use dry snacks like Happy puffs. You really don't wanna get messy in the plane with liquid and sticky snacks.

6. Eucalyptus oil - to soothe baby's breathing in long hour flight and air conditioned room. You can get this from Guardian/Watson's or any pharmarcies.

7. Toys - limit to space efficient ones. I prefer soft toys and cloth books because you can squeeze them to fit into the bag haha.

8. Baby jacket/sweater

9. Nursing cover

10. Small rice cooker/slow cooker. My trip was 11d/10n, so I didn't want my baby to be on merely instant cereals. I cooked for her. Check out her food :D Ok... I bought those raw ingredients and vege from Lotte in Ansan, including the meat. I brought my own organic buckwheat, millet, and quinoa; plus dried wolfberries!

11. Instant cereals - I bought "Why Not" instant cereals for emergency use. We gotta always prepare for unexpected situations cos sometimes the hotel may not allow the guests to cook! It was proven useful for some long trips when I did not have enough time to cook.

12. Misc - Thermos container, baby utensils, handkerchief, common infants medication just in case, foldable changing mat.

My Flight Experience

TO DO: Call your airline to book bassinet seat even before check-in window is open. I did not get mine even when I checked in at the airport early. But I am grateful anyway because I was given the bassinet seat for Incheon->PG->KL

PG ->HK: I bf her during take-off and landing. It was a morning flight and my baby loves sleeping in the morning, so generally it was pretty seamless! Here's her happy face upon arrival at HK!

HK transit: She took her 1 hr nap in her stroller during our lunch. I also breastfed her in the mother's room. HK Airport is absolutely bf friendly!

HK -> Incheon: It was an evening flight, which meant that my baby would be awake during most of flight. She enjoyed the first 2 hours of the flight. Upon the 3rd hour, she was quite cranky due to tiredness, fell asleep a while after I bf her. The last hour of the flight was really challenging as we had to find ways to calm her down, she was frantically kicking and the orange juice spilled on me... haha... it got kinda messy, countless pairs of eyes on us. By then, the "ultimate weapon" which is to bf her did not work anymore. Sigh.. she must be feeling so uncomfortable due to altitude change during landing. I just to had to keep hugging and soothe her until she slowly stopped crying... Not the best experience.

Lessons learnt:

1. Bf or bottle-feed your baby with milk during take-off and landing

2. Never leave unfinished beverages/food on the tray as you never know when baby may kick the tray.

3. Placing baby in the bassinet may not always be the best idea because when the seat belt sign is on, you have to hold your baby again... My baby was so frustrated for being awaken from her slumber. I remember I had to take her in and out 3 times, eventually I gave up placing her in the bassinet altogether. Having bassinet seat is still a good idea for more legroom as it is helpful when travelling with infant.

I won't elaborate further on our journey from Incheon to Penang. Generally coming back was much smoother.

Alright, that's about all I can think of for now. Feel free to leave a comment here if I miss out anything. I'll wrap up with some snapshots from our trip! No regrets travelling with my baby, it was so much fun!