Flying with a 7 month old

[Guest littlesarah]

Booked flights to the UK in a few months. Any advice/tips to make the trip as easy as possible?!

 

Of course we'll take necessary baby supplies. Baby is formula fed at present, so we'll take sterile water bottles that come with teat to use en route, & commercial baby food. We'll probably get to the airport early to avoid rush hour traffic, but we have lounge passes so we should be able to go in there before the flight.

 

Specific questions:

 

1. Do Emirates provide a stroller for transit as per their website?

2. Are there any baby equipment hire companies in the UK? We will be in the West Mids.

 

Thanks guys :wubclub:

[LKC]

We flew with our two, to and from Australia, when eldest was 2 and youngest was 6 months old, and to be honest the baby was so much easier than our toddler! We hadn't booked a seat for her, she just lay in our arms/sat on our laps for most of the flight. The bassinet (which we had booked) was pretty useless, if I am honest - we had to take her out of it every time there was turbulence, which meant that we disturbed her sleep. It was far easier just for us to let her sleep in our arms. She was breastfed, so I didn't have any trouble with milk etc, but I have heard of people using ready-made formula and pre-sterilised bottles. Eldest was formula fed, and we did take a short flight with her when she was little, and I had got her used to drinking the ready-made formula at room temp or warm, so I didn't have to worry about heating it (or it being heated too much and then having to wait for it to cool).

 

I am not sure about Emirates, although I would have thought so. It might be worth a quick phone call or email to ask if you need to reserve one?

 

With the baby equipment hire, we actually haven't used any baby equipment hire companies ourselves, but if you were considering hiring a car seat with a hire car company (I don't know if you are hiring a car), it often works out cheaper just to purchase a seat. We went over to the UK last September, and it would have cost more to hire two high back booster seats, than it did to buy them from Mothercare. My mother in law went and bought them for us, and gave them to the taxi company that was collecting us from the airport, so that we had them for the journey. When we went back home, they remained with mil, to be used as secondary seats for my bil's children.

 

I just did a quick search for baby equipment hire and came up with http://www.rentingforrascals.co.uk/. They might be worth a look, and are based in the Midlands.

[benthomas010]

Easiest thing to do re milk is to take the ready made milk, rather than formula and water. If you can get the teats that attach directly to the bottle even better.

 

Emirates do actually provide baby milk and food as well on board, but better to take you own in case you baby doesn't like what they have on offer.

 

Book a bassinet, and the seats that go with that. As has been said, it can be a pain if there is a lot of turbulence, but it can also be quite handy. Not only that. .. even if you don't use it, you will be in the bulkhead seats so get the extra legroom.

 

There are pushchairs available at dubai. No need to book them, there are always plenty of them as you disembark the plane.

 

Emirates will let you take a pram free of charge so long as it is fully collapsible.

 

The staff are really good with the babies and children. You'll get photos taken, and a goody bag. Enjoy your flight. :-)

[Guest littlesarah]

Thanks for your responses - hearing how others fared on their trips helps!

 

LKC, I got chance to have a look on the net and found that company, so that's always an option if I can't borrow the items we need (we won't hire a car at the airport, but my family don't have a car seat so we need one to get to where we're staying). I'm a bit loathe to buy a brand-new baby seat because it will get no use at all once we come home. But some of my friends have kids so hopefully they can lend us one for at least the trip to/from the airport. We need pretty much everything, so renting a bundle of gear may be the best option if we can't borrow what we need - though I've found a couple of portacots on ebay for next to nothing so that's also a possibility.

 

Ben, I was thinking of going with mixing powder with sterile water because D is used to cool formula, but not fridge-cold, and I figured we could make it up quickly and get it down him rather than relying on cabin crew heating it out of the fridge (I've heard reports of it coming back scalding hot or really cold). If we make it in advance we'll have to make sure it is really cold until used, and I think that could be a bigger hassle than taking the powder and Bebi bottles. He tends to get really vocal when he's hungry, and if left too long gets too wound up to drink which is pretty grim for those around us! The airline website says that they only carry baby food 'for emergencies' so I wouldn't rely on their stocks unless we were desperate (and D finds it hard to digest the most popular 'gold' formula - how I wish I could breastfeed him!). I was also thinking that using the Bebi would mean our hand luggage getting progressively lighter!!

 

My thoughts on taking a stroller are that we may be better to take a lightweight umbrella-type stroller rather than our larger travel system one that we use at home. Good to know they have lots at DXB! We may well take our baby carrier too, but he doesn't always like being carried (he's just as awkward as his mom!)

[KLexpat]

I agree with all the above posts. Take extra nappies and then some more, just in case!! With that distance I would take several changes of clothes for the baby and a change of top and maybe a pair of leggings for yourself, again, just in case! My friend's little girl had a nappy leak on a flight to the US recently and she didn't have a change of clothing so her little girl sat in her nappy until they dried out after a wash. Its helpful to have a small nappy pod or just a large ziplock bag with a few nappies, wipes etc you can just grab easily to take to change them.

 

It sounds like you've already booked your flights. I have always travelled on night flights with my two whenever possible. The airplane noise often knocks them out! It sounds like you are just transiting through Dubai but I would also recommend stopping overnight and breaking the journey up so you can book the second leg on another night flight. When they are that age I think generally they are pretty easy to travel with as they aren't quite so mobile yet. I'm travelling on my own next week with my 18 month old and 4 year old and I know I'll be spending a lot of time walking up and down the plane when he's awake.

 

Take a sling or carrier in case your baby won't sleep in the bassinet. That way if you fall asleep you can relax knowing your baby can't slip off. Also it gives you something to carry them off the plane with until you can find a stroller. There are lots available in the airport.

 

if your baby has a dummy, buy a couple of dummy clips, it really saves crawling around for them on the dirty floor.

 

I find it easier to keep everything in a trolley bag with a smaller soft bag inside for the essentials you need to keep on hand. Or if you are able to keep your hand luggage small, then a backpack is great for leaving your hands free.

 

Other essentials for me are :-

Calpol or equivalent

teething tablets

Antiseptic Hand gel

Antiseptic wipes to wipe down arm rests etc around you. Planes are dirty!

travel pillow for yourself

zip lock bag with snacks (if already weaning)

zip lock bag or equivalent with travel documents to keep them all together

a new toy for each leg of the journey as well as a favourite tried tested one.

 

Keeping everything grouped in separate bags helps you to locate what you need quickly. There are some great online blogs on Pinterest with plenty of other ideas too.

 

Most of all relax, they sense your anxiety, so you may as well roll with it and enjoy travelling together. My now 4 year old is brilliant and always has been. I plan for the worst but I try very hard to put myself in a very calm state and just relax. People are generally very kind and helpful and love entertaining a baby who is looking in their direction. Good luck!

Edited July 24, 2014 by KLexpat

[benthomas010]

Forgot to mention. There is also a play area in dubai airport for kids. If your stop is long enough it gives them a bit of time to play. Just time on the floor for a 7 month old will help, after they've either been in your lap or in the bassinet for 10 hours.

 

And relax. My wife stressed herself out that the baby was annoying everyone else, crying etc. .. After the flight everyone was telling her how well behaved and quiet she had been.

[CaptainR]

Try to relax as much as possible through the chaos of airports , take it slow and steady. Babies pick up on the stress quickly. The critical part of the flight to encourage your baby to drink is during take off and landing , they experience the build up of pressure in their little ears much more then we do, so drinking really helps. If you have a short connection and the inbound flight is delayed , don't worry about rushing for the next flight, the airline will look after you.

[Quoll]

Relax and travel light! It's going to be much worse in your imagination than it will be in reality. Feed on take off and landing to equalise pressure in the ears and sleep when the baby sleeps.

[LKC]

I forgot to say, that I got a small travel change matt, that folded up small and which had lots of zipped pockets inside which I could use to keep nappies and wipes etc in. I kept that with plenty of nappies in, underneath my seat so that I could take Charlotte and the change matt to the plane toilet for nappy changes. It meant that I had everything to hand, and also had a change matt to put on the change table.

 

Also, thinking about the things that you need whilst you are there, you could always try Freecycle? There may be someone with things that they would be willing to loan to you, or maybe give to you which could then be passed on to others via Freecycle once you are gone.

[Guest littlesarah]

I forgot to say, that I got a small travel change matt, that folded up small and which had lots of zipped pockets inside which I could use to keep nappies and wipes etc in. I kept that with plenty of nappies in, underneath my seat so that I could take Charlotte and the change matt to the plane toilet for nappy changes. It meant that I had everything to hand, and also had a change matt to put on the change table.

 

Also, thinking about the things that you need whilst you are there, you could always try Freecycle? There may be someone with things that they would be willing to loan to you, or maybe give to you which could then be passed on to others via Freecycle once you are gone.

 

I was given a really nice small nappy change purse that I use quite a bit, and I'm thinking I'll get some disposable change mats to use onboard.

 

Hadn't thought of Freecycle though - great idea!! Thanks

[NicF]

You won't be able to take liquids on the plane so powdered milk and using water provided by the airline might have to be the way to go. We travelled to Australia when both of mine were babies and thinking about it in advance is definitely worse than the reality. I'd book a bassinet even if you are not sure you will use it. I found it very helpful to put stuff in, if not the baby. They are only small and larger babies don't really fit in them but they hold lots of other stuff when there is a shortage of places to out things. And it means you get the bulk head seats so no one reclining their chairs in to you.

[Notts]

You won't be able to take liquids on the plane so powdered milk and using water provided by the airline might have to be the way to go.

 

There are generally exemptions from the liquid rules when travelling with a baby, for example http://travelsecure.infrastructure.gov.au/international/lags/exemptions.aspx.

[benthomas010]

You won't be able to take liquids on the plane so powdered milk and using water provided by the airline might have to be the way to go. We travelled to Australia when both of mine were babies and thinking about it in advance is definitely worse than the reality. I'd book a bassinet even if you are not sure you will use it. I found it very helpful to put stuff in, if not the baby. They are only small and larger babies don't really fit in them but they hold lots of other stuff when there is a shortage of places to out things. And it means you get the bulk head seats so no one reclining their chairs in to you.

Liquids are fine for babies. A small chance they may ask you to taste a bit - but if it's in a commercially sealed bottle even that is unlikely.

[Guest rikimilton]

Relax as much as possible through the chaos of airports. It's going to be much worse in your imagination than it will be in reality. The critical part of the flight to encourage your baby to drink is during take off and landing , they experience the build up of pressure in their little ears much more then we do, so drinking really helps.