Babyboy – Storm Courtney

So I must admit that I felt a bit nervous about travelling oversees and on a plane for the first time with a baby!

Will he sleep on the flight? Will he adjust to the weather? Will it be too hot? How will I bath him? Will he cry on the plane? Will his ears hurt on take off and landing? What will he eat? Will he sleep okay?

All of these things went through my head at first. My first bit of advice is get organised and prepared. The more organised and proactive you are before you go will determine how relaxed you are when you arrive at your holiday destination.

We had the best time in Bali because I was relaxed and prepared for everything.

Flights:

I booked our flights to compliment his usual nap time. When going to Bali this is generally easy to do as you have a few airlines to pick from. I chose an after lunch flight on the way there and a morning flight on the way back. This worked really well for us. He napped both times. Have enough toys and food keep the occupied. I over packed snacks and also preordered food on the flight. If you preorder food, you also get served first which is ideal. You are allowed to take food and milk to feed your baby.

Choose wooden ( not noisy) toys. I picked up a a few from Kmart and he loved them
Pack some fruit, berries, water bottle, packet snacks, sandwich and milk if you are bottle feeding
Pack a sleep suit, blanket and comforter on the flight
Pack jumper and socks in case it gets cold
Nappies, change mat, cream, wipes, hand sanitiser

We also booked a window and aisle in hopes no one will sit in the middle, this worked for us on the way there! I would do this again. He also loved looking out the window. Be prepared that you will be entertaining them every minute they are awake, its hard for them to be in a confined space if they are used to crawling/walking around. That’s why the toys and food come in handy.

We bough the Baby Jogger City Tour travel pram and we loved it! I also received compliments at the airport when people saw me folding it and putting it in the travel bag so easily! It held up really well on the Bali roads too. We carried ours on the plane as hand luggage. Airlines will usually check your pram and travel cot for free.

Accommodation:

I loved staying in a villa! Xavi had so much space to crawl and play. Also at night time we could put him to sleep in the room and we were able to watch tv and unwind in the lounge or swimming pool area, without bothering him. I would definitely only stay in a villa with a baby. Thats just my preference. We used Bali Villa Escapes and stayed at the Istana Satu Villa

In bali there is a lot of convienience that can be purchased! You can hire pool fences, toys, cots, walkers, have organic food delivered, have groceries delivered etc

I used Bali Baby Hire for toys and I went to the local Bintang Supermarket to purchase bread, fruit, milk, cheese, snacks to have in the villa so he could have fresh fruit everyday. Most villas will provide this for you and a lot also have villa room service.

Although I didn’t order any meals for Xavi because he just ate what we ate and I bought some organic sachets with us, there is a great company that makes organic baby food and snacks and delivers it to you! You can find more information here Mini Muncher

I bought a box of 1.5lt water to bath Xavi in everyday. We used 1 bottle plus 2 cups of boiled water for his bath water and his bath gel. We had hired a bath tub that was delivered the night we landed. There was no issue with him getting the water in his mouth if that is a concern.

Essentials:

So when it comes to packing for your baby, its easy to go overboard! I thought I had packed too much but I literally used everything I packed. It also depends on when you travel to Bali. July/August has beautiful weather and towards the end of the year is hotter and humid. The villa also provided a travel cot and mosquito net ( which is a must) in Bali, but you can hire them.

Sleeping:

Bonds zippy wonder suits for sleeping ( yes its hot but the aircon is cold)
Sleeping bag
Sleep sounds (If your baby uses them) Baby Sound Spa
I also bought the Adair kids room spray as we use this very night at home
Their teddy/blanky/comforter

Play:

I bought the Glen20 and sprayed all the toys I hired and high chair after every use
I hired a walker which we use at home and he also loved it in Bali
For swimming he loved the Swim Trainer
We used the Huggies Little Swimmers
We used the Soleo Organics sunscreen everyday
We also loved the Mood Insect Repellent

Feeding:

I bought plenty of organic snacks and Only Organic Sachets, I bought enough for x3 per day ( just in case)
I bought a travel bowl, utensils and bibs. I loved the B.Box Range
I also loved the Medea Quick Clean Microwave Bags I used them at least 4 times per day to sterilise Xavi’s bottles/utensils/breast pump parts.
I also took my Enjo Vegetable Cloth because I literally use this everyday for his fruit

Clothes:

You can never have too many and they are so small they don’t take up too much room! Aim for 2-3 outfits per day! We took lots of short sleeved leg rompers, shorts, singlets, and singlet onesies!

I hope some of the above can help you and ease the stress of travelling with your bubs!

If you have any more questions please record below or see my saved stories on Instagram!

Firstly I find that there is alot of information available for this stage but like all the stages it can be conflicting and a confusing time for mums! Often when we feel confused, we tend to have some anxiety around the process. What to start with? Is he ready? What are the signs? Some mums tell me to wait, some mums tell me to start, my doctor says something different, start with purees or finger foods etc…

So I’m going to outline how we started, what I did and what our 6/7 month current solids/milk routine is now!

I had done a lot of research, read articles and books and I decided to start baby Xavi at 4 months of age. He was showing signs that I was looking for and he had doubled his birth weight. He was reaching for food and drinks in my hand and looking at me when I was eating or drinking. So I decided it was time to start him.

I chose to use organic produce to start with. I used pumpkin, butternut pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots and baby porridge. The first day I tried him at lunchtime and over the next few weeks we continued that. I used my finger first, then a soft tipped spoon. The amount was 1-2 teaspoons at first and then he started to take more. I fed him until he told me to stop. Signs to look for are avoiding the spoon, arching back, ignoring you, clamping their mouth shut or crying. He took to solids really well! We stopped often to give him cooled boiled water to help with constipation. Soon he had worked his way up to two feeds per day at a few teaspoons per sitting.

We unfortunately encountered constipation to which I tried all the remedies, I was unhappy after two weeks of it so I decided to stop solids and keep him on breast milk until it subsided. I did this for two weeks then I started him back. In hindsight I would not do this again, as he refused the spoon when we started so I had to go to finger foods! Xavi baby still has issues on and off with hard stools but we manage it the best we can with extra water and fruits (Prunes, Pears, Plums, Peaches etc) and probiotics.

Every baby is different, some are ready when you try them, some are not, some get constipated, some don’t, some love your cooking and some don’t. It’s all a learning curve and as long as you remember not to take it too seriously you will both have fun.

I started to add in meat and tried him on the usual allergy type foods (eggs, peanut butter, fish) before he was 6 months as the research I had done specified it may reduce their risk of allergy’s if tried before 6 months.

After the first few weeks of adding in different vegetables each day, I decided to mix it all up and get creative. I cook 90% of his food and we use organic food sachets also. I have lots of fun creating dishes for him and now what I cook myself to eat I l give him some as long as I haven’t added any salt or sugar.

We do fruit and cereal (with added iron) for breakfast, vegetables for lunch and meat/fish for dinner. He is currently on 4 hourly milk feeds

Here is a typical day:

6.00am Wake and Milk feed
7.00am Breakfast
8.00am Nap Time
10am Milk feed
11.30am Lunch
12.00pm Nap Time
2.00pm Milk Feed
3.30pm Nap Time
4.30/5.00pm Dinner
6pm Milk Feed
6.30pm Bed

So I leave 1 hour at least between milk and solids. During the day its milk first, then solids. Before bed its solids then an expressed bottle after bath time.

This is working great for us and he is now on about 3 tablespoons of food per sitting plus 2 snacks during the day. I also give him finger foods at every sitting so he can play, eat, learn and explore textures. I steam up different fruit and vegetables, grate cheese, soft pasta etc

I hope this helps some mums out there starting out with solids!

Remember just have fun with it and enjoy the process.

Tag: Babyboy

Travelling to Bali with a Baby

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