The Other Voice: Traveling with tots

Written by Sara Al Sayer, one of the most energetic and playful parents I know... Enjoy!

Most parents, myself included, who have traveled with kids, will have horror stories of disastrous journeys. However, we also have the most wonderful memories of holidays with our kids and no matter what kind of hell we went through on the journey, it was totally worth it.  I have found, though, that the more we travel with our kids, the easier they find the journey. Living away from Kuwait has made my kids seasoned travelers, and I have picked up some good tips along the way.

Planning and preparing them:

Before we travel, I like to countdown the number of sleeps we have with my kids until we leave. We talk about where we are going and who we will see and what we will do there.  We talk about how many planes we have to take to get there (three to Kuwait from Koh Samui where we live). They choose what they would like to take on the journey and help me pack it into our hand luggage. My eldest has this fantastic bag called a "trunki" (available from Oleana boutique) that he can pull along or ride while I pull it that he puts his toys in. I also make sure that they have whatever entertains them - their portable DVD player, iPad, coloring books etc. I tend to bring snacks for them as airlines typically have a lot of junk food for kids. I bring a change of clothes for them, and for me just in case accidents happen.

Some airlines like Emirates are particularly child friendly and if I can, I tend to travel with them. I love that they provide a push-chair for us to use in Dubai. When I travel with a baby (as their prams are not for babies), I bring a baby sling to use in the airport. If it is an overnight flight, I bring their pajamas to help keep some semblance of normality and to help them sleep.  When possible, I try to book flights that fit in with their timings so it is not too traumatic for them.  If you are traveling with a baby, it is helpful to feed them during take off and landing as this will help their ears to pop. I use a "bebe au lait" breastfeeding cover (destination maternity sell them) which are a fantastic invention - a piece of material that ties around your neck and enables you to breastfeed without exposing yourself to the people around you. It also has a wire running through the top to keep it more rigid so that you can look down onto your baby and see what you are doing. If the baby won't feed then a dummy is also useful.  

Where to stay?  

We look for different things in hotels depending on what stage our kids are at. The most important thing though, is that it is child friendly. We look for kids clubs and hotels that have activities for kids. Some hotels will even make pureed veggies for your baby if they are just starting solids.  If not, there is a great little machine from munchkin (you can buy it in mothercare) that will puree food for you and it doesn't need any plugs. It's called “baby food grinder”. This is small enough to fit in your handbag so that you can even take it with you to a restaurant.  Munchkin also have a netted fresh food feeder that you can put fruit or veggies in for the baby to chew on and the net prevents them from choking on the pieces that may break off.  We have recently discovered that hotels with private villas are great for kids because you can put the kids to sleep and then take the monitor and sit outside to enjoy the rest of the evening without disturbing them.

The first time that you travel with your children is daunting, but it is such a fun thing to do if you travel prepared. Try to keep to their routines when possible.  Bring a selection of bedtime stories if that is part of it, because it will help them settle. Don't stress if they are not eating all the things they normally eat - a holiday is just a short period of time and it won't harm them to have a few days without veggies. If you end up in battles at every mealtime, you will all be miserable.  

Most importantly of all, have fun! That is what you are there for after all, and all those wonderful memories are worth it...

"The Other Voice"- Is our contributing authors post.  If you would like to contribute, email me at zalzabin@gmail.com for approval, editing and eventual posting:)

The Other Voice: Car seats

Another wonderful and educational  "The Other Voice" post, this one is by a great friend and an inspirational young mum, Dana Al-Fulaij...

Your baby will need a car seat the moment s/he leaves the hospital and will need one as s/he becomes a toddler and eventually a full-grown child. For this post, we will focus on the infant and toddler car seats (birth – 4 years old).

Infant Car Seat (Birth – 12 months, 0-13kg)

The Infant car seat will stay with the newborn until he/she is approximately 12 months old. This car seat is rear-facing which offers the best protection for the baby of that age and weight. You may think that it is boring for the child to face the back of the seat and not the front, or you may worry that you can’t see the child if you are driving in the front seat, but it is the safest option for the baby. You can easily find little mirrors to attach to the back seat so that you can see the baby and the baby can see some bright colors to keep busy throughout the ride.

 

Recommendation:

There are many infant car seats available in the market now, and my favorite is the Maxi Cosi Pebble.  The Pebble is lightweight, cushioned, and has “stay open straps” that make it easier to secure the baby into the car seat (you won’t have to struggle to find the seatbelt under the baby, it always stays up).

 

Another feature of the Pebble is that it fits on the Maxi Cosi Family Fix Base, which is a must if you will be taking the car seat around with you wherever you go. We all know that newborns are almost always sleeping (and we want to keep them sleeping), so keeping the baby in the car seat becomes an easy solution when you can easily “click” the car seat in and out of its base. The Family Fix Base will always be secured in your car so that you don’t have to worry about installing and uninstalling the car seat every time you go for a ride.

The convenience of having the car seat and base combo also carries on to the stroller. Maxi Cosi provides adaptors for many of the strollers (Quinny, Stokke, Bugaboo), which allows you to use the car seat on the stroller itself. This means that you won’t have to un-strap and re-strap your baby into the stroller when you are finished from your outing. Again, this is convenient when your baby is sleeping and you can keep him/her sleeping through the car ride since you won’t touch the baby when taking him/her from the stroller into the car.

A unique feature of the Pebble and Family Fix Base is that once your child outgrows the Pebble car seat and is ready to move to a forward facing car seat, you can keep the base and just attach the Pearl Toddler Seat. That means that with one base you can attach both the Infant Pebble and the Toddler Pearl car seats on the same base, a two for one deal.

Unfortunately, the Family Fix base is not yet sold in Kuwait. You can order it online from www.justkidding-me.com and they will ship directly to Kuwait from Dubai. They have the full line of car seats and accessories as well which you can order.

If you do not want to buy the family fix base and just want an infant car seat that can be installed using the car’s seat belt, then I recommend the Maxi Cosi Cabrio Fix.

Toddler Car Seats ( 9 months – 4 years, 9-18 kg)

Maxi Cosi Pearl:

This is the best-tested toddler car seat from the Maxi Cosi brand. It offers the “stay open straps”, an adjustable headrest that can grow with your toddler, and the option to have the car seat easily tilted to 5 different positions from sitting to sleeping.

The Pearl only attaches to the Family Fix Base. So if you do not intend on buying the base, then I recommend the Maxi Cosi Tobi, which can be installed using the car’s seat belt.

"The Other Voice"- Is our contributing authors post.  If you would like to contribute, email me at zalzabin@gmail.com for approval, editing and eventual posting:)