Travel
My tips for packing and travel, whether locally or overseas.
Make sure you check availability of essentials where you’re going. We travelled to an island in Fiji when our daughter was 8 months old and there were no shops on the island, so I made sure to pack enough nappies, wipes and formula.
From For your newborn: backpack, white noise machine, monitor, carrier, mosquito stickers and Izimini chair (if you think you’ll need it and it fits!).
From Starting Solids: if your baby has only just started solids and you’re need an option for the plane, I’d recommend Norish or Rafferty’s.
Travel Pram: Redsbaby
We love our Redsbaby Skip². I picked ours mine during a sale and got the rain cover, sleep shade and cup holder thrown in! It’s one of the best value options on the market as well as one of the lightest at 6.9kg. It’s compact but with plenty of storage, doesn’t require assembly and opens and closes as one item. The seat can recline to almost-flat to encourage better and longer naps while out and about - not every travel pram has this feature! You’ll want to make sure your baby has great head control before using a sit-up travel pram, otherwise you might need one with an interchangeable bassinet like the YOYO - but FYI this is an expensive pram, made even more expensive by the add-ons.
Portacot: Bugaboo
We purchased the Bugaboo Stardust which was recommended by the crew at Baby Bunting. I’ve used several other cots and can confidently say this is the fastest and easiest cot to assemble and disassemble. It’s lightweight and easy to move. It might look smaller than others (I thought so at first) - but it’s not an issue. So far we’ve had babies from 3 months up to 20 months happily use it.
Trust me, I know how hilarious this one looks. I originally purchased it for an trip where we shared a room with our baby and it’s honestly been an amazing purchase. We now use it whenever we share a room with our baby and friends have borrowed for their trips too. It’s surprisingly easy to put up, stretches to fit over most cots, is a breathable fabric, has a pouch for the monitor and a zip window so making it easy to get bub in and out. Best of all and what sealed the deal for me - once zipped closed, it blocks out light from the room so you can continue to use your room and enjoy your holiday after your baby has gone to bed! Tip: shop around online for the best price.
Sterilising tablets: Milton
You can easily pick these up at Chemist Warehouse, Priceline, Coles, Baby Bunting or Amazon. These were great to use if we didn’t have a dishwasher or kitchen available to clean bottles. We used them on a trip to Fiji - just filled our bathroom sink with bottled water and dropped in a tablet (if tap water is safe where you’re going just use tap water).