KarenOn our recent holiday there were some things I really couldn’t have managed without for E. I’ve listed a few of them here as suggestions for anyone taking a young ‘un abroad.
Steriliser
At nine months old, he’s still bottle fed and of course those bottles need to be sterilised. I’m not a huge fan of using the microwave for sterilisation on a regular basis, so I didn’t really want to rely on that method while we were away. What I did instead was use a cold water travel steriliser from Milton. It sterilises just one bottle at a time but I just took enough bottles to last us a full day and then washed and sterilised them all in the evening. You can use it in the microwave too if you like.
Key features
- 2 in 1 microwave or cold water Single bottle Steriliser
- Ideal for travel, overnight stays or when you’re away from home
- Sterilises from 2 minutes in the microwave and in 15 mins with cold water
- Unique safety vent technology to increase the temperature inside the Solo for better sterilisation
- Innovative lay-flat lip to fit all microwaves
- Contents stay sterile for 24 hours
- BPA free
Baby toiletries
E doesn’t have daily baths because of his eczema, and he needs something gentle to use in his bathwater when he does. With that in mind we packed some sample sized toiletries from the new range at Lloyds Pharmacy. The full sized bottles start at just £1 and his skin didn’t flare up at all, so I was really pleased I had taken these.
The other bathroom essential in our bag was Sudocrem Care & Protect. Nappy rash, touch of sunburn, itchy bites – it soothes the skin for all of these things and we used it lots over the course of the holiday.
It’s thinner and more easily spreadable than regular Sudocrem but does all the same kind things to your skin. It comes in a small tube too so it fits easily into one of the many pockets on your average changing bag.
Mustela sun cream was the one thing I really had to look carefully at before using it on E’s sensitive skin. It was great though. He had no flare ups because of it and he didn’t catch the sun at all when he’d had it applied. We went out most days and on one particular day trip to Wild Florida, it was so hot it was almost unbearable. E was covered in Mustela sun lotion though and didn’t catch the sun at all. We were really pleased with it and would happily use it again on sensitive skin.
Drinking cup
E needs a more grown up drinking bottle for water now he’s a little bit older. We took a Dr. Brown’s trainer cup with us and although Lord Muck won’t actually hold any bottle himself (why would you when one of your minions will do it for you?) but he does like to drink out of it. We have to take the lid off though because otherwise E just wants to play with it!
I think we did really well to remember to take all of these essentials with us – I always forget something important when we go away (no airbeds on a camping holiday?!) but I did a good job this time!
Are there any absolute must-haves for you when you travel abroad? What are your baby travel essentials?
