Canada to village in the South with 8 month old. What to bring? Babies adapt well right?

[meme]

We are travelling to my husband's village from Canada in August. Although I used to live there (In Trang, not his village), and we have made many a trip since we have been in Canada, this is our first time with our son and it seems extremely overwhelming!

Mainly the travel. We have a 4 hour, 11 hour and 7 hour flight and then overnight in BKK and then down south. We will be staying in our house that we share with mom and sister, so we have our own room and bathroom but no aircon. Trang is just 15 min away so we have access to all the major stores. I guess we will have to purchase something for him to sleep in when we get there, not sure what else...Is there anything that we must bring? Any other tips welcome!

[Boo]

Bring what we call a cat net, it's like a fitted sheet but a net, it's great for hooking over the buggy & cot when baby is asleep to keep bugs out. I found a stack of muslin squares invaluable, great for using as a light weight blanket, sun blocker, puke cloth etc. They are very light weight, can be washed in a sink & dry in a few minutes in the sun.

A baby carrier is better for Bangkok than a buggy, also useful on the flight for holding baby but having hands free. I would invest if you don't have one with a very light weight maclaren type umbrella buggy, one that can lay flat, these are useful for eating out & letting baby sleep.

Take Milton wipes to keep surfaces & Milton tablets for sterilization. I never found either in Thailand.

Apart from that just some light weight short style baby grows, nappies, formula, cots etc can all be found at any big Tesco. My son had a cot with mosquito netting side, so with the cat net on top he was well protected. I would also personally bring large fitted cot sheets, the local stuff tends to be a bit polyester-y(!).

Have fun

http://www.mothercare.com/muslins/feeding_muslins,default,sc.html

http://www.mothercare.com/Mothercare-Cat-Net/755897,default,pd.html

[cnx355]

And the heat if really a problems for you and the baby, maybe "make a gift to the family" and install an air condition in your room. Not more expensive than a few days in a Bangkok Hotel room.

And when you visit again, you will enjoy your cool room again to sleep. Just an idea if heat and mosquitoes are a problem.

[northernboy]

You will find it less stressful than you think. Just choose a good flight and arrive early at airport and get them to book each leg at the bulkhead so you have room.

The bug net is a God send what we did was make elastic fitting so it fit well on the buggy and yet big enough mesh to allow good air flow in the mesh. Also pick one up in Thailand for him to sleep under when in bed or if someones house.

Also bring sun screen for babies and test it before he comes for any reaction. also bring extra non spill drinking containers are great and expensive here.

I do not recommend the air-conditioner. It just makes the outside and in side temperature worse to handle. Canada is hot season there so should be used to some heat already but watch out for sun here heats up real quickly so bring light colour natural fabrics for the son.

Thai will give lots of attention but be careful not to let them overdo it.

[little mary sunshine]

Break up the trip and stay a couple of nights during this trip

You have an 8 month old to consider.

Good supply of any pediatric meds you child may be

Taking now, check with the pediatrician about

Additional vaccination for the baby, mosquito

Netting for the stroller, also some of the same

Soap you are now using, don't want to take the

Chance of allergic reaction to different local

Products.

[kingstonkid]

You will find it less stressful than you think. Just choose a good flight and arrive early at airport and get them to book each leg at the bulkhead so you have room.

I do not recommend the air-conditioner. It just makes the outside and in side temperature worse to handle. Canada is hot season there so should be used to some heat already but watch out for sun here heats up real quickly so bring light colour natural fabrics for the son.

Thai will give lots of attention but be careful not to let them overdo i

Canada has a hot season??????????? I lived there for 50 years and it has a warmer season but not a hot season and even that depends on where you live.

An AC is not a bad idea just do not go overboard with the temperature.

Never traveled with daughter as a baby on a plane but would suggest making sure you have small things to amuse it, also check with your ped about what to do with air pressure changes. A baby will feel them and does not know what to do like most of us.

I am assuming that you are doing the canada Japan Bangkok trip. I would make sure that you do get to the airport early and as soon as the flight crew show up go and talk to them.

I would also suggest getting one of those kid sacks so you do not have to fuss with a stroller getting on and off the plane. Also moving through the crowd they will have more sympathy for you.

This will get me blasted but motion sickness tablets are great for making babies sleep.

[Woofer]

Personally,I would not stay at the village, Not healthy place for a baby from a Western country. I would stay in a hotel at Trang. Friends of mine stayed in a village for a week and their 2 yr got a infection and had to spend three nights in hospital. My daughter is four and she and my wife stayed a night in her village when I picked them up; they did not want to stay a second night. Although that was in the hot season in Surin. Good luck.

[meme]

Thanks everyone! Good tips. I do have a baby carrier that we will bring, I am worried that it will be too hot though. I will bring sheets for sure, and a net. Where we live its around +20-30 degrees C in the summer. We have been to the travel clinic re: vaccinations. I wonder if they sell a laundry detergent without perfumes and dyes like we use here. We are going to break up the trip a bit, but only by staying in Portland for a couple of days, so we still have the Japan leg to Bkk and overnight at BKK.

Thanks again!

[enufsaid]

Meme, definetly get an air conditioner , nothing in Canada could prepare a baby for the heat & humidity of thailand . Babies that get over heated not only get dehydrated very quickly, but will become very unwell very quickly. Mosquito nets are hugely important but air conditioning is a must for s child/baby & anyone saying any different is irresponsible .

[snowpea83]

I came back to Thailand with our then 3 month old. We lived in my husbands village for a while. His village has no electricity or running water, so I was a bit worried about a 3 month old with steralizing bottles etc...

Sounds like you will have electricity etc, which will make things easier My suggestions would be:

-Milton, Milton and more milton! As Boo said, you cannot get it or anything equivalent here. If you don't have a microwave to sterilize things in, milton is great (also great for nights in hotel rooms).

- Sterilizing bags, these are easy to transport bags to sterilize in the microwave.

- Baby carrier and stroller on the plane. The plane will check the stroller for free as carry on, so you can have it during transfers, seriously good when you have bags and a baby (you can carry the bags in it and carry the baby, or vise versa).

- Book the baby bassinet seat on the plane (gives you more leg room and space to stand and hold the baby and also the bassinet for them to sleep in)

- All the mothers I know, say fly with tylanol, remember anything baby related is exempt for liquid rules, so take EVERYTHING you think you may possibly need on the plane. Our baby bag was bigger than our own carry ons.

- look up travelling with children, there is a wealth of resources out there.

That's all I can think of now, feel free to PM me if you need anymore info.

Good Luck!

[Jaggg88]

You can book bassinet seats on the aircraft (I think all long haul carriers do them without charge). Its a bulkhead seat with a cot (bassinet) fixed to the wall in front of you which gives you and baby a break. We took our son when he was 10 months old and he was very good on the plane. There's no need to break the journey as at 8 months old everything is normal for the baby they will take it in there stride. However I would worry about not having aircon if it gets really hot. Perhaps you could hire a mobile unit from Trang. The mozzy nets are a must as its important not to let the baby get bitten as Dungue Fever is very prevalent now. We had a baby buggy with a baby seat attached and found this the best combo in BKK.

[RueFang]

Hi Meme! Sorry for late response, been a looong time since I've checked in to the forums! Mr Meme must be so excited! Get ready to be overwhelmed by the force of nature that is the hundreds of family and friends that will want to touch your lil one! We took our lil man at 6 months and 13 months to the village. First visit was a dream because he was just a blob, not walking, still mostly breast fed, had only just started minimal solids and he slept all the time - on the planes and in the village. Second visit, plane trips were AWFUL! Didn't sleep much as he couldn't get comfortable, cried a lot. Hopefully your bub is still at the lovely sleep a lot phase! Definitely take something for him to suck or chew on for takeoff and landing so his ears don't hurt. Second visit he was also a lot less tolerant of all the touching and in-your-face attention so was very clingy to me the whole time, which is pretty draining..and hot! He did come out in a severe heat rash both visits as he's not used to the humidity, so lots of baths and cold washers to keep cool and a fan at close proximity at sleep times. I'm sure the in-laws will douse him in baby powder from head to toe the second you leave the room anyway

We just slept on mats/blankets on the floor and used those huge, framed net thingies over us..they are fantastic! I'm sure the fam will already have them at the ready for your arrival! We had no need at all for a pram..it's the village, a million people will be around to carry him and you don't need at beaches. Airports have them to borrow while you're walking around inside anyway.

Since he's not walking yet, the trip should be a breeze, no chasing around required. The only thing to potentially worry about is where your baby is if you lose sight of him for a minute! I was forever looking for lil man cos people having cuddles would just walk off with him to show him off to other neighbours/friends/family! Just try to stay chilled, keeping in mind that everyone is just in love with him and wants to share! They don't have the same boundaries we do, as you know, but obviously if anything makes you uncomfy, grab bub and have a time out.

I'd also take your own washing powder as bubs sensitive skin can react to the harsh perfumes in ones found in Thailand. Have a wonderful trip, would love to hear how it all goes!

[krisb]

Personally,I would not stay at the village, Not healthy place for a baby from a Western country. I would stay in a hotel at Trang. Friends of mine stayed in a village for a week and their 2 yr got a infection and had to spend three nights in hospital. My daughter is four and she and my wife stayed a night in her village when I picked them up; they did not want to stay a second night. Although that was in the hot season in Surin. Good luck.

Oh well sorry to hear that but my daughter had been twice by the time she was 1 And not a problem.

Plus there's millions of kids in villages all over Thailand. Some get sick occasionally

Edited July 25, 2015 by krisb

[krisb]

Only thing I did was put an air con in the village house. Was to hot for me and the baby and that's coming from Australian heat. Straight to Tesco following day and 17k later it was installed by Tesco.

The only other thing we had issues with was running out of formula milk and baby hated other brands. With us she was on lactose free formula so I could only find 2 others in Thailand which she hated.

As for the other poster and infections, wrap your kid in cotton wool then.