Travel Day

Hello, Eeveryone :)

You know that feeling you get when you step out of the plane and the heat hits you with all it's force :)? Being couped up inside due to bad weather and cold in England I am currently experiencing a feeling I can't really describe. It's a mixture of tiredness and happiness and buzz all at the same time. We have only been here for a day and a bit and as you might have noticed this post is late....due to no fault of mine really. Because apparently having wifi in rooms is such a tabu here in Cabo Verde I have been unable to write at the times I usually do. 

I am not saying there is no Internet what so ever, that would be just crazyness :D but it's only in the lobby/bar area and I didn't really want to leave D alone in the room with a sleeping Oscar on the first night :D

But let me tell you about the joy that was travelling with a 16 month old for about 8 hours (6 hours of that in a plane). And I'm not even joking about the ''joy'' part of this as it really couldn't have been better. Well it can always be better, but what we got was pretty damn good as well. 

I know no one really wants to hear a happy story, but I thin I still learnt a few tricks along the way that I can share with all the mama's going to travel in the near future :)

We only had about 45 minutes of this blissfull sleep until the silly lady started talking too loundly, but it was nice none the less and gave us a well needed break of entertaining the little one to keep him happy.

So here are my 5 tips to last a ''semi'' long flight with a toddler

1. Get new toys - I give all the credit to Dan for this one, because he was the one researching the good toys to get and actually got them in time and then managed to not give them to Oscar ahead of time. 

The 2 things I thought were pretty awesome were the buckle pillow, that you can see on the picture and sticker books.

The buckle pillow kept him entertained for a good half an hour initally and then he kept going back to it. So it was definitely a WIN. And the sticker book (stickers you can re-attach) is another one of those things he had so much fun with. To be honest he has been loving sticking little stickers everywhere lately, which is why D got it in the first place, but the fact that you can stick them on the pages and stick them again and again, is what made a huge difference. 

2. Bring snacks - the unheathy kind you know he will love

3. Be calm - you are locked in an airplane for the duration of the flight, so no matter how angry you will get, you will not be getting off early :D SO why bother stressing yourself and everyone around you out by being a stresshead.

4. pack all the baby stuff is one bag in separate zip lock bags, so everything will be easy to find when you need it. Snacks and drinks in one bag, diapers and wipes in another, toys and books in the third....you get the idea. Also pack a set of spare clothes...there might be explosions of all kind

5. If strangers wants to help you out.... let them :D you are in a contained space so no one can steal your child, so if he is willing to go for a little walk down the isle with a complete stranger, then let him :D you will get a little breather and your child will have a little change of scenery so to say.

But all in all we were so lucky with Oscar behaving so well on the flight and even during lift off and landing. And now it's our second night here and we are all enjoying it so much. More to come ...

So...As Always

Stay Tuned

xoxo

Meril

Packing For A Weekend Away

Hello, Everyone :)
Over the months me and D have become more and more confident in taking little trips away from home so I thought I'd share the tips and tricks I have learnt along the way on getting packed for a weekend away with a toddler.

I use to be so scared to leave the house other than for a few hours and not very far away :D I would think that anything that I hadn't prepared for would happen and I would be stranded in a restaurant with a naked baby, because he has had an explosive poo. Or that we would leave and I'd forget to pack his milk and he would starve and resent me for the rest of my life :D
Honestly the things I use to worry about I look back to now and think WHY?
Sans baby I use to be the most layed back traveller. I would set off with my passport and wallet and not worry weather I took that extra pair of jeans or snack. As long as I was able to get to where I was headed, everything else that I might have forgotten could be gotten there. And I have become more and more aware now as well, that it is pretty much the same when you travel with a toddler/baby. As long as you make sure you have the necessities, you are pretty much good to go. But obviously it's always good to be prepared for everything :) So here are my tips on getting packed for a few days away.

We actually are going somewhere, so I'm not here packing bags for no good reason :D D has got some work to do in and around London, so I figured I'll go as well and have a look around Windsor and surrounding areas :) I'll obviously do an update on those days for all of you and show what I got up to :)

First things first. The diaper bag...or any bag you use to keep diapers and wipes in. I had a period where I only used my handbag and had everything I needed for Oscar thrown in there with all my stuff...it worked until it didn't. SO now I like to keep my diaper bag packed at all times.

Things I have there at all times
 - diapers (pull up ones as Oscar does not stay still for the changes :D pull up diapers are so much easier for when you are on the go)
 - Pack of wipes - I use them for everything. Messy meal times, diaper changes, hand wipes...you name it.
 - Muslin cloth. Just to wipe things again or dry things.
 - Diaper bags. For diapers, rubbish, dirty clothing
 - A roll of clothes (video of me trying to do it before Oscar steals the clothes :D)

 - Pacifier/dummy - for those tantrum moments or nap times
 - Oscars Red Book. They tell you to bring it with you at all times....so I do
Things I pack before leaving
 - A toy of some sort. I like to change these around so this is why the toy is not always packed
 - Cup with juice or water
 - Depending on weather his milk feed will be at the time of when we are out and about I pack the things for that. But these days he rarely has milk outside
 - A bottle of water....for me :D and also in case he drinks his water and the cup needs refilling
 -  A zip lock bag with some snacks. At the moment there would be some string cheese, cucumber sticks and some Organix cheese and herb crisps. These are the things he can have while he is sitting in his pushchair or waiting for food in a restaurant/cafe. Just stuff he enjoys having at the moment. I don't worry too much about the snacks being healthy all the time, as it's not like we do this every day.
Whatever keeps him happy, I tell you guys :D
 - wallet (mine obviously)

And that is it. My diaper bag is the same one I got from Amazon when Oscar was teeny tiny and it does it's job. I love that I can use it as a cross body bag or attach it to the pushchair handle.

Things I pack in the suitcase
A little back story. We are going on Sunday and coming back on Tuesday. So I am packing for 3 days and 2 nights. We are staying in a hotel near Windsor and we are taking the car. Which is why I probably am taking more things than necessary :D If we would be going by train, which we do a lot as well, I would be more strategic. But I'll tell you about the extras as I go along.

 - 3 pyjamas. I know I said 2 nights but it's always a good idea to get an extra. Accidents happen  :)
 - 2 joggers and 1 pair of jeans/trousers
 - 2 sweaters
 - 2 bodysuits (1 short sleeve, 1 long sleeve)
 - 2 pairs of socks
 - 4 shirts (short sleeve ones and long sleeve ones)
 - A pack of diapers(pull up ones). This is what I would not normally do. What I did was I put 10 diapers in the suitcase and the rest of the pack in the car boot. I also have around 5 in the diaper bag at all times, so I do replenish them after use. The thing with diapers is that they sell them EVERYWHERE :D but the things with diapers is that if you run out accidentally then the trip to the shop could seem like a very long one :D and AGAIN ... accidents happen...hotel carpet and baby poo don't mix well :D 5 night time baby dry diapers. 2 nights, but sometimes, we need to change him during the night. 4 swim diapers as there is a pool in the hotel. And I might be going to a near by water park
 - A bib. It's not really something we use at all really for feeding times. But I use it as a scarf.
 - Little pack of medicines. Some calpol, teetha granules, medicine pacifier (we swear by this one. It is just so easy to give medicine to a baby/toddler with this, and there is no risk of overdose as it only fits about 4ml, which about 1 ml less than usual dose allowance :))plasters, diaper cream, body cream, toothbrush and something I always take now is 3 of the non slip bath mats ( just in case there isn't one in the hotel...I hate requesting it :DThat is my issue obviously)

 - 3 milk bottles and a bag of formula. Formula scoop and a container for a 1 feed formula (just in case) A bottle brush and some bottle wash. I hate washing the bottles in the hotel sink, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do eh?
 - extra pack of crisps ( I also have another zip lock bag with snacks in the car for the road, although we usually plan our longer drives while it's Oscars nap time)
I am also taking his fleece blanket and his pillow that he sleeps with and 2 extra pacifiers.
He also sleeps with his panda bear that we got in one of our Ikea trips and he absolutely loves it. The thing is that as I do like to be prepared for anything, the last time we went to Ikea we got another one and we keep that one in the car. So the panda is packed at all times. And in case one goes missing, we have a spare :)

And that is what I'm bringing for Oscar for our few days away :) As you can see everything fits in a little weekend bag and his diaper bag very well. And if there will be a time where I think I need something else I can always acquire it there and then :)

What are your non negotiable things you always pack for you child while travelling? 

Let me know in the comments below if you have any other tricks/tips you've learnt :)

And as always

Stay tuned

xoxo

Meril