Travelling with Kids - What to bring

(Daddy compiles)

I have been receiving a few emails from Daddies & Mummies alike, asking what sort of gear do we pack for our holiday trips. So in light of the upcoming NATAS Travel Fair, I thought why not share our To-Bring list for our travels with everyone.

Personally, I feel the need (and temptation) to lug as many things as possible for a holiday trip with kids comes at the time when the child is between 1 to 3 years old. It is also perhaps the most taxing period for travelling as well. Infants are relatively easy while those beyond 3 years of age can be reasoned (coupled with a generous dose of patience!) or bribery/blackmail/intimidation if all else fails. Heh.

On with the list then!

1. FIRST AID KIT

Sickness and accidents do happen, especially with young children around. The last thing we would want is to be caught off-guard with any emergencies while in a foreign land, so these are the first things that always go into our luggage.

• Medicine - For trips lasting more than 4 nights, we would usually purchase a 'travel-pack' from our family doctor and this pack would contain medicine for fever, running nose and cough. Depending on the country that we are visiting, we would sometimes bring along medicine for diarrhoea and constipation as well.
• Digital Thermometer - to take my own temperature if the kids make my blood boil.
• Breathe Right Nasal Strips or Vicks - in case the kids' get clogged up at night and cause great distress. I think the distress part refers to us parents. 
• Insect Repellent - if only it repels those pesky touts too.
• Sun Screen lotion - at least SPF50 for us.
• Lip Balm for kids
• Plasters
• Nappy Rash cream
• Hand Sanitizer

2. FOOD

Compared to her 2 brothers, Ale is one big snack monster. Which is probably a good thing, since we are able to shut her up by piling her with all her fave snacks.

• Milk powder - The nightmare of lugging tins and tins of milk powder on our holiday trips begins when Ale stops her breastfeeding. So for now, I just have to remember to bring the wifey along.
• Pediasure Milk Powder - As a precaution however, we bring along a tin of Pediasure. Just in case any of the kids suffers a loss of appetite or falls sick during the trip.
• Milk Feeding accessories - Milk bottles, milk dispenser containers, bottle brush, detergent & thermos flash for hot water.
• Cereal & Jar food - The cereal is usually for breakfasts, and the jar food is on standby in case we can't find any suitable food for Ale during our travels.
• Cutlery for meals - A pair of spoon & fork, and also a plastic container.
• Bibs - We hardly use them, but just thought it might be useful to include it into the list.
• Noodle Cutter - This ranks as one of our most important item on the list. This comes in very handy for noodle dishes, and also for cutting those long strands of vegetables.
• Biscuits, gummies, and other snacks - to keep them quiet
• Water bottle - knock them on the head to keep them quiet. Just kidding.

3. ESSENTIAL BABY GEAR

Enough said.

• Books & Toys - Pack a few of their fave books & toys and alternate between them during those long hours of travelling in the plane or on the road. 
• Doodle pad & Journal book- we find it to be extremely useful for the boys as they spend their whatever free time that they have drawing and writing about their travel experience.
• Bolsters or other bedtime soft toys - Yes, we used to squeeze Ash's & Ayd's bolsters into our luggage as they do provide them a great sense of comfort especially in a foreign land. Luckily for us, this is no longer in practice.
• Diapers & Wet Wipes - Pull-up diapers are our choice when it comes to travelling. Sometimes we are hard-pressed to find a decent diaper-changing room so erm, the park bench will suffice and that's when pull-ups are definitely more convenient.
• Ziploc Bags - for soiled clothes, diapers or puke. And in case I vomit blood.
• Shampoo & Bath foam
• Toothbrush & Toothpaste
• Laundry detergent - if you are planning to wash soiled clothes.
• Baby Stroller - try to do a research on the country you would be holidaying in if the walkways are stroller-friendly. You wouldn't want to be lugging it up and down countless flights of steps. I've been there and done that, and it gave me such a good workout.
• Baby Carrier - A further better workout would come in the form of this, and we are using the Ergo Baby Carrier. In fact, it has served us well all these years... ever since Ash was born!
• Portable Booster Seat - We are using the Sack 'n' Seat, also since Ash's time and it is a godsend especially if we can't find a baby high chair during meal times.

4. DADDY'S GEAR

Also known as Daddy's geeky toys.

• iPhone. iPod. iPad. iCan'tDoWithoutThem.
• Laptop
• Camera & lenses - don't forget the batteries!
• ALL chargers for the gadgets above.

Uh-oh. I feel the travel bug biting again.