[Steve]

We're planning a 2.5 week long holiday to England and one other country, possibly Spain, in September. We plan to fly between both countries and drive around in them.

Our baby will be seven months old when we go. He is an angel and rarely makes a fuss. He also doesn't have as fixed a routine as some infants in terms of sleeping and eating, which can be an issue at home but I guess probably helps when we travel.

Anyone have any tips they can share, do's don'ts, etc.? While our baby is extremely well-behaved at home, loves the company of strangers and being out and about in new places, can we expect that the change in environment will be a problem? Anything we should know about coping with the plane journeys?

Are we being too ambitious in assuming that we will be able to cover a fair bit of ground during our holiday (two countries plus a lot of road miles)?

[shri]

A few of tips...

Be careful of what he touches. Dhruv put something or the other in his mouth at the CX lounge and was puking all over us through out the flight.

We suspect it was some virus that he caught.

AND

He started teething. Was three days of sheer hell, but he recovered and we had a few good days in San Francisco. Make sure you carry some teething powder if he's showing signs of teething.

Dhruv had a blast on the flight and was at one point being passed around some tour group and everyone wanted to play with him (For some reason the Taiwanese and Thai tour groups love babies!).

The CX bassinet is pretty decent .. although the space you have in economy is really restricted. If you've got premium status, make sure you ask the airlines to block a seat next to you, so you end up getting three seats between you and your wife.

I'm sure you'll have fun .. we had a blast with Dhruv on all our trips (we're in Bangkok and this is his third trip in 13 months).

:)

[Steve]

Thanks Rani for the reply. Adam is starting teething now. We'll see how how things develop.

If anything we are expecting the bulk of the hassle to come from lugging everything around (pram, carseat, etc.). Adam is really sweet-tempered and I'll bet he'll love the travel.

[shri]

Steve, its me Shri, that responded. :)

Try to get yourself an ultralight stroller and car seat. The lighter the better. Lots of car companies in the US / Europe rent car seats from what I've heard, so that may lighten the load that you have to carry.

I think kids are petty adaptible.. far more than parents are. :)

[rani]

Steve,

In additon to teething powder, don't forget to pack some Calpol in case Adam gets a fever from the teething. I also took some cough syrup just in case.

Also some new toys for the flight is a must.

Rani