Hey Sarah what all did you pack for your sweet girl when you guys went back to Oahu? Anything you wish you would have brought or anything you did bring that could've been left at home?
Malia- You guys are headed back to Oahu for Christmas right? Just curious if you've already started making a list of what you'll bring.
We are trying to travel with minimal luggage just for sanity's sake. I scored a barely used graco travel system on craigslist for $25 so we can use that instead of ours in case the airline jacks it up like they normally do. I can't seem to find a travel bag big enough for those big ol stollers that aren't $100. Any recs on what I can use for Matty when we are at the beach? He needs shade but the baby tents I see seem like they'll be more trouble than help. Any ideas you ladies have would be greatly appreciated. TIA
J
Re: Mrs Ziz and Myday1708
I packed my moby wrap which Bella LOVES!! She was in it far more than she was in the stroller. The moby is our lifesaver
We bought a baby tent for the shade when we got there and it SUCKED!!! It blew over and was a PITA! DH thinks a regular small camping tent would've worked. She could've been in the shade and I could've bf in there too. Instead we just parked ourselves under a shady area and kept her covered in sunscreen. Our pedi said it was fine to use. She said the reason the bottle says over 6 months is to prevent (stupid) people from leaving their small child in direct sunlight. We had 2 little hats that we rotated while we were there to keep sun out of her face. We packed cute outfits but I wish we would've packed more onesies then we did.
For traveling, I gate checked our travel system and put each one in a giant trash bag at the gate. That seemed to protect them. There wasn't any damage to the car seat or stroller. Oh and take purel with you for traveling. I washed my hands and pureled a ton!
That's all I can think of for now, I'll add if I think of anything else.
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
Sorry to butt in but just wanted to share what worked for us last year when we took DS to Hawaii for the holidays (he was almost 3 months old at the time).
Totally agree about the baby carrier, it's a great thing to take and have on your trip especially at the airport. We used our Baby Bjorn. If we weren't wearing it then it was with us at all times (it's great for the airplane if you have walk around to entertain/calm baby down).
We took our travel system. Since we bought a seat for DS on the plane, we took the car seat on the plane and the stroller was gate-checked in this stroller bag. It didn't get damaged in transit.
The only baby item we checked as luggage was the pack n' play. His clothes and a package of diapers were put in my big bag, we also had room for a few small toys in the pack n' play bag.
We have family on Oahu that loaned us a play mat and a bouncy chair, both were really useful. There are places where you can rent baby gear on the island like Baby's Away if you don't want to haul stuff with you.
For the beach, we picked up a tent at the sporting goods store. It was great to put all our stuff in it and while DS was asleep in his car seat however once he got up, he just wanted out. I ended up walking around the park (we were at Ala Moana Beach Park, at Magic Island) while DH cleaned up. I hope you have better luck at the beach w/baby
I only packed minimal stuff that I could buy there, like diapers, to save room in the luggage. It was really helpful that I packed some breakfast bars, small packages of oatmeal, package of crackers, etc since we didn't get out to the store as soon as we got there and it was nice to have a little something when we checked-in.
The one thing I wish I had before we left is a manual breast pump. I wish I could have pumped on the plane (DS slept almost the entire time and when he got up, he only ate off one boob so the other was completely engorged). Bottom line is that it would have been nice to have a small, discreet manual pump to have at all times because I really believe that my milk production went down due to our trip. I ended up buying one while we were there but by the time we found one that I wanted (a Medela one at the Kahala Mall), I didn't really need it anymore, I really needed it at the beginning of the trip.
When we got to Oahu, I stayed in the baggage section w/DS and the bags while DH got on the shuttle to get the rental car with the base with DS's car seat. It seemed like a nighmare to schlep all our luggage and the baby on the car rental shuttle with a million other people. So the baby and I just hung out in baggage and DH came and picked us up
HTH!