Baby & child essentials to pack on holiday / vacation

I’ve spent 7 years travelling with babies and young children, often on my own. I’ve braved buses, trains, the London Underground, and every London airport.

I’ve been writing about my top tips and must-haves for any journey with young children, particularly where a lot of distance is travelled on foot, such as around airports or train stations.

This page is full of advice and recommendations for must-have items to pack when you’re travelling with young kids.

The intro and summary page to this whole travel section can be found here. Other detailed sections include:

So here is my best advice, but obviously do take into account your own circumstances and preferences!

Disclaimer: Please note that I have not accepted any payment or freebies for this article. This is simply me telling you what I find to be the best kit for a journey with young children, after a bit of trial and error over the years with my own money.

Different trips, different needs

First thing’s first: Obviously you’re going to need to pack differently depending on what type of holiday you’re going on.

Admittedly, a lot of baby and child equipment you’ll need regardless of whether you’re going for 3 days or 3 weeks, however your accommodation has a massive impact on what you pack. For example, will there be laundry facilities and/or a kitchen?

If you’re staying with friends and family who have children, then most of your needs will be met and you can pack relatively light. Hotels and AirBnB’s offer varying facilities. Camping would need a separate post altogether!

Things you don’t actually need:

There are something things I’ve left out on purpose because, for the most part, you don’t need them. That said, there are exceptions to every trip, so use common sense.

Travel cot – Very big, bulky and heavy to take, and most places nowadays will provide cots on request. That said, if you do need to take one, there are some particularly travel-friendly smaller, lighter versions.

High chair – Too big and bulky. Even the clip-on ones that clip onto the table edge are a bit bulky, I find. We have a fabric highchair harness that slips over normal chair to convert it to a highchair. Very light and packable. See below.

Must-haves and handy travel kit:

Food related

Fabric chair harness – Converts any chair to a highchair with a 5-point harness. Very light and packs down very small. It’s a permanent fixture in my boy’s nappy bag.

Perhaps not for 6 month olds who still have trouble sitting up, but otherwise it’s perfect right up to when they outgrow the need to highchairs altogether. It has a 5-point harness, so there are shoulder straps. Our one is from Pueri and works just as well as the more expensive brands.

Plastic cutlery & bowl – Unless I know there’ll specifically be baby/toddler-friendly bowls and spoons etc., I tend to bring a set, unless I’m low on luggage space. I’d hate to damage crockery from the rental place because of an enthusiastic throw from Littlie.

Water bottle – Separate item on this list as it’s THAT important. We carry one for each child, and have them with us in our daypack or hand luggage without fail. You’ll need them all day, every day of any trip. Ideally something with a handle (to clip to you your bag with carabiners), and a good lid. (Tip: If you’re flying, it may be handy to keep it empty until you get through security.). We have these roll up ones, and a hard bottle for Littlie.

These are roll-up ones are really useful for older toddlers and up. You can clip them to your bag and once they’re empty they take up NO space. The fact that they’re ‘squishy’ tends to cause accidents for toddlers and babies, though, so something more traditional in hard plastic would be better for younger ones.

I’ve also seen these online, which more look more sturdy and still roll up, but I’ve not tried them.

Bibs – Two or three bibs, if needed. Depends on how adept your kids are.

Healthy snacks – You don’t have to pack everything in the kitchen cupboards, but a few packets of your kids’ favourite healthy snacks always come in handy, for example apples, raisins, ricecakes or Organix Oaty bars.

Often snack options ‘on the go’ aren’t particularly healthy. Littlie loves the veg only puree pouches by Ella’s Kitchen. He is very happy to have these as a snack and I rely on these for much of his veg intake! They’re hard to come by in small shops, so I try to pack a couple (warning, they may not make it through hand luggage at Airport security as they’re over 100ml, but they usually let me through with them as I need them for the ‘baby’. Or they don’t notice that it’s 120ml not 100ml in the liquids bag).

Baby/child-specific foods – Milk, formula, baby rice. Also any specific allergen free products you may need. Things you perhaps can’t get hold of easily but will need. At least enough with you that will last until you can get to a larger supermarket.

Sleep related

This section focusses on the needs of babies and younger toddlers as they can be so sensitive around sleep and sleeping conditions. Older kids are (hopefully) more adaptable.

Tin foil – I know you can buy those fancy blackout blinds, but they’re big and heavy and often the suckers don’t work well enough. A few metres of carefully folded tin foil is barely noticable in a bag, but is usually enough to create a perfect blackout for your difficult sleeper.

TOP TIP: Tin foil is completely black out if you cover the whole window pane. And you don’t even need anything fancy to stick it on with – splash some water on the window, and the tin foil will stick to the window pane. Ideally have the foil overlap the edges of the window to make sure all the cracks are covered. Job done.

Monitor – Unless you’re in the same room as the kids, we always take a monitor. You can by cheap slimline travel-size ones, but we take our normal one as it has the lights and music they’re used to.

Familiar sheets / sleeping bag – For babies and younger toddlers I like to take some of their clean but used bedding to give them a familiar scent in an otherwise alien room. I take Littlies pillow case (possibley mini duvet cover as well, depending on space), whereas I used to take his sleeping bag when he still used one.

Favourite teddy – Obviously.

Buggy blackout – for naps whilst out and about (if you bring a buggy). See travel section further down.

ENTERTAINMENT

This will depend on the child, but I generally try to bring toys and busy books. We don’t bring an iPad, if we’re desperate we’ll give them our phone for some screen time, but I find that if we have an iPad, it becomes the go-to item and we’d rather not have it that way.

  • 1-2 small toys (like a car, doll or pony)
  • Something that lights up & makes noise for young toddler
  • Colouring / busy books (I thoroughly recommend Tiger Tribe boxes – they’re travel friendly, my kids love them and they have a wide range to suit boys and girls)
  • Story books (bedtime)
  • Card game (e.g. Dobble, Uno)
  • Kindle for older children

Wash bag

First aid – Calpol (100ml), plasters & thermometer. Always. For babies I’d bring saline nasal spray, snufflebabe and teething powder sachets as well.

Travel wash – You can get small 100ml packs of these that will last up to 10 washes or more. Always handy for ‘just in case’, unless there’ll be a washing machine where you’re staying. £1.50 in Superdrug. Worth it.

Travel shampoo / conditioner – Depends on what will be available. We can survive without shampoo (many shower gels in hotels double as shampoo), but a travel pack of conditioner is always useful.

TRANSPORT related

I have much more detail on the below on my related post: Suitcases and travel bags; recommendations for families. However a few key things from the list are…

Scootcase -It’s a suitcase that’s also a scooter! From scooter age kids (3/4y) to tweens, this is AMAZING and has revolutionised our airport and train travel. Probably not needed for car-based journeys. It’s fun to watch people smile at the novelty as the kids zoom past.

Rucksack hand luggage – I always have my hand luggage in rucksack form to keep my hands free. Bonus points for having a detatchable daypack. This way you can put the bulkier rucksack in the overhead storage, and keep the daypack with snacks, water, toys, colouring, nappies, etc. with you by your feet.

Buggy/pushchair – If you do want to take a buggy, I would recommend the Babyzen Yoyo+ for general travel as it’s so small and light (you can put it under the seat on the plane!!!). However, if you were going off-road anywhere unpaved for a long time, the Yoyo may struggle the suspension isn’t great. If you’re taking the car and/or going off the beaten track, then an outdoor buggy like a Mountain Buggy or a B.O.B. would be great, but it does take up space and weight, so think carefully before taking it.

Blackout pram shade – Very handy for when you want baby or toddler to nap without distractions. Also helpful as a light blanket for legs or to block the sun from sensitive eyes. We have a snoozeshade, which is fairly universal, but you can get brand-specific models.

Carrier / sling – This one is all down to preference. Some take the sling and not a buggy, others vice versa. Personally, I used a sling until baby was about 4 months old if we were travelling, then used buggies afterwards (Little would get wriggley in the sling as he got older). I used a Stokke carrier for Biggie and Middlie which worked out great as it has front-carrying and back-carrying options. I used stretchy wrap from Je Porte Mon Bebe for Littlie, also to good effect.

Hiking carrier – Only essential if you’re going somewhere with lots of walking (too much for a baby/toddler) and you won’t have a buggy or the terrain is too rough for it. If that’s what you need it for, however, they’re essential. And awesome.

See Suitcases and travel bags; recommendations for families for more detail…

Hand luggage / daypack

You need some essentials to hand all the time. So what should you have handy in your hand luggage / daypack?

  • Child entertainment (I’d suggest the full list above, perhaps minus the bedtime stories)
  • Snacks for everyone (lots of snacks for kids & grown-ups. you will definitely need them and they’re extortionately expensive when you’re at any terminus)
  • Drinks bottles (see above for recommendations. Refill whenever you see an appropriate spot as you may not get another chance. Unless you’re on your way to the airport, then I travel with 1 full bottle for sharing, and leave all the rest empty as they need to get through security).
  • Wipes and tissues (for spills and clearing up)
  • A spare top for each child (some one will spill something. It’s the law.)
  • Travel paperwork (tickets, passports, ID)
  • Book/magazine/kindle for you (for when they inevitably borrow your phone)

Summary

To summarise this very long list, my top go-to picks are:

Feeding time

  • Fabric chair harness (travel highchair)
  • Water bottles (roll up ones are very travel-friendly)
  • Healthy snacks
  • Baby-specific and allergen-free food (if needed)

Sleep time

  • Tin foil (to use as window blackout)
  • Baby monitor (unless everyone is in the same room)
  • Familiar bedding (for smell)
  • Favourite teddy

Entertainment

  • 1-2 small toys each (like a car or a pony)
  • Colouring / busy books
  • 1 Story book each (bedtime)
  • Card game (e.g. Uno)

Wash bag

  • First aid (Calpol, plasters, thermometer. Saline nasal spray for babies)
  • Travel wash

Luggage (see related post for more)

  • Scootcase
  • Rucksack for adult (with detatchable daypack)
  • Pushchair/sling/hiking carrier (dependent on preference and type of holiday. If you take a buggy, I recommend bringing a blackout shade)

Hand luggage:

  • Usual travel essentials (passport, tickets, ID)
  • Snacks and water (see above for ideas)
  • Entertainment (see above)
  • Spare top for each child (spills WILL happen)
  • Wipes & tissues (no explanation needed)
  • Book/magazine/kindle for you (if, heaven forbid, you should have 5 minutes to yourself)

Follow my (mostly positive) adventures with Biggie, Middlie and Littlie as I attempt to turn being a stay at home mum into a rewarding and challenging career.

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Back to it…

Hi all, apologies it’s been such a long haitus, I was getting back into a new routine over the summer, settling Littlie into a crèche part-time, working through a running injury, half term holiday, and then a stream of back to back illnesses. Phew!

I had a horrible case of ‘flu this week, which I’m only just getting over. I need to thank my husband the SAINT who was sole carer for all three kids and also working for the two-and-a-half days I was in bed.

Our lives are made even more difficult at the moment as Littlie, our nearly 18 month old, will only sleep with mummy or daddy at the moment following a particularly nasty tonsillitis and vomiting-bug he had. He currently sleeps as long as his face is in constant contact with mummy or daddy’s face. Joy.

My feral children, Middlie & Littlie, on the kitchen table while mummy was too poorly to supervise properly.

So, it’s been an up and down 12 weeks for me, but we are still ticking along, and keeping our heads above water.

Coming soon

This break has afforded me a while to think about future blog ideas. I certainly have lots of family- and kid-centric topics to go through:

  • More travelling with kids tips
  • Limiting TV and screen time
  • Praise & rewards vs punishment
  • Family memory project – photo wall and photo books
  • Child achievement project – what to do with all your child’s art work, classwork, project, paper maché creation, and doodle that your little Picasso/Einstein/Austen comes home with.
  • My success (or failure, tbc) of getting a co-sleeping toddler back into his own cot.

Plenty in the tank to write about, so watch this space (I’ll also try and remember to re-link within this page as and when I publish).

Doing one of the many ‘pub loop’ countryside walks in the Cotswolds. A rare illness-free weekend before everyone got sick again. ‘Tis the season… for bugs.

Future plans

I also have a number of larger projects and lifestyle choices on our move to a more eco-conscious and sustainable life as a family, which I’ll write more about when it’s a little more developed.

I’m exploring lots of avenues here, from reduced consumerism and minimalism, to a more sustainable diet and other lifestyle choices.

Watch this space!

And if there’s anything any of you particularly want me to write about, or if you have any questions you want answering, do feel free to comment below.

Follow my (mostly positive) adventures with Biggie, Middlie and Littlie as I attempt to turn being a stay at home mum into a rewarding and challenging career.

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A countryside walk in London

It’s lovely when you start the day with only a vague plan, and then it turns into an unexpected, memory-making day you never expected.

In one of our last trips of the Summer, we met up with some friends at Brent Lodge Park, which turned into a beautiful countryside walk in the middle of London (well, zone 3/4).

I’d taken the kids to Hanwell Zoo and the Brent Lodge hedge maze for the morning (review to follow), then met up with some friends for a picnic in the last of the summer sunshine at the playground and cafe in Brent Lodge Park, known to locals as ‘Bunny Park’.

The children had a lovely time in the playground playing with kids they’d not seen all summer, while the mums managed a catch-up on the grass, updating each other with stories from summer breaks.

A friend had the great idea of walking through Brent valley and along the canal to The Fox pub (with enticements of juice and ice cream for the kids at the pub), so off we all strolled with 10 children in tow between us!

Now, I’ve spent many afternoons wandering through Brent Valley and Brent Lodge park – mainly because of my need for long, quiet walks to push baby to sleep in the buggy when Littlie was tiny – so I know my way around the area.

I’ve realised, however, that even some locals don’t know that they have the countryside in their doorstep, in the middle of London!

We headed south and came to the River Brent, passing underneath a tall railway bridge. The children were aged from 1 to 11 years and they were exploring the fields and paths when we spotted tonnes of blackberry bushes full of perfectly ripe blackberries.

The mums agreed that they’d be fine to eat provided they’d been washed, so the kids set to picking! I showed them what the best ones looked like and how they felt, and soon enough little cupped hands full of juicy blackberries were thrust towards me for rinsing clean.

And so our stroll continued onwards down the Capital Ring walk to the Brentford canal, eating and collecting blackberries on the way.

After a quick spell down the canal we came to The Fox, a lovely pub but unfortunately closed for refurbishment over the summer. So instead, we headed to the nearby The Green pub on Hanwell Green for ice cream and coffee to recharge our batteries.

The Green was a pleasant surprise, very welcoming and family friendly (I also spotted a Thursday £25 prosecco and pizza deal I may use with hubby on our next rare night out).

It had taken so long to get to the pub with the kids’ exploring-everything-and-getting-distracted pace, that we weren’t finished until 3pm and were all starting to flag a little. Luckily we could take a shorter route back to Brent Lodge park (not shown on the map) where the cars were parked.

We didn’t have the time or energy to head north of Hanwell zoo, however Brent Valley does continue north for quite a way, so there’s plenty more open space to explore. In fact, the Capital Ring walk goes from the Brentford canal all the way through Brent valley and onward towards Harrow if you felt up to it…

We all agreed what an unexpectedly lovely day out it had been, one that will certainly stick in my memory when I cast my mind back to halcyon summer days in Ealing!

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Appreciate the little things

It doesn’t take a lot to appreciate the little things in life, but you have to be aware enough to recognise the moment.

I took Littlie out for his first proper ‘outdoor walk’ this week.

I had initially planned to take him to the playground, but after 20 minutes in the sun on an unexpectedly sunny day I wanted to seek some shade, so I thought it was the perfect time to let him have his first outdoor stroll amongst the trees.

I figured he could handle it now that he rarely crawls; At 14 months he’s doing pretty well as far as mobility is concerned, but I seem to have early walkers in my family, so don’t worry yourself comparing!

To set the scene a little, I’ve had a lot going on this month. With summer holidays to fill, two half marathon events to train for, the start of a new school year, language courses, paperwork deadlines (dual citizenship with France and also chartered accountancy hoops to jump through), and a 14 month old who’s decided not to sleep all summer… I’ve got a lot on my mind.

It would have very been easy to play with my phone while he wandered around the park.

It would have been easy to lose patience with his pace and put him back in the buggy to head home.

Luckily, I was in a good frame of mind and I wanted to treasure this moment of his first outdoor freedom – and he didn’t disappoint:

He inspected funny-shaped leaves, he picked up twigs that for one reason or another interested him, he tried (and failed) to get closer to some magpies, stumbled many times, petted some dogs, and generally ambled around as he saw fit.

I saw the mundane through Littlie’s fascinated eyes and I was able to forget about my deadlines, my worries, my crammed schedule, and my to do list.

Towards the end, I reflected how lucky I was to be present in that moment. It reminded me that one person’s walk from the playground (which I do several times a week) is another’s treasure trove of interesting things to discover.

So remember parents that these moments are out there – there are more than you think – but you have to be present in the moment to recognise them.

So put down your phone, pause your worries, unfurrow your brow and smile! Maybe you’ll find one every day… it’s the little things that keep you going.

Follow my (mostly positive) adventures with Biggie, Middlie and Littlie as I attempt to turn being a stay at home mum into a rewarding and challenging career.

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I’m not perfect: I’m taking a duvet day

One of the most difficult things about being a stay at home mum is that you can’t take an unscheduled day off.

If you’re sick or tired you still have to look after the kids, no matter how much you want to close the curtains and curl up into bed.

Influencing social media, one post at a time

Now, I’m a firm believer in showing the good and the bad on social media.

Too many young people see perfect instagram photos of amazing holidays, luxurious meals and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

They don’t see the mundane, the bad hair days, the run-of-the-mill… It gives them a disappointingly skewed perception of how their life should be.

That is why I try to write about the highs and the lows of my busy, crazy life with my children; my vomit-spectacular holiday being a case in point.

Which brings me back to this post.

On the edge

I was a wreck. I’d had three weeks of very poor sleep, with no respite: A week of no sleep from non-stop family illness, followed by a week of a needy 14 month old refusing to sleep in a strange room whilst visiting family, followed by a week of no sleep once we got home (bad habits? Teething? Developmental leap? Still getting over virus? Anyone’s guess). Littlie would only sleep either on me or, at the very least, next to me clutching my arm for dear life.

Anyone who’s experienced sleep deprivation will understand how completely soul-destroying it is. You can’t function. You can’t do anything properly. Even if you can hold it together, that all crumbles at the slightest stumbling block. You’re quick to anger, impatient, tearful, depressed. Things look bleaker, simple things seem harder…

On Wednesday morning I reached my limit. Littlie has a habit of pinching and biting when he’s tired. So I was lying there in tears getting bitten and pinched, not able to stop him, too tired to retaliate. My husband helpfully tried to suggest what to do to make him stop, but I blew up at him saying I was too tired to do anything. I shouted and then burst into tears.

Rescue

My husband, the hero, knew then that I’d hit my limit. We’d been talking more and more about how my tiredness had been getting worse with each passing day (I do all the nights as he doesn’t function on a disturbed nights sleep, but he does often take the kids when they wake in the morning). The saint that he is, knew I was hitting a wall and decided to step in a give me a break.

He worked from home that morning, sent me to bed and I got 3 hours unbroken sleep until 11am. When he woke me up (as he needed to go into work) he’d cooked lunch, cleaned the kitchen, given Littlie a nap and kept an eye on the Biggie and Middlie whilst trying to answer emails. Words can’t express how grateful I was at that moment.

I’m very lucky that I have a husband who could read the signs, realise he needed to step in, and have the flexibility with his job to act on it.

Duvet day

Having been reviviez with a sleep, but still not yet human, I looked outside and it was raining. A lot. To boot, the forecast predicted LOTS of rain for the rest of the day.

The girls were watching TV when I came downstairs. So I let them continue while I gave Littlie some lunch.

– They watched TV while I tried to put Littlie down for a nap.

– They watched TV when Little was pottering around downstairs because he wouldn’t nap.

– They watched TV when I tried again to put Littlie down for a nap.

– They watched TV with me while Littlie slept.

Revived

By 4pm, Biggie and Middlie has watched TV for about 5 hours, with a break halfway for a lunch of buttered pasta.

Littlie had been well fed, nourished and rested, but hadn’t exactly had a hands-on stimulating day.

To relieve some of the mum guilt, I turned off the TV and sent the girls off to play. They proceeded to have a rousing game of ‘unicorn catchers’ as only 6- and 4-year-old sisters can.

And life carried on as normal.

It’s not my proudest parenting day, but I had been rejuvenated.

I’m calling it my duvet day.

I was still tired, but I was thinking much better equipped to be ‘fun, active, adventurous mum’ again. It’s like I pressed the reset button.

Thank you hubby, I couldn’t have done it without you ❣

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Surviving a family holiday sickness bug

You may have been there before, or – heaven forbid – be going through it now, but when a holiday sickness bug hits the whole family at once, all rules go out the window.

Time to batten down the hatches, and get through it any way you can. Parents need to pull together: you’ll need a healthy supply of bowls and safe water… and hope there are laundry facilities.

[Skip to the Summary at the bottom for top tips]

Saturday: The bug arrives

It started on the drive up to Scotland. We arrived at our hotel room at 3am and I gave Littlie (13months) some milk to get him back to sleep. He promptly threw it all up again, but I put it down to possible car sickness or iffy milk.

Fast forward to the morning, we’re I’d quickly picked up the wide-awake Littlie at 6am and headed straight to the hotel lobby to allow the rest of my family to sleep in. I gave him his morning bottle as usual, and then 15 minutes later it was ALL coming back up again.

I was subtly trying to catch it with my hands/dress/napkin at the breakfast table at the hotel restaurant without causing too much of a scene for my dining neighbours (nailed it), whilst frantically texting my husband to ask if everyone was awake in the room yet so I could come back and hose off.

And so it continued, with Littlie being off his food and throwing up any food or milk he had for the next 5 days.

Sunday – Tuesday: lots and lots of sick

He’d only sleep if he was literally lying ON me. If I managed to successfully transfer him to the cot, I’d have to check on him whenever he started crying, in case he’d just been sick. Then he’d want to go back to sleep on me. Repeat til 6am.

Lots of cuddles prescribed. And water. I continued trying with meals and milk just in case he started to get better (and I just wanted to get some calories in him), but in much smaller portions.

Protein, including milk, set him off. Baby corn puff crisps seemed to work very well and he could at least keep those down.

He was super clingy and basically wouldn’t be put down. Ever. He would also only be happy with mummy or daddy and no one else would do.

We didn’t bring my sling on holiday, but we did bring one of those mountain hiking toddler carriers, so I put Littlie in that whilst I was pottering around the house sorting out meals or cleaning & tidying. It was a lifesaver and meant I could get things done whilst keeping Littlie close and happy.

Wednesday: The bug spreads

Wednesday night saw Middlie (4 years) and my husband afflicted. Midnight vomiting, continuing every hour or so through the night. I always recommend washing sheets as soon as it happens, even if it’s the middle of the night, as you never know how quickly you’ll need to change the sheets again. Massive thanks to my sister for doing the midnight laundry!

So. I was in Littlie’s room as he was still refusing to sleep without being on me, whilst Middlie and my husband slept together in our bed surrounded by bowls.

The next day my husband spent all day recovering in bed, whilst Middlie was still being sick, so I prescribed a day in front of the TV. We tried her with a bit of bread, but she was sick, so she spent pretty much the whole day with nothing but water. She said she wasn’t hungry, and certainly wasn’t asking for food. She seemed to stop being sick, but was very clingy and needy, and stayed sleeping with my husband for the next few nights.

On the plus side, Littlie and husband seemed to be getting a little better.

Friday: mutation and further spread

Oops. Clearly someone touched something and infected something else because on Friday night half the holiday house came down with it in one fell swoop.

Biggie (6 years) was very sick, along with four other extended family members! It seems the virus affected grown ups with more diarrhoea than vomiting. Joy.

So Biggie went in our bed with my husband, puking every hour, while I flitted between Littlie and Middlie. A full week of sleepless nights for me, and half a week of sleepless nights for my husband.

Recovery

By Saturday afternoon (i.e. the end of the holiday and journey back) everyone seemed to be better.

Despite this, we did actually have a lovely holiday in Scotland seeing family in a beautiful location. I was exhausted from sleepless nights, however, and Littlie was still thrown off by the whole experience (as well as having three teeth come through in one week) so he still hasn’t got back on track with his sleep and is still very clingy. I’m hoping it’s a clingy phase, but it’s very likely to be bad habits from the holiday of sleeping with mummy.

I’m still too sleepy to deal with that hurdle just yet…

Summary: Top tips for surviving sickness bugs with kids

You’ll need lots of:

  • Bowls / saucepans
  • Clean, safe water
  • Rehydration sachets, if you can get them (hard to give to young kids… maybe add honey, or mix with lemonade as a treat)
  • Simple, plain snacks (see point 3)
  1. Let their body guide you. Offer them food, but if they’re not hungry, listen to them.
  2. Complex food is hard to digest and will upset their stomach easier (i.e. meals with protein, or a big bottle of milk).
  3. Plain simple snacks are the safest, such as white bread, dry crackers, white tortilla wraps, dry rice crispies, etc. Baby corn puff crisps worked well for my 13 month old.
  4. Don’t worry about them not eating, or their poor diet. They will naturally catch up on calories and good food when they’re better. Kids are amazing and doing this.
  5. They need to rest and recover. TV is allowed. There’s nothing wrong with your little one tucking up on the sofa under a duvet or blanket and watching TV all day. With a bowl next to you.
  6. Expect clinginess. They’re feeling rubbish and want love and cuddles from someone they feel safe with. For babies, this may mean crying whenever you put them down. Slings and baby carriers are great for this as you can still get a few things done.
  7. Laundry queen. For night time incidents, hose off the bed sheets in the bath/shower and get them in the washing machine before you go back to bed. It’ll be really really hard when all you want to do is go back to sleep, but you’ll be happy to have washed sheets in the morning in case you need them sooner than you think.
  8. Be prepared for sleepless nights.
  9. Also be prepared to get up close and personal with vomit that’s not your own (and maybe to catch). Nice.
  10. Avoid contamination. Wash everyone’s hands every spare moment.
  11. Work together. If both parents are around, both should pitch in or take turns.
  12. Ask for help from others if you need it – maybe a sleepover for one of the healthy kids (careful of contamination), or just having a friend take the healthy ones off for an afternoon.
  13. NOTE: I’m not a medical professional – If in doubt, if things take a downwards turn, if high fevers persist, or if a dubious rash appears, then speak to a doctor or medical emergency centre. The above advice is only for your run-of-the-mill tummy sickness bugs and viruses.

Good luck! You CAN get through it and make it out the other side!!

Now to catch up on some sleep…..

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Long car journeys with kids – road trip strategies

The Summer family holiday awaits! Our latest trip was a big family reunion in Scotland, renting out an amazing manor house for all 13 of us (including 6 children) near Oban.

This meant a 9 hour drive from London with a 6yo, 4yo and a 1yo…

[I’ve listed my recommendations of in-car games and activities (that don’t include screens or reading) at the end of this post if you want to scroll past the road trip strategies.]

There are various ways we could have managed this. We did contemplate a train or plane journey to Glasgow then renting a car, but with car seats, travel cots etc., it was just easier to take our stuff with us in our own car. Plus it’s a much smaller carbon footprint.

That decided, how to tackle a 9 hour journey with the kids? Travel all day with plenty of stops and play breaks? Overnight driving? In the end we tried it two ways…

Dashboard views…

Outbound: Breaking up the outbound journey with an overnight hotel stay.

The plan was for my husband to get home earlyish from work, we all have an early dinner and set off at 18:30, so the kids fall asleep fairly quickly and we get to Glasgow for 1am, staying in a Premier Inn. This left the final picturesque two-and-a-half hours to drive in the morning.

The reality was that, with last minute packing, loading up the bike rack etc, we left an hour later than planned. With the late night driving we were drinking caffeinated drinks to stay awake and proceeded to stop every two hours for fuel, coffee and/or comfort breaks.

On the plus side, the kids slept beautifully in the car. Except when we stopped for the aforementioned breaks.

We finally made it to the hotel at 3am and everyone was out like a light almost instantly. Littlie was up at 06:30 😴.

But we had a great hotel breakfast and felt vaguely revived for our next leg. The kids seemed fine, but I was struggling with lack of sleep, having done the late driving shift, and getting up with the baby to let the other sleep later.

So, we decided not to give ourselves a deadline to get to our accommodation 2.5hrs away. We found a local soft play and let the kids spend their morning playing, then had an early lunch and set off again to sync with Littlie’s nap.

Score out of 10: 6/10. Day 2 of the travel went perfectly – happy children and parents all round. The late night travel on day 1, however, was very draining for the parents… not an ideal start to an active holiday.

Off the beaten track

Return journey: Doing the whole thing in one go, mostly at night.

Taking lessons from our outbound trip (and not being limited by work), we decided to leave earlier at 15:00, have a leisurely stop for dinner, and then blitz the rest of the journey in one go.

This went surprisingly well. The kids napped at around 17:00 thanks to an exhausting but fun holiday, we stopped at 18:30 for dinner, set off at 19:30 and drove back to London, split nicely into two 3hr journeys with a toilet & fuel break in between.

Thanks to her earlier nap, Middlie didn’t sleep until 22:00, but she wasn’t being difficult. Otherwise, the trip went off without a hitch and we got home at 01:20.

The only negative point is that this leg required driver concentration until late at night, and I hadn’t slept or napped sufficiently to be of any use on that front – sick children all week meant serious lack of sleep for me!!

Top tips that helped:

  • Stopping for dinner at 18:30 helped thin out any remaining rush hour traffic, so the journey was nice and quite.
  • It sounds obvious, but try not to drink too much in the hours before you head off. And synchronise toilet stops.
  • Next time you fly anywhere, take all the sick bags you can find! Having them handy in the car will be a lifesaver. (Biggie was still getting over a tummy bug – more on that on the next blog post)
  • I was pleasantly surprised by the Cairn Lodge services stop, part of the Westmorland services group (with 4 other locations) – I’ve never had such a love motorway stop before. Farmshop, eco-credentials, home made meals, a soft-play, and a very non-service-stop vibe. Well done!

Score out of 10: 9/10. Views of the most picturesque part of the journey in the afternoon, mostly sleeping children, smooth traffic… Kudos to my husband who did all the driving. Points deducted for the late night, but waking up in your own bed was wonderful.

Keeping them entertained – Car game ideas:

  • We’ve learnt from painful experience not to rely on DVDs/books/colouring due to travel-sickness. Books on tape are a good solution.
  • Old favourites like Simon Says, cloud shapes, and I Spy still work well.
  • ‘Spot the orange car’ is a good game (there are more than you think).
  • Guess the song: take turns humming a well-known song and everyone else has to guess it. With our age range of kids it’s predominantly Disney songs and tv show theme tunes.
  • As a movie-buff, I love telling the kids ‘stories’; namely versions of my favourite films. They love hearing adventures from Indiana Jones, Herbie (The Love Bug) and Jurassic Park. I can edit out any unsuitable content or make it kid-friendly as I tell it. Anything goes really: The Goonies, Adventures in Babysitting, Big, Freaky Friday… Anything you know the story well enough to re-tell!
Breathtaking Scotland

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Wonderful Wonderlab

It was rainy day weather, so a trip to the Science Museum beckoned.

Ordinarily, we would have headed to the Space section then straight to the ‘Garden’ in the basement for endless water play, then a picnic lunch on the steps and home again. Normally give the Wonderlab a miss…. but…

The Wonderlab

I had previously asked about the Wonderlab on the top floor, however the staff told me it was more for primary school learning, so my 4 and 6 year olds were probably a bit young.

This had been nagging at me a while, so I picked up a leaflet in the entrance hall and saw that some shows were suitable from 6 years and up. So I bit the bullet and bought an annual family pass for £32 (a one-off trip for a family is £18, so even if you only use it twice, it’s paid for itself).

It really was a wonder! There wasn’t a single exhibit there that the kids didn’t love! Even Littlie (13 months) enjoyed most of it as there were so many hands on, tactile and colourful things to look at and play with.

There was so much to see and do: dry ice, crystal experiments, colour displays, magnetic liquid, mist, space models, sound waves, infrared, light and sound shows, magnets, geometric shapes and tessellations.

  • Dry ice on water
  • Colour investigations
  • Making crystals

There were also activities to demonstrate centrifugal force (spinning pole), pulleys (helicopter seats) and friction (slides), as well as a number of shows and demos put on throughout the day.

As I studied maths and science at school and university, I’m always trying to find interesting ways to get the girls interested in STEM subjects and this has been such a positive experience for them! I was blown away by how interactive it was, and it’s really piqued their interest. We’ll definitely be coming back again and again.

Top tip: During term time, try to get there at 10am when the doors open as the school groups don’t tend to arrive until 11am at the earliest.

Basement fun

With the morning spent in the Wonderlab, we moved down to the basement to feed my now starving brood. Packed lunch on the picnic steps, and then straight into the ‘Garden’.

This play area is, again, very hands on and interactive. It consists of a water-play zone with channels, dams and boats, a soft giant lego area, a play tower with chutes, bean bags and wheelbarrows, and a sensory area.

We’ve spent many a fun hour here in the past, and today was no exception.

So, what was going to be a morning outing on a rainy day, turned into one of our best days out this summer! I just love those days that turn up and surprise you 🙂

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Respite at Westfield

We popped into Westfield (a failed trip for running shoes for me 😣), and I discovered the Family Rooms – how did I miss these!!??

I’d always assumed it was just a feeding room, but I discovered a little oasis with a tiny play area, cartoons, big and little toilets and sinks, changing tables, feeding rooms… perhaps it was my desperation for a pause in a busy day, or my gratitude for somewhere safe for Littlie to crawl around in, but I was very happy to find it!

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Paddling at Ravenscourt Park

With it being such a lovely day, we visited the Ravenscourt Park paddling pool today. Despite the water being cold, the kids had a lovely time splashing about!

We were there all morning. If they got a bit too chilly, we warmed up in some towels with some fruit and then went back in again! There was a playground and sand pit beside the pool, but if was all about the water for the kids today in this heat.

Happily, the pool slopes gently, so Littlie (who only just started walking) was able to potter about… The cold temperature was the best incentive ever to walk rather than crawl!

We sauntered through the park before heading off and discovered another two playgrounds, a lake for feeding the ducks and a cafe… I was surprised at how much there was on offer for keeping kids entertained.

It’s worth pointing out that the most northerly playground had wheelchair accessible and special needs swings #accessibleplayground

#parenting #summerholidays #stayathome

Follow my (mostly positive) adventures with Biggie, Middlie and Littlie as I attempt to turn being a stay at home mum into a rewarding and challenging career.

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