Traveling to India - share lists, tips & suggestions

Hi,
I would be travelling to Chennai from US with a 4 month old infant. I have some questions. Can anyone give me ur valuable suggestions

1. Is there any light weight/umbrella stroller for babies below 6 months. Cause when I checked the age recommendation for most of them is 6 months and more.
2. I would be going some time in March and planning to stay till June in Chennai. Not sure whether its ok to go there in peak of the summer with a 4 month old. Any ideas/experiences/precautions that you can give?
3. We don't have AC in India, so I am planning to buy an air cooler. I heard that in general air cooler is not good for even adults. Is that true? How about using air cooler for infants? Will it increase mosquitoes?
4. Is it possible to BF baby in the flight? Is there any special area for that?

Thanks for your time and suggestions

 

Pebblebeach,

I'm no stroller expert but in my experience umbrella strollers dont permit babies to lie flat - that is why they are only recomended for babies 6 mnths old and above, ie baby needs to sit reasonably well.

Air coolers genrally work better in dry areas - people who have used them do not recmmend them for Chennai's humid climate. Also the water and straw in the cooler can result in mould/fungal growth and a possibilty of infections/ allergies. I'm not sure about mosquitoes though.

Vanathi.

 

Pebblebeach, just wanted to add a couple of things to V's post... there's no special area to BF your baby. Take a large nursing cover to comfortably cover you and your baby and you can feed anywhere and anytime. Raj gave me dimensions to make a nursing cover and its a very simple one that serves the purpose. I love mine.

With regard to aircoolers increasing mosquitoes, it is true if your aircooler puts out a lot of heat, which most aircoolers do. Mosquitoes are attracted to humidity, heat and carbon dioxide - aircoolers have the first two and since you keep the aircooler inside the room it does attract the bugs into your room. A window unit airconditioner is much safer and better to use.

And with regard to travelling in peak summer, sorry, I wouldn't do it, but that's from my personal experience. We went in Jan, stayed for 4 weeks and we stayed in a/c rooms for most part of the day, used netlon for windows and mosquito repellants still my baby had a tough time battling the heat and the bugs. He has horrible scars from the bites even now.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
-L.

 

Travelling to india with my 11 months old twins

Hai pls give me a list of things i should know when iam traveling to india with my twins. they will be 11 months iam giving them home food & gerber fruits. pls give me suggestions abt travelling we r goin by jetairways, is it safe to buy gerber food & similac formula in chennai, daipers everything...
ur experience in traveling with babies.

 

Thanks Aadhusmom and lavanya for ur suggestions.

Lavanya, my travel is inevitable. so all i could do is to take as much care and precautions as possible.

Does any of you have any idea about Electronic mosquito Repellents. How effective are they? and where do we get them in US.
My ped told me to use a mosquito repellent cream that has low Deet. which mosquito repellent cream did you use for ur infants?

Thanks,

 

Pebble, electronic mos repellant from US won't be useful moreover you need to convert for 220 V. Anyway if you need electric ones buy them in India - available in Hunky Dory for sure. Can also try in Just Born. Born babies shop carries mosquito repellant lotion - Johnsons (green bottle with clear liquid) - but it is very short acting so you might want to use it often. Chicco brand is also available - its in the form of roll-on stick. You can buy avon's skin so soft original bath oil from US (its made from carrot seed oil) - it acts as mosquito repellant too. Also Avon's mosquito repellant/bug spray is good. To avoid applying repellants to the face apply some amount on the collars/necklines of the night clothes and this should also deter the bugs to some extent.

Janu with regard to foods and wipes, you get the same gerber, earth's best brands there - tried them from Just born and its fine (just check the expiration date). And Pigeon or Nuk brand wipes are good. Didn't try diapers from there but most baby shops carry them. Maya Plaza in t.nagar also sells same stuff from US and middle east brands. My friends have purchased and used Similac, NAN too.

Other shops for all the essentials are - Hunky Dory, Just born (near Ganpat hotel, Nungambakkam), Born Babies (Annanagar and other branches), Bloo Pink, Landmark, Naidu Hall.

 

Visiting India with a baby

Hi All,

I am travelling to India in April with my 6 month old daughter and will be staying there for 10 days. Any suggestions and precautions as I am travelling with baby. Also, if anyone has a list of things I must carry with me that is required for the baby.

Please reply soon.

Thanks in advance.
Megha

 

Travelling to India with baby

Hi All,

I am travelling to India in April with my 6 month old daughter and will be staying there for 10 days. Any suggestions and precautions as I am travelling with baby. Also, if anyone has a list of things I must carry with me that is required for the baby.

Please reply soon.

Thanks in advance.
Megha

 

Re: Travelling to India with baby

Hello Megha,

Not sure, if you have gone through a thread that had similar discussion before.
Maybe you could get more suggestions too ....but take a look at that one...the link is here
Precautions when going to India with an infant.

Bye and hope you have a safe journey with you kid :thumbsup

 

Re: Visiting India with a baby

Hi Megha,

I travelled to India recently with my son who was 7 months old at that time. I am telling you this is the perfect time to go. Once they start crawling, it becomes very diffucult.

1. I carried umbrella stroller which was very useful and my kid also enjoyed sitting in it. That way I had one bag on my shoulder and I was able to push that easily.
2. Mostly they sleep during the journey, my kid didn't sleep one leg but slept the other leg. Please confirm with the airlines for the bassinet, they promised me one but didn't give me any later on two legs, which was little tough. My son didn't sleep when there was bassinet but slept when there was none.
3. Generally sitting beside woman is helpful, as they help you to carry the baby while you go to restroom and all.
4. Carry disposable changing pads and disposable diager bags to put used diapers, this one as a courtesy to others. You get these in Babies R Us.
5. My son got sick and it was tough to see him that way, I heard almost all kids get sick no matter how well you take care of them. My son had diarrohea even after good water etc..
6. Try to carry only babies stuff in your backpack and a light shirt for you if you really want to change. Keep changing clothes on baby every flight or when needed, they will feel fresh and won't be antsy-pantsy.
7. My colleague recommended me to breastfeed baby in the flight so that they will feel closer to the mom and I did this with shawl on. Initially I felt little hesistant, but got used to it. Also one imp point is feeding them while take off and landing. Once my son was sleeping, so I dindt give him milk but when he woke up he cried a lot may be due to the pain. So, try to keep them awake and feed them those 2 times. You don't have feed whole lot, just some 2oz or so..

I can think of these now, if I come up wtih any more, I will let write again.

At the end, they will enjoy a lot in India, even though they are still small. They like to see other kids playing.