1. U.S. Elementary Education : What Parents Need to Know
    Dismiss Notice

Travelling to India with a baby / toddler (17 month old)

Discussion in 'General Discussions - USA & Canada' started by varshini, May 3, 2006.

  1. HappyGal

    HappyGal Senior IL'ite

    Messages:
    118
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Gender:
    Female
    Hi,

    Don't know if anyone already gave this suggestion, but from my experience can tell you something. You can carry formula that comes in individual serving size sealed bottles, that way you just open the seal, attach the nipple and feed the baby & then discard the bottle. This will save the trouble of cleaning the bottle in the tiny aircraft toilet. And the backpack idea that someone suggested is good, I did exactly that when I travelled with my daughter alone when she was 14 months old, really helpful. Most of the airlines also provide toddler meals like the gerber foods that they eat so you would not have to carry these. Just double check with the airlines 48 hours before the flight about the meal request.

    Wish you a safe & happy trip.

    HG
     
  2. mani7

    mani7 New IL'ite

    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Gender:
    Female
    Travel to India with 9 month old baby

    Hi All,
    I am planning to Travel to India alone with my LO Siddhant(9 months old baby).I have a few questions
    1.Which is the best umbrella stroller for travelling.
    2.Which sunscreen brand is best for babies.
    3.How many bottles to carry for feeding onboard and how to wash them.
    4.Does the air hostess take care of the child when i need to go to washroom?
    I would like to have information and suggestions from moms who have doe long travel with their baby.
    Thanks,
    Manisha
     
  3. yashini

    yashini New IL'ite

    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Gender:
    Female
    Please can you list out the things which i need to pack for my 9 month baby in cabin bag.......since this is my first journey with my kid to India alone...so i need some advice and suggestion ...should i need to take car seat...is the small umbrella stroller is enough or should i need to carry bigger one...
     
  4. kalyani2011

    kalyani2011 New IL'ite

    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Gender:
    Female
    i am going to india with my 3month old in the next month. my mom is coming with me. i have some doubts please clarify..i don't have lot friends here to ask.
    1. can i breast feed my baby in the whole journey..is it comfortable for me in the flight and in the airport.
    2. i have travel system Amazon.com: Safety 1st Aerolite Sports Travel System, Eiffel Rose: Baby..
    can i take it along with infant car seat till the gate. or can i buy umbrella stroller only.

    please share your opinions...
     
  5. Red123

    Red123 New IL'ite

    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Gender:
    Female
    Hi, I signed up just to respond to this thread. Just went from California to South India with a 16 month old and husband. Wanted to share what I learned.


    Keeping him entertained on the plane
    Not as big a concern as I thought it would be. The novelty of the situation probably helped. Had to show him a window to convince him there was no outside to go to, and walk him up and down the aisles a few times.

    Bottles on the plane.
    I used powdered formula. I went to the galley and asked for the hot water being used to make tea. After the bottle was empty I'd go back and ask for a small amount of very hot water to rinse out the bottle. Don't use the bathroom water as it's not drinkable. It was relatively easy to find powdered formula in India. Just not the variety available in the US.

    Diarrhea on the plane
    I had 7 sets of clothes in my carry on for my son. When we got to India 22 hours later, he was in the last set. If you have any suspicion this might be a problem, pack lots of clothes and ziplock bags to put them in. I brought along a raincoat to put on my lap between me and him, and that worked great. Our planes had a fold down changing table.

    Medication and refrigeration
    Check any medications for temperature limits. American doctors think doesn't need refrigeration means keep in air conditioned room in India.

    Sleeping on the plane
    We did get the bassinet going over. He was way too big for it, but slept with his feet hanging out. It was great. Coming back we had to let him sleep across our laps. Thankfully our cheap seats didn't leave any room for him to fall down off our laps, so that worked out pretty well. I actually managed to nap a bit.

    Diapers
    You should probably bring some cloth diapers and an American style waterproof diaper cover. I brought old fashioned flat folds, just a big square of cloth. I'd recommend them because they are easy to wash by hand and dry quickly. Disposables are available in towns. They are familiar brands, but the tabs tend to not be re-stick-able, so get it right the first time. It is true that Indian babies are often in just double layer under pants, but they are often semi trained earlier, and you may want to sit your baby on your lap in route to a village without trash collection. If you've never washed diapers by hand, don't worry. It's gross, but not much worse than washing out baby clothes after an overflow.

    Wipes
    Didn't see them for sale. Typical method is a full bath after each diaper.

    Breast feeding
    If you are still breast feeding, I'd recommend continuing. Constantly boiling water and bottles was a problem. Propane is in limited supply. Public feeding is of course not accepted, but traditional women's clothes can allow for stealth feeding with practice. Just make sure you practice first. There also seems to be a general feeling that babies should be weened at 6 months. I'm not sure if that's due to a campaign by the formula companies, or due to the fact that pumps aren't practical without constant power, and mothers need to work.

    Baths
    Get your baby used to Indian style bathing. Face down on legs for small babies, and standing with a bucket mug for older babies.

    Cheek pinching
    Get used to the idea of complete strangers pinching your babies cheeks. Everyone you meet will try.

    Watch out for tap water.
    While everyone was emphatic that water, even trusted mineral water, must be boiled for the baby, it never seemed to occur to anyone that washing grapes in tap water just before handing them to my son would be a problem. I also had issues with people insisting on rinsing clean plates and bowls in tap water just before handing them to me dripping. If a plate has been washed in tap water, then allowed to dry, the drying will kill most pathogens. Rinsing re-introduces them. At least that's my understanding from reading travel advice for Americans.

    I don't recommend the stroller or carrier
    I brought a cloth carrier, but felt it was too hot to use. I could only see the stroller being useful if you know you are going to be near a large mall in a big city.
     
    1 person likes this.
  6. Nandshyam

    Nandshyam IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    5,431
    Likes Received:
    2,180
    Trophy Points:
    340
    Gender:
    Female
    Yes, bumping this thread as end of this year I am going solo with my daughter to India and was reading how people managed. Wow, too much information and very thoroughly thought !! Great job you guys and am thankful that you had took time to share that here.

    One thing I was reading is where there was a discussion about "Indian parents not trusting anything in India for their US born kids", it brought a smile... Just want to share my thoughts on that.

    (1) I strongly believe that the place where we are born had some effect on how our body responds. An eskimo's baby will grow with no issues in Antartica, but an Indian baby would find it hard to live there. As Indian parents, we are Ok and our body can handle it, but a US born is different, especially when they are young kids. People should not take it as a something they are showing off, but its just that they are accustomed to western system, that is all.
    (2) Secondly quality still sucks in India and people got to accept that. I compare a pampers sensitive brought in India and one from US and they are not the same. So when we have used the US one, people tend to prefer the same quality that is all.
    (3) But I have heard when you go to stores that import from middle east, the quality is maintained but I have not done that. I ended up paying more in an upper class store for the same US quality diaper.
    (4) Food - Similac, Gerber. I guess we all know how it is in India, unless you are careful and double check the expire date etc, you will be easily cheated. My cousin did check but when she came home, the expire date sticker came off and she found out that they had sticked it over the original. She was staying in Kovai. Ofcourse metro cities its a different ball game, but when you would be travelling much, it is safe to stick to what you have been giving your kid and packing that is not bad.

    As someone said, use your instincts and do what YOU think is right and comfortable. People talk and opinionate what you do no matter what.

    Good luck !!

    Please do pour your thoughts on how you managed an active kid on a 20 hour flight. Thinking about it gives me jitters. :-(
     

Share This Page