Kids Corner: Travelling with Kids- What to Pack?

Once you decide to start packing, there comes the question of what should go in your bag specially for kids? No single checklist can work for everyone as every child has his or her needs and mothers tend to know them the best. But just to work out general checklist, I would suggest to include the following-

1. Clothes- How much is too less? With kids, often we cannot decide how many outfits to take along. If I am not sure of the laundry facility at my destination, for holidays lasting a week or less, I follow a general rule to take as many outfits as the number of days and two extra. If the vacation is longer than a week, we prefer to stay in some place with reliable laundry service. Then comes the night wear, which is like number of night divided by two and one extra so that one set can be used for two nights. Count few more outfits if you have an infant or a crawler. Keep a change of clothes in carry on bag.

2. Toiletries- Make sure to pack travel sized packs of body wash, body lotion, baby powder, q-tips, kid's sunscreen, kid's toothpaste and toothbrush and other things that seem necessary to you but do not overstuff.

3. Food and milk supply for as many days if your child is not yet eating outside food but some snacks and food jars otherwise as well. Always keep a couple of extra bottles and nipples handy.

4. Diapers and Wipes if not yet toilet trained. Also plastic bags to dispose off dirty diaper and also keep rash cream in the same bag.

5. Things to entertain them during travel. These may include small toys, books, crayons and a notepad and even gadgets.

6. Disposables like bibs, tissue (regular and wet) etc.

7. Sunglasses, hats, rain cover if you are taking stroller, or winter wear if required at your destination.

8. Emergency Medication and your pediatrician's number handy.

Well, these were the basic necessities, you may like to add on anything else to the list, please do leave a comment!

Hope you now enjoy travelling with your li'l one... and I'll enjoy mine... off on vacation for a month so will be irregular in posting... but will be back soon and share my experience!

Till then, Take care

Connect on Facebook

Signing off...

Follow on Twitter @nehasuradkar

You may also like to visit Kids Corner for links to related posts

Kids Corner: Travelling with Kids- When to pack?

When you travel with a baby or a toddler, you often feel the need to take your whole house along so that whatever you need is at its right place. But, thanks to the Baggage allowance or the space constraint, we are often left with the task of packing the essential stuff and also not to go overboard with that and at the same time not to leave out anything important. Hmmmm... some task that is!

When to start Packing?
Even after travelling so much with my Champ, still I start packing atleast a week before departure so that everything is there with me and also it gives some room for last minute shopping and packing. So, I would recommend that if you don't like suitcases or airbags lying around in your house waiting to be filled, it would be a good idea to atleast start collecting and assembling all the stuff in one section of your wardrobe, so that in the end you are only left with stuffing your bags rather than collecting and thinking what to take. 

This will also make sure that you have all the required things (and most important in working condition) with you and if not you still have time to run for that pacifier or the rash cream or any other thing which you realise is not working or is not there at all. Although with everything becoming global, there are high chances that you will find whatever you missed in one store or the other at your destination but it will also lead to wasting some precious hours after your arrival in first of all thinking and trying to remember whether you actually forgot to keep it or has been kept in some other bag and then you go on searching frenzy often disturbing a lot of other things that are kept well, then after it is confirmed it's not there, you check with the locals to find a store that sells the 'missing object'. So a good amount of time will go in all this and regaining your cool.
So play safe and start early.

But even starting early cannot guarantee that everything is there but atleast you will work in a cooler frame of mind. Being known as the most efficient 'packer' in my house, the disaster for me took place while leaving for  Kaula Lumpur. Everything was packed in its proper place and the bags were ready and kept near the door. We called for the cab and took our bags and left our house and started our journey to the bus station, from where we were to take the bus to KL. Halfway through, I realized that one of our small back pack is missing and then came the realization that we left it at home and then started the process of thinking what all was there in that and what all we can do without and what not. We realised that since it was packed as cabin bag it had our ipad to entertain our Champ during the long bus ride, our camera so that we can take some pictures on the way, some medicines for emergency and few snacks. So nothing great, but yes, we really missed the ipad and camera, both of us are amature photographers and love to take lots of pics using our DSLR camera and throughout the trip, we had to satisfy ourselves taking pics using our smartphones! And not only that, every time I remembered that, I couldn't help but talk about the whole incident over and over again...
So you see, when things have to go the other way, they will go no matter what. But that should not stop us from trying to get everything  the way we want! 

Do you have any interesting incident to share... please leave a comment and also let us know how you plan your packing... Keep reading for what to pack and other travel tips!


Connect on Facebook

Signing off...

Follow on Twitter @nehasuradkar

You may also like to visit Kids Corner for links to related posts

Kids Corner

As mums, we do everything for our kids. We even forget ourselves while doing so...
If we love our kids more than anything else in the world, why not give them the best we can! (of course not at the cost of compromising yourself all the way!)
This new feature of the blog will have various tips and ideas to get the best for your child and also keep your head on your shoulder.

Connect on Facebook
Look out for Kids Corner's first post on Monday...

Till then...

^Image Credits: http://picturesquotes.com

Give yourself a Break!

Yeah, I know you are a Mom but why do you forget that you are an individual as well. Being a mom does not mean losing your own identity and individuality that you have worked on for so many years. Giving birth to a child should just add another dimension to it and not take away what is already there.
Every mother should take out some time for herself and do what she loves. Even 10-15 minutes a day will be good if you spend it doing what you like.

Don't ever feel guilty about spending time and resources on yourself or for things that you like and later be hard on yourself thinking that rather than wasting time you could have spent that time doing something productive for the family and the household. Always remember
                                                       
^Image Credits: http://chibird.tumblr.com

Imagine yourself as your Smartphone or tablet or notebook. After few hours of work, the battery gets discharged and you need to plug in those devices for charging. Even if not fully charged, but after a while they can work again. Same applies for you as well. After day's work or whenever in between, you need to give yourself sometime to recharge your batteries. Still, if you think that spending time on yourself is not worth while, let's take a look at few more advantages-

• By setting aside sometime for yourself, you will be relaxed and satisfied and hence would be able to keep your family and kids happy as well.
• You will set an example for your kids to have their own specific interests and to take out time and follow them.
• Your kids will also mirror your behavior and will take pride in looking after themselves.
• Leaving your child with other care givers help them to develop their social skills and build more relationships.

You may not feel like doing it now, considering the other things on your mind and schedule but slowly and gradually you will tend to forget yourself completely. Later, say after 15 years, when your kids are in their late teens or adulthood and don't need you as much as they do now, you will be wondering what to do as you won't remember what you liked and won't know where to start. This came from an experienced mother of two, one is already into his first job and the other in High school. 

So, give yourself some time starting today and you may thank yourself after 15 years!

What do you like to do in your Me-time? Leave a comment!
Catch up on Facebook 

Signing off

Related Posts
So What? If YOU are not a SUPERMOM...

So What? If YOU are not a SUPERMOM...

I must look after my child well... I must give him/her new and innovative meals three times a day and all days of the week... I must spend my time playing and interacting with the child... I must keep my home spic and span at all times...I must give healthy and innovative breakfast to my partner and kids everyday... I must cook atleast 3 course dinner every evening... I must do this... I must do that... I must... I must... I must...

So, lovely mamas! How many of us start our day or week with a big to-do list and how many of us are able to tick off everything in it by the end of our set deadline? Those who can, Hats off to you Ladies, please leave a comment and share how you manage to do that!

For those, who have their to-do list going on and on and finally you give up with this list and start feeling guilty for not been able to do your duties well; I would say, its perfectly alright if you are not able to do everything everyday. You are not a superhuman and that's the fact!

Lessen your burden by doing few things everyday rather than trying to do everything everyday. You may  be able to take time out for yourself and relax or do what you like doing.

 Following tips may be helpful-

• Instead of fretting over making a hearty breakfast every morning, prepare a good breakfast twice a week and on weekends when your partner can look after the child. For the rest of the days, be prepared with some healthy quick-fixes like cereals, toast and fruits.
• Instead of having a huge spread out for dinner, focus on preparing a healthy meal, which is not so time consuming. A good mix of cereals, meat or lentils and veggies will do the job. Have some quick fix recipes on hand also the numbers of your favorite delivery food joint for the days when you just want to.... do nothing!
• Cook an extra portion for dinner, which you can refrigerate, reheat and eat for lunch the next day. This serves two purpose- firstly, you won't have to spend time in preparing lunch and the second and most important is that you'll not skip lunch, which seems to be the most convenient thing to do with so much on your mind.
• Nothing will be better than getting a full time help but if for some reasons that's not possible, get a part time helper who'll come everyday for few hours and finish vacuuming  sweeping and mopping your house, do the dishes, fold and iron the laundry etc. 
• If your help comes few days a week or once a week or if you have no help at all, set aside some time everyday for the chores like doing the dishes,  folding and ironing laundry and stop once your time is up for a particular task. This way you will have planned time for every chore and you can also set aside time to do something you like or to relax.

Try and see if these work for you... but most important is to stop feeling bad about what you were not able to do rather feel good about what all you have done and and were able to achieve. You should have time for yourself, which if not there, can build up frustration. If you are able to do what you like even for a short while, you will feel relaxed and calm and will be able to handle other things in a more effective and efficient manner. 

If you are happy and satisfied, you can keep your family also happy; which I think is the ultimate achievement for a SUPERMOM!

Do you have a trick up your sleeve that's been working for you...? Leave a comment and share with others as well!

Signing off

^Image Credit: http://www.livelifehappy.com

Catch up on Facebook

Related Posts
Give yourself a Break!