Travelling with a baby can be stressful, for anyone and with any mode of transport. The days when you could throw a few essentials in a bag and make a mad dash somewhere are long gone. Everything changes the moment you have a baby. Add the stress of travelling with a PKU baby, and the idea of a holiday away from home can feel overwhelming.
‘Where do I begin?’
‘What do I pack?’
‘What happens if I can’t find appropriate food at my destination?’
‘How can I find a support network away from home?’
All of these questions come to mind. My advice is to be as prepared as early as possible.
Based on our experiences of travelling with a PKU baby, I’ve created a list of items you may want to consider packing to help you get started, along with some helpful travel tips. Most of the tips are helpful for anyone who is travelling with a baby or toddler, but I have also focused on what one should do if travelling with a PKU baby or toddler.
When I started writing about this topic, I found that I had a lot to say! I also spoke to mothers I knew who have flown with babies on long-haul flights and found that their advise and experiences were very similar to my own. (Thank you ladies for your input!!)
I have broken our story down into an eight-part series of posts to make it more manageable are to be used as a guide. I hope you can find something that relates to you and your plans.
1 – ASK QUESTIONS
2 – TIME ZONES
3 – WRITE LISTS…MANY LISTS
PACKING CHECKLIST WHEN TRAVELING WITH BABIES and TODDLERS ON PLANES – CARRY ON & CHECK IN
EXTRAS FOR A PKU BABY/TODDLER – CARRY ON & CHECK IN
LAST OF ALL: PACK FOR YOURSELF
4 – EDIT YOUR PACKING LIST AND CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES
BABY EQUIPMENT RENTAL
PRAM OR CARRIER
5 – ON THE PLANE WITH A BABY OR TODDLER
BASSINETS
FLUIDS
EAR PRESSURE
OVERSEAS vs. DOMESTIC CARRY-ON
TRAVEL TIMES: LONG vs. SHORT FLIGHTS
6 – PKU SPECIFIC TRAVEL CONCERNS
TRAVELLING THROUGH CUSTOMS
SELF-CONTAINED: HOTELS WITH KITCHENETTES
SENDING BLOOD WORK FROM OVERSEAS
TRANSLATING FOOD LABELS FROM OTHER LANGUAGES
EATING OUT WITH A PKU BABY OR TODDLER
7 – HOW TO FIGHT JET LAG: TRAVELING ACROSS MULTIPLE TIME ZONES
8 – RUNNING OUT OF PKU SUPPLEMENTS ON OUR OVERSEAS HOLIDAY
OUR FAMILY TRAVELS: AROUND THE WORLD WITH A PKU BABY
Travel has always been a part of our family life. We would have it no other way really. Even before we met, my husband and I loved exploring new places. It was that love of travel that brought us both to Sydney from two different parts of the world.
Charlotte, herself, is a seasoned traveller already at the ripe old age of 2. She loves travelling; not just loves it…adores it. One of her first words was ‘airplane’. She has travelled several times interstate, which has been fairly stress-free, but the true test was the round-the-world flight we took when she was 8 months old. We learned so much (the what-to-do’s and what-NOT-to-do’s) about travelling with a baby, and not just any baby, a PKU baby.
With the extended family living in both the USA and Europe and we living in Australia, a large trip was always on the cards when we decided to ‘introduce’ baby Charlotte to everyone. So we began preparing for the overseas holiday as early as possible.
