I want this! - Feeding pouch dispensing spoon

Sometimes I really wish I lived in the US...  One of my best mates lives in San Francisco and she's always telling me about the amazing purchases she's picked up at her local enormous baby store.  In Hong Kong not only are our choices limited but they're also double the price... grrrr....
Anyway, this week's amazing 'I wish I'd invented that' item is the Plum Dispensing Spoon

Yes this little beauty means you can screw the spoon directly on the pouch and straight it goes into baby's mouth.  Although made for Plum products, apparently it fits on any food pouch. I think this product would be great for travelling, especially on planes where you can never have enough hands.  I now just have to figure out how to get it to Hong Kong in time for my next plane journey.

Airmiles - not a free lunch!

I learnt the other night that Airmiles are the world's biggest currency.  That doesn't surprise me given the fact that you keep on banking them and can't ever use them!  I love a loyalty scheme but I fly on so many different alliances that I'm nowhere near anything more than 'commoner' status on every one of them!  How I look over with green eyes at someone in the adjacent queue at the airline counter with their gold card... Lounge access that i'll never have..  That elusive upgrade I'll never get...

What I will say is that it can be impossible to actually use your miles so if you want to get the best out of them then plan ahead.  I have just booked a miles trip back to the UK next April (yes 11 months away) and nearly all the dates were blacked out.  I took the plunge and splurged on using up all our miles to fly myself and my 3 year old business class.  I was feeling pretty smug until I phoned Cathay to add on an infant ticket for my baby for which I would have to pay cash.  I won't write exactly how much I had to pay but needless to say it took the shine off what I thought was a pretty sweet miles moment.  Oh well...

Planning a US road trip with kids

My sister is taking the plunge and heading out on a US road trip later this year with her 1 year old. She was asking my advice on whether she should play it safe and book one hotel to be their base from which to explore or do it proper road trip styleee.
Having done 2 big road trips with my eldest daughter Daisy in the US (the first one at 1 year and the second just over 2 years and me 5 months pregnant) I would say go for it!

• Allow for jetlag and mayhem after a long flight.  Don't immediately set out on a long car journey, perhaps stay in your first location for 3 nights
• Book most of your accommodation in advance, particularly if you require a travel cot.  Where I have travelled in US, all the hotels had cots/cribs on request so we didn't bring our own
• Try and pack light. If you are bringing in a baby, stroller, luggage etc every 3 nights to a new hotel you don't want to overburden yourselves.  You also need to make sure you have enough room for all that US outlet mall shopping!
• For older kids hire a car with in built DVD player or bring a portable one - it was a lifesaver for us on long car trips!
• Use child travel websites to find the best kind of itineraries for you.  Whilst the US has amazing national parks etc, the reality for us with 2 small kids is that cities are actually better and we'll save the outdoor stuff for when they're older
• Mix it up with your accommodation.  We stayed in some super cool inner city boutique hotels and then in the more random locations chose Courtyard Marriotts which were always clean, had kitchenettes and laundry facilities

First snow adventure with the kids

I haven't had a snow holiday since moving to HK 5 years ago.  We used to go quite a bit from Tokyo as it was so accessible and we didn't have kids then!  My daughter turns 4 in April and I would absolutely love her to get comfortable on the slopes so I'm planning a trip for us to Niseko, Hokkaido next February 2013.

Luckily a friend of mine went this year with her kids so she is full of advice.  I have also been in touch with a helpful travel agent, Ashley at Holiday Niseko:

http://holidayniseko.com/

Ashley has provided me with a lengthy list of accommodation options and I'm as usual (!) spending hours on Tripadvisor working out the best one.

We've decided to go a few weeks after Chinese New Year to save money and avoid the crowds.  Cathay run a direct flight to Sapporo in Hokkaido and you then transfer to Niseko by bus (3 hours)

A snow holiday with the kids is a new experience for me so hopefully I'll have lots of good tips to add to this blog!

Hirafu by night... can't wait...

Planning your trip - New Zealand!

One of my favourite pastimes is planning our vacations.  I'm a bit of a geek, I get lost in website after website of advice and itineraries, get my spreadsheet out and get excited!  I spend hours reading reviews of accommodation to ensure I pick the right one and fret over transport connections, prices and what the weather will be.  But.. I love absolutely every second of it.
I have been in planning mode again, this time for a potential trip to New Zealand in November.  I wanted to share some great websites I've found:

Tripadvisor
Goes without saying this is the big daddy of trip planners!  I can't get enough of it!  I put a question up on a North Island forum and within 1 day someone has written me the perfect NZ itinerary

http://www.kidsfriendlynz.com/
Great insight into where & what to do with kids in New Zealand

http://www.wotif.co.nz/
Accommodation galore at discounted prices

http://www.tourism-newzealand.co.nz/Maps.html
More of an official guide to New Zealand with some good maps

BA - Bassinet & Car Seat Pictures

On my BA flight to London recently, they offered me the 'car seat' for my 6 mth old baby.  BA gives priority to babies in terms of age so the youngest babies get the box-like bassinets and the older babies get the car seats unless you are very unlucky and they have run out....  You don't have to buy your child a seat until they are 2 years old.
I was a bit apprehensive at first as I wasn't sure if she would sleep well in something that wasn't flat.  After an initial hiccup of me shaking the car seat with a scarf draped over my head & hers to create darkness she actually managed a good 7 hours.
On the way back I got the bassinet which she only just fit and again slept fairly well.
My advice for bassinets/car seats is to be pushy (in a nice way) from the moment you arrive at the airport, reminding the check in staff that you WILL be needing one for the flight.  They might not know which type you will get but if you keep asking for it, they should provide one.

 BA Bassinet on the 747

BA Car Seat on the 777

The bassinet table also provides some much needed extra storage!

Sedating children on a plane

I'm all for sedation for myself, I'm a nervous flier so pre babies I used to enjoy a Xanax and glass of red wine!  I used to give my 3 year old some Calpol and Piriton (antihistamine) before every longhaul flight.  However, I'm not actually convinced it does much.  On my most recent flight back from the UK, my friend had some Phenergen liquid.  We promptly gave it to the 3 year olds and they passed out within half an hour!  My daughter slept for longer than she's ever slept on a flight before although she did wake up rather groggy. In conclusion I will be buying my own Phenergen and adding it to my list of travel necessities.  It can also greatly help jetlag at the other end

Please note these are my views only and if you want to give it to your child do your homework and read the facts!

http://www.drugs.com/phenergan.html