What I packed in hand luggage: 12 hour flight to London with 13 month old

Who:  Me & Sky (13 mths)
Where:  London to Hong Kong
What:  Virgin VS200 Premium Economy, departs 9:25pm arrives 5:00pm next day
How Long?  11 hours

I took my Maclaren Volo stroller to the gate then switched Sky to the Ergo. Below is a list of what was packed in my hand luggage bag (which they actually weighed at the Virgin check-in desk - this has never happened to me before!)

• 2 empty milk bottles (I asked for milk on plane)
• 1 baby book
• 3 dummies
• 1 nappy pack with 5 nappies, nappy sacks, 1 half empty pack of wipes
• Spare sleepsuit & vest
• Spare plastic bag
• Food bib
• Cereal bars & fruit snacks
• Baby's teddy
• Grobag
• Baby medicine (3 sachets of Calpol, 3 sachets of Nurofen, 1 bottle Piriton)
• Tissues
• Eyemask
• Notepad & Pen
• Passports & airline loyalty cards
• Chewing gum
• Camera
• Keys, phone, wallet

Heathrow Terminal 3 Review - aka utterly rubbish for kids

I have recently flown with Virgin from London to Hong Kong which means I had the pleasure (?) of departing from T3.  Unlike T5 which still gleams of newness, T3 is very rough around the edges and not that pleasant a travel experience.

Firstly it's a myriad of elevators and walkways from the carpark to actually enter T3.  Virgin has a huge area for check-in which can be a bit of a bun fight as there's no easy queueing system.  Unless you are flying Upper Class, where you are whisked away to a secret swanky lounge and your own security, you then trudge around the corner to join the masses at security.

On seeing a lone, anguished parent and a screaming child, a friendly face appeared and ushered me through to the 'Family Lane'.  Big mistake.. huge...  If you have this choice, don't take it!  I promise you, even if the queues for security on the other lanes seem longer, you will get through faster.  In the Family Lane, everyone is taking 10 minutes to unbolt their stroller, tend to screaming children, taste all their milk etc

Once through, there are the usual shops and a few good eateries.  There is no designated children's play area that some of the other airports have.  As mentioned in another post, I recently received an 'Airport Angel' card through Natwest and I had googled to see what lounge that would give me access to.

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.hk/2012/11/airport-lounges-relaxing-way-to-start.html

The No 1 Traveller lounge is pretty good, nowhere near as posh as the actual Business Class lounge but there was free food & drink and lots of room for my baby to crawl around.  If you are travelling with older kids there is a family room with a TV and table football.

Here is Heathrow Airport's Guide to their facilities across all Terminals:

http://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/childrens-facilities.html

Keeping babies amused on a flight

The internet is awash with people's advice on keeping babies amused on a flight.  I'm about to do a 12 hour flight with my 13 mth old and am already dreading it.  It's that awkward age where TV won't occupy them for long and THEY JUST WANT TO CRAWL/TODDLE AROUND THE CABIN!

Here's some good ideas for keeping kids amused on a plane:

http://www.deliciousbaby.com/journal/2007/nov/16/ten-tips-keeping-toddler-occupied-plane/

I particularly liked No 10.... 'Barf Bag Puppets'!

Super kid friendly Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport

There's nothing we love more than a child friendly airport.  There are those that have it (hello Schiphol) and those that do not (Heathrow Terminal 3 I'm talking to you).

My parents recently transited through Amsterdam's Schiphol and took some pictures of the great facilities on offer.  If you want to encourage people to use your capital's airport as a hub then this is what you need to do (hello Heathrow i'm talking to you again)

Schipohol Airport has a large area called Holland Bulevard.  Apart from a casino (!) and a museum that closes at 5pm, there are some themed rest areas designed to look like a lounge. 

 There is a library with both adult and children's books and seats with video screens. 

Great kids play area

Baby Facilities

There is a large room with several curtained pods containing seating and a cot. There is also a kitchen area !!

For more information, check out:

http://www.schiphol.nl/Travellers/AtSchiphol/AirportFacilities/TravelWithKids/InfantsAndTravel/BabyCareLounge.htm

Review of Princesa Yaiza Hotel, Lanzarote

This review comes courtesy of my fabulous friend Deborah who travelled to Lanzarote in September with her husband, twin girls (3.5yo) and baby boy (6 mths).

Booking
Booked direct with hotel via telephone +34 928 519 300
Flights booked through http://www.easyjet.com/en
Transfers organised through the Princesa Yaiza who also provided car seats.

Room
The Royal Kiko Suite was amazing.  The suite had 2 bedrooms; one with a King sized bed and the other, a 'child themed room' with 2 single beds.  In there, the hotel had gone to the trouble of putting 2 pink beanbag chairs for the girls as well as a kids' welcome kit.
The suite also had a lounge area and a kitchenette with steriliser, kettle, sink and big fridge.  In the lounge, the hotel provided a lovely cot with a mobile.

 Children's room in the Royal Kiko Suite

Baby Stuff!
This is where the hotel excels.  They provided the following, all included in the price of the room:

• Changing table
• Bath seat
• Monitor
• Steriliser
• High chair
• Simple buggy
• Bathroom step-up
• Baby cook
• DVD player/ Playstation 3

Kikoland

http://www.princesayaiza.com/en/kikoland/facilities

This is kids' paradise with multiple kids pools, playground, soft play and Kids Club.  The Kids Club looked a little bit grubby but there were lots of activities going on.  They run a Kiko disco every night for the kids and there were lots of shows e.g. Disney Princess show which the girls enjoyed

Food

There is an amazing breakfast buffet.  However, there aren't many inexpensive dinner options and most restaurants don't open until 7.30pm

In conclusion... on the positive side

We would definitely go back. The hotel is extremely family friendly and good value for money (we went off-peak).  The staff are fantastic and make an effort to learn all the children's names.  It's the little extras like having an onsite photographer who can do family portraits (no obligation to buy) that make this place special.

...on the negative side

Don't expect a super luxe, contemporary hotel.  The hotel is nice but could do with a bit of freshen up.  Also, the children's suites are in the family block which is over the road from the pools, restaurants etc.  The hotel provides a decorated subway to get there but it is still a long walk and therefore not so easy to  pop back up quickly to your room.

Product Revew: Baby Polar Gear Booster Seat

What do you do when there isn't a highchair?  Feeding a wriggly baby on your lap isn't much fun. 

First we tried the Gro Travel Harness. It's a clever contraption: essentially a cloth harness that you can strap to the chair. However, although its incredibly lightweight it's really not that comfortable for a child to be in for too long. 

So we upgraded to the Polar Gear Booster.  More bulky, but much more comfortable. It has the same seat as the Gro harness, but it is all joined on to a booster cushion. This makes it much more comfortable and stable. It was a great piece of kit on holiday, and also came in handy on a theatre trip.

Available to buy online at lots of places.  Check out Polar Gear's website

www.polargear.com

Retails on Amazon.co.uk for £18, link is below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Baby-Polar-Gear-Booster-Seat/dp/B0037253S2

Flight Review: American Airlines LAX to Dallas FW (3.5 hrs)

Who:  Me, Daisy (3.5), Sky (1) and husband
Where:  American Airlines 2450, LAX to Dallas Fort Worth
How long?  Approx 3.5 hours

If you are transiting from International to Domestic at LAX, allow yourself plenty of time.  It took us approx 1 hour to pass through Immigration, collect our bag and then join the lengthy queue at Customs.  It is only a 5 minute walk from Tom Bradley International Terminal to the American Airlines Domestic Terminal.

Check In
Checked in our bags and received our tickets at the Transit desk.  Once at the Domestic Terminal, we were told our stroller was too big and we had to check this in (always make sure have your baby carrier on hand in case this happens!)

Onboard
The flight was on time and we were all seated together (take note Cathay Pacific....)  There were no bassinet options so we kept our baby in the Ergo baby carrier. 
No entertainment so make sure you bring your own books & DVDs
You can buy food & drink onboard or do what we did and buy an overpriced sandwich at LAX
Friendly & courteous staff
This 737 had a 3-3 configuration and our Economy seats were fairly roomy.

 Keep your baby carrier with you, in case you have to check in your stroller