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Before we hit the road again when Mali hit 4 months, I was massively anxious about flying with her. Never mind the fact we were leaving our home, packing up all our worldly possessions to go & stay somewhere new with no baby equipment whatseoever, all I could think about was surviving the flight. If we could do that, then the rest would be easy!

I’m sure you know what I’m talking about…being trapped in a big metal tube with a screaming, inconsolable baby for hours & hours…everyone looking at you accusingly and you being totally & utterly helpless to do anything about it. “What a bad mother – can’t she do anything to shut up that baby?”, you can hear them whispering…

So was flying with a baby as horrendous as you’re afraid it will be?

We’ve taken around 6 international flights & 6 internal flights with Mali so far – to Dubai, Thailand, Turkey & Italy – and, touch wood, we’ve never had an incident like that…and compared to flying with a toddler? No, it’s really pretty easy! 

Here are my top tips for a smooth flight with a young baby…

Preparation & Pre-flight

#1 When booking seats, don’t assume the front row bassinet seats are the best – in fact unless you want to be placed next to other families with screaming babies/children and have people constantly walking in front of you for the whole flight, then it’s worth considering a normal row of seats and choosing a window seat so your baby can sleep in your arms, without its head/feet being knocked off or jostled constantly.

#2 Dress your baby in layers – flights can get very cold or sometimes very warm so dress your baby in layers which are easy to remove or add. For their comfort, consider clothes which won’t ruffle, bunch or scrunch up easily under them if they’re lying or sitting down on your knee for long periods of time.

#3 Bring plenty of spare nappies & a spare suit – you know how accidents happen when you’re at home or out & about? Well they’re just as likely to happen on a plane. Do the sensible thing and calculate the usual amount of nappies you’d use for the duration of your flight – then add a couple of extras.

#4 Aim to avoid the queues - whether that means booking off season tickets, arriving at the airport earlier or getting to the gate early, it’s not just on a plane where a screaming baby marks you out as the “avoid at all costs” plane mate! Aim to minimise queuing time at the airport as much as possible to avoid pre-flight stress for both you & your baby.

#5 Try to adjust your baby’s schedule pre-flight – easier said than done I know, but if you can possibly try and adjust your baby’s schedule so that sleep time is due around the time you board, you stand a good chance of having a sleeping baby for much of the flight! You’ll probably find that your baby will stay awake a bit longer in the airport and when you first get on the plane because they’ll be interested in the new surroundings and all the extra stimulation – that’s ok because it usually means a tired baby once you board!

#6 If you know the flight is not too busy, talk nicely to the check-in staff - they will often accommodate a request to block your row, leaving you with a spare seat in the middle or put you in a quiet section of the plane if it’s that empty.

#7 Get priority boarding – if you’re flying with a budget airline, it’s worth paying for priority boarding. It’s no fun whatsoever having to join a scrum to board the plane, with no guaranteed seats when you have a screaming baby in a sling who’s too wired by all the activity to get to sleep (believe me on this one!). This is one time when I have no hesitation in paying extra for priority boarding so you can get settled much more quickly and avoid the queues.

In flight

#8 Get the infant seat belt on quickly – unless you’ve forked out for a separate seat on which to place an approved travel seat, you’ll probably have the baby on your lap for the flight. This will require a special infant seat belt which loops over your seat belt and goes round the baby. Ask for this as soon as you board the plane and get it on your baby as soon as you can. If you’ve managed to time it right, your baby will be ready to go to sleep fairly soon after you board so it’s best to get the seat belt on quickly and get them settled rather than trying to do this once they’re asleep.

#9 Try & get them to feed on the way up & from about 30m before landing (as the plane descends) – this helps to minimise problems with their ears. If they’re asleep, that’s usually ok & there’s no need to wake them. So far, we’ve done this on every flight & have had no ear problems at all.

#10 Keep your baby in the sling - we’ve got a brilliant sling which for shorter haul flights we actually keep Mali sitting in. Not only does it stop her from wriggling too much now she’s walking, it means you’re quickly ready to disembark and get to immigration first. The trick to this is having a few toys or books to keep them amused while they’re sitting there – it’s almost as if they know they can’t move, so they don’t! Try it & see…

So now I’ve shared mine, it’s your turn! What are your top tips for flying with young babies?

Tell us a bit about where you are now. How long have you been there? Why did you choose it?

I’ve been living in Barbados in the Caribbean for about four years. While I had family reasons for choosing this location, it also had a lot going for it in terms of the weather and general stability.

Location Independent Business

Please describe briefly the business you are in.

I am a web content writer, blogger and journalist.

Are there any advantages when doing business where you are?

Barbados is as good a location as any to run a freelance writing business. The infrastructure is good, the Internet connection is more than adequate and of course the official language is English. You can get hold of most items that you need though often at a premium.

Are there any challenges with doing business in Barbados?

While most things work most of the time, occasionally it is difficult when there is a power cut or the Internet goes down. This doesn’t happen often but it’s not as rare as it was when living in the UK. Since I work for myself I don’t spend a lot of time in offices, where the culture is slightly more formal than I’m used to. However most systems are efficient even if they are not always as timely as I would like.

What are your top three tools for keeping your business going as a location independent professional?

That’s easy: Gmail, social networking and Skype.

How much does it cost to get internet access in Barbados?

You can get a stable connection for US$50 a month, though you will probably want the top domestic package (2MB ADSL) at $70 a month, especially if you plan to run more than one computer.

Location Independent Parenting

How are you educating your child?

We decided to send our daughter to a local private school. We made the choice so that she could mix with an international community and have access to a wide range of extracurricular activities, some of which are not available in other schools. So for we are happy with how she’s learning and her enjoyment of the school system.

Are there any major advantages/challenges of parenting/educating children in Barbados?

When you live in a small place you often don’t have access to the range of facilities that you take for granted in larger countries. For example, play activities for children can be limited. However, Barbados has an active holiday camp facility, offering kids a wide range of sports and leisure activities. And during term time, there’s always the beach or the play park at the local fast food joint.

How is your child enjoying Barbados?

My daughter really enjoys living in Barbados though occasionally she expresses an interest in seeing snow.

Location Independent Lifestyle

What’s the cost of living like in Barbados?

Barbados is not a cheap place to live as many things are imported. However if you are happy to eat locally produced food then living here doesn’t have to break the bank. Check out the Barbados page on the Global Cost of Living Wiki for more information.

Are there visa issues for location independent parents?

British citizens can stay in Barbados for up to 6 months a year. Even other nationalities are able to stay for months at a time. However if you want to work, that can be more difficult. In order to get a work permit you have to be doing a job at a local is not qualified to do or you have to be bringing business into the country. Many people do it successfully so it can’t be that hard.

What about the cost of accommodation in Barbados?

Accommodation varies. It’s a tourist destination and the prices reflect that, especially in winter. A mid range 1 bedroom furnished apartment will cost upwards of US$100 a night, but if you can find an apartment marketed to locals, you will save a lot on that rate.

What are your best tips for things to do for parents (without the kids!) while in Barbados?

Some of my favourite activities include swimming out of Brownes Beach, enjoying a mocha at the Coffee Italia and eating fresh fish at the Just Grilling restaurant on the south coast. The Barbados wildlife reserve is a great place to visit and you can get a great view of much of the east coast from the Farley Hill National Park that is opposite. There’s also horse racing, golf and polo on the island.

Image: Mali & I on location at the beach in Thailand

Wow, I can’t believe we’ve already been on the road again for 4 weeks…last time I wrote about the countdown to leaving our home and what we did to prepare and already I’m writing a post about what we’ve learned so far. I guess most of you will know already that that’s what happens with children & babies…not only do they learn constantly but so do you!!

So here’s a bit of an update about where we are now (both physically & mentally) and some thoughts about what we’ve learned since being location independent & nomadic with a young baby….

Current Whereabouts

We’re currently in Thailand on the island of Phuket. We came here because we knew it already (which we thought would be an easy introduction back into location independent nomadism with Mali, our daughter) and my parents were going to be here for some of the time we were here.

We had a 1 week stop off in Dubai to stay with my brother and help Mali acclimatise to both the heat & the time change more gradually and that worked really well. But…we’re already thinking about moving again!

Every single time we stay somewhere, we learn more & more about what it is we look for in a place and what kind of place lets us live the lifestyle we want.

It’s no secret that while we enjoy the nomadic lifestyle, we’re actually on a quest to find those 1-2 (maybe 3) places in the world where we’d like to shuttle between each year and we do envisage settling somewhere at some point – at least for 6 months of each year. But unfortunately Phuket isn’t it. So we’re thinking about heading further north to Chiang Mai and seeing how that suits us.

Experiences So Far Of Being Nomadic With A Baby

We had all sorts of fears, anxieties and worries before we set off:

Would it be too much for Mali? Would it be unsettling? Is she going to scream for the whole flight? Will she cope with the heat, the time zone change, the mosquitos? Are we being irresponsible and bad parents for doing this to her?

Thankfully most of those fears have been allayed – although every now & then we do still wonder if this really is the *best* kind of lifestyle for Mali. Actually I’ve come to the conclusion that at her age (5 months), location doesn’t really matter but I think it will be more and more of a factor as she gets older.

For now though, here are a few of the things we’ve experienced & learned so far since we’ve been on the road again with Mali in tow…

Equipment: On a practical note, we have uhmed  & ahed about the equipment & stuff to bring with us for Mali. I’ll be writing a post about some of the gear we’ve been road-testing but here’s what we’ve found so far:

• In a hot, humid, tropical climate a buggy isn’t really necessary: you’re unlikely to walk around much and if you do, the baby will get really hot unless you get some kind of fan-contraption rigged up. If the baby is still small enough (or if not, you’ll need a strong person around!), a sling seems to be the best thing to use. We’ve hardly used our buggy – only in the malls a couple of times – but we use the sling almost every time we go out, particularly since Mali loves being able to see the new stuff around her.
• We expected to be able to get some of the basics really easily in Thailand; things like a simple changing mat (we have a travel one but wanted a cheap one for the apartment), packs of cheap babygro’s/onesies. Have we been able to get them? No! They seem to have all the fancy stuff (changing mat integrated into fancy changing table) but none of the basics.
• We really struggled for a baby bath since there’s no bath in the apartment and at 5 months, Mali’s quite a large & long baby. My parents had got the biggest baby bath they could find before we arrived but it was still too small, so we now use…a blow up paddling pool w/ our regular bath support! It works brilliantly & because it’s light, means we can take it with us elsewhere.

Flying with a baby: I had all sorts of stress about Mali hating flying, having problems with her ears and screaming for the whole flight. The reality? She played happily through the first flight from the UK to Dubai and slept a little (it was a day time flight) and slept in a bassinet for 90% of the 2nd flight from Dubai to Bangkok, despite being woken up at midnight to traipse to the airport!

No crying, no screaming and her ears were fine, despite not feeding on the way up & down, as we were advised by our health visitor. I can’t tell you how awkward it was though, trying to breastfeed her on the plane with a Muslim family next to me & trying not to expose myself, while at the same time trying not to let Mali’s kicking feet kick their child in the head!!

While a bassinet is useful, in future we may try & select the seats which give us a row to ourselves (use Seatguru to check out your plane & seat configuration) so we’re not sat next to another family with their own kids, reducing the cramped space even further.

Heat, humidity & bugs: We have acclimatised Mali fairly slowly to the heat by keeping the air con or fan on most of the time but gradually turning it down so she gets used to the natural temperature here. I’ve been very wary of dehydration and at the advice of our health visitor, have just offered her more milk, more frequently particularly when she seems to be hot & bothered.

So far, we’ve not had a problem with mosquitoes but brought with us some natural repellant rather than anything chemical-based (and certainly not DEET-based for a baby). We’ve managed to avoid the mosquitos by staying indoors at prime feeding time (dusk) and being vigilant about keeping the doors & windows of our apartment closed. We also have our homeopathy kit at the ready, in case of any bites and know which remedies to apply should Mali get any bites.

And the biggest thing we’ve learned so far?

Thai nappies (diapers) are crap!! We must have tried every brand available (including western brands here such as Huggies, Drypers etc.) but unfortunately nothing is as good as Pampers.

The best ones to use here (and thanks to everyone on Twitter who also recommended these) are the Mamy Poko brand – they’re slightly more expensive than others but worth it and are the closest thing we can find (both in comfort, fit & performance) to Pampers.