Top tips to keep your little one in top form whilst you're away from home.

Feeding

If you’re using powdered formula whilst you’re abroad, it’s best to make it up with boiled bottled water, not tap water as you do at home. When you’re buying bottled water, check the label first: the amount of sodium (Na) should be less than 200mg per litre and sulphate (SO or SO4) should be less than 250mg per litre.

Given all this trickiness, some families prefer to just take ready-to-feed formula with them on holiday. If you need to buy more formula whilst you’re away, it’s a good idea to check the manufacturer’s website first, as names and ingredients can vary from country to country.

Sun safety

To stay safe in the sun, you’ll want to use a very high factor sun cream, preferably one labeled “sun block”, and apply it to your little one at least half an hour before you venture outside. Loose cotton clothing and a sunhat will also help keep that tender skin safe; young babies can burn very quickly, even with sunblock on, so you’re safest keeping your baby in the shade as much as possible. When you’re out and about, you can use a sun shield in the car and a sun canopy on your buggy; UV proof swimsuits and clothing are also a good way of keeping the sun’s rays at bay.

Pesky pests

If you’re headed somewhere tropical, mosquitoes might be an issue. Insect repellents aren’t suitable for children under 2 months, so your best bet is to invest in a net. You can use this over your pushchair, especially at dusk and early in the morning, when mosquitoes are most active. At night, ensure all the windows and doors are shut and use the net on your baby’s cot. To help prevent mosquito bites, you can also turn on a mosquito plug-in before leaving your room in the evening, so that when you return after a couple of hours, any mosquitoes will have been killed. (If, after all this, your baby is unlucky enough to get bitten, you can ease the itch with a cool, damp flannel.)

Travellers’ diarrhoea

Your baby, thankfully, isn’t likely to come down with this, but you might! If you come down with traveller’s diarrhoea while you’re away, it’s best to continue breastfeeding; it is highly unlikely that you will pass it on to your baby. Prevention is better than cure, so if you’re in a country where you can’t drink the tap water, try to eat only cooked, hot foods and avoid uncooked fruit, vegetables and salad unless they have been washed in safe water or can be peeled. Drink only bottled water, and remember: washing your hands is the single most important thing you can do to prevent infections.

It may seem like a lot to keep in mind, but it will be worth it – after all, your first holiday with your little one will be in your memory bank forever. We hope you have a wonderful first holiday together!