This winter, my husband and I decided to take our (almost) 3-month old to the Dominican Republic. Going to an all inclusive to break our crazy Canadian winters has become an absolute must in our lives and having a newborn wasn’t going to stop us - and it shouldn’t stop you either!
Before taking the plunge, we did a lot of research to make sure little J was going to be safe. After many weeks of reading blogs, constantly checking the CDC website and travel.gc.ca, as well as talking to medical professionals, I’ve rounded up the tips and tricks that helped ensure our successful trip to an all inclusive (which I feel is content that is lacking on the interwebs). You should also check out my post on how/what we packed for additional tricks!
DEPARTURE AND RETURN FLIGHTS
General
Use a baby carrier. Carrying baby in the carrier was a key component to the success of our trip. Security is unlikely to ask you to remove the baby from the carrier, particularly if he’s asleep. Little J slept the whole time we carried him, so it made things a lot easier when going through both customs and security. He was in the carrier until we got on the plane, and then again to get off the plane until we got to the resort.
Only bring the stroller. If you have a click connect system, I would suggest leaving the carseat at home and only bringing the stroller with you. We checked it in at the gate and got it back with our luggage. It was fantastic to have while waiting for the plane. It was a great spot to carry our bags as well as good space for little J to kick around when he was awake. Once you’re at the resort, the stroller will be your best friend and the carseat will be unnecessary.
Take advantage of family lines at the airport. Most people don’t know they even exist until they have kids! At the Ottawa airport, we bypassed a long security line and went through in a matter of minutes. When we got to the Punta Cana airport, the customs officer picked us out of the line and APOLOGIZED for not seeing that we had a baby, so we skipped that line too. If nobody tells you about the family lines, enquire with an airport officer - it’s worth it and much less stressful, especially on your first trip with baby.
Diaper change
Take-off. Make sure you change the diaper right before they call you up for boarding. We only realized that little J had pooped when we got on the plane. We got a little flustered trying to maneuver through people settling in for the flight and making sure he was changed on time for take-off.
Landing. Again, make sure you change his diaper right before the descent. I would also suggest changing him into clothes appropriate for the destination at that point. We had to change little J out of his pyjamas into a cool onesie on the seat while people were leaving the plane, again, leaving us a little flustered. We probably could’ve left him in his pyjamas, but he would have been too warm since we had at least another hour or so before we got to the resort.
Mini-bag. This is a neat trick I read on a blog before we left: Keep a small bag inside your diaper bag with the necessary items for 1 diaper change. The washrooms on the plane are too small to carry the whole diaper bag. And honestly, you only need a few items, so it helps speed up the process.
Settling yourself on the plane
Seat Selection. Unless you’re breastfeeding or exclusively pumping, I would highly recommend getting the isle and middle seats (if travelling with someone. Otherwise, you should pick the isle seat). Because I had to pump on the plane, I sat by the window to have more privacy. However, the passenger sitting by the isle constantly had to get up because we had to make more trips to the washroom than anticipated for little J. While we were more prepared on the way back, it was still a bit of a hassle.
Clean your area. We carried antibacterial wipes in our carry-on and wiped everything down around us when we got on the plane. Little J only had his 2-month vaccines, so he wasn’t completely immune to everything. We wanted to make sure that he was exposed to the least germs. We also used Purel to clean our hands as often as we could. (Note that this was also useful for us to do at the resort. When sitting on our lap, he would put his little hands everywhere!)
Carry-on. We were very proud of ourselves when we walked onto the plane with only a diaper bag for little J’s stuff, a small backpack for us and a cooler for my breastmilk. However, because the cooler had to stay at my feet, we only had room for one of the other bags. Clearly, the diaper bag would trump, but we still needed items from our backpack throughout the flight and had to make the isle passenger move every time. Therefore, make sure that whatever bag you have at your feet has all the items you need to avoid the back and forth. If you don’t have the cooler problem, then you’re good to go with both bags with you.
Feeding
Use Drop-ins + new nipples. This is another neat trick that I picked up through my research: If you’re bottle feeding (whether formula or breastmilk), use drop-ins and a new nipple every time. Yes. Bring enough nipples for the number of anticipated feedings while you don’t have access to clean water to wash your items (on the plane + waiting around at the airport). If you’re already using the drop-in system at home, then you’re ready to go. But if you don’t (we use the AVENT Natural bottles), you should know that we used the Playtex drop-ins anyway. However, because the measurements are different on the drop-in liner and the AVENT bottle, we measured the milk in an empty 8oz pumping bottle and then poured it into the liner, dropped the liner in the bottle and carefully closed it. It worked like a charm! That way we didn't have to worry about little J having to get used to new nipples on the plane. Once you’re done, throw away the liner and change the nipple (keep separate bags for clean and dirty nipples). That’s it!
Warming the milk. Since we were carrying my breastmilk in a cooler, the milk was always a little chill. Little J didn't mind the cold milk, but if you need to warm up your milk, simply ask the stewardess for half a cup of hot water. They’ll gladly help in any way they can!
VACATION TIME
Pick the right resort. That is key. Picking a resort that caters to young families should be your first priority when looking into going to an all inclusive down south. We stayed at the Alsol Luxury Village in Punta Cana and it was amazing. There are ramps everywhere for strollers and they have 2 kiddie pools. There are enough palm trees around the pools to provide some great shade for babies. Plus, the room had a fully equipped kitchen (except for a microwave), so I was easily (while slightly time consuming) able to sanitize my pump parts and his bottles, as well as warm his bath water (more on that below).
By the Pool
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| Little J had great naps in his BabyMoov! |
Get a BabyMoov UV tent. It was a fantastic item to use by the pool (or at the beach - there was no beach at our resort). Covers baby from the sun and it has a mosquito net to keep away any bugs.
At the hotel
Bring your own sheets. Since we were a little paranoid going to a foreign country with an infant and any possible germs he could catch, we brought a pillow case for little J to lie on at bedtime instead of lying him directly on the hotel sheets. We also brought a large bed sheet to cover the couch, on which we could lie him down to kick around.
H2O. If you’re worried about hepatitis A contamination like we were (since babies can’t get immunized before 6 months), then have a game plan for baths and bottles. The store at the resort sold 5L jugs of water that we used to give little J his baths. The number of water bottles that the hotel provided was never enough for both sanitizing my pump parts/his bottles + his baths. Technically, we could’ve asked for more water bottles every time, but it was easier to purchase the jugs at the store when we knew we would need a large quantity for the night. Another neat trick to warming up bottles, use the coffee maker in your room to prepare hot water!
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| Our great bath contraption! |
*Because of the limited amount of water we had, I would use the bottle drop-in system throughout the whole trip next time. Washing nipples only would’ve been much easier.
Bouncy chair. The bouncy chair we use at home can easily be dismantled and since little J can’t sit on his own yet, we brought it with us to avoid him being on his back for the whole week. We used it a lot when we were hanging out in the hotel room. It was also very useful for bath time - we removed the material cover and tied a towel to it and sat him in it (with one parent holding him at all times just in case…).
Hope these tips and tricks will help you plan your next trip. Leave a comment below and let me know if you have any other tips for traveling with babies!
