The much awaited trip back to Singapore for a visit was finally here. And over. Singapore has changed a lot since the last time I went back with my husband. The previous trip was more of a honeymoon plus we also visited Bali then. This time around, I was there with my 7 and a half month old baby.
Travel Packing: From Winter to Summer
Planning the trip still is important despite the fact that I used to be living in Singapore for decades and now it was a visiting trip. From the winter in Europe to the "summer" in Singapore, there still need considerations of how to handle the winter gears for both me and our baby. The weight of the winter coat, and the winter boots, plus the bulkiness of these things. You still need diapers no matter what, for the long haul flight of about 16 hours. If you are solo traveling with your baby, be sure to pack a lot of toys to keep your baby entertained. Very importantly, you ought to bring a pacifier or chewing toy to help your baby to equalize the pressure in her ears during take off and landing.
Travel packing for the checked-in luggage should be light. And since it is my first visit back with our baby, we received lots of presents from baby girl dresses to toys for baby, so it is definitely better to go with a bigger luggage case to store these items for the returning flight.
Arriving at the Airport before departure
Since my husband could send us off at the airport, he could help us bring back the winter gears. This preparation step really helped me greatly! So we changed into 'Summer clothings' in the baby-room in the airport before our departing flight. I have prepared a bag solely for this purpose so that when my husband pick us up when we return, he can bring the winter items to be changed back. February is one of the coldest month in Hungary!
Baby-wearing
Traveling solo with a baby, it is really important to keep your hands free by slinging the baby. For me, I am using the MobyWrap. I did managed to borrow a light stroller for my baby while we will be there for that two weeks, but my baby is not used to it and refused to sit in it. It could be partly due to the humidity in Singapore, and partly she is not comfortable in it. So it was quite taxing to sling her onto myself. Not forgetting to mention she was also sling on to me during the entire flight. I have made reservation of a bassinet for the flight from Paris to Singapore, however, she was crying the moment she was placed inside.
At first, I was quite worried that the heat and humidity in Singapore would not make the MobyWrap suitable. Now I cannot imagine without the sling and I cannot thank enough for the conveniences it had provided for the entire trip!
Baby Bassinet
Our baby was about 67 cm at the time of travel, and the bassinet is 70 cm. That was how close it got and probably she felt insecure first time being in the bassinet. Different airways company has different baby amenities provided, so it is important that you check in advanced before you book your flight to compare which is the best for you. While the criteria I've used when I was checking for the flights/airways company, was based on my preference of the shortest flight duration and the shortest transit. So for this, I've chosen Air France. The flight from Budapest to Paris is free for the baby since it is considered within Europe. For the intercontinental flight, I paid an additional of 10% of my adult fare plus the taxes even my baby is only 7.5 months old.
Actually, a bigger baby bassinet is available if we would have chosen Lufthansa (German) airline, their baby bassinets can hold baby up to 14 kg and maximum length of 83 cm. For me, the wait was rather too long in between flights. Thus, if you are planning to travel with your baby on long haul flights, you are certainly recommended to reserve a bassinet for your baby, in particular night flight. My baby did used it on the returning flight from Singapore to Paris as it was two hours longer than the arrival flight.
Baby Meals on Flight
I've also requested for baby meals on board for both the intercontinental flights. For this, you got to inform the airline at the point when you confirm your flights and remember you have to inform them that you are traveling with an infant. (It might sound a bit common sense, but there are parent(s) who didn't and had a huge conflict with the checked-in crew at the departure gate, having the assumptions that babies travel free of charge and held on lap).
Air France provided jarred baby food. Baby didn't really like the chicken and vegetables flavour. So I managed to feed her the other optional jar of pureed applesauce. Somehow the flight attendants forgot to issue the baby the gift set on our flight to Singapore. The flight attendants are more attentive for our returning flight from Singapore to Paris, so they gave baby a little towel that has one of the corners designed like a teether.
Seatbelt and Child Seat Regulations in Singapore
Effective from 1 January 2012, the new regulations imposed rules to properly secured your child with an appropriate child restraint. You could even use a booster seat cushion if your child is below 1.35m.
Traveling with a baby in taxis is more convenient than private cars since taxis are continue to be exempted from child safety seat requirements due to practical reasons.
to be continued... To Singapore: Traveling Long Haul with a Baby (Part Two)
Zannnie
