baby on hols

Jotter

Hi All

Going to lanzorote in 2 weeks yey bringing baby with us. Its our first hol with baby and at time of booking I thought it would be straight forward but now have lots of questions popping up in my head!

Ive sorted sterilisor with hotel but seeing how you cant drink tap water what kind of water do you use in bottles, can you boil up mineral water or tap water? Were bringing ready made cartons but in case these run out - they dont do c&g there apparantly!

Also well be getting taxi to airport and back home and also taxi from airport to hotel so will be doing 4 trips in car, I want to bring car seat but himself thinks it will be too much to be carrying and that the carseat could be robbed off conveyor belt - we had luggage stolen before - that I should just put baby on my lap in car, Im really not keen on this - do you think Im being over protective or just normal!!? Im sure hell be fine but dont like taking the chance!

Sorry for silly questions just this first time mam thing is headwrecking sometimes!!!

Pherekydes

Jotter wrote:

Hi All

Going to lanzorote in 2 weeks yey bringing baby with us. Its our first hol with baby and at time of booking I thought it would be straight forward but now have lots of questions popping up in my head!

Ive sorted sterilisor with hotel but seeing how you cant drink tap water what kind of water do you use in bottles, can you boil up mineral water or tap water? Were bringing ready made cartons but in case these run out - they dont do c&g there apparantly!

Also well be getting taxi to airport and back home and also taxi from airport to hotel so will be doing 4 trips in car, I want to bring car seat but himself thinks it will be too much to be carrying and that the carseat could be robbed off conveyor belt - we had luggage stolen before - that I should just put baby on my lap in car, Im really not keen on this - do you think Im being over protective or just normal!!? Im sure hell be fine but dont like taking the chance!

Sorry for silly questions just this first time mam thing is headwrecking sometimes!!!

How is he flying? In a special seat or on your lap? He'll be just as safe if not more so if he's on your lap. Just my opinion. Enjoy the Canaries!

ArthurDent

We've always brought our car seat - never had a problem. If you are going to rent a car on the island would highly recommend your own seat. You wouldn't put your baby on oyur lap in a car here, why should you do so on holiday.

Lanzarote is a great place for babies/kids - warm without being too hot and all the restaurants very family friendly.

The airport is good too - although food their is pretty limited to burgers and chips variety so if you have a long wait on the way home bring some sandwiches with you!
Enjoy

Debracd

AFAIK you now HAVE to have babies in carseats in Taxi's here whether ya like it or not, so I think you may have to bring the carseat for the journey to and from the airport anyway!

Pherekydes

Debracd wrote:

AFAIK you now HAVE to have babies in carseats in Taxi's here whether ya like it or not, so I think you may have to bring the carseat for the journey to and from the airport anyway!

Nope. Taxis are excluded from the new childseat laws. For now.

dame

I'd definitely bring the carseat. If you're worried about it being stolen/lost you could always buy a second one, the lightest, plainest, cheapest one you can find (that still meets relevant safety regulations). That way if it gets stolen you won't miss it too much and when you come home a spare car seat is always handy to have for occasional use in grandparents car etc.

Victor

Jotter wrote:

Going to lanzorote in 2 weeks yey bringing baby with us.

Lovely spot. Whereabouts? I spent two weeks in Costa Teguise with my sister & husband and their 4 girls (age 4 months - 12 years then). Be conscious of the wind effect, even when the sun / temperature is low.

Ive sorted sterilisor with hotel but seeing how you cant drink tap water what kind of water do you use in bottles, can you boil up mineral water or tap water?

Only use bottled water for cooking and drinking (and I suppose sterilising). You can buy bottled water there very cheaply. Note it is bottled water, not mineral water. Firgas is the most popular brand.

Were bringing ready made cartons but in case these run out - they dont do c&g there apparantly!

My sister brought enough milk powder for a week, but had great difficulty after that, as the local baby milks were very high in sugar.

Also well be getting taxi to airport and back home and also taxi from airport to hotel so will be doing 4 trips in car, I want to bring car seat but himself thinks it will be too much to be carrying and that the carseat could be robbed off conveyor belt - we had luggage stolen before - that I should just put baby on my lap in car, Im really not keen on this - do you think Im being over protective or just normal!!? Im sure hell be fine but dont like taking the chance!

Nobody is going to steal you car seat - don't you think they will look slightly suspicous going through security with a baby seat and non baby? I'm not sure, but I suspect the airline will allow you bring the car seat right up to the plane and only then put it in the hold, and then allow it out first aswell, the same with wheelchairs and buggies. If its stolen, the airline will have to pay for it. Make sure you know how to fit the seat in strange cars, so read up on it and bring the manual. If you get an MPV-type taxi, the safest seats are the rear facing ones, just make sure the luggage is stowed properly.

General information http://www.icanarias.com/lanzarote/information/uk/index/ - of all the things you do, make sure you see the Timanfaya National Park

Jotter

thanks for the advice - going to playa blanca. Going to take car seat after all that! Id prefer to have it and I know it wont be stolen! :rolleyes: !

RainyDay

Victor wrote:

Nobody is going to steal you car seat - don't you think they will look slightly suspicous going through security with a baby seat and non baby? I'm not sure, but I suspect the airline will allow you bring the car seat right up to the plane and only then put it in the hold, and then allow it out first aswell, the same with wheelchairs and buggies. If its stolen, the airline will have to pay for it.

There is always the slim possibility that it could be stolen by a family with kids, but anyway, I'd still agree with the recommendation to bring the car seat with you. When we brought a seat to the US for a week, it was about 1/2 the price of renting a seat from Avis. They took the seat off us a check-in (we had kept it in the original plastic packing for weather protection) and we collected it on the conveyor belt with our other luggage. Same on the return journey.

embee

When we went to France in September, we used a local taxi firm who provided car seats. There were 6 of us - we went up to the airport in the minibus they provided, baby in car seat... I really would absolutely NOT take the risk of holding baby on your lap for the journey to the airport, no matter how small.

Anyways, in terms of the tap water - you are going to be boiling it anyway before you make up bottles, which will kill most or all germs etc. If you are still uncomfortable with that idea, you can use Evian mineral water, as it has a low sodium content. We used Evian and our then 7 month old was fine. We actually ended up buying ready-made cartons in France on the last day, so we could just make up the bottles in the morning by pouring the cartons into the pre-sterilised bottles. Our daughter didn't notice the difference at all - she had no idea she was drinking French formula. If its hot, baby will be glad of a drink, no matter what it is. You should always have a couple of bottles of cooled boiled water on standby too - baby can get very dehydrated very quickly in the heat.

Victor

embee wrote:

Anyways, in terms of the tap water - you are going to be boiling it anyway before you make up bottles, which will kill most or all germs etc.

Its not (just) about germs. The tap water has a very high salt content which will result in severe diarrhoea. You might survive, a baby might not.

embee

Victor wrote:

Its not (just) about germs. The tap water has a very high salt content which will result in severe diarrhoea. You might survive, a baby might not.

Aye Victor, you're right. Sorry, I should have said in my last post that, on the advice of my GP, we used the Evian rather than tap water. (I got called away from the computer by her ladyship, demanding her bottle!)

squire1

If you are going to use bottled water, just make sure the sodium content is as low as possible. As embee says, Evian is good but ring the C&G helpline (number should be on the tin) and they will give you a list of bottled waters that they would recommend.

As for the car seat, there would be plenty of private transfer companies in the Canaries that would provide a car seat for your child to and from the airport. They would be cheaper than taxi too. A quick google should locate one for you.

Unfortunately, Irish companies do not do the same so you will still have to get to and from Dublin Airport:(

Best of luck on the hols.