Traveling to India with a 5month old

[Anonymous]

We're talking our 5 month old baby two weeks to India to visit her grand-parents. This will be our first trip with DD.

I'd love to hear advice from others who have done similar long trip with a 5 month old, especially if it was to a developing country.
Any advice on how to deal with the plane trip, jet lag, what to take, etc would be greatly appreciated.

[Anonymous]

I'd start here:

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationIndia.aspx

[Anonymous]

I took my 8.5 mo old to India in May and had no problems except with the jet lag which really did a number on her. I'm guessing your babe is still on BM and/or formula exclusively so food won't be an issue. If you use formula, you could just use bottled water to mix it, or if you're staying with your parents, you can boil it!. I'm a pretty laid back mom, and had been to India many times b/f so didn't pack anything I wouldn't have packed for any other trip to any other place with the exception of some oral rehydration mix in case she got diarrhea (she didn't) but you could get that at a local pharmacy anyway. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

yes indeed, she only get BM so i don't need to worry about food
oral rehydration mix is a good idea

[Anonymous]

Are there other medications that you would take along?

[Anonymous]

A friend went to Kashmir with her infant - she mentioned that the malaria meds get to the baby through her milk so the baby would be covered.

[Anonymous]

This would be great. I'll see my doctor soon and I'll know whether I can take the same anti-malaria pills that I usually take or have to change

[Anonymous]

I'm the pp who took my 8 mo old to India. I also brought infant Tylenol with me. Another thing you may want to think about is baths. I felt comfortable bathing my dd in regular water, but I had a friend who went to visit her family & she took water purification tablets. When she gave her son a bath she'd use half boiled water for warmth and the rest purified. I did not take any malaria meds FWIW- I think they are toxic!

[Anonymous]

That's true I had not thought of her bath water. I think that purification tablets are a great idea as otherwise it is a lot of water to boil.
For the malaria pills I'll see what the doctor and pediatrician say. I never had side effect and know someone who struggled with the consequences of malaria for years so I never thought twice about taking them. But with the baby I'll need to seriously think about it.

[Anonymous]

up