Im travelling to Pak with 5 month old son

[Nadia I]

Hi,
I was wondering if someone could help me. I'm travelling to Pakistan from the UK with my son who is 5 months old. We are going next month, and I am quite nervous as to what I should take with me for my son, and what is already available there. Also I need advice on health and safety for him while we are there.
If someone has been in this situation, can you please help me out. Thanks.

Nadia

[KAKA-ATOM-BUM]

Theres pretty much everything available there. Just keep him nice n warm, and I would suggest mineral water at least for the baby, tap water isnt a good idea, unless properly boiled n filtered, even for urself. other stuff like branded milk or baby food etc. is available in the major cities if you are fussy about it. I,m not a parent so I cant really get into too much detail regarding specific things, but nappies and other babycare products are easily available in the cities, so u can buy watever u need to incase u run out, or if ur going to a village, cos you wont be able to get stuff in the villages.
Have a nice trip and welcome to Gupshup.

p.s. check with ur local health department regarding the necessary vaccinations for your babies and get him vaccinated before travelling, because I dont think Pakistan has any standardized vaccination program, and plus, you dont want two different types of vaccination programs mixing up.

[Shahreen]

I travelled to pakistan with a six month old, and was a bit anxious before going too.

The only bit to really worry about is during take-off and landing, due to the whole ear popping thing. Best way to get round this is try to feed your son as the suckling will relieve the pressure in his ears.

Apart from that, dress him comfortably. Take the usual...........change of clothes, toys, wet wipes etc.

Good luck.

[funguy]

I would also recommend taking along some basic medicine such as Infant Tylenol (or any other fever reducer), some teething ointment like orajel, and cough syrup etc.

A friend of mine and his wife took their 4 month old to Pakistan and had no problems. They believe this is the best age when the baby is only drinking milk. Just make sure whoever comes into contact with your baby washes his hands. Also, keep him away from other sick children.

Shahreen, my ears also pop out during take off and landing. I will try suckling next time. Thanks for the tip.

[Femme Fatale]

And I was in a state of shock thinking this was NadiaH.

If you are breast-feeding the kid take your mineral water bottles with you and be careful with what you eat.

[Code_Red]

Originally posted by funguy:

Shahreen, my ears also pop out during take off and landing. I will try suckling next time. Thanks for the tip.

And i thought you already knew this

Nadia if you are going to any big city then almost everything is available. Bring along any prescribed medicines. And do care about water.Use bottled water which is pretty much available everywhere.

Then pm these experienced ladies like shahreen, they will help you a lot

Have a nice stay

[Xara]

you should buy the sachets of calpol they were a life saver when we went on holiday with my baby brother

[Shahreen]

Nadia, how long are you going for?

[Shahreen]

Originally posted by funguy:
Shahreen, my ears also pop out during take off and landing. I will try suckling next time. Thanks for the tip.

You mean you weren't already? I wonder who that was then.......

[Shirin]

As funguy says, as long as a baby is taking only milk - your milk - s/he should be OK. That way you can avoid using any water whatsoever. Even mineral waters are not 100% reliable.

WHO (the World Health Organization) recommends exclusive breastfeeding (meaning no water either) for six months. If you are travelling when he is six months old you can wait another couple weeks before you start gradually introducing solids. It's best to avoid weaning when in a new situation.

I have travelled with my kids all over the world and at all ages and at least food wise the easiest age is when they are small. Good luck and enjoy yourself!

[hmcq]

Mineral water in Pakistan is important. If the kid is on any special diet then make sure to take appropriate amounts for that (my cousin had to pack soy milk cause her daughter was lactose allergic I think). Also talk to your doctor and get some basic medicine for the kid (especially things that may be hard to get in Pakistan, specifically for kids). Other then that enjoy the time there.

[abc1234]

everything is avlbl in the big cities of pak like karachi, lahore, islamabad, peshawar, quetta..even smaller cities have everything nowadays...

but if you are going to a village then things might not be so easily avlbl...you could always buy somethings from a nearby city without having to take them all the way from UK

while you are in pak keep him away from mosquitoes at night, get a mosquito net for him...

also as someone mentioned, use mineral water for the baby...

kids develop diarrhoea b/c of change of food, unclean water...and then they can get dehydrated...for that u have to give them ORS water avlbl everywhere easily...and be careful abt their diet...

most kids also develop fever or body rashes due to heatstroke but if u r coming this time of the yr, the weather is not extreme so the baby should be ok and there wont be chances of excess cold or heat stroke...

another problem is that babies from abroad r not used to different types of people hugging and kissing them all the time like it is done in pakistan and sometimes babies develop rashes on the face skin or allergies becos of that...i think a good way to keep him safe from that is (this is what my cousin did) is to keep him properly covered and powder his face with this baby medical powder...it was from BOOTS i think...

a lot of my relatives have brought kids to pak n apart from the things i mentioned above they have been fine...some ppl dont take too many precautions and some do..

have a safe and fun trip

[cat-woman]

Originally posted by Femme Fatale:
And I was in a state of shock thinking this was NadiaH.

as well, I was like woah china, why drop this bomb on us now!

[Nadia I]

Thankyou very much everybody for your replies. You won't believe it but i'm sat here with a pen and paper writing down your tips.

Shareen, I am going on the 20th of March from Heathrow Airport on PIA. We live in Rawalpindi. I hope wet wipes are available there, as I rely on them so much!

Thanks again guys!

[ChaChoo]

I will be more worried about traveling by PIA ... rest is in your hands, you can manage...