motorhoming with 6 month baby

shigg

Hi - planning to go to france for 3-4 weeks over Easter/Bank Holiday with our 6 month old baby (the first!). Any advice would be very welcome re France or general stuff re getting camper ready for a baby ie what to BRING as dont have a clue....We have a Hymer 544 with overcab bed, dinette and couch. Any tips re sleeping in camper/ferry, best time to travel, feeding, heat, ferry etc would be great. Sailing into Cherbourg and home from Roscoff. Thanks. Cant wait to get motorhime, didnt do much last year...Bring it on.

Mountainsandh

Where are you planning to put the baby to sleep ? Just asking, because we have a hymer 544 too (fixed bed at back + bed above cabin) and when son was smaller I had brought an extra cot bed mattress that fitted perfectly between the 2 dinette seats. In our case baby slept with his sister in the fixed (lower in case of falls !) bed during the night, but the cot mattress was so very handy during the day for naps and nappy changing times (even play time), when parked in a campsite, seeing as we had our meals outside and had the inside table removed.
Nappies and wipes and baby stuff is usually cheaper in French supermarkets than Ireland, so don't be bringing a stock of them, but take your own calpol if you use it, the French one is great (Doliprane) but dosage is different and takes a bit of getting used to. Try and know your baby's weight in kg before you leave so you won't be stuck if you do need medication.
If you feed your baby jars there is an amazing variety of really healthy ones in France, but both my babies are finicky and there were very few they liked, they're very different to the heinz and cow&gate selections here... so if baby is finicky on food, maybe bring a few jars. Formula brands are different so again, I always took my own so as not to upset tummies or tastebuds.
Other than that I wouldn't think it would be too much hassle to travel with a 6 months old, mine was 1 1/2 on our first trip and that was fine. We did have to adjust duration of trips, but a 6 months old is more likely to sleep while you're driving. We had to remove table first trip as his baby seat wouldn't fit otherwise, which meant a lot of picking up dropped stuff as we drove... but again you're less likely to get that :pac:
At Easter baby won't be suffering from the heat over there, so that shouldn't be a worry.
Planning our Easter break in Ireland, and our month long summer one in France, and I'm aching to go too...
Have a great trip !

DVD2009

we started last april in our mh (also a 544) when our son was 6mnts, we always put him above over the cab with 1 of us and we took turns each night to go up wit him. that worked for us a treat and kinda hoping it works the same this year

Mountainsandh

We should start a club...
Now that I think about it, our model with the fixed bed (ahhh... that bed is so comfy, can't wait to boot the kids out to the top bed) is probably the 644.

stapeler

Our youngest was 4mths old when we purchased our first MH (A small Hymer494). The moses basket and a travel cot worked for a while but became very cramped. A trip to the hardware and I got a piece of tough plastic netting (Scaffolding netting) which allowed us to fence off the overhead cab. It looked like a dog cage in the back of a volvo estate but worked well for the first few years and served it's purpose.
Easter won't be too warm in France so you should be fine there. Loads of baby food selections in the shops (The rabbit on the baby food jar may not actually mean rabbit in the jar). Our kids still don't like the milk in France so we usually bring an extra few liters for the first few days until we find the "Demi creme"? in the supermarket, best of a bad lot.
A phrase book is handy to have, my wife had a tough job explaining thrush to the pharmacist when the child contracted that.
If you have a travel cot bring it for the ferry, it usually fits snugly in the cabin. Irish ferries can supply them but I think at a price.
Bring some of the basic foods and if refrigerated ask the Ferryman to connect into their electricity for the journey over.

Malta1

Agree with all of the above......or youngest (now 8mts) has been on the van since she was 3 weeks old. From experience, I would suggest a travel cot. Not fo ruse int he van but for putting up outside (under awning etc) to let kid ahve a lit bit of "excercise time".

aerosol

Have took all our kids in the van from weeks old too.Its easy once your organised with basics etc.

We also have a 544 and were lucky enough to be given a very professionally made custom cot that fits on the long sofa seat.Its been a life saver with the youngest and we can sleep soundly knowing he's as safe in it as he is in his cot at home.It folds down almost flat for travelling.

France is very child friendly and you'll find all you need,prob for much cheaper soon as u land. Stapeler made a good coment re the milk,it takes a bit of getting used to as the vast majority is long life stuff and not'fresh' as we know it.

When you board the ferry ask one the staff if you can plug into the power(I've done this the last few long sailings and they've been happy to oblige) Means you keep any essentials you've brung with you nice and cold Depending on the type of cabin you've gone for you may well have a wee fridge in it so you can keep a bottle cold.

leana

About plugging into the power in the ferry make sure you've a european adapter with you so you can use the sockets. Also if you're organised enough bring your own food, the stuff on the ferry is such a rip off.

Our youngest was only 1 when we bought our camper and I'm trying to think back for any useful info I can give you but that's all I can come with at the minute. I'll post again if I think of anything..enjoy your trip, it's a lot easier bringing a baby on a trip than a toddler so make the most of it:)

Camdec

leana wrote: »

About plugging into the power in the ferry make sure you've a european adapter with you so you can use the sockets. Also if you're organised enough bring your own food, the stuff on the ferry is such a rip off.

Our youngest was only 1 when we bought our camper and I'm trying to think back for any useful info I can give you but that's all I can come with at the minute. I'll post again if I think of anything..enjoy your trip, it's a lot easier bringing a baby on a trip than a toddler so make the most of it:)

Very important to have the adapter to let you plug in to the electrical sockets. An electrical cool box would be a good idea too if you can manage it and sometimes you could pick one up cheap in France. Try and bring your own food and baby's (in cool box) and you'll save a good bit as some of the ferry food is just horrible and rather overpriced. Actually last year when we were on our way to the Med my wife got very very sick after she had eaten something on board the ferry; at the time she knew there was something not nice about it but for her at that stage it was too late. Ru travelling with Irish Ferries or Celtic Link? Have a great time! PS Buy your diesel at supermarkets (Leclerc, Carrefour, Casino, etc . . . much much cheaper than buying it on motorways/autoroutes