Help going to Canada toronto with baby for first time!!

C

chrissy2

Registered User
Hello ladies, I am fying to Toronto, Canada with my 7 month old baby for the first time and I have some questions...

1. The time change, how will this affect my baby for sleep? Will he want to sleep during the day in Canada like if it was night time in Hong Kong? Or will he just adjust right away and sleep all through the night in Canada and only take his naps during the day? Will he be able to sleep all through the night in Canada on the first day we arrive or will he be confused?

2. Do babies get Jet Leg like we do? If so how does this affect them?

3. we are fying to toronto at 4pm Hong Kong time, should I keep my baby on the same sleeping schedule or should I try to change it to affect Toronto time, and keep him up a little and not let him sleep so long (for his night sleep I mean) my baby usually sleeps from 8:30/9pm-7am)

4. We are flying Cathay Pacific, and they have told us that they can provide the baby food (just food not formula) does anyone know if its good, and what kind is it? I have asked Cathay but they didnt understand what I was asking...! Language barrier got to love it! The lady would answer me yes we have food for baby! lol

5. And last question for a stroller i was told hat we can bring it on and they will fold it up and store it, ...Im worried because I have a big Peg Perego Pliko P3 model is it too big will they make us check it in/

Well Im sorry for all the questions, I hope someone can help answer them for me! Thank you in Advance!

From Chrissy
 
1) babies suffer jet lag, just like the rest of us. it took my two kids about 7-10 days to be totally turned around. it was exhausting for me, to say the least.

2) i would say for a 7 month old, just go with the flow, don't worry about it too much. if the baby is tired, let him sleep. it will save you A LOT of headaches and the trouble of dealing with a baby that is over-tired.

3) usually the airlines provide gerber or heinz. i would still take a couple of jars if i were you though, just in case

4) even if the stroller is too big, ask to check it in at the gate. they will let you keep the stroller right up until you get to the gate, then they will take it and fold it and store in the cargo hold. when you get to the other side, you wait when you get off the flight and they will bring it to you.
 
1)Your baby will probably be totally confused and want to sleep all day and play at night, at least mine did. It was pretty tough. I tried to just switch him right onto Toronto time, but nope...It took a good week or so to settle down. Coming back to HK was much easier (for all) but to North America is harder.

2) Surprising, but they do get jetlag like us. It affects them in the same way - their body clocks are confused, things are all different, can make them irritable, sleeping at weird times, etc.

3)For your sanity`s sake, I would just try to do things as usual since you`ll be on the plane and will want your baby to sleep as much as possible. Worry about Canada once you get there.

4)I have flown Cathay a few times with my baby and each time they give more or less the same thing - Heinz sweetcorn and chicken (x2), strawberry yogurt dessert and a bottle of juice. Could be worse, but could also be a lot better. They`ll also give you a little pack with some cream samples and 2 large diapers. For your sake I hope you have the bulkhead seat with a bassinette.

5) Your stroller can fold up though, right? Assuming so, you`ll leave it at the door of the plane, and they`ll put it in the checked bag compartment of the plane. When you arrive in TO, you`ll wait ouside the plane and they`ll bring it to you.

Have fun over there!

5)
 
We just came back from Toronto with our 9 month old and it actually went pretty well. I found he adjusted to the time quite quickly. I took the same flight as you. I just followed his normal routine on the plane. He didn't sleep as much so he was tired and able to sleep when we arrived in Toronto.

I didn't let him sleep longer than his normal nap times during the day and he adjusted quickly. The first night we were up playing from 4:00 until 5:30 but the next night was much better.

I brought my own food on the flight. I didn't like the stuff they provided last time we flew with them. I think they provided heinz stuff. They also provide diapers but I found them not great so used my own. I brought the water for formula onto the plane with no trouble in HK or coming back from Toronto.

I have a peg perego aria and had no trouble bringing it to the gate. Think yours is bigger though. I've found they let you bring a lot of stuff if you are traveling with a baby.

Good luck. Hope it goes well.
 
I have a peg perego pliko P3 and I have traveled everywhere with it. They take it at the gate no problem.

Enjoy your trip =)
 
Hi Chrissy2, we just came back from 2 weeks in Vancouver.

1, 2: Baby was jet-lagged and was following HK time in Canada. She was 'napping' at night and slept a long stretch of 8 - 9 hours during the day. I just went with her flow. We've been back to HK for a week, and she is still jet lagged, and no longer sleeping through the night, but that could also be because she is sick. Slowing adjusting back though, and I keep my fingers crossed that tonight will be the night she starts sleeping through the night again. I am exhausted :)

3. Not sure if you can successfully keep him up when he's tired and due for bed. He might end up being all cranky and difficult on the flight. We took the red-eye and baby slept all through the flight and woke up an hour before we landed.

4. CX provides 8 bottles of Heinz, 2 large Pet Pet diapers, 1 sample size Mustela Hydra Bebe and 1 sample size Mustela Vitamin Barrier cream. I will suggest you bring your own food, cos we have flown 4 times over the past 4.5 months, and only once did they give us the baby food. I am sure if they forget, you can ask them though.

5. No problem with stroller. Just bring it with you and you can fold and store it at the gate. One thing I noticed though was that the stewardess did not offer help with the stroller. So should you be traveling alone, you might have problem single-handedly folding the stroller, putting it in the plastic bag, while holding your baby/bags etc. So do ask them for help.
 
i've never had to put my stroller into a plastic bag... never flown CX though. gone China Eastern (NEVER again) & Northwest since kids came along.
 
Great advice ladies, thank you so much..will bring my own food for sure, and maybe just use the little one's carrier and use my brothers stroller at home if needed.

Thank you very helpful!!
 
1,2: As everyone said already, jet-lag and time change affects everyone, including babies. We went to Canada (Calgary) last September for a month. He was 7 months when we went. It took about 1.5 weeks to get him somehow used to Canada time (meaning for us to get a decent night sleep) but eventually took 3.5 weeks for baby to fully adjust to Canada time, which by then was almost time to leave.
Therefore, it depends on how long you're planning to stay there but try to get him used to the time zone once you're there as quickly as possible (for ex., make his normal HK time sleep as naps so he gets tired for the Canada sleep time) but don't stress about it too much.

3. You will get the stink-eye just for having a baby on the airplane. So keep the baby normal routine in the airplane, bring his favorite toys. As the other ladies said, let him sleep as much as he wants to and try to nurse or give him something to suck on during take-off and landing.
We find that bassinettes are a great idea but in the end not really as you have to take baby out of it whenever the plane hits turbulences. So even when our baby was sleeping soundly, we had to take him out of it and eventually he ended up sleeping on us throughout the whole flight.

4. Unless the security rules also changed for Canada due to the latest scare in the US, baby formula and food are the only 'liquids' allowed in the cabin. I would personally bring my own food so I know what I feed him is good and somewhat healthier.

5. No problem with the stroller. When you check-in, they will put a tag on the stroller, give you a plastic bag for it (to use later) and let you push around the airport until you're ready to board the airplane. When boarding time comes, you will have to leave the stroller (in the plastic bag) at the door of the airplane. Then upon landing, the stroller will be ready for you once you step out of the airplane door --you may also have to wait a little in case of delays.
From my experience, Cathay (but only out of HK) is the only company that provides plastic bag for the stroller.

Good luck with all the logistics and have a good trip!
 
carang said:
i've never had to put my stroller into a plastic bag... never flown CX though. gone China Eastern (NEVER again) & Northwest since kids came along.
Click to expand...

CX gave us a big bag to put our stroller in. My husband and I were too busy with our starbucks to bother with it (oh and um, taking care of our BABY), and the antsy attendent who wanted us on the plane pronto ended up doing it for us (like they should - CX overcharges babies without a seat, crazy). When we were finished with our coffees, of course though;)
 
We just returned from a short trip, and I noticed that on the Long Haul flights, they've added an extra security at the gate, and all liquids that people had purchased in the terminal were being confiscated.

Can anyone confirm is this correct?
 
rani - all flights to US and Australia have been like that for a while. no liquids at all to be brought on the plane. even if they were purchased in the terminal. not sure if they have extended the same rules to other destinations too.....
 
Liquids that have been screened at security are fine, just no additional liquids that were purchased in the terminal - duty free alcohol, perfume, bottles of drink etc.
You can refuse the plastic stroller bag if you dont want it, but think you would then struggle to make a claim for damages if your stroller was destroyed by rain or badly scratched in the cargo hold.
 
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Hi

I'm traveling to the UK via Bangkok on Thursday, and my son has been prescribed some liquid medicine for his runny nose. Do you think there's going to be a problem? It's in a 100ml plastic bottle.

Thanks
 
Have 3 & 6 year old and last time we went to Vancouver I had a whole medicine bag with me ... Dimetapp, Anitbiotics ... (of course someone always gets sick just before we leave!) The Dimetapp was in a bigger bottle and I just had it all in a clear zip-lock bag and they didn't say anything! I was prepared to take a sip from each bottle that is how bad I needed it for the flight! Was just me and 2 kids! Also had 2 small UHT milk boxes with me (250 ml or bigger) and no problem.
 
Any liquids required for baby, be they food or medication, are allowed on flights, and are exempt from the 100ml rules. This is definite for US and Australia flights (have checked their foreign affairs / security sites before flying). If you're goign somewhere else I would check the destination country's similar site. It's not to do with the airline or HK airport itself.
 
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