Must take items for a one year old infant
 

Can any give suggestions on must-take items for a one year old infant?

I'm sorry but I've no idea what you are asking. Do you mean to take as a gift? Or do you mean what to take for your child whilst travelling? If the latter, surely you should know....

Must-take to where?

I'm sure s/he is asking whether everything needed for the baby (disposable diapers, baby food, etc.) will be available in Europe. Malamill, why don't you tell us where you are going, and what items are of concern, and then someone can help you.

I was wondering if any had any suggestions on what to take to Europe besides the obvious (like clothes, diapers, etc.), that was useful for the trip w/ a one year old?

A sturdy stroller and one of those baby back packs are great items to have. The stroller should be able to go over cobble stone streets (wheels with suspension), and can go into a lie-down position. Baby wipes, of course. Plastic bags with cheerios. Small plastic baby bottles and a bottle brush. Wash cloths are great. And know your baby's weight in kilos so you can find the right diapers. Baby nail clips are also a must.

Take a serious look at the Combi Travel strollers. All the wheels have independent suspension and the thing packs down to an 11 lb. wonder! Mine survived two weeks of Italian cobbles and several other European trips taken by friends to whom I had lent the stroller.

I also had a "15 minute rule" for flying with my daughter when she was a toddler. I made sure to have something new for every 15 minutes we were contained in a seat. Anything from a cookie or small baggie of fruit, to a set of crayons, small toys, a little book or a stuffed animal. Everywhere I went back in those days, I collected tiny toys like finger puppets, sticker books, etc., because we travelled regularly.

It sounds like a lot and you can probably get by with less on a longer flight since your child will likely sleep a few hours, but for shorter domestic flights, it always worked for us.

If you are nursing, don't give it up now! Nothing better for a flying baby than breastfeeding.

A variety of ziploc bags are also good to have. Yes, you can buy almost anything "over there" but why not just packs a few in assorted sizes and have them handy for snacks, dirty clothes, etc.

Though it sounds obvious, be sure to have plenty of diapers in your carry-on. I foolishly brought what I thought was enough for our flight home from Italy. We unexpectedly landed in Paris due to engine trouble, sat on the runway for hours and were finally shuttled to a hotel overnight. I had to run around CDG looking for diapers. And that was before I knew my around CDG. PITA.

MAKE SURE you have Motrin on the plane. Our daughter, 10 months old at Christmas, had no trouble on our return flight from Belfast to New York, but then screamed the entire flight back to our home. We didn't realize that she had an ear infection. I didn't have anything in carry-on to give her. It was her 14th flight, and she's never had a problem before. So now I always put the Motrin right next to my passport.

The other must-take thing is their own seat on the plane. I flew once to Ireland with the baby in my lap, and I will never ever ever do that again. It was miserable, even though she slept most of the time. The flights were full, so it was awful.

If your baby is still eating mainly prepared baby food, I'd take some with you. We were in Ireland over Christmas, and our baby refused to eat any of the baby food I bought there. She lived on yogurt for 2 weeks. She didn't have any problems switching formulas, though. Which may or may not be an issue for you at one year old.

This isn't really a must-take, but I bought a portable high-chair seat. It hooks onto tables. Trying to feed my daughter without a high-chair is a nightmare because she moves around so much. So now I take this seat when we travel. We're light packers, so we always have room for it.

a change of clothes for baby AND for you on each flight.... : /

^^^

As a follow up to the ear infection comment, I would recommend visiting your pediatrician just before your trip (advice I've received from mine) to screen for ear infections or anything else unsavor. Our pediatrician always sends me off on any trip longer than a weekend with un-mixed antibiotics (samples they have in their office) to deal with an ear infection. My 18-month old is prone to them, and I now know how to spot one before the little fellow becomes too miserable, so perhaps that is why the doctor sends me with a "discretionary" prescription.

As an additional follow-up, I would respectfully disagree with the recommendation regarding a Combi travel stroller. I bought a lightweight Combi specifically for travelling after my fancy Italian stroller was damaged on a flight last May. I've had friends lose a Bugaboo in transit, as well (perhaps some baggage handler's little child is now enjoying a smooth ride in a Gecko?). My Combi stroller travels very well and folds up to a manageable size, but I use it only for domestic travel. I will not be taking it to Europe with me this spring, as it is a disaster on the cobblestones here in Boston. When our nanny is sick or unavailable, I have to take my son to work with me and the Combi gets stuck (as in comes to a complete, unexpected, dead stop) on cobblestones and some bricks. The wheels are just too small. I've noticed, however, that the wheels on some models in the store now (I bought mine last fall) seem to be a bit larger, so maybe it's not a big deal anymore. I have a Chicco umbrella stroller that has larger wheels and handles the cobbles much, much better. It doesn't recline much, so I won't take that one with me on my next trip. I'm probably going to get a Chicco "Tuscany" or "C5" for our upcoming travel, as it has the bigger wheels like my umbrella stroller, but reclines and still folds up to a compact package and seems like it will serve our needs. Also, costs less than $100 and the big plus is my son refused to get out of it in the store. Sunshade is small, though, so will use an extra attachment for that purpose. Hope this is helpful.

Definitely take lots of new books, toys, etc., as someone else recommended. Wrapping them up as presents will get you a few extra minutes out of them, too!

If your baby is still eating baby food, I would try to take along what you need. I hate wasting my precious vacation time looking for stuff like that and would rather have the extra room at the end of the trip for my shopping booty. Don't forget a couple of baby spoons, as I have found it difficult to use a full size one for a 1 year old and difficult to find a small one in some places. I also have had a hard time finding dish soap to wash the spoons I have taken with me in the past, so I would recommend taking a small bottle (travel shampoo size) of dish soap. Little convenience stores didn't have any and I didn't want to waste time finding a supermarket.

Have a nice trip!

Adding to the liquid soap comment, I like the travel size Dove liquid soap, which is good to wash the baby and the spoon. As an alternative, the trial size of baby shampoos (bring a bunch of them) also double for washing spoons and baby bottles.

At least 15 years ago, when our son was a baby, we could only find baby food in pharmacies in France and Italy. We did run out of baby food and our son preferred the Italian baby food (Gerber, ironically enough) to the American version, because they add salt to it which gives it more flavor. Also, we found yogurt and stuffed bell peppers (hamburger, rice & tomatoes) made fine baby food, along with fresh bananas (take the spoon, and scrape the banana along the sides, and instant mushed banana!).