We just returned home from our first trip to China with Ian visiting grandparents and extended family. A lot of friends (both with and without little ones) have been curious about how we managed the travels with our 6 month old. So we wanted to share our experience and hopefully you can find a couple useful tips here.
QUICK TRIP OVERVIEW
Ian was 6mo 2wks old at departure.
Total trip was 19 days during late April/early May. Included was 5 days of domestic travel to Shanghai (with 4 nights hotel stay).
Door to door travel time was 24hrs. San Mateo – SFO – Beijing International Airport (PEK) – Hangzhou International Airport (HGH) – Jinhua.
Our flight was delayed at SFO due to runway construction at PEK, resulting in a missed connection and adding 3 hours to our journey.
WHAT WE DID FOR AIR TRAVELS
While we are both seasoned travelers, we could never imagine the additional coordination required for new parents bringing a little one abroad. From having to take two trips to SFO (due to car seat logistics), to changing diapers in the train platform, it was a great adventure. Thankfully, we had a bunch of tools to help us along the way, many of which were also recommended to us by friends.
Getting on and off – We used Babyzen Yoyo+ stroller . Yoyo+ was carry-on allowed for all flights. It comes with a storage bag, which makes it neat and clean after folding up for carrying onboard, but we found it unnecessary after the first leg and just loaded the uncovered Yoyo+ in the overhead bins. We also packed Ergobaby 360 in our carry-on as backup for carrying Ian onboard, or in case the stroller wound up checked-in and not available at the gate (no problems though).
Bassinet – Depending on the carrier and specific aircraft, international flights generally provide bassinet for babies. Ian was 28″ and 18.5lbs at the time. He just barely fit in the bassinet when fully stretched out, though it was rated for about 30+” and 25lbs. He may not fit the next time we go back to China, so we will likely buy him a seat ticket and bring a travel car seat then as there’s no way we’re holding him for 13+ hours. The 2 hour flight from PEK-HGH was a breeze compared to SFO-PEK.
Ear pressure change and others – We brought a few hand toys and chewing toys which we handed out to Ian one at a time when he would get fussy. We also got him a pair of baby noise cancellation ear muffs in case he was scared/startled by the engine noise or loud announcements on the plane (which happened on our first trip to New York). Ian didn’t have any problems with ear pressure changes since he fell asleep during take off or landing. He enjoyed playing with the toys in between smiling at strangers, and the ear muffs were only used once during take off at SFO.
Feeding – In our carry-on we packed 2 milk bottles and had a separate ziplock bag with enough formula for 1.5-2 days in case our bags were delayed. We brought some food grade toy/pacifier wipes to clean bottles between feeds, but the flight attendants were quite helpful with rinsing bottles out with boiled water (pleasant surprise since we flew Air China). On the outbound flight, Ian drank a lot more frequently than usual. Since we booked an overnight flight, we figured he wouldn’t need to feed as much and that it would be too messy to spoon out solids. On the return, we adjusted and packed puree pouches which made the solid feeds much easier.
Diaper change – Packed about 9 diapers, which should have been enough for 1.5+ days, but we were on our last one by the time we got to HGH. Upon takeoff, we found the largest bathroom available (the handicap ones) with a changing table and consistently used that one. And in the airports, there was no problem finding family rooms for diaper change; they were generally clean and well maintained.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
- BOOK BASSINET!!! (we held him for our SFO-New York flights when he was around 3mo and trust us, it was brutal!)
- Food grade toy/pacifier wipes
- Extra chewing toys for potential ear pain
- 2+ days worth of diapers in carry-on, pack few days more in check-in, buy the rest locally.
- 2+ days worth of formula + food pouches in carry-on, pack remaining formula and pouches in check-in (be sure to pack >1.5x of total trip supply since there will be wastage during time zone adjustment).
WHAT WE DID FOR GROUND TRAVEL AND RESTAURANTS
Babyzen Yoyo+ stroller and Ergobaby 360 combo was perfect. Yoyo+ easily fit above seats or in the luggage section on GaoTie.
Ergobaby Carrier 
Omni 360 
All Carry Positions
Ergobaby Carrier, Omni 360 All Carry Positions Baby Carrier, Pearl Grey
The only problem on Gaotie was diaper changes. We didn’t find any family rooms or private space with a large enough surface to change on the train. It was also hard to find a family room in the Shanghai Hongqiao train station (maybe we missed it?), so we had to improvise: using our large suitcase as a changing board, a mat from our diaper bag, and change him in semi-public. The blue object in the photo was a pet waste bag.
In terms of eating out at restaurants, we used this hiccapop Omniboost travel booster seat just about everywhere as most high chairs were either not clean, unstable looking, or just not suitable for Ian’s age/size. Super lightweight, easy to setup and breakdown. Always able to set up in a sturdy way with available restaurant chairs.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Babyzen YOYO+ Stroller
- Ergobaby Carrier, Omni 360 All Carry Positions Baby Carrier
- hiccapop Omniboost Travel Booster Seat
- Bag Nation Diaper Bag Backpack with Stroller Straps
For how we helped Ian adjust to the time zone change and more China specific info, please check out the 2nd part of this series on the next post, or click here.
Thanks for reading!
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Song of Life 