Re: Assume I’m a complete idiot…
That is good to know.It means PIA has special considerations regarding this issue…
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
Sahara...I'm in Karachi these days with my 2 month old as well as a 2.5 yr old...
I travelled with emirates... 6.5 hours from Denmark to Dubai, 1.5 hours stay and then 1.5 hours flit from Dubai to Karachi.
First off, emirates was a superb airline... As are ettihad and qatar... They have the money to spend so don't go stingy on what they have to offer to their passengers.
Fantastic crew, jaw dropping food quality and great in flight entertainment... They helped me out so so much with my 2 monsters... Even took midget off of my hands so I could take a breather.. Took him for a ill walk and play around the plane :D .. Both my kids refused to sleep so it was torture... Holding I'll miss nd dealing with the older one.
I didn't even use midget's toys, food and other things I had packed for him cuz he got it all the minute he entered the plane ..from back pack to snacks to toys and coloring books with crayons... I cursed cuz it was another friggin bag to carry!
They have full milk for toddlers..just ask. I had taken his portable DVD player too which was of no use cuz he was perfectly happy watching the cartoons they were airing.
I had given my stroller at the gate and was to get it in Karachi... That was ok too cuz they had Laos of strollers at Dubai airport.. (it's the same in Doha)... Infact they will even ride u to the security check in those 'cart like cars'.... If u have lots to carry ....
Now on to Karachi.
Holy smokes! It's hot here man... My kids are in shorts and tees... Which is hard in itself cuz of...god damned MOSQUITOES!!!!!! That is one thing I had overlooked... They are everywhere and a pain in the ass..
Haven't bit genie that much but midget is all red and bumpy... We have tried it all from electric rackets to coils, Mospel, nothing helps.... Just keep their limbs covered... And bites they do get, rub bentnovate N on em ( what the doc gave midget)...oh and I'm also having him sleep under a mosquito net... Wish I could wrap it around him for his waking hours!
He drinks whole milk 3 times a day cuz he loves milk... The first day was a bit of a shock for him cuz even whole milk in Denmark is like skimmed milk here... Full milk here is thicker... But after a bit of talkingin to.. He took to it and it's a smooth sailing now..he drinks Olpers.
Eiliyah was on nan 1 Pro, but they don't have Pro here... S she is drinking the basic nan 1 and again , no issues. I wash their bottles with regular water and then give the final rinse with Nestlé water.
They are mashallah doing fine... We cook our own food with normal rap water and midgets eats it fine... He drinks nestle water though.
Diapers.. I only brought with me what I had at home in denmark. Midget is potty trained but I still put him in them for the night... Bought pampers and hated them. Leaks and more leaks.. I've used them before out of necessity and hated them then too... I don't know why they make them so crap now.... And u can't find pull ups here... S I moved on to Huggies..still not as great but at least they dont leak.. And they have pull ups in that brand so that's good...work for genie too.
Another shock for midget was the bread and butter...the latter we overcame by buying lurpak instead of blue band... But the bread is still not something he is taking to fully... And that sucks cuz he loves jam toast for bfast .. I make diff kinds do spreads for him for lunch but again, he don't like the bread...tried diff kinds ..nothing that he really likes but will eat if really hungry... Just going totally wi roti these days...
Veggies aren't to his liking either... He loves carrots and even though paki carrots are yummy...he hates em. Diff texture and taste I guess.
He doesn't eat anything from outside.. We have given him KFC once... Was fine.. And pizza from pizza hut... But it's not something we wanna do a whole lot of. Otherwise, no mithai ( insanely hard cuz he loves it and it's wedding season so there is loads of it)... Or nimko...If we go out, I buy him biscuits or other packaged goods... No bakery crisps though... And take home cooked meals with me...
We don't take them to places outside of defense cuz its just mad crowds... They stay home mostly... In the evening we take them to places like pak towers...
If u are planning on doing wedding preps... Hope u can leave them with someone they are comfy with just so they aren't dragged around .. It's super hot during the day. Took midget once to tariq road and he had a melt down. So we had my Khala come over and stay with her kids ..let midget get comfy with them. And then it was set... We collect on work we gotta do outside... Invite her over the day before... Midget and genie stay with her whilst mom and I go out and do our own thing...
Don't fret too much... All kids are diff...react differently...just go with the flow. U won't enjoy much if u worry a whole lot.
When are u planning on coming down? We should definitely meet up if our wedding preps and weddings permit us :)
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
That was some good info about Emirates.We are traveling Emirates....:)
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
Good to hear that you had a good experiece with emirates but few years back i traveled to karachi from Houston. I was sitted next to a mother traveling with her 6 weeks old. The baby was no problem at all, but the crew gave the mother such a hard time. They didn't let her carry a water bottle, wuld bring her VERY little water when she need to make the baby's formula. Wouldn't warm the bottle of formula for the baby...it was pretty horrible. I was shocked at this, since emriates is considered one the best airline out of the three.
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
^ I m amazed at emirates service too..my friend travelled in 2009 with her 16 months n 4 months old n had a horrible experience..she asked for some milk but they refused to give her any and didn't give her warm water either to make formula..she was in tears when she landed in Pakistan!
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
Hopefully things have gotten better recently?
.
.
.
So anyone given their children baby Benedryl to help them sleep during the flight?
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
Someone I know used to give her children phnergan(sp?) during the flight from Canada to pakistann her children slept through most of the flight!
Re: Assume I’m a complete idiot…
I am thinking of taking it,but I feel bad for using it.My daughter used to take the children’s Zyrtec for her seasonal allergies earlier this year and it used to knock her out…
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
The thing is ours is a night flight, and I feel like we probably won't need it. Our pediatrician suggested it off the record as something he and his wife have done. This after one of hubby's colleagues suggested the same thing. I just don't feel good about it. :(
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
khawa,
dumb question: what mosquito net do you get? what kind do you look for? and how do you attach them in someone else's home?
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
Our ped recommended against benadryl. If bunny has never taken it, you dont know how she will react to it. Our ped said some kids might get more hyper on it.
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
^Yeah ours mentioned that some do become hyper. She's taken it once when she broke out into hives. He did say maybe just try it around 5pm one evening to see how it affects her. But I am just uncomfortable drugging her for no reason.
Re: Assume I’m a complete idiot…
that’s a good point. i will definitely keep that in mind, especially with milk!
omg I didn’t even think about that
yeah i think we will definitely take diapers and wipes.
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
Sahara...I'm in Karachi these days with my 2 month old as well as a 2.5 yr old...
I travelled with emirates... 6.5 hours from Denmark to Dubai, 1.5 hours stay and then 1.5 hours flit from Dubai to Karachi.
First off, emirates was a superb airline... As are ettihad and qatar... They have the money to spend so don't go stingy on what they have to offer to their passengers.
Fantastic crew, jaw dropping food quality and great in flight entertainment... They helped me out so so much with my 2 monsters... Even took midget off of my hands so I could take a breather.. Took him for a ill walk and play around the plane :D .. Both my kids refused to sleep so it was torture... Holding I'll miss nd dealing with the older one.
I didn't even use midget's toys, food and other things I had packed for him cuz he got it all the minute he entered the plane ..from back pack to snacks to toys and coloring books with crayons... I cursed cuz it was another friggin bag to carry!
They have full milk for toddlers..just ask. I had taken his portable DVD player too which was of no use cuz he was perfectly happy watching the cartoons they were airing.
I had given my stroller at the gate and was to get it in Karachi... That was ok too cuz they had Laos of strollers at Dubai airport.. (it's the same in Doha)... Infact they will even ride u to the security check in those 'cart like cars'.... If u have lots to carry ....
First, I love your iPad posts :p
Also, sounds like you had a great experience with Emirates. Hopefully Qatar will be comparable. :D
[quote]
Now on to Karachi.
Holy smokes! It's hot here man... My kids are in shorts and tees... Which is hard in itself cuz of...god damned MOSQUITOES!!!!!! That is one thing I had overlooked... They are everywhere and a pain in the ass..
Haven't bit genie that much but midget is all red and bumpy... We have tried it all from electric rackets to coils, Mospel, nothing helps.... Just keep their limbs covered... And bites they do get, rub bentnovate N on em ( what the doc gave midget)...oh and I'm also having him sleep under a mosquito net... Wish I could wrap it around him for his waking hours!
[/quote]
omg it's hot!! I was assuming the weather would be mild and the mosquitoes would have gone. :( Will definitely get a net, though I don't know exactly how to attach them and such. And I just got a bunch of long-sleeved undershirts for madam. I think most of these wedding events are outdoors, in lawns, so will have to keep an eye on her.
[quote]
He drinks whole milk 3 times a day cuz he loves milk... The first day was a bit of a shock for him cuz even whole milk in Denmark is like skimmed milk here... Full milk here is thicker... But after a bit of talkingin to.. He took to it and it's a smooth sailing now..he drinks Olpers.
[/quote]
Any tummy issues with the milk? Did you buy Olpers from there?
[quote]
Eiliyah was on nan 1 Pro, but they don't have Pro here... S she is drinking the basic nan 1 and again , no issues. I wash their bottles with regular water and then give the final rinse with Nestlé water.
They are mashallah doing fine... We cook our own food with normal rap water and midgets eats it fine... He drinks nestle water though.
[/quote]
So glad they're adjusting so well, mA!
[quote]
Diapers.. I only brought with me what I had at home in denmark. Midget is potty trained but I still put him in them for the night... Bought pampers and hated them. Leaks and more leaks.. I've used them before out of necessity and hated them then too... I don't know why they make them so crap now.... And u can't find pull ups here... S I moved on to Huggies..still not as great but at least they dont leak.. And they have pull ups in that brand so that's good...work for genie too.
[/quote]
I think the Pampers leak thing may be a boy issue -- as SIL is having the same issue with her son. Things are better now that they've switched to Huggies.
[quote]
Another shock for midget was the bread and butter...the latter we overcame by buying lurpak instead of blue band... But the bread is still not something he is taking to fully... And that sucks cuz he loves jam toast for bfast .. I make diff kinds do spreads for him for lunch but again, he don't like the bread...tried diff kinds ..nothing that he really likes but will eat if really hungry... Just going totally wi roti these days...
[/quote]
Oh wow. Didn't expect the bread to be an issue. I don't remember it being noticeably different from here. Madam likes her toast in the morning too. But usually breakfast is pretty easy with her, so not too worried.
[quote]
Veggies aren't to his liking either... He loves carrots and even though paki carrots are yummy...he hates em. Diff texture and taste I guess.
[/quote]
Madam loves raw veggies. When peeled and served at home it's not an issue, but I don't want her having salads at wedding events and such. Stopping her (and her adoring relatives) will be a problem!!
[quote]
He doesn't eat anything from outside.. We have given him KFC once... Was fine.. And pizza from pizza hut... But it's not something we wanna do a whole lot of. Otherwise, no mithai ( insanely hard cuz he loves it and it's wedding season so there is loads of it)... Or nimko...If we go out, I buy him biscuits or other packaged goods... No bakery crisps though... And take home cooked meals with me...
We don't take them to places outside of defense cuz its just mad crowds... They stay home mostly... In the evening we take them to places like pak towers...
If u are planning on doing wedding preps... Hope u can leave them with someone they are comfy with just so they aren't dragged around .. It's super hot during the day. Took midget once to tariq road and he had a melt down. So we had my Khala come over and stay with her kids ..let midget get comfy with them. And then it was set... We collect on work we gotta do outside... Invite her over the day before... Midget and genie stay with her whilst mom and I go out and do our own thing...
[/quote]
Definitely leaving her if I go out shopping. Luckily we've got lots of family around, and hubby would much rather stick around the house, so it works out for me. mashAllah :D
[quote]
Don't fret too much... All kids are diff...react differently...just go with the flow. U won't enjoy much if u worry a whole lot.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks!
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
I think this thread will be appropriate for my question.
So keeping in mind the upcoming travel plans,I started my daughter on toddler formula from the makers of Enfamil.I tasted it before giving it to her and it tasted like any powdered milk does,not like formula but something like the carnation stuff or maybe Nido.It tastes differemt from fresh milk.
She has now refused her bottle of milk totally meaning she is not liking it.
What am I to do now...??...Should I try it again after 2-3 days and see how she likes it.I am thinking of not giving it to her again tonight just to make sure she does not turn down any kind of milk.
MY other option is to get shelf stable 1% milk and try that .(I have not been able to find whole milk in those cartons).The issue is that I do not think our luggage will allow that much weight and also how does shelf stable milk taste...???..Any experiences...??.
Last option is to just get whatever milk she can get there...Olpers or some other well reputed brand...??
What to do...???
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
So it's required a lot of persistence, but mine has been completely off the bottle for a week now. She drinks a little less milk than she used to, but it's not bad. With the bottle. she'd have like 12-14oz/day, occasionally more. Now she is at more like 10-12oz/day. She drinks from a straw sippy cup.
The weekend I'm going to try the shelf stable milk. Our local grocery store (Giant) carried the whole milk in their own brand. The others I saw were 1%. But I did see whole shelf stable milk in larger cartons, just not the 8oz cartons. You could even order them via Amazon.
She doesn't really have a choice, right, chips? Worst case, she doesn't drink her milk (which according to lots of docs, is not a big deal, as long as she's getting calcium in other forms). Most likely she'll fuss at the beginning and then accept what you're giving her.
Oh! When I transitioned mine from formula to whole milk at 1 year, I had to start off by mixing the part formula with part whole milk, gradually increasing the ratio of whole milk until it was completely whole milk. Maybe you could try that?
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
**TAKEN FROM THEGORIWIFELIFE.BLOGSPOT.COM A REAL LIFE BLOG:
Which brings us to our first craziness of taking a baby to Pakistan - no car seats. My son had never in his life been in a moving automobile without being fully, properly strapped into a car seat. I tried my best before leaving to figure out some sort of solution to this.
We couldn't take a car seat with us because he was traveling on our lap. I could not find any car seat for sale on any website that would ship to Pakistan, nor could I find any Pakistani company selling car seats. In facts, while we were there both times, I NEVER once saw a car seat for sale OR IN USE. **
**
Another problem with the idea of a car seat is that not all cars in Pakistan even have seat belts. But all the information about car seats says NOT to put a car seat in the front seat. Some stuff I read online talked about people taking a car seat, but then resting it in the footwell in the backseat behind the driver. But who knows if this kind of thing is safer or ever MORE dangerous? I can imagine that footwell completely crumpling in an accident, and god forbid if there were an infant seat sideways there, because that's just the kind of impact the seat was designed to withstand. **
**
The only solution I ever figured out was that we could pay for an extra piece of luggage to take our car seat with us, and then attach it somehow to the back seat using some kind of tie-downs. If it couldn't be secured to the backseat, we'd make sure there were no airbags in the car (unlikely what with the missing seatbelts and all) and secure it to the front seat. **
**
This created a lot of problems. Everyone was against us, and ridiculed us and told us it was useless. That it would not be needed; driving in Pakistan was different, there were no real accidents like you see in America; that lots of people pile into the car and devoting the entire front seat to a baby when two full size adults could share it was foolish; that it would make our car a magnet for thieves. I wish I could say I didn't let all their protests bother me and that I was able to stick to my convictions...**
**
A recurring theme of problems we faced was the lack of baby products. We'd been told that we didn't need to bring ANY food or diapers, as everything was available in Pakistan. That was not the case for us.
The baby was eating exclusively jarred food, mostly from this line which has all kinds of variety of dishes; fruits, veggies, grains, casseroles and SOUPS, even! I was expecting that there would at least be a good variety of Gerber stuff - but all we could ever find even in the big American- and European-style supermarkets was a few differ jars of some Heinz baby food. No casseroles, no veggies at all, no grains.
I could only find a few fruits, mostly in "pudding" combinations like Mango pudding, and dessert-y things like vanilla custard and stuff like that. **
**
We had serious issues finding food for the baby to eat. I took a very hard line stance that he was not allowed to eat ANY uncooked fruits and vegetables, with tiny exceptions only for VERY thick skinned fruits like oranges and bananas that whose outsides were washed with soap before peeling and feeding. (That and only bottled water and oft-washed hands = a baby who never got travel-sick, thank God!)**
**
Very quickly, my small reserves of travel jars of food ran out, and I didn't want the remaining three weeks of the trip to be a mango pudding and vanilla custard only diet, so I started making food for him. I boiled rice until it was almost disintegrated and then added diced bananas and other fruits and cooked for awhile until it was all mushy and bacteria free. **
**
(Although I want to make clear that I don't think that food in Pakistan is disease-ridden; I just personally no-science-to-back-it-up think that people's digestive systems adapt to their environment. I always stay away from fruits & vegetables unless they're cooked, and I always drink bottled water from a reliable source where I open the cap myself.
An incriminating example: M and I often leave food out overnight because we forget to put it in the fridge, and then we just cook it again the next day and eat it anyway. Maybe this would cause other people some digestive issues, but because we do it pretty often, we're just used to it. And we've been lucky, too, not to have cultivated anything major in our neglected leftovers overnight.)**
**
Anyway, we made that rice pudding-ish thing for breakfast in bulk and he ate it most mornings. Other times I was able to spoon-feed him some imported breakfast cereals, but only when I found them in those big-box stores and the boxes looked like they were definitely from somewhere more American-baby-stomach friendly like Europe. Toward the end of the trip I also found some Gerber rice cereal. **
For dinners, I usually made vegetable bhaji (mixed vegetable curry and daal (lentils) or just cut up whatever well-cooked dinner we were eating. The baby was really interested in finger foods then, and he'd anything in chunk form basically. We've always exposed him to fairly spicy foods, so the spice level wasn't a problem for him, either. (Besides, most people seem to lower the heat level when they're cooking for me anyway, even though I tell them time and again that I can take the heat!)
**
If I had to do it again, though, I think I'd just take enough food for the whole trip. Seriously - assuming I had an under 18-month or maybr 2-year old who's fairly inflexible in what they eat, I'd just take enough jars or powdered rice cereal for the whole trip. If I couldn't fit enough of everything, I'd definitely pack enough fruits & veggies for the entire trip so that the kid gets as many servings of those as he would have at home. Stave off the rickets, y'know...**
**
Diapers were another thing that everyone said would be available the same as in America, and this was less of a problem, but there still was a bit of difference. Pampers were available in lots of places, even some of the smaller, local stores, but they were expensive! Even more expensive that in America, sometimes. Also, there have been SO MANY innovations in diapers. You would not believe what these things are capable of these day! The Pampers we found were good and had all the basics, but some of the better features were still missing (stretchy tabs, repostionable velcro-y fasteners rather than one-use tape-y ones, the softness of the material, etc.) BUT - when we were stuck in the house for 4 days, my father-in-law eventually had to venture out to get more diapers (there were two toddlers at the home at that time) and he couldn't go very far, so we were stuff with a Pakistani brand of disposable diaper. It was terrible. It was like a 1980s diaper that actually smelled BAD! So keep some reserves of the good kind of diapers.**
**
Baby wipes were available, too, but they were a lot less nice than what you can buy in America. Seriously, have you smelled these Pampers Swipe & Go wipes? I'd wear that scent as a PERFUME! **
**
And speaking about how the baby smells; our kid got DIRTY while we were there. Some homes in Pakistan and just like western homes, with interior kitchens and stairwells and full bathrooms - M's house is not like that. The kitchen is still detached from the house and there is not a full bathroom, just a small showerhead and a bucket for bathing. The dining table is outdoors, many of the rooms are open to the outdoors, and they live in a part of the city that's very dusty & dirty. Even though a maid comes every day to sweep, the bottoms of your feet will always be dirty if you walk barefoot. The kid needed a lot of baths! And baby soap & lotion was also hard to find (we'd forgotten the no-tears baby soap!)
We borrowed some of his cousin's soap until we were able to track down some from another family member. No idea where they'd gotten it or if it's available widely.**
As for sleeping, M's house is small, and our entire family was given a 8x6 room called Chota Kamra (or, the small room) to sleep in as a family. Believe me, this was a lot! Everyone else was sleeping in various combinations in the 2 common rooms! Our son, however, has his own bedroom at home and sleeps alone in a dark room in a crib. We needed a crib! Same thing with the car seat; no way to take a crib with us unless we wanted to pay almost $100 for an extra piece of luggage, no idea if a pack n' play was going to be available to buy for a reasonable price. Eventually, we found a close family friend who had a pack n' play whose kid "wouldn't sleep in it at all" and they lent it to us for the full month. We actually travel a lot and after returning from out trip I found two very lightweight travel crib options, so I'd probably go that route if you have a little bit of money to plink down, if you travel a lot, and if your kid is particularly attached to sleeping in a crib.
**
So to recap; bring some fruits & veggies (dehydrated, jarred, greens powder; whatever) and bring some wipes if you are partial to a nice-smelling, thicker baby wipe. Bring things like baby wash and lotion if you have a specific brand. Find a friend or family member with a travel crib - someone's bound to have one.**
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
^Thanks, D!
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
you are most welcome. It's a very interesting personal blog! You should read it. :) It's about this american girl who married a karachite and their life together mashallah. www.thegoriwifelife.blogspot.com
^Thanks, D!
Re: Assume I'm a complete idiot...
Thanks for the reply Sahar...:)
Toddler formula made her refuse milk for 2 days.It was ok during teh day but bedtime was bad.The child who goes to bed by 9:30 pm kept on crying till 11:30 pm and refused to have anything. I thought she was hungry and that was why not going to sleep.Anyway,she is friends with the milk and the bottle again.
I found some shelf stable whole milk at the grocery store in 8 oz packs and bought those.The taste is very much like regular milk and she was fine with it.I am hoping to take a few boxes with me.
P.s..This gave me a brilliant idea about what to do when I am going to take her off the bottle,that will be once we return Inshallah...I will give her formula.....!!...she will not like it and bottles will be history...:D