Category Archives: Travel

Moutain Buggy Nano travel stroller

10 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by in Baby Related items, Shopping, Travel

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We decided to buy a compact travel stroller which we will use while travelling. Previously, we have tried travelling with the bugaboo bee (which is really light weight as well), but we found that the canopy was slightly damage after getting it back from the flight personnel.

I’m not really going to do much comparison with the other compact travel stroller out there as I think there’s plentiful already online. I think all the stroller on the market today have it’s pros and cons. It really depends on your need and preference.

After some research, I decided to get the mountain buggy nano (it’s by a new Zealand company). We’ve been using the stroller for 7 months now. It has been travelling on plane with us for 4 times and countless road trips / shopping trips. Please bear in mind that at the end of the day, it is still a travel / compact stroller. For our day-in day-out use, I still prefer the bugaboo bee.

 

Ok, so here are some of the reasons why we love the Nano.

  1. It’s really lightweight and compact. Easily foldable to a small size which fits comfortably on the cabin. (weights about 5.9kg)
  2. It comes together with the case. Not an additional option (I’m not sure why other stroller company don’t offer it as a set. Come on… if you put it under travelling stroller, we will definitely need the case / bag. Forcing us to buy as an option is just painful)
  3. It can hold up to 20kg! The other stroller I like was Babyzen Yoyo but their max load is only 15kg.
  4. The baby car carrier adaptor is built-in (not a separate option. Again – I like)
  5. Adjustable leg rest. As Baby R grow taller, it’s easy to fold it down and allow her feet to rest on the basket area.
  6. Mesh top at the back allows breeze to flow thru.
  7. Price point seems fair for the needs we have for a travel stroller.

 

Some things which we don’t really like about the Nano.

  1. The folding only locks the 2 sections together. The handlebar is not lock. So, if you take out the stroller on the metal area, the handlebar will flip over and lock. It’s quite irritating if you want to go around without the case. 20160814_102942

    (We overcome this issue by using the shoulder strap to tie the handlebar back. Mine is the 2016 version. Not sure if the company have rectify this issue, or still working on it)

  2. Once unfold, the canopy is really in the way of the handle bar.
  3. It’s not suitable for tall babies / children. Baby R is not tall and even now she’s touching the mesh top when recline for sleeping.

 

Overall, we still really like the Mountain Buggy Nano especially when travelling. We have even use it as high chair (just flap down the handle bar part). It’s really nice to use it when we are attending wedding dinner in Malaysia. Just fold it down and park it next to us or slide it under the table (instead of leaving it outside the restaurant / hall).

 

Best time to Travel with baby?

17 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by in Travel

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Personally, I wanted to get Baby R on a plane as soon as possible.

But hubby felt it might be better after she had at least a few rounds of vaccinations. I’ve known some friends who are already flying with their little ones at 2 or 3 months old (Respect!!!). But on hindsight, babies do sleep a lot during those ages, so… it is much easier to fly then.

We finally agreed on a 6th month mark. At least she will then be able to sit steadily by herself and also got most of her important injections.

In order to better prepare ourselves, we planned a road trip with her first.

We learn one thing; she could only sit in her car seat for a maximum of 20-25mins before squirming and wailing. At most, we manage to push to 30-35mins if we continue to play peeka-boo with her. With this in mind, we planned our return trip with 30mins stop interval. It really helped her to stay calm and she even took an hour nap (bliss).

We notice that she drops off to nap as long as her 30 mins car seat ride crosses around her nap time. So, it will be like 15-20 mins into the car ride, doze off for 45-50 mins morning nap, wakes up drowsy and sit for another 15-20 mins.  This gives us about 75-90 mins of good solid driving, before we have to make a 30 mins interval stop.

However, when we try to time it with her afternoon nap (around 3:30 pm) it doesn’t work so well. Sometimes she doze off, sometimes she don’t. This come as a big surprise for me since she normally only take about an hour nap in the morning and a deep 90-120 mins nap in the afternoon. We thought she would travel better during the afternoon nap. So, don’t let their normal routine fool you into thinking that it will be the same when travelling.

After the road trips, we decided that she’s ready for the plane. She is about 8 months old when we took her to the immigration to get her passport done. Process was surprisingly efficient and quick. I think we only spend about 2 hours in the immigration. They even offer to give her a free photo update once she passes 2 year old. Awesome!

Even with her passport ready, we decided to do a domestic flight as test run. The first destination was Langkawi. The flight journey was about an hour. We timed it to be around her morning nap, just like how we do our road trip.

Her first flight was with Malaysia Airlines. Good thing was they have a special check-in counter for those travelling with young children. We manage to get our boarding pass and check in our luggage within 25-30 mins. It was really amazing considering that it was school holiday & public holiday that day. So the normal queue was crazy long.

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Sorry the picture is blur.

She was asleep as soon as we board the plane. After about 45mins nap, she woke up just as we are landing. I was a bit worried but thankfully she was still in her drowsy mode. Having a pacifier in her mouth helped as well, I guess. So, it was a fuss free first flight.

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For our return flight, we try to test time it with her afternoon nap time (hoping that flight might be different from car ride). FAILED!

She refuses to sleep and was on full alert mode. When the plane got ready to take off, she was happily trying to climb mount mummy. It was really a struggle to try and get her to sit still. I gave up and just let her climb me while trying my best to hold on to her with the seat belt strapping me and her together (No – we didn’t fly with a car seat). The Landing was a bit rough and loud. So, imagine our surprise when the little one lifted up both her hand in the air and let out a loud “Wee….” just when the plane touch the ground. It was so funny we burst out laughing which prompt her to copy us and started fake-laughing also.

The subsequent flights, we planned it around her time. So, only morning flights for us for now… I really hate morning flights. sigh… Some of my friends actually find it easier to fly night time with their wee ones.

From the little experience we have travelling with her, I was really happy that we pace our travel bit by bit. It really helped us to understand her travelling behaviour, the best time for her to travel (different babies have difference preference) and also handling her during travel. NOT to mention, what to PACK?! LOL…

Don’t be afraid to travel with your little one.

Try to pace your travel plans and find out their temperament before attempting the long haul journey. But, if things don’t work out as hoped / prayed… just take a deep breath and try to enjoy.

 

 

 

Mini weekend Getaway – Ascott Kuala Lumpur

30 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Local (Malaysia), Mini Getaways, Travel

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I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post. And, I can’t believe little one is growing up so fast. Time flies (sob…sob). It was just like yesterday the Dr plopped her onto my chest after going thru 15 mins of pushing (I’m so thankful it was a short and pain free labor – Epidural is AWESOME ! ** please Don’t judge me ! ;p).

We took a little mini weekend getaway to KL recently. It was my cousin’s wedding and the thought of fighting the KL traffic on Saturday night with a toddler is no fun. So, I convinced hubby that it would make more sense to stay over in KL for a night.

After checking around for a suitable location – it has to be near the wedding dinner location at a reasonable price. I was pleasantly surprise that Ascott was having some sort of hot deal and the price for a Premier 2 bedroom (with breakfast for 4 person) come up to about MYR 865nett. Since it was a little getaway for us, we decided to splurge a bit.

Hubby hate traveling (with me) since he claim it always feel like he’s bringing the whole house with us when we travel with LO. Yes – I’m an OCD mummy. So, I can be quite extreme when packing.

The apartment was beautifully decorated and clean!!! Cleanliness is very important for me when I book a hotel. Having a kitchen is really useful especially for preparing LO’s porridge. I love green decor!

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Awesome big apartment with fully functioning kitchen.

We checked in around 12pm and I was famished. Hubby proposes we order room service. Tada – here’s what we order for 4. Interestingly, the food arrived in containers! It’s weird, but I actually love it. It gives me the impression the food is well covered and clean. I washed up the containers and recycle it.

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Yumm.. Lunch. Simple and nice

I also love the bed! It was so nice and soft but still has good support. Our master bedroom has a little balcony which you can walk out and enjoy the view of (ONE side) Twin tower. LO loves standing at the window looking out. Probably because this is the first time she’s been on a high rise building.

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Little one enjoying the outside view

The only gripe I have is the toilet doesn’t seem to flush well as it sort of gives the toilet a bad smell. I was so looking forward to enjoying the beautiful bathtub. But, soaking inside a stinking toilet …? Luckily, the other toilet was ok.

Their swimming pool is on the roof top at Level 22. The view up there is beautiful. You can see the KLCC garden and water fountain. The children’s pool is located at a hidden corner. We brought her to go swimming around 5pm and it was good that that area was shaded from the sun. It was definitely a nice size baby pool, with 2 steps level. Unfortunately, I don’t have any nice photo of the baby pool. I manage to grab 2 pictures of the adult pool from their online website… So nice, right?!

Beautiful Rooftop Pool 1
Beautiful Rooftop Pool 2

Breakfast selection in the morning was a wee bit slim. I’m not surprise since they charge about RM18++ / person? We decided to have a quick bite and then head back to the apartment to rest and pack.

It was a great mini getaway. Can’t wait to do another one.