Going on holiday

I hate to pack, I hate to unpack. But I sure love to travel. In the past the process of picking out things to pack was really easy because I was packing for only myself. These days I need to do for 4 people and the process takes a whole lot longer. The question of "what if" will always pop up. Whenever the thought comes to mind, I'll just reply to myself "then we'll just buy over there!" and pack as little as possible.

I managed to pack all our basic needs into 1 large suitcase, 1 smaller suitcase and 1 diaper bag the night before our departure. I only brought enough diapers for 1 day because I planned to buy the kids' diaper needs in Perth. However, I had to pack milk powder (3 boxes each for Mia and Alan) because we won't be able to buy them in Perth. Mia drinks EnfaGrow A+ and Alan is on EnfaLac A+. The milk powder would have taken less space if I took them out of their boxes but the Aussie quarantine wouldn't let them into the country unless they're still packed and unopened in their original boxes.

2 strollers and 2 luggage for check-in. Using a large suitcase is convenient but we have to be careful that each checked in luggage (whether big or small) does not exceed 32kg in weight. The airport people will not allow luggage to be checked in if over 32kg because it'll be safety hazard for the baggage people to load into the aircraft.

Mia was on the stroller most of the time when we're out and about during our trip. This way, we can keep her under control. That blue ribbon you see holds our Ipod for her to watch her movies: Toy Story 3, Tangled, TinkerBell 1 and 2.

Though we had 2 strollers with us, I brought along the ring sling as well for times when Alan gets extra cranky and super manja. We only had to "surrender" the strollers on the aerobridge as we stepped into the aircraft. Convenient.

We booked the seats in front so we could have a bassinet for Alan for use during the flight. Oh yes, 2 infants cannot sit in the same row of 3 seats ya. That's because a row of 3 seats is meant for only 4 persons. The row of 3 seats is equipped with 4 gas masks. So if 3 adults plus 2 infants are seated in the 1 row, then there won't be enough gas masks for use in case of emergency.

Mia is still considered an infant as she was not yet 2 years old when we traveled. Lucky for us, the lady who sat in our row agreed to move to another seat so the 4 of us could sit together.

In the end, Mia was the one who slept in the bassinet. I carried Alan in the ring sling on the flight.

Overall the kids behaved well during the take-off, flight and landing. There were no air pressure pain in the ear issue because I made sure that they had something to suck on (milk, water, binky) if they were awake during take off and landing. The only minor setback was Mia didn't like being confined to our seat. She wanted to walk around the aeroplane. Thank goodness that we had the Ipod to keep her entertained.

As for Alan, he cried a bit only because he wanted to sleep and but had trouble falling asleep. After a bit of rocking in the ring sling, he managed to fall asleep.

When we landed in Perth International Airport, Alan was wide awake while Mia was still fast asleep.
Our strollers were not waiting for us on the aerobridge. Apparently, this airport is one of numerous airports where we can only claim our strollers together with the checked in luggage. Instead, we had to use the sad looking airport strollers on loan.

After going through immigration, baggage claim, then off we went to customs & quarantine. It was such a long line at customs & quarantine. The officers had to check every single declared item and scan other bags as well. Yes, the kiddies milk got checked and passed.

Finally, we are able to leave the airport and my husband's uncle was waiting for us with his ever smiling face. Let the holiday begin!

To be continued...