Your baby's first holiday abroad: an Irish checklist

Taking a baby abroad for the first time sounds far more frightening than it turns out to be. Babies travel well, mostly because they sleep, feed and do not care where they are. The bit that catches Irish parents out is not the flight, it is the paperwork, and that has to start weeks before you go. Here is the whole thing in order, the admin first and the practical stuff after.

Start with the passport, today

This is the one that ruins holidays, so do it first. Every child, including a newborn, needs their own Irish passport. You can no longer add a child to a parent's passport. You apply through Passport Online, all guardians have to give consent, and the application has to be witnessed.

A child's passport is valid for 5 years. The thing to watch is the timing: a first-time application for a child currently takes around 20 working days through Passport Online, and that does not include postage, or the extra time if your documents need checking. Turnaround times change through the year, so check the live figure on the Passport Service turnaround page before you book anything. Full details on applying for a child are at passports for children.

Get the baby an EHIC

If you are heading anywhere in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, get a European Health Insurance Card. It lets you access public healthcare in those countries for free or at reduced cost, the same as a local would. Every family member needs their own card, including the baby, and you as the parent apply for anyone under 18.

It is free, you apply at myehic.ie, and the card is posted out within about 10 working days. If you are travelling sooner than that, you can get a digital temporary certificate that covers you for 3 months. One important caveat: an EHIC is not travel insurance. It only covers public healthcare, not private clinics, not repatriation, not a cancelled flight. Take out travel insurance that covers the baby as well. How to apply is on the HSE EHIC page.

Check if you need travel vaccines

For most European beach holidays you will not. For anywhere further afield, the HSE advises talking to your GP or a travel clinic at least 8 weeks before you travel, because some travel vaccines need more than one dose spread over weeks, and not all of them can be given to a young baby.

One that is worth knowing: babies aged 6 to 11 months can get a free MMR vaccine from the GP before travelling, ideally at least 2 weeks before you go. Babies under 6 months cannot have it. If your destination is outside Europe, raise this with your GP early. See the HSE on the MMR vaccine.

The flight itself

This is the part people dread and it is usually the easiest. A few things that genuinely help:

• Feed on the way up and the way down. Sucking on the breast, a bottle or a soother helps a baby's ears cope with the pressure changes on take-off and landing, which is what causes most of the crying you hear on planes.
• Baby milk, formula and food are exempt from the 100ml liquid limit at security. Bring what you need for the journey and ask for a special fluids tray when you reach the screening point.
• The pram goes right to the gate. You wheel the baby through the airport and hand the buggy over as you board. Check with your airline whether it travels in the hold or the cabin. At security, the baby comes out of the pram and the pram is x-rayed.
• Dublin Airport has baby feeding rooms with bottle warmers in both terminals, and Fast Track is free for children up to 2 if you are using it.

The full airport guidance is at Dublin Airport: travelling with children.

Car seats abroad

If you are hiring a car, you can usually hire a car seat with it, but the quality and fit can be hit and miss. Many parents bring their own. If you do, or if you buy one abroad, check it is compatible with the make and model of car you will be using, ideally with the seat or car manufacturer. For reference, the Irish rule is that children under 150cm or 36kg must use a suitable child restraint. More on this from the Road Safety Authority.

Sun and heat where you are going

The sun in southern Europe is in a completely different league to an Irish summer, so the rules matter more, not less. Keep babies under 6 months out of direct sun entirely, shade and cover older babies, use SPF 50+ on the skin you cannot cover, and stay in during the hottest part of the day, roughly 11am to 3pm. In the heat, offer feeds more often rather than water for a young baby.

We cover both properly in sun safety for babies and keeping your baby cool and safe in hot weather, and the water question in does a breastfed baby need water in hot weather.

The bag: what to actually bring

Keep anything you might need on the journey in your hand luggage, not the hold. A rough kit:

A note on the infant paracetamol: do not give it to a baby under 2 months unless a doctor has prescribed it, and not at all to a baby under 4kg. Keep all medicines out of the first aid kit and out of reach. And remember 112 is the emergency number across the EU, the same as 999 here. HSE dosing guidance is on how and when to give your child paracetamol.

The routine will wobble, and that is fine

A new room, a time difference and a hot climate will throw naps and feeds off for a few days. That is normal and it sorts itself out. Try to hold roughly to the bedtime wind-down you use at home, keep the room dark, and do not panic if the first night or two is rough. By day three most babies have found the new rhythm.

The short version

• Apply for the baby's passport now, allow about 20 working days plus postage
• Get each family member an EHIC for the EU, EEA or Switzerland, and separate travel insurance
• For long-haul, see your GP at least 8 weeks ahead about travel vaccines
• Feed on take-off and landing, baby milk is exempt from the liquid limit, pram to the gate
• Sort the car seat and check it fits the car you will use
• Out of the sun under 6 months, SPF 50+ and shade for older babies
• Medicines, feeds and passports in the hand luggage, and 112 works EU-wide