To think there's no point going on holiday with a baby?

[DrAston]

My husband has a few days off work coming up soon (I work at a university so have the summer off) and he wants to go away somewhere. We can't afford to go abroad with it being the summer hols so he has booked a hotel in the UK for a few nights. We have a daughter who just turned one and I just don't see the point in going away. It's not like she's going to decide to sleep in till 8 each morning while we're away and when she goes to bed we'll just be sat in the dark trying not to make any noise from 7pm. My husband is not particularly (in fact 'at all') hands-on with our daughter so I'll just be doing everything I do at home but in a small room instead. It's not even likely to be good weather where we're going (I should know-I grew up there!). Do people really enjoy holidays with babies? Aren't you just doing the same stuff you do everyday but paying a lot for the privilege of doing it somewhere else?

[YelloDraw]

It's nice going away, if you actually go somewhere nice. Sitting in a small, room in bad weather doesn't sound that nice.

Self catering apartments work better, then you get a living room so don't have to sit in the dark.

[LuckySantangelo1]

I've been away with my 14 month old three times & loved every time. Rent a self catering apartment with two bedrooms (or just the one if she's fine sleeping with you) and that way you can put her to bed and enjoy your evening as you would at home. A s/c apartment is often the same or cheaper than a hotel room.

[wowbutter]

I don't mind going away, if there is another room I can be in away from the kids.
One experience, a long time ago, in one room, has out me off for life. No sleep, lots of crying.

[Artandco]

Depends on how you do things

We love travelling. And by 1 year my youngest had been backpacking 2 months in Vietnam with us, several European trips, and some weekends in New York. Everything was great

However you talk about 7pm bedtimes and being silent. That's not us at home at at let alone travelling. Baby goes in sling or pram and we carry on doing whatever we want. So at 7pm we would be doing something like walking along a beach or sitting outside a bar with summer cocktail. Then off for dinner at 8/9pm. Baby just tags along and either stays awake or sleeps.

[Junosmum]

I'd enjoy a city break or country cottage but not a hotel.

[budgiegirl]

We went on holiday several times when our kids were under 1, it is quite hard work, but if you go somewhere nice it's very much worth the effort.

Self catering is useful, easy to prepare babies food/milk, separate room in the evenings. Or if your baby will sleep in the pushchair, you can still go out of an evening. We spent lots of evenings pushing the baby in the pushchair until they were asleep, then went for a meal or a walk along the beach.

[ShanghaiDiva]

Self catering is definitely better as you have more space and the baby can still go to bed early.
We had a few holidays when dd was small (Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia) but lived in Austria so could drive everywhere which also made things easier.
We did have a good time, but dh and I took it in turns to get up in the morning with dd so we could all have a break.

[DrAston]

We did look at self-catering style places but they were a lot more expensive this time of year than a hotel room unless you are going with a big bunch of people.

[meridithssister]

I agree, the idea of a hotel and a baby would totally stress me out. However they do say a change is as good as a rest....or something. Good luck OP

[M0nstersinthecl0set]

I went away last week. We had better evening weather. But we had a b&b next to a quiet country pub. We had a terrace for our room. Sat by our room, had a drink from the bar. Chatted and read. In the day we visited tourisy things. It was lovely. A change of scenery etc.

[honeylulu]

I agree. My youngest is two and we still haven't been on holiday with her. We could easily afford it but it would seem like paying loads of money to be stressed out somewhere else. Same shit, different bucket.
It depends on your child though. How I envy those with children who tag along happily. Mine are very boisterous and fearless and would run off in an instant and couldn't care less if they could see us or not, get too excited to sit down and eat a meal (so restaurants are a nightmare) though they are great eaters at home/nursery.
If you have a non helpful partner that just sounds like hell on earth. Sorry.

[HerOtherHalf]

If you've got someone willing to look after her for you, go for it. If she's only 1 she won't get anything special out of the holiday and you're almost certainly due some me and us time. Why the doubt? It seems like you've answered your own question so are you just feeling guilty about not taking her? If so, don't be.

[MrsKoala]

The only holidays that we have found not miserable are ones designed entirely around the dc/practical things. When ds1 was 1 we went to an apartment in Whistler (we were living in Canada at the time) and it had a stone floor with a step in the middle. That was it. A step. But this step ruined the whole weekend. DS1 was toddling and kept clambering up and down it and we couldn't relax. We spent the whole time out of the apartment tramping round and round the village. It was miserable. Everyone was tired but we couldn't go back because of the fucking step. We still mention the step and shudder.

Likewise other destinations, a balcony, non child proofed kitchens, a pool, a road, doors which you cannot lock from the inside so can be opened by just pulling the handle. All these things they don't tell you in brochures because it's just 'normal' to them. But it's hellish if you have small dc and the small things like that mean you can't switch off and everyone has a horrible time.

We spent 2k going to Majorca for a week self catering when ds1 was 18mo and every single second was misery. This year we went to Eurocamp (boys are nearly 4 and nearly 2) and it was so much better. But still not really a holiday for us. There are no holidays for us anymore!

[mummytime]

I spent a lot of the summer when my eldest was 1 in hotels. DH was working away and if his hotel room was suitable we would drive down and join him. It was great, not having to do chores and just playing on the beach, and pottering.

[Magazinepile]

Dd is 4 now and she's been away with us lots of times over the years, and now baby ds has. As others say just put them in the pram and they'll sleep while you go out. Cherish the time when infants are free! Holidays are so much cheaper!

[RubbishG3nericUsername]

I posted this on another post a few weeks ago, we took our then 8 month old DD to chedder woods resort. We stayed in a log cabin which had a lovely large kitchen/dining/ lounge, a couple of bedrooms and a hot tub on the deck! It was lovely, whenever DD napped we jumped in the hot tub! There was an indoor pool on site which was great for knackering her out. And and a resturant/bar/coffee shop for when you didn't want to cook. Like you say, she didn't magically start sleeping through, but the change of scene was lovely, and it was so nice to spend some family time away.

[MrsKoala]

just put them in the pram and they'll sleep while you go out

Ahhhhahahahahaaaa. Mine never have. Far too exciting. Walking round the streets at midnight with them in the buggies every night, and eating while they scream and run riot is all we managed. I always thought the fact the hols were free for kids when it wasn't worth going away was a cruel joke. Of course your children are all probably better behaved than mine!

[DollyBarton]

Mine have all slept in the buggy once it gets to bedtime no problem. Even if she's not used to it and stays up an he later than usual I wouldn't worry. Just go and enjoy yourselves. Go out to dinner from 7-8pm with little one parked beside you. You might be surprised how well it works!

[FourForYouGlenCoco]

I'm with Artandco to an extent on this one. We don't do exciting travel, but go away for long weekends etc in the uk relatively often. When DD was a baby she just came along and slotted in - I'd have her in the sling or DH carried her for days out, and in the evenings we'd have a few quiet toys to entertain her and we'd all just hang out in the bar/lounge and take it in turns to keep her busy if necessary - or if we went out for dinner, we'd go early-ish and just take her along. Hotels with a pool were also an absolute must. She's now 4 and LOVES going to stay in hotels, restaurants etc - frankly she's got a right taste for luxury and is going to need a bloody good job to keep her in her preferred manner
It definitely helps that we never had a strict routine, no set bedtime etc, and she was a pretty chilled out kid and quite happy to just go with the flow. I realise that not all children are like this, and if she was the kind of kid who'd needed to stick to a routine, things would have been very different!

[PetyrBaelish]

Yes MrsKoala is right. We have been away (not in a holiday sense) with DS when he was that age and it wasn't much fun in the evenings for reasons you describe, and sometimes the sleep was worse because he woke up when he wouldn't have normally because he was in a strange place.

We did have a holiday which felt like a success though when we went camping for 8yo step son's sake, because it was completely planned around activities for children and we expected nothing about it to be desirable to a grown up so couldn't be dissapointed! Sorry, that is such a miserable answer!

[ExcellentWorkThereMary]

it really depends on your baby. I agree with a PP about not doing 7pm bedtime - when they are babies you can still do what you want on holiday and not have to tailor it to the kids - you have years ahead of you of play parks and kiddy friendly activities. In the evening, pop baby in a pram and let them sleep there while you go out for a walk, or grab something to eat. Will baby really only sleep in the dark, in silence? If so then it does sound like a one room holiday isn't ideal for you. But when my eldest was 13 months we had a lovely hotel holiday - a couple of evenings we went out but we also did room service, all snuggled in the double bed together, TV on, DH had a beer, I had a glass of wine, baby fell asleep in between us while we watched TV and then we transferred him to cot before we went to sleep ourselves. It was a really nice chilled holiday - no housework! I think a hotel holiday with kids can be great, personally, but the bedtime thing sounds hard for you. at least you are escaping laundry and cooking for a few days :)

[pudcat]

I took mine to hotels when they were babies. No cooking and cleaning. We used to take them out at night in their prams. If they fell asleep all well and good but if not they slept through the night.

[Dontyoulovecalpol]

We're going away with our 18 month olds. It won't be relaxing but we work full time so we're desperate to just be together and catch up on how their little personalities are developing. I absolutely can't wait. I do take all your points but be positive woman! It's family life

[BalloonSlayer]

If you grew up there can you arrange to see a friend for drinks one evening and leave him with DD

[WerewolvesNotSwearwolves]

We've just done it, also with a 1 year old. Air B&B definitely the way to go, much better and easier than a hotel - your own kitchen, less worries about shouty toddlers disturbing people in the next room. Depending on where you go it isn't always more expensive than a hotel. Where are you thinking of going?