Beach holiday with 3 month old?

[RedPandaFluff]

After a crappy year (apart from the safe arrival of DD2 of course!) we've treated ourselves to a beach holiday. DD will be three months old and we have a four-year old as well. Are we mad? Is this a really bad idea?

And if we're not mad, what are your tips for a beach holiday with a small baby, please?

Oh yes I thought you meant for next year, Turkey in November won’t be beach weather. They get snow some place sun winter.

Anywhere in Europe beach season is over this year. But you can still go away, but go to say a family friendly Spa hotel instead with several heated pools, some kids, and on site restaurants. If the weather is nice you can walk and visit beach for sandcastles but not lounge around in bikini type weather.

Otherwise for this November you need to travel further afield for actual beach weather.

Okay so the place we've chosen is showing temps of 22-24° during the day in November, it has a private beach with loungers and umbrellas, there's a splash park with slides with the 4 year old (and a baby pool with water features and smaller slides she'll probably be too old for but I guarantee she'll love anyway!), a kids club, and a playground. I think it will be good!

I think my fear is borne of having both of them on my own for full days in the last few weeks and it's been tough, but DH can wrangle the older DD if I need to feed or focus on the baby.

I'm going to be positive and say we'll enjoy it

*splash park with slides FOR the 4-year old

22 degrees though is freezing to be using an outdoor unheated pool or swim in the sea though. So not a warm beach holiday.

Are all the pools heated? In the winter our spa resort pools are heated to 32 degrees outside. Any cooler and there’s no chance my 3 year old would go in them outdoors in November

Turkey average sea temp November
https://www.seatemperature.org/middle-east/turkey/antalya-november.htm -18-19 degrees

As a comparison, we live on alpine lake. Only hardcore lake swimmers go in the lake under 20 degrees, and that’s usually in wetsuits ( it’s only above 20 degrees June-September approximately)

You need to be a hardier swimmer! The warmest the sea gets in Bournemouth in the year is 17.9 on average. Millions of people go swimming in that every year!

Holidays with a baby are easy I think, it’s the crawling, toddler stage that is hardest - we had the worst holiday with my youngest at 13 months. Go and enjoy not cooking. So nice to get a break from housework and just rest with your kids.

@OhhhhhhhhBiscuits - well no. Most people swim in uk in mid summer when the sun is out so it’s a hot day. They wouldn’t go in 17 degrees when it’s 12 degrees outside. In January it’s -15 here, But the pools heated to 32 outside are in constant use. The lake at 4 degrees would cause hypothermia if you swam in then go out into -10/15 temp for a sunbath.

and op has a 3 month old. They aren’t going to become a ‘hardier’ swimming by plunging in a cold pool

People swim and surf year round in Bournemouth, not with babies admittedly but I have been body boarding when the sea temp was 11 degrees.

@OhhhhhhhhBiscuits - ok. That’s lovely if you like cold water Surfing. Op was however saying she wants a toasty warm beach holiday with her children, hence people warning it might not be that toasty in November in Europe.
If she wanted 11 degrees, she could just stay and swim in uk

@RedPandaFluff I'm not sure what the negative Nancy's are all going on about 22/24 degrees sounds like perfect beach weather with littles. I've done it with my babies loads. Take a sling and some shade and crack on! It'll be great.

I found a pool easier at this age, I went to Tenerife when DC1 was 10 weeks and to Cyprus when DC2 was also 10 weeks. I packed a bouncy chair that came apart and then rebuilt and it the DC sat in it while I was around the pool. Find a place with a nice promenade as it’s lovely to walk around with the pram in the sunshine.
I worked on getting a good routine so both DC were sleeping for 10 hours at night when I went.

Took mine on holiday for the first time when he was about 10 weeks old. Piece of piss. I didn't breastfeed either, just took pre-made milk bottles. Days next to the pool or beach in a tiny dingy with a little luke warm water in to lay down and kick his legs in without the constraints of a nappy. Lovely walks and breaks for drinks and lunch and then evenings in Chiringuitos eating tapas while he snoozed in his pram. Not entirely sure what's difficult about it to be honest. Also, just take it in turns to play with your four year old in or out of the pool, make sure he has a siesta before you go out on an evening so he's not dog tired and just enjoy yourself. It can be as relaxing or as stressful as you want to make it.

We've just done it with a five month old and it was absolutely fine.

Yes to a UV tent for the beach. Wish I'd had one for me all the years before. Ours was £15 on Amazon and small and light enough for the case.

Baby actually put himself in to a better bedtime routine when we were gone - it was 8pm before we left and he stuck to 8pm there so 7pm at home. We would time going out for dinner at night so that baby was fed before we left, short walk in the pram and he'd nod off then we'd get a peaceful dinner to ourselves at night. He didn't nap as well during the day so husband spent a fair bit of time walking with him which worked.

Also take a travel bag for your pram. It protected our pram in the plane hold (we handed it over at the gate) and we also put a pack of nappies in it before handing it over which left loads of extra space in the case.

One more tip - we took the pram to the gate as other have done, and packed a sling in our hand luggage. Getting off the plane was much easier with our daughter strapped to me (spare hands!)

Did it with 3 yr old and 3 months BF baby, was fine. Baby slept in the shade much of the time. 3 yr old could swim like a baby dolphin but not keen on sea, so I spent a lot of time by the pool, or in with her.

Did this last year and baby was easy as others have said. Harder this year now he moves and wanted to eat sand. Totally worth it though, the toddler had the time of his life in the pool/on the beach. Agree with taking a sling for getting on/off the plane as was a long walk to collect our buggy with other luggage the other end so helpful to have free hands! Have a great time

DS was 3 months when we went to Cyprus. Ditch the stupid tent, hang by the pool under a big umbrella.

He's 16 now and the best travel companion you could have.

Oh, don't go near the baby pool unless your a fan of conjunctivitis

As long as both little ones and yourselves are ok with heat, it’s fine. The 4 year old is beach aged, the baby better for a city break but if BF very portable and will likely nap most of the time. Re the 4 year old, we had 2 great trips to Italy at that age … but he wanted to visit toy shop or ice cream before the galleries. Just about doable and better than The Louvre with a 2 year old

Thanks for the helpful tips and encouragement, everyone! I feel that I've done my best to cover all bases (eg making sure there's a heated pool etc.) so I'm just going to ditch the reservations and be excited about it now!

Hello! Sorry to bring back such an old post but these are the exact ages my kids will be when we’re thinking of taking a holiday abroad… can I ask where you went?!

@TheUnknownsMum Crete! A lovely hotel called Domes of Elounda

We had a lovely beach holiday with dd1 and dd2 3 months. However dd1 could already swim and was happy to be in the pool virtually all day (at that age she wasn’t keen on the sea although it was warm) and there was plenty of shade under trees for dd2 to sleep in her pram. Otherwise I sat with her by the pool or on the beach. She was a pretty easy baby though.

Dh and I would take turns to sea swim, we both prefer sea to pool.