Baby really unsettled on holiday

[lisatto]

We're on our first holiday abroad with 10 month old DD and somehow really struggling. We thought that an all inclusive hotel would simplify things compared to home - no meal prep/tidying up time, nice surroundings for nap walks etc. but even with that and keeping things as close to her normal routine as possible, she just seems to be constantly overstimulated and exhausted.

Tell me this is normal?! She's normally such a placid baby but just screamed the place down for an hour after refusing dinner for the second night in a row. Finally asleep in my arms in our pitch black room whilst DH is on the balcony alone.

The main difference I can work out is that there are so many more people around. She's always been very interested in people - constantly trying to catch the attention of anyone around, clapping, waving etc. but this seems to be knackering her. I feel terrible - is there anything we can do to help her (and the people on our 10pm flight home in a week 😖) or is it normal for this age?

no advice just sympathy x

Oh I remember this well. Best thing to do? Stick her in the buggy at her bedtime, go for a walk, she'll fall asleep then you can have an adult dinner.

Yeah she's just over stimulated by the change and new experiences. Totally normal but not fun.

Unfortunately this is what happens when you take babies on holiday. It ends up being no kind of a holiday for the parents. Hopefully she’ll settle down as the week goes on.

Thanks, all - reassuring to hear it's normal, though I feel a bit naive that we thought it could be easier!@WeDreamInPhosphoresence oddly the bedtime pram sleep seemed to work for a couple of nights but tonight she just became hysterical in there so had to come back to the room. Weird because she'd napped better today so I thought we were starting to find a groove!

All inclusives are the work of the devil for all ages. Why people would want to be in a big casserole dish full of other people I’ll never know.

We took our first baby away at 3 months with in laws and had a lovely holiday. We went the following year and she screamed every night. The only time she slept was when she was in the car. They didn’t go with us again!

Where are you? How hot is it?

Routine goes out the window on holiday so don't stress about it.
If it's warm let her sleep when she wants.

We took DC1 when he was 9 months and we just followed his cues tbh.
It was warm so he slept longer in the day, food wise we would put fruit and other food in a tub from the Buffet if he was to be hungry before meal times.
The times the buffet opening times were later than he was used to for eating so we took something from breakfast for lunch, lunch for dinner etc.

I'd scrap all idea of routine and just go with it. If she's asleep pop her in the bugee and go out with DH for a quiet drink (taking her obviously!)

We didn't do hotels until DD was 7 for this reason. The odd time we had to stay overnight in one on route to the grandparents by car instead of flying was enough. I always found other families with babies in AI hotel fascinating, how do they manage to do it???

Can you source some baby food where you are? Do you have a mini fridge in your room?
Maybe get her to eat before the actual meal times. Then go and either have her in a highchair facing a window but not into the room. Or just let her sit in the pram and nibble on a piece of bread.

Then have a walk so she can relax and do bedtime in your room.
One of you goes to the bar and get drinks and you sit on the balcony.

We are on our first all inclusive family holiday and unfortunately my DH came down with vomiting bug and now my 2 Dcs 7 & 5 have come down with it 🥺 and now I am awaiting my own fate with this bug 😬 last all inclusive we will be doing next year will be looking at self catering that and me and DH don't drink so it's not worth it.

This may sound bonkers... but have you explained to her that this is a holiday and that you will be going back home again soon? Babies that age understand way more than we think but don't have the language to ask about it or express their feelings. We did baby sign language, and at 11 months when we were away visiting family my son kept signing "where" and "home". He absolutely understood that we were away from home and was unsettled by it. The more we talked about it and explained what was happening the more settled he got.

@Zippedydoodahday it doesn't sound bonkers to me, though I admit I wasn't going to post until I saw yours!

We took DS1 to Minorca as a 10 month old and he was very unsettled. Then DH said to me after another difficult day: hang on, we forgot to tell him we'll be going home.

So we did tell him, talked about being on holiday and going home, and the rest of our holiday was much easier for all of us.

@FunkyMonks - argh I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope the bug is a short lived one and that you can still enjoy some normal holiday time together 💐

And thanks again, all. I think we were a bit blindsided but you're right that there are little things we can try to open up more options - e.g. storing some food in the fridge in case the restaurant doesn't work.

And @Zippedydoodahday and @DramaAlpaca - that's really interesting, thank you! Now you mention it, we've been trying to explain a lot of what's going on to her but if anything that probably just reinforces how different it all is. Will try to link things a bit more back to normal life and explain that this is only temporary.

This is why people go on Eurocamp or Centerpacs style holidays. At least you have a different room to sit in of an evening.

We used to take ours camping in France as babies & despite loving a routine - would put them to bed much later than at home.

I don't think babies love hot weather either unless they're used to that climate.

Totally normal. Holidays with small kids are hard work and rarely a break for parents. Being away from the familiar and out of routine is really hard for a lot of little ones. We have made a conscious choice that we won't do long or even medium haul until ours are old enough not to be feral on the plane, so we holiday almost entirely in the UK, mostly going to see friends and family, which works for us.