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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to book a holiday with 3 month old ?

63 replies

Fibilou · 03/01/2010 09:57

We are planning to go to a holiday cottage in Devon in the middle of May for a week to see my best friend - we've stayed in this cottage 4 times and it has normal facilites like washing machine, tumble dryer etc. It's a 4 hour drive, we have an estate car so taking baby stuff won't be a problem. Baby is due on the 24th so would be about 3.5 months old.

When I said about it to my parents you would think I was planning a round the world trip.

Am I being ridiculously naive to think that logistically it really can't be that hard to stay away in a cottage for a few days ?

OP posts:
Original poster
Fibilou · 03/01/2010 11:40

I think my parents are a bit obsessive. They have got a fixation about cat nets (they think the cats are going to suffocate the baby despite not being able to think of one instance where this has happened).
My Mum hated leaving me with even her own mother.

OP posts:
scottishmummy · 03/01/2010 11:46

we went away with 5wk baby.no problems,enjoy yourself

LadyThompson · 03/01/2010 11:48

Took four month old on a weekend city break to Bilbao. It was very nice (and not a bother at all). You will be fine, have a lovely time.

violethill · 03/01/2010 11:50

That explains it then fibilou.

Just make sure their neuroses don't rub off on you. New parents are often very vulnerable, and you may feel irrational guilt or anxiety if your parents don't approve of how you do things.

Just remember - you are the parents, and you are more likely to raise a well balanced child if your life doesn't grind to a halt the moment you give birth.

lostinwales · 03/01/2010 11:50

Yes, cat nets - that must be a generational thing, my mum never shut up about cats suffocating my babies.

Took DS1 to Cornwall at 12 weeks, and DS2 by ferry to france at 6 weeks (his two year old brother was MUCH harder work). Have a wonderful time.

madamy · 03/01/2010 11:53

You'll be fine! We drove from the midlands to France with an overnight stop in France when ds was 3 months - also had dd1 4.3yrs and dd2 23mths!! Was great fun and no harder than having a holiday at home.

cece · 03/01/2010 12:00

probably easier than with an older baby or a toddler i would think. babies that age don't need much so packing should be easier too.

Morloth · 03/01/2010 12:09

Sounds good to me. My bubs is due on 18th March and we have a week booked away from 12th April. Did similar with DS. I have however said that I will not be doing the catering/shopping to the usual degree and that DH/SIL need to do a lot more.

overmydeadbody · 03/01/2010 12:13

YANBU

Babies can be taken anywhere. Of course it's not madness.

Concordia · 03/01/2010 12:17

we went on a cheap flight to teh south of france for a few days with a 12 week old.
it was great. as others have said, much easier than post 6 months when you have to do weaning and older ones when you are worried about them jumping / falling down the stairs.
so go for it.
our trip did us the world of good.

SE13Mummy · 03/01/2010 12:22

I have a cat net you can have, no prizes for guessing that my mother bought it for me!

We went away for a fortnight when DD was 9 weeks old then at 12 weeks she came camping with us. Babies are at their most portable at that age and as other posters have said, really need very little. My only suggestion would be to take an additional grippy bath/shower mat with you to use on the bath so baby can lie in the normal bath filled with a small amount of water - it's easier than bathing them in the sink as they can lie down. Failing that, a spare tea-towel will do the job just as well.

Let me know if you'd like the cat net! It's brand new and in the box.

curiositykilledhaskittens · 03/01/2010 12:24

It sounds like a lovely holiday and 3 months is a great age for it as the baby will not be moving around much and will maybe be sleeping through or at least not feeding quite as often as a very new baby so you should be able to enjoy the holiday without feeling earth shatteringly tired.

Be prepared that you may need to cancel though just in case something happens with the birth that means you can't go. It's a tiny risk but worth considering if the holiday is going to be expensive. Sorry to put a downer on things.

Original poster
Fibilou · 03/01/2010 12:26

Thankyou SE Mummy for the offer - but I already have one.
We do have 1 cat that tries to sleep over my face so I got one for the crib at night (we have an open plan house and the cats love trying to get into the crib) - but obviously I am not sufficiently paranoid for my mother's satisfaction

OP posts:
Original poster
Fibilou · 03/01/2010 12:28

We're not going to book it till February CKHK - but it's only £250 anyway so not the end of the world if we have to cancel.
We've got annual holiday insurance, no doubt they would cover it if something was wrong with baby and the cottage owners were mean enough to refuse a refund 3 months beforehand.

OP posts:
curiositykilledhaskittens · 03/01/2010 12:51

fibi - sounds like you have thought of everything! lol I shall leave it at 3 months is a great age then!

GracieGirl · 03/01/2010 13:04

I'm due on 6th Feb and plan on going to Cornwall (5 hour drive) for 2 weeks in June when baby will be 4 months. We've hired a cottage and plan on stopping plenty of times on the way. I've not actually told parents or in laws yet!

Also going away for the weekend staying in a travel lodge (2 hour drive) for a wedding when the baby will be almost 3 months.

Good luck with your holiday - let me know how it goes!

mummygirl · 03/01/2010 13:19

I'd take a 3 month old backpacking around the world without a second thought. Actually I did

loubielou31 · 03/01/2010 13:40

YADNBU You will not believe how much stuff you will pack into the car "just in case" but I'm sure you will have a lovely time.

katylou25 · 03/01/2010 13:51

I'm due with dc3 on 19th May - we're going to France for a week on 2ndy July so baby will be 4/5/6 weeks old. The other 2 were 10 days late so am guessing this one will be too. My only worry about it is getting a birth certificate and passport in time. As everyone else says babies this age are the easiest to take away. We took ds1 on his first holiday at 3 months - on his 2nd at 6 months he learnt to roll across the room - we were staying in an open plan 3 storey cottage so that was interesting trying to barricade all the stairs!!

bronze · 03/01/2010 13:53

I flew to a country where I don't speak the language and had never been to before on my own with ds4 when he was 7 weeks old. It was one of the easiest trips I've had anywhere in the last few years

duchesse · 03/01/2010 14:01

It'll be fine! They're making a mountain out of the proverbial. We took child 1 to Crete for a fortnight at 9 weeks, child 1 (22 months) and child 2 (4 weeks) to Turkey, child 1 (3.10), child 2 (2.0) and child 3 (-2 months) camping around California for a month, and recently took 8 week old DD3 to Italy for ten days (along with her siblings). People were quite rude about the first few trips, but had come to expect it by the fourth child. Breast fed (or even bottle fed in your kind of set up) non mobile babies are so easy to travel with.

duchesse · 03/01/2010 14:05

ps- all we took for the baby (apart from her clothes and some nappies) in October was a blanket, her car seat and a sling. She slept in with us although the flat had a cot for her. Hardly any extra clobber at all. Actually, and particularly in Devon, you can make do without practically anything. If you really discover a need for something, you can pick it up in Exeter or any nearby shop or ask to borrow it.

WoTmania · 03/01/2010 14:08

perfect age. You only have to take your boobs, sling if you walk lots, and clothes/nappies.
YANBU

Original poster
Fibilou · 03/01/2010 14:41

Best friend has 2 boys - 1 of 2.5 years and 1 born 3 weeks ago, so we should be able to manage if we need to borrow something urgently !! Also MIL and FIL are going to be coming down for a couple of the days to stay so we'll hardly be stranded without any help lol

OP posts:
Blu · 03/01/2010 14:51

It'll be a doddle.
Especially if you are bf, and use a sling, and don't get hung up on having to have every single gadget, routine and High Standard along with you.

Babies can be bathed in sinks, buckets or bowls, and with a travel cot, a lightweight folding lie-flat buggy (McClaren Style) and a sling or back-pack you will be able to go anywhere!

DS went on a beacj w/e at 2.5 weeks, a greek island (a ferry trip away from the bigger island) at 9 weeks, all over the UK, and then Mauritius when he was 8 months. All a doddle. then he learned to crawl and walk and it was a nightmare til he was 3. Make the most of it in the first year.