South of France with Baby

[Rebecca44]

Hello,
I have a baby girl who will be 7 months by the time we travel to Aix-en-Provence (centre). It is our first time travelling with our daughter and our first time to the South of France. We are going in July for two weeks.

I have a few concerns:

Will it be too hot? Obviously we are going to keep her in the shade as much as possible but I am still worried...
Secondly eating out with babies in France. We normally put her down at 7.30pm at home. Should we stick to our routine or bring her out in a stroller? How are the French about children/babies in restaurants?
Will I be able to buy baby food in the supermarkets or should I bring enough for two weeks?
Are the evenings very warm? Or should I bring cardigans/blankets etc?

Thank you,

R

Hi there, lucky thing, Provence is lovely.
It WILL be very very hot, even in the shade. She will probably be in her nappy most of the time. You can by a spray that you can fill with water to cool her down and make sure you offer her water in between meals. I would not worry otherwise, I was on the beach at the same age under a parasol, so were my siblings, it was actually good because it was breezy.
Do not bother bring food from Britain, loads of baby food available there (Bledina is a popular brand). Formula can be found there, they have similar brands but under different names, but if in doubt you can always take a box of the brand you use in the UK, if you use formula.
As far as restaurants are concerned, I guess it's the same as here really, regular main stream restaurants probably won't mind but smarter ones will. Baby changing facilities are few and far between IME.
No need to bring a blanket, maybe just a sheet and one cardi will do. It can still be 25 deg and above in the evening.
Don't be put off though, Provence is sooo lovely.
And don't forget to have a EHIC card made in case in you need emergency medical care.

I travelled to South of France and Italy when dd was that age. It will be hot - we avoided the worst of it by having a siesta in the hottest part of the day, after lunch. Light clothing and a parasol - you should be fine.

There will be a big range of baby food available, you shouldn't need to bring it.

Generally places are very child friendly. We used to feed dd, put her in her pyjamas and then go out for a stroll in the evening. A lot of the time she would go to sleep whilst we were eating - otherwise she would sit happily chewing on a breadstick.

Evenings should be warmish, but you get the Mistral winds in Provence in the summer, so I would bring a couple of cardies and a light blanket.

The French are much more child friendly in restaurants that we are here in the UK. We have been taking DD since she was a baby and only once in 7 years have we met the 'we don't have a children's menu' attitude - we don't need a kids menu thanks. Actually the vast majority of places I ask ' Avez vous un suggestion pour l'enfant' and even the smartest places have a suggestion. DD has had mini steaks, the small fillets off the bottom of duck breasts, small portions of fish.
Baby food in France is a lot better than here DD loved the little portions of baby risotto at 7 months.
We have always broken our routine on holiday and as a small child she seemed to get it that at home the routine happened and away it was different. It's only now she is a fiesty 7 year that she kicks againist it when home.

I don't want to worry you but that area is in the throes if a measles epidemic. It may be worth consulting your GP or HV about early vaccination.

You'll be fine taking her to most restaurants in a stroller - it's perfectly normal to see DCs out and about in the evening.
I would have a blanket with you as it can get cold. I tend to wear a light cardigan in the evening anyway to cover up from mozzies as they love me. I have little patches that I put on the pushchair for DS and a net.
People tend to change babies in the stroller/pushchair so be prepared to do that.
You'll definitely be able to buy baby food but it probably won't be organise and it seems very pappy to me.
Formula you will be able to buy. Check with where you're staying tosee whether the tap water is drinkable. Some rural areas still have lead pipes. If it's not then you may find yourself boiling mineral water! Just be careful which brand - the ones the government deem suitable will have that written on the bottle.

Have fun!

Please excuse the typos....

Baby food unlikely to be organic!

Thanks everyone for the replies and tips. It has been very helpful. I am going to speak to the doc about getting her mmr early.