Where is realistic to go on holiday with a 4 month old?

[veggie77]

We're expecting our first child in a couple of weeks and are thinking of booking a UK break now for when he's about 4 months and a coule of weeks old. My logic is to go away once he's had all his immunisations (late August / early September time) to somewhere in the UK within a 2 hour drive e.g. Lake District / Northumberland. I thought we'd either stay in a cottage or a self catering lodge, where you can rent a travel cot and there's a fully stocked kitchen.

Is this realistic? What sort of things can you do in the daytime with a baby that young? We kind of envisage being able to go on flat walks where we can push his pram / carry him in a sling in the daytime, and eat out for early dinners. He might be a bit young to take swimming, but we could go sightseeing to places with cafes nearby or try find a beach / park to chill out in. Then watch a DVD with a glass of wine on a night. Is this about right? We're chickening out of trying to go abroad this year with a young baby, (can't quite afford it anyway), but thinking we may go abroad next year when baby's close to being 1 year old. So this holiday is about getting away in the UK in late Summer whilst the weather is still nice and taking it easy.

Is 4 and a bit months too young to take them away for a week in the UK?

Thanks for any advice :-)

Easiest time IMO. Nothing wrong with what you have suggested. Go and have fun. Even try for a hotel rather than self catering. After all you deserve a break from house stuff too.

We went to centre parcs with a 12 week old. So long as you have a bedroom for baby to sleep in so you can close the door and put your feet up at the end of the day then you can go pretty much anywhere. We did walks, days out, swimming, crazy golf!

We stayed in a brilliant place in Northumberland when they were small (pm me) with cottages all sharing a pool. They also have "extras" there, like you can get someone to deliver a ready cooked meal - more like a restaurant meal than a takeaway. I think your idea sounds perfect. Not too long a drive, lovely cottage. IMO a cottage is easier than a hotel as you can watch telly with the baby in another room in the evenings. We had a break in a hotel and ended up going to bed at 7pm and reading in near darkness.

Enjoy. And congratulations!

I would say that 4-6 months is one of the easiest times to go on holiday actually home or abroad [rose tinted glasses]. They still sleep quite a bit, not weaning yet, not mobile and easy to put on a sling/buggy to get out and about.

Lovely time to go away with a little one. You're over the newborn bit and more in the swing of things but they are still really portable (If you can afford it I would consider abroad too, it'll be easier at 4mo than when your dc is 1 imho)

We took dc1 to a hotel in Northumberland when he was 5 mo. Had a baby carrier for him so did lovely walks and a day trip to Newcastle by day. Hotel had a pool and we went swimming too (I took him swimming from about 8 weeks old) In the evenings, I settled him in the pram and then we took him down to the restaurant (the staff were fab and put him in a quiet bit round the corner lol!) and we had lovely grown up dinners. Very fond memories of that holiday.

We took dc3 to Spain when he was about 10 weeks old. I was an old hand by that stage though and he was a very laid back little chap (I knew that before I booked!)

You'll be absolutely fine! At that age, they're pretty low maintenance - they go where you go. If you have a sling, don't have to restrict yourself to flat walks (we went on a number of long walks up and down hills) if weather is nice. If you're breastfeeding, it's even easier as you don't need to worry about sterlising, etc. If you're anything like me, you'll probably pack much more than you actually need, but that's being a new mum.

Advantage of self-catering is that baby can sleep in bedroom while you chill out in sitting room.

We went to a farm gite in France when DS was nearly 5 mths old (and DD was just 2!) - very easy

4 months old is a great time for a holiday. Baby still sleeps quite a bit during the day so you can have a relaxing lunch in or out and you will have a bit of a routine going. We went on a Centre Parcs holiday when DS3 was a few months and had a lovely week. We got takeaways in the evening and put the fire on which the DC were asleep worn out from the daytime activities.
I found holidays got a bit more tricky once babies get more mobile and start pulling themselves up ( had a bit of a disaster holiday in Portugal when DS2 was 8 months in an apartment with marble floors and sharp edged furniture).
Enjoy your holiday, England is a beautiful country.

Absolutley not too young. I took my baby to Turkey when she was 8 weeks old and it was perfectly fine so a UK will be no problem

I think your plans are great. You can go swimming as soon as your baby has its jabs, as long as the water is warm there is absolute no problem.

I would go with self-catering. DD wasn't able to be with us sleeping in a pram while we had dinner so I prefer somewhere where she could sleep in her cot while we had a relaxed evening. If you rent something without cleaning required at the end you don't have to worry.

You can do what you would do at home. At this age they are wonderful transportable and I found the UK great to go anywhere with a baby. We went sightseeing at a lot of National Trust properties and DD was happily admitted while in a sling. There are changing facilities everywhere and if you bottlefeed you can get hot water to warm up a bottle without issues.

We rented a house in Normandy when dd was 4 months old. We just popped her in the sling and carried on as normal. It was fine. At 6 months we flew to Italy for a week, swum in the pool, put her in her pjs, in the buggy and strolled in the evenings. If she slept we ate out, if she didn't we got a pizza and put her to bed.

Center parcs is perfect for babies !

we used to take ours to france when they were 2 months old. the baby won't know any difference. only problem we had was passports - had to decide the name quickly

It's the easiest time to go anywhere at all.
I took dd to Majorca when she was 5 months and it was a breeze. Took the playnest as it squishes flat in the suitcase and a few toys, and keeps them safe and contained.
Have a super time.

We took DS to Portugal when he was 4.5 months and it was lovely. We got time by the pool when he slept, going out and about was easy and in the evenings we put him to bed and then sat out with a glass of wine and a bowl of pasta

In the uk, have a look at Hoseasons. We have stayed at their lodges many times and they are great. You don't need a massive holiday park but some of their lodges have swimming pools on site or hot tubs.

Good luck, you'll have a great time.