First holiday - 3, 5 or 8 months?

[lunarwhisper]

Just thinking about a holiday this year as we haven't been for 4 years. It'll just be a basic one to a caravan. Maybe Mablethorpe as we have been before (though not for years) but open to suggestions, we're from Leicestershire. The last holiday we had I was still with ex so it does feel a bit daunting.

There’ll be me. DD15, DS12 (will be 13 the holiday though), DS5 (6 in August), DS4 and DD2 and my grandson. If we go May half term he will be 3 months, July/August He will be 5/6 months but if we waited to October he will be 8 months and sitting up etc. Its been a while since I've taken a baby on holiday and my younger 2 have never been on one

When’s the best time? DS’s 6th birthday is August so leaving toward then but then again my other DC won't have a holiday for their birthday is seems unfair. They finish the 9th of July for summer so can go anytime from then.

Hmmm I’d say 5/6 months as they’re out of the newborn stage but you don’t have to worry about giving them solid foods yet. Also they’re still small and transportable, can nap in a carrier or pram a lot and you should be able to sit them in a high chair or bouncer with toys for brief periods!

We went on holiday when my daughter was three months. It was great. She was pretty robust by then but was still basically an accessory so we didn’t have to factor her into any of our activities as we did for our (then) three year old.

I would say either 3 months or 8 months personally, we did the whole range with my first baby and of your options I’d say those are the easiest.

3 months because they are basically still just a accessory, sleep a lot and can tag along happily in pram/buggy without even needing much entertainment/toys, no food to think about.

8 months because they’re then able to sit, play more with toys to keep occupied, can be distracted with meals/snacks if needed etc.

5/6 months is a bit of tough spot because they’re old enough that they spend a lot of time awake but not quite old enough to be able to properly engage with toys and sit up.

Whose baby is it, your 15 year old’s?!

I would also say 4/5 months as they are that much more robust, still mostly on milk and you’re not having to puree food every day, but most importantly - they cannot move yet!
once they’re crawling it’s a whole different ball game and you can never relax!

Definitely 5/6 months - perfect age for it. Theyre not moving around so you don’t need to be somewhere baby friendly and don’t need the faff of highchair and mess etc for weaning yet. But also likely to be sleeping a lot better than at 3 months so you’ll enjoy your holiday more too.
We had such a lovely holiday at this age with our youngest.
Have fun!

5/6 months. Possibility that they might be a (albeit still inefficient) flight risk by 8 😬

if the baby will only be 3 months by the May half term has he even been born yet? Maybe wait to see how he is? Is it your 15yo’s child? They may not be confident enough or well enough to go anywhere then. My DC1 had horrendous reflux and the thought of him screaming and throwing up all night in a caravan would give me nightmares. I would wait.

Yes, there's a previous thread from OP about it.

OP I'd go for 5 months (currently have an 8mo and he is now crawling so it would be a nightmare) but I would really wait to book anything.

Depends how much room there is in the caravan. At 5-6 months he may need a proper cot (if sitting up), and at 8 months definitely. If space isn’t an issue then I’d got with older he can enjoy it more and maybe sleeping longer. You wouldn’t want a baby waking everyone up in a caravan every couple of hours, the walls are very thin.

Yes, the baby is my dd’s. He's currently 10 days old and quite calm and content (though could all change I'm aware!) I'm just planning ahead as I feel guilty they haven't had a proper holiday for year's bar the odd day trips to the beach during the summer.

The plan would be get a 3 bed caravan and dd and grandson have the main double, ds12 has a twin room to himself and then ds5 and ds4 share the other twin and myself and youngest have the sofa bed.

I have been looking this morning and I have found a 4 night stay the first week of July for £95 though that's not including swimming or activities / entertainment. Just the arcades. I never used to book the holidays my ex used to so I'm clueless tbh but I want them to have a good time

Bump

I’ve been on holiday when DC were all of those ages, and we had a great time each time. Every age has its pros and cons, but we enjoyed all our trips. I don’t think you can really go wrong based on age alone.

Personally, I wouldn’t choose a caravan holiday in October — it’s usually too wet and cold. May or July/August sound much more appealing to me.