To take baby on holiday or wait until next year?

[TiredDinosaur]

FTM here and DH wants to take baby on holiday this year. He will just be turning 9 months if we book for end of June to go to Italy
I think we would have a brilliant time but I feel like my anxiety is getting the better of me and I just can't get excited about it.

Here's what's on my mind-
Flying - never flown with a baby, keeping him entertained in the airport and during flight. Plus the extra luggage and pram / car seat etc
Nights - still BF so I'll be doing the night feeds, putting to bed and early mornings
The heat - trying to keep baby cool but still enjoy the weather
Change of routine - they eat very late over there so it would mean being in restaurants and eating about 9pm
Money - I should really be saving money as on mat leave but DH really wants to go and we are able to get a good deal

We are hoping to go with some family and I know these memories will be priceless and you never know what is round the corner !

Has anyone got any experience with traveling with a baby. (Or even with a toddler - is it easier with a toddler?! Should we wait until next year)

Am I being silly stressing out?

We took DS away at that age - to Italy in fact. The flight was fine, could you go to a self catering villa to avoid the issue of eating late?

The worst part for us was that there was an unfenced pool and DS could crawl really fast by that age - we were constantly leaping up to keep him away from the pool! That's the thing I'd change.

It won't be the relaxing holiday you used to have pre kids but tbh you've said goodbye to those for quite a few years to come 😂

It really depends what kind of holiday you expect to have.

Italy is not known for AI resort so I would stick to a self catering apartment or small villa where you can adjust your routine a bit better than in a hotel ant eating out each night.

You can have a heat wave in the UK as a baby so end of June should still be okay if you make sure you spend the day in the shade.

We did great holidays with a nine months old. There's a huge development stretch between six and nine months so you may be surprised positive or negative how your baby will be end of June.
I had one who suddenly became a very early riser, think about 5 am, so having a possibility to provide food at that time and not waiting for hotel restaurant to open or making some food in a microwave in hotel room was a lifesaver for us.

We were never people who just fly and flop holidays we always did things so we just grabbed DD and carried her along.

Why don't you take the overnight ferry to mainland Europe ? Do a sightseeing holiday while DC is still young enough to stay in the pushchair without trying any Houdini escape moves. You'd also benefit from having your own car and no weight restrictions.
Holidaying with the little darlings is a case of same shit, different location.

I’ve travelled with my three DC since they were 10 weeks old and the only bad holiday I had was when my middle DC was 8 months and pulling himself up on the furniture and crawling. It was really difficult keeping him safe in the accommodation. I found it easier to travel with DC under six months old.

I think it depends on the kind of holiday and expectations…I’ve taken mine a few times, the best one was at a family hotel where everything was set up for parents with young children/babies, including changing tables in the room and throughout the hotel, spaces where they can walk and crawl freely and safely, and food suitable for little ones.

It definitely won't be easier when they are a toddler.

Just go. And have a great time. Babies are portable. Breastfeeding makes it even easier.
take a sling and enjoy exploring

As an expat, I flew to England from Oz when my oldest was that age, they are very portable it was fine.

IME (mum of three under six), the worst age to travel is from when they are walking to when they can understand some sense, ie. around 10-20 months. 9 months would be better than this time next year!

We took ds1 to Portugal at that age. It was nice, he enjoyed the pool and some evenings we managed to go for dinner with him snoozing in the buggy! He wasn’t too bothered by the heat don’t think.

keep expectations low. And for us having an apartment where we could make food and milk up for him easily, helped a LOT.

Truthfully - if I was you then I would go tomorrow! A fully breastfed baby is really easy to go on holiday with - all their food is completely sorted and safe.

The problem with 9 months is that they will need water and you have to be really careful with bottled water as the sodium (I think! My youngest is nearly a teenager.) level can be dangerous for an under 1. So you either need to go somewhere that you can drink the tap water easily or somewhere that you have easy access to a very large supermarket where you can get suitable water from.

We waited with ds until he was 12 months for this reason but then discovered that 12 month olds were really hard work on holiday. He wanted to be on the move all the time but couldn’t walk for more than a few steps so wanted to crawl. But the ground was hot which was not nice for little hands and knees. So he got cross. Which did not compare well with taking him as a 5 month old when he just sat around being a big smiley blob who ate a lot of milk from his version of the all inclusive buffet (me!) and looked pleased with himself.

This year!

Next year he’ll be walking and running away from you.

You might have to change the type of holiday you’re used to though. If you want the Med, go early before it gets really hot. (Say May rather than July or August) - or Sept.
You are unlikely to get much relaxing on a sunlounger done though, so you might want to think about days out, sightseeing etc.
In a hotel room, once your baby is asleep for the night, then you either have to creep around in the dark, or take him out in his buggy. One of mine slept happily in bars in the evening, the other - no way! Self catering was much easier.

France and Italy, are pretty good with kids. Especially Italy.

Thanks everyone, appreciate your replies and enjoyed reading about your own experiences

@MrsMoastyToasty same shit different location made me laugh! This is what I'm expecting but still hoping to make some great memories

Just go! The holiday is for you, not them. So whatever you need (routine or no routine etc) to make the holiday relaxing for YOU!

Even if you do the same things as you’d do at home, you’ll have different scenery and food etc.

@Mumofteenandtween I didn't think about the water situation so need to keep that in mind

Correct. 1-3 is the hardest. At least it was for me.

consider self catering so you have options. Babies tend to be a bit more flexible with times (mine wasn’t particularly and then years later we found out she’s autistic and still hates changes in routine now at 13) but lots of babies are totally fine shifting schedules. Or just eat earlier - Italy is super easy with babies.

next year will definitely not be easier so if it’s this year or next I’d say now all the way.

I agree with this. Also, it depends on your baby and their abilities and temprament. We took our DS away on holiday when he was 9 months, on the cusp of walking and he was a nightmare. He was so frustrated because he wanted to walk he spent the whole holiday crying and whinging. His already terrible sleep was even worse due to the developmental leap. He wasn't "portable" at all. He protested every single time he went in the pushchair/highchair. We actually admitted defeat and came home 2 days early because all 3 of us were thoroughly miserable. He's nearly 4 now and we still haven't been on holiday again (for various reasons, not just because he was a complete horror) but I reckon he's at an age now where it would actually be enjoyable.

It won't be relaxing, so if that's your aim stay home where it's easier to entertain. Definitely make sure you can make your own evening meals. Crawling and pulling up on hard slippery floors isn't ideal either. You'll have elements that are great, but for me it's a lot of money for a lot of slog with a few nice moments.

We flew and went on holiday with our two from 12 weeks old. Definitely found it easier from 12 weeks to about 12-15 months, before they were walking. Most hideous holidays were 15 months to about 2 years due to the flights. Trying to get a very large child who wants to walk everywhere to sit on your lap for take off and landing was not fun.
As long as you understand holidays will not be the relaxing affairs they were before kids all will be good.

My child was 10 months old when we first took them on holiday and I had only recently stopped breastfeeding. It was much, much easier than I had imagined. We were self-catering so there was a fridge for the cartons of formula I'd taken and we had sterilising tablets and bottles. I took too many outfits as the baby lived in a vest and nappy 99% of the time! Go for it.

Go this year! It's a billion times harder to travel with a toddler. Especially a young one, who can walk and need lots of entertainment, but also can't really follow instructions or communicate very well yet.

Took my 3m old baby and 2.5yo toddler to Spain, so glad we did!

Do it.

Most if not all main UK airports have little play areas / soft play to entertain young kids before flights.

BF baby during for take off and landing to help settle and stop their ears popping on the flight.

If all inclusive or half board is accessible - that helps you to actually have a break from the 100milion mini decisions you make in a normal day at home.

Otherwise a self-catering place works well too - plan basic low effort meals e.g. some ready made side dishes or main meals that just require heating up, pizza, pasta & jar sauce, again so you actually feel like you're getting a bit of a break.

Italy is so family friendly, you'll have a brilliant time.

Trying to get a very large child who wants to walk everywhere to sit on your lap for take off and landing and wear the seatbelt while not lowering the tray table on the back of the chair in front 😆👌

I took our baby on holiday when she was 6 months solo (staying in hotel but meeting up with family) she was a dream despite severe delays, hours at a time with her just on my lap etc, now at 19 months would be a complete nightmare, doubt I could get her to stay on my lap for 5 minutes let alone 5 hours at a time. She’s up far more times in the night, back then she was still just mainly breastfed, sorting meals now would be a mare, She was much lighter so not so bad with the pushchair up and down steps or having her in the carrier when pushchair not viable. She wasn’t yet mobile so no worries she’d pull over a precious vase or fall down the stairs at relatives houses. Taking her out to meals at 9 months was chill, I used to go out with friends while in maternity leave all the time and she was fine, now there’s no way I’d take her along to a dinner date 😂 Honestly you couldn’t pay me enough not to take a 1 year old on holiday 😵‍💫

Ha, yes I remember us taking our 2 year old on holiday, was utterly horrendous, we seriously considered coming home on the 2nd day and would of if not for our older child (her first holiday so was in awe at the experience) we went the following year when DS was nearly 4 and had an amazing time