Holidays with a toddler and a baby, is it more hassle than it's worth?

[oliveoil]

Am thinking of going away this year with dh, dd1 who is 2 and a half and dd2, 9 months.

dd1 is currently a PITA big time, strops, tantrums, etc etc which is normal for her age, no biggy there. BUT - on holiday, with a different routine and sleeping area she may be even more hard work so what is the point of going away?

dd2 is no problem and would sleep on a washing line so am not so worried about her.

Thoughts please.

xx

There is also something very enjoyable about watching your kids enjoy new experiences / trying different things whilst on holiday...so worth some of the hard work for that.

Hello HMC How are you? Very long time no see - how's life with 2???

We did Vegas and Florida at Easter with ss then 6 and dd nearly 17mths, both kids had a great time and behaved well on the flight, think it was the new environment! (ok bar 15mins on way back of dd kicking the off duty airhostess' seat infront calpol sorted that out!) Although our secret for relaxing was to take the grandparents along as well, highly worth it IMO!

We find the first couple of days are pretty awful then we settle into some kind of routine.
I think it probably depends where you go. We go to PILs house (they aren't there) and the DSs know the house and everything's there and baby friendly.

Definately worth it - my two have almost the same age gap as yours and we have always enjoyed travelling with them.

At 9 months and 2.5 we did Florida which was a great holiday, 2 weeks of beach resort and one week of disney.

Also did France that year -self catering - they were 6 months and 2 at that stage.

Flights etc have always been fine - no problem at all. They both love flying.

TBH I think it depends on your attitude - you know if you think the holiday will be hard work and a bit pants, then thats exactly how it will turn out. If you think it will be a fantastic fun time then thats what you'll have!

One thing I would say though, is that somewhere where the weather is guaranteed is a must - sitting on a beach with babe and toddler is fun, trudging round in the rain is not

Thanks for all these folks, much appreciated . Dh shocked me last night by saying we may as well go abroad so at least we can guarantee the weather.

I think my problem at the moment is that you never ever know what mood swing is round the corner. One minute you can have an angel and a peaceful meal, then you can breath funny or 'offend' dd1 in some unknown way and its tantrum city. But that is another thread....

Will investigate Greece I think.....mmmmmmmm.

x

I've been thinkign again about this. Last year when ds's were 9 months and 2 and 9 months we went on a Eurocamp holiday with friends, which was definitely a rather mixed experience. Plus points were having company and the space of the campsite, downsides were too much cooking and too little sleep. At 9 months ds2 wasn't really up to eating out with us, and our friends preferred to eat late so we ended up doing kids tea and adults tea separately which was a lot of work. And ds1 slept appallingly - multiple wakings every night - which was grim. I'm still not sure why. I also find the 9 month stage difficult for entertainment - beaches are pretty much limited to sand eating at that stage!
This recent trip, 9 months on, was so much better. We didn't get totally uninteruppted nights but the sleep was fine; we could set our own timetable so we all had a siesta and then ate out together; and ds2 was much more able to entertain himself. the only downside was that ds2 was surprisingly difficult on the plane - normally an easy sleeper I'd assumed he would just conk out - but we had nearly 4 hours of increasingly frantic and frustrated behaviour to deal with!
But I would always go on holiday rather than give up on the idea - I just do more and more intensive research and I'm learning at last what works and what doesn't!
What are your thoughts at the moment?

sorry, cross posted! I can't say ds1 has ever had a big tantrum problem but I do remember quite a lot of 'scenes' last year - mainly because we were all so knackered I think.

Life with 2 - well you know allatsea, it has it's ups and downs! Ds though has been quite a good baby, but is now (just) toddling.

Your little boy must be around 18 months old or more now and your dd - what 3 nearly 4?

Are you going to have any more?

Dh and I are too shellshocked to consider adding to our family just yet!

We always go camping in France now - since dd was 3m (ds was 18m then!!). they are now 2 and 3 so will be easier this year. campsites are full of families - especially young ones if you avoid the school hols and are geared up for families. Most have a decent restauarnt, the French are more tolerant of babies and toddlers than most places in the Uk and all the campsites have pools etc. most have toddler pools too. They usually have a wee swing park area and the one we went to last eyar even had a bouncy castle. Most ahve kids clubs (would need to check the ages) and you can choose if you want to be near a beach or not. I love it cos we are self catering - we never stay in a tent and the mobiles are fab!! Out of season even the 3 bed ones are more affordable! I bring their own bedding which helps at bed time. Only drawback is that they don't have baths (unless you go to the communal wash area) but we borroweed a baby bath and still plonk them in that - they like bathing outside too!! most comapnies will prvide you with a bath, cot and high chair so you don't need to pack them.
Most sites allow BBQs which is very exciting for small people and it means DH does the cooking! The fresh air and freedom is fantastic and a lot of the towns in the surrounding areas (where we've gone in Brittany anyway) have little trains that take you round the centre of town and are a firm favourite!! I find ours behave better as they are outside and busy and getting attention from both parents so they aren't as stroppy (different story when we get home and DH goes back to work though...). We also take a portable DVD player for the car and ferry (although ferries are very interesting and exciting if you're under 3' tall!! it also came in handy last year when we had to keep them out of the midday sun as it was too hot (in Sept!!).

Try the message board/discussion forum on www.matthewsfrance.co.uk and see what sites others recommend.
take care