Advice on taking baby on holiday when just started nursery?

[Sunrise888]

My parents have offered to take DH, baby and I on a 1 week cruise holiday with them. At that time, baby will be 10 months old, one month into nursery and I will be one month back at work. The date is fixed, not negotiable.

I could really use advice on two things:

1. How advisable is it to take baby on holiday just one month into nursery? It's such a big step, they'll be settling into a routine, I don't want to cause any disruption to him. Also, isn't he likely to get sick often after starting? Is this enough of a reason to decline the offer?

2. Any advice on taking a 10 month old on a cruise? We are combination feeding, have barely started baby led weaning, having lots of teething tantrums and sleeping issues - I can't imagine taking taking all his formula, bottles, washing and sterilising stuff, along with whatever weaning stuff we need and all his little issues with us.

When is the cruise? As in how old is DS now and how long would you have to prepare for it?

I think you should go for it. Talk to the cruise company about the facilities they have for formula feeding. Also find out what food they serve. If you are doing baby led weaning then all you will need to take will be things like Heinz biscotti and some rice cakes. The rest of the time he can have bits of your stuff. Will the ship have laundry facilities? Ask all of the practical questions to the cruise company themselves (not through your parents) before making a decision.

As for the missing nursery, don't worry about it!

In the long term Will you regret going? Probably not. I went on holiday when DD was 8weeks old. She cried most of the time and I was exhausted. But, I look back at it now and remember all of the fun stuff we did and the fab photos we took are just filled with happiness.

Will you regret not going? Quite possibly! Imaging sitting at home knowing your parents are on a cruise right there and then and you could be with them.

Also you will be 4 adults without too much else to do, you can share the childcare and you'll get a chance to relax aswell

Oh, and personally I didn't sterilise anything after 6months anyway. I figured I wasn't storing milk in there for any length of time, so why sterilise a bottle when I haven't sterilised the plates, cutlery, cups etc

I'd be more worried about taking a week off work just after starting back from maternity.

Add to that the fact that children pick up bugs on starting nursery and it's very possible that you'll need to take leave to look after a sick child.

Bad timing, I wouldn't do it.

From your OP, you sound like you don't really want to go in your current situation - which is TOTALLY FINE. Forget about baby's routine; you'll only just be settling back into work yourself.

Babies are hard work on holiday. The heat (presuming you'll be somewhere warm) won't be as enjoyable for them as it might be for you. Being away from home the same. And after just getting back into your work routine, you might not even feel that you want a holiday/break from it yet.

You don't need any other reasons than that.

Thanks for your replies so far.

How likely is it that baby will catch a bug or infection in the first month of nursery? If baby is too sick to go on the cruise, does travel insurance cover the three of us not going? My friend also advised me to save as much annual leave as possible because of how frequently babies get sick once starting nursery so maybe this isn't a wise use of leave? My office is very pro-children but I guess all work places have their limits?

The trip's this summer, so we'll have plenty of time to prepare, but we've been told we need to decide quickly before the cabins sell out. I haven't even had a chat with my manager about coming back yet, much less ask for annual leave. I could possibly delay return to work/start of nursery by 6-8 weeks to minimise disruption but this feels a bit drastic - I need more time to think about this and time is running out! I agree the timing is really inconvenient, but my parents booked their own annual leave without discussing it with us.

My husband worries we'll end up stuck in a tiny cabin dealing with the baby for half the trip. I'm also slightly anxious about being separated from my baby on a boat/in an emergency (which I know is a tiny risk) so I'd want either myself or my partner to be with baby at all times, negating any childcare advantages. Also slightly worried about gastroenteritis outbreaks (a slightly higher risk).

Parents are visiting from abroad so this is their only opportunity to see baby this year - I think they figured they would have more fun if they took us all on a cruise ship rather than us all hanging out at home!

And yes, I don't want to regret not going either! I think we'd have fun - it feels like a nicer way of going abroad with a baby than flying - but some parts of it might be stressful. It's a very generous offer and it's not the kind of holiday we would book ourselves so I don't want to deny my husband the experience. (I've been on a Scandinavian one before with family, found it fun if slightly cheesy myself). We have a choice of Scandinavia or the Mediterranean this time. So yes I have very mixed feelings about going.

Which cruise company will it be? Some are very family friendly so could help with bottles, formula, baby equipment etc.

Things will be soooooooooo different at 10 months to what they're like now OP. For me, things are so much easier. DS is almost fully weaned, he has breastmilk morning and night, and if he asked for it during the day, which is rare. He eats normal meals for breakfast lunch and tea, along with snacks as and when during the day. He is so much happier and easier to deal with than he was at 6 months (which I'm assuming your DS is, approx). His sleep has changed completely in that time. If you can sort out the annual leave/going back to work later I'd go for it!

Don't worry about the time away from nursery. When DD started nursery (a bit older, 15 months) we had a whole series of long weekends so she would miss Mondays, and she only goes 3 days a week so was only going for two days quite frequently! It made no difference at all to her settling in. Re being sick, she has had some bugs but only a few that we have actually had to have time off work for (ie vomiting bugs) so we've just used dependents leave so far, no annual leave. Obviously every baby is different but I would go for it!

Does it need to be a cruise? Could you and your folks not get together and pick a family friendly resort somewhere that might be a better option?

I'd go. BUT I'd check out how my work are going to take it first. Even though you're entitled to leave etc, the unfairness of people means that very probably people will be sniffy about it. "Why couldn't she go on a cruise before she came back" etc. Sad but true.

I wouldn't worry about nursery at all.

I’d definitely go for the cruise. Most cruise ships are like a small town, even the smaller ones are like a small village, all the facilities you need. Find out if there’s a crèche and get DS booked in to give you some time without him.
Don’t let your DH or anyone else put doom and gloom into your head to try to talk you out of going. You’ll have a lovely time and it’ll be good for your parents to spend a relaxing time with their daughter and grandson.

We have a choice between Cunard to Scandinavia and Royal Carribbean to the Mediterranean. It does have to be a cruise, my parents love this kind of travelling. The alternative is a hotel about 20 mins away. It's unlikely we'd travel much in the area as I don't drive and my husband would be at work.

Thanks for the reassurance about nursery. I'm probably overthinking all the potential problems. I should probably just say yes and deal with any issues as they come.

Don't want to sound horrible but you sound a bit precious. Just go! It's only 1 kid and 4 adults, I'm sure you will cope!

In terms of nursery I've found they tend to be ok in the summer but it's when winter hits you start having the problems.

I took DD on a sailing boat holiday when she was 11 months! Honestly you will be fine. Just go and enjoy it. If you don't want to go, don't go but don't make up excuses.

I don't think I'm being that precious! Baby's hard enough to manage at home (painful teething, constant hyperactivity, poor sleep) and there is so much baby stuff we'd have to bring with us - it's really hard for me to plan more than a few days ahead, nevermind a few months and in an unfamiliar location/abroad too.

Thank you all for your replies btw.

Cruises are generally really well set up for babies and you’ll have plenty of pairs of hands to help with the baby. They often have crèches where you can leave them to sleep in the evening so you can enjoy the entertainment and they’ll have all the baby food etc that you need.

You can’t predict Nursery sickness. DS has been there full time since he was 4 months old and is 2 this week, he’s been off Nursery twice in that time. I’d definitely go.

My parents don't know baby either - my mum has spent a few hours with him after he was born, my dad hasn't met him. I thought by that age he'd start to have some separation anxiety so I wasn't sure how much I could truly on them for childcare.

*rely, not truely

Thanks, the consensus seems to be I should take nursery out of the equation, and cruises are generally good places for babies 😉. Just need to figure out what to do for work now - take a week off or push back my return to work.

Royal Caribbean are so well equipped for babies and children. Me and my DP have been on 4 since 2015.. and booked another for September. We don't have any children yet but 100% will still enjoy cruising with our baby/children at any age!

Do you know which ship?

I have taken my LO on holiday at 13 weeks old, the flight was over 4 hours long and she was very good. We have also done mini cruises every few months to Europe and we have all really enjoyed it. My advice would be to get a good size cabin. Other than that enjoy it.