First holiday with baby?

[SheWillBeLoved]

DD is 8 months now, and I was looking at going away for a week in April/May. I'm being completely pfb, and worried that her routine will be destroyed, she won't sleep at night due to unfamiliar surroundings, and we'll both spend the week being complete cranks.

How do you manage to keep things the same-ish, when abroad? How will she have her naps when I'd want to be out and about (awful when she doesn't sleep enough and will only sleep for 20 minutes max in her pram)? Just... everything! I really need a break, but I have got it into my head that it'd be easier to stay home

Is it really awful? Or am I completely over reacting? Anybody who's baby had no problems adjusting? She is a very easy going baby I must admit.

TIA

I am planning holiday when ds is similar age and will be interested to hear the advice as i too am worried...

depends where it is and if its going to be really hot or not?
If its hot she will probably sleep a lot more in the day and go to bed later.

DS was a suprise and was 7 months old when we had a prebooked holiday but we choose not to take him as it was in turkey and was very hot at the time.

Lo and behold we got on the plane and there were lots of babies, screaming and crying the whole time. it actually really upset me.
a few of them ended up in our hotel and tbh they didn't seem to enjoy their holiday that much!
since then me and DH have chosen not to go abroad anywhere hot until DS is 8-10 yrs old, and can appreciate it a bit more.

sorry that all sounded negative!
on the other hand a close friend has a DD same age as my DS and shes been abroad every 4 months as her DH family lives in spain.
and she never had any problems etc.

What about a holiday in the UK? DH and I have had two really lovely holidays in Cornwall with DS (11m) - the first when he was 5m old. Self-catering cottages are great as you can stick to your own routines etc and if you get one close to the beach you can come back for your DD to have her naps if you need to.

I probably couldn't face going overseas with DS at the moment tbh.

I think you'll be surprised how well babies adapt to a different environment.

We took ds to St Lucia when he was 3.5 months old and he was amazing. I fretted and fussed about the change in time zone but actually it worked out brilliantly. We booked the bulkhead seat on the plane and the bassinet seat and he charmed all the cabin crew smiling and gurgling and then proceeded to sleep for 6 hours.

As I was bfing feeding him was easy, I just fed him on demand and within about a day or two he was having feeds at almost the exact same time of day in St Lucian time as he was having them in the UK. I did worry about jet lag but the first night he slept 10 hours straight and was over it almost immediately.

I would say the most important thing is to relax, not stress, go with the flow and you may well find your dd surprises you. As for not napping in pushchair, I found ds was so tired out from constantly getting fresh air he conked out whenever he could. We took him to restaurants, bars, even the Castries Jump Up which is the loudest street carnival I've ever been to!

I presume you'll be going somewhere warm, if so you'll be spending so much time outside I'm sure you'll find your dd will be the same.

Enjoy!

I have to say that since the trip to St Lucia ds has also been to the south of France and Italy several times as that's where our families are, each time he's coped brilliantly with it. All routine goes out the window, he stays up late, comes out to restaurants with us etc and always we've been able to get him back in to his UK routine within a couple of days.

I took mine to Australia between 3-4 months old. He surprised me and adjusted far better than his parents to a change in routine/sleep etc. Seriously, they are not super-human and able to resist sleeping just because the weathers different and its not their usual cot. You will be fine and probably kick yourself if you don't go as it tends to get more difficult at the toddler age. The way I look at it, when he has jabs or a cold/teeth, the routine goes out the window anyway but he always goes back to normal eventually. Holidays are no different. I absolutely loved taking DS to Oz to see his family, it was such a little adventure. Did need to bring a lot of baby gear though.

Depends on your expectations of a "break". If you think you'll have time to endlessly sit by the pool or lounge in cafes, then maybe you will be disappointed. It's bound to be a bit "same day, different location" but it's what you make it.

We took DS to Mallorca (Port de Soller - Hotel Esplendido) for a week when he was 7 months old. It was October, so not hot, but pleasant daytime temps. He was just starting solids and I was concerned about feeding him, but as we were BLW, I let him eat fruit, bread, etc when we had our meals and BF as usual. I also took loads of Ella's which he just sucked out of the pouch. Lifesaver.

He wasn't much of a pram sleeper, either, but he did nap when we walked around or we were often at the hotel after lunch and just had a group snooze.

We were happy to take it very easy and not do our usual try to see everything thing. That's why we picked a really nice hotel with restaurant and spa. It was a nice place to hang out, so we weren't constantly feeling like we needed to leave the hotel. And everything in the little town was within short walking distance which was great.

We had a couple interesting dinners where DS wasn't keen to sleep in the pushchair so we had a quick meal and got back to the room, but it was fine. And we had a babysitter one night and he was perfect, didn't wake up. Very relaxing in all and totally worth it.

We took DD to Barbados for a week when she was 5 months and tbh, it was a bit of a nightmare sleep-wise. She stopped sleeping through and began to wake more and more frequently as the week went on - 7x the final night. I was exhausted and couldn't wait to get home! But she seemed to enjoy herself during the day, in restaurants / on the rum distillery tour etc.

If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have taken her. But it was worth a shot. I have friends with babies who were absolutely fine on holiday, and you will never know until you try. Your DD may be a superb little traveller, and it would be a shame to miss out because of worrying over problems that may never crop up. Go for it! And please do report back for our edification / entertainment

We took DS to Spain in September last year when he was 8 months old. The holiday was booked in Feb in a fit of needing something to look forward to, but nearer the time I got really stressed out about it. Actually it was fine - he slept on the plane both there and back for an hour and was happy to be fed and talked to the rest of the time. We were quite relaxed about naps and stuff and kept him on 'UK time' which made it easier to fit in with continental meal times etc IYSWIM. He ate quite a lot of baked pots and omelette (and TBH I can't think what else, but I know he didn't starve). He was quite happy being pushed around in his buggy while the rest of us (me, DH and DD - 4) did our holiday stuff (sealife centre, beach, churches etc). Go for it and just be relaxed about things.

It shouldn't be called a holiday when you take children...

LOL at double expresso...... It's not that bad!!!

DS2 was 6 months when we went to Menjorca. We did have a routine although I wasn't one to go bonkers if the routine got broke.

We have the belief that once having a baby is a compromise... both you and the baby adapt to your new life together.

So we went abroad and did the things that we did at home. He would have a morning and afternoon sleep in his pushchair and we would be somewhere quite, maybe by the pool.

We went out earlier than we would have done pre children for an evening meal and have some time at the bar where there was a childrens entaintainer for DS1 but we would go back to the apartment fairly early to settle both boys down and then we would sit on the balacony and share a bottle of wine or something.

If we went exploring the Island he would have a sleep in the car.
Looing back on the photos we all look relaxed and it was a briliant holiday.

I would suggest going somewhere that is not massively hot - just nice and sunny

I'd say go for it, relax and don't get massively wound up about things. Each holiday you have you learn tricks

You already have a huge advantage by having an 'easy' baby.
The following year we went camping in France. No problems

Thanks for all of the replies Thinking we might try somewhere in the UK first for now, just to see with how she deals with being away from home. Although she is an easy baby, when we aren't at home, she never sleeps the same. If it all goes completely tits up beyond a joke, it'll be easy to jump back in the car and come home.

I just desperately need a change of scenery. I think a nice seaside cottage in Cornwall when the weather picks up a bit will do just fine for now, rather than somewhere too hot and in a different time zone. Any recommendations?

When we go to Cornwall we usually get a cottage through these guys - Polzeath is lovely

SheWillBeLoved - You need to think long-term... So what if your DD has her sleep messed up for a few days or a week, it's not going to do her any harm in the long-term. If you worry about her routine being messed up, you will never go anywhere. I was just talking to a dad at the toddler group today and they have never taken their DSs on a flight / overseas (even though he has lots of family overseas) as they just don't dare too and their DSs are 4 and 1.5 years old.

I have family overseas and have two DSs. DS1 is 2.1 and he has been on 4 overseas trips (3 longhaul and one short) while DS2 has been on a short haul to France (he's only 4.5 months old) so far. We are planning Singapore/Bali in August. There will be some bad times (on our return trip from France, our flight was delayed and DH didn't think when booking the flight and we were flying at the kids' bedtime, cue major meltdown from both!) but we have had a lot more good times! Also, once you have done it once, it's so much easier doing it again.

Children are very adaptable and it's good for them to learn to be adaptable. We were in the Maldives last August and I've always been very precious of DS1's sleep. He is one of those difficult babies who do not like change in their routines and needs his sleep. He was 18-months-old then. He came with us every night for an early dinner but we still only got back to our villa past 9pm. He would wake up at dawn (about 6-ish) but still napped normally. Overall, he was getting a few hours less sleep but so what? It didn't do him any harm. And we had the best holiday. And with quite a few trips under our belt, we have learned the hard way what is important to us for us to enjoy our holidays as a family. Good luck!

we took ds1 to florida at 5 months, he was absolutely fine. best tip was to move bed time back 15 mins each night for the week before we went so by the time we arrived, the timwe difference was hardly noticed. we took his play mat with a collapsable frame and he spent the days in the shade by the pool or out with us. no prob at all.

We took DS to spain aged 5 months and it was a trial...not really because of him but because we booked somewhere that appealed to the pre-baby 'us' i.e organic small holding, middle of nowhere, very rustic and the weather was shit so we were stuck for things to do and the studio were were staying in was not exactly luxurious... By end of 10 days climbing the walls.

This year we are going on short camping breaks (1st one at end of April, have already started my packing list!) but if we went overseas again would definitely spend more on somewhere with washing machine/tv/better kitchen and a separate bedroom. hand washing umpteen friggin bibs and sterlising bottles in a saucepan is not my idea of relaxing.

DD1 (3) and DD2 (11months) are seasoned travellers. DD1 has been abroad about 8 times already and we are always going off for the weekend.

I find that flights are great as babies and very young toddlers tend to fall asleep. We always have a picnic on the flight too to pass some of the time and a new toy/colouring book/game for dd1 to keep her entertained.

I think it's great for children to go on holidays and have a little adventure. My dd1 absolutely loves it. She really gets involved in whats around in the area we are going to and what the plan is!

I agree with the poster above that it's not going to be a holiday where you spend all day by the pool reading a jilly Cooper novel - but, it is a lovely break. The children can have a fab time and both parents are around to share the responsibility. Realistically - if the children are having a great time - that usually makes dh and I happy.

I really wouldn't worry about her 'routine' whilst away. Babies are very adaptable and she will sort herself out whilst you are away. Infact my children always sleep better when away!

Have a look at what baby equipment you are taking away with you - it's amazing what you actually don't need. Take a plastic bib that you can just rinse. You can buy nappies anyhere in the world. We often don't even take a buggy - just a backpack that dh uses. Infact - the only baby stuff we take on hols are their clothes, a pack of wetwipes, a few nappies and the plastic bib.

Also choose youe holiday wisely. An 8 month old can really be taken anywhere. Older children like things to do and friends to play with.

As long as your baby is with you - she'll be happy! Just go and have a lovely holiday!

Sounds like you could do with a holiday from your baby! What about a sunny long weekend with your DP?

I have 3 DD's and have always taken them abroad, yes routines get messed up but they soon get back into them when you get home. A change of routine sometimes does you good! If you are staying in UK and want to go to Cornwall we have stayed in the Watergate Bay Hotel and the Bedruthan Steps Hotel, both have creches, childrens tea, and baby listening in the evening - makes such a difference to just get an hour with DH alone!

When DD was 5 months we went to the US (Santa Monica, Vegas and Palm Springs), ie we chose places we could wander about a bit, shop and see things with lots of facilities on tap. They are really transportable at that age and you need to encourage them to be flexible or they never will learn to be! Like another poster says, a few bad nights won't hurt, they will soon adjust. Now she's 4 and DS is 18 months and that is a whole other kettle of fish, unless you are happy to park yourself on a beach for two weeks [yawn emoticon]... just give it a try and I reckon you'll be pleasantly surprised.