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Pregnancy

Anyone thinking of their first holiday? Where to go as a new mum??

20 replies

SunnyDayDreaming101 · 11/01/2017 10:06

Hi all,

Just put my maternity forms through HR and getting WAY ahead of myself!

I want to book a holiday for my DH and our little one before I go back to work at the end of May next year. It's a long way away but would rather get t booked and paid for whilst I am not on mat pay!

No idea where to even start looking! We are they type of people that go as far as we can for as long as we can and it normally involves between 12 and 20 hours travel. Not going to work with a baby!

Anyone got any recommendations for resorts suitable for babies in Europe that are right on the beach? Would prefer all inclusive too so we don't have any hassle.

Thoughts anyone?

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GreedyDuck · 11/01/2017 10:14

Sani resort in Halkidiki. Seriously, they make having a baby incredibly easy, without stinting on luxury. Pretty much everyone has small children or babies with them, and yet somehow it manages to be relaxing and lovely. Sani Club or Sani Beach are your best bets.

Brilliant creche as well, which is run by a UK company and works to Ofsted standards, if you fancy a few hours off.

www.sani-resort.com/en_GB/the-resort

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arbrighton · 11/01/2017 10:20

Loads of people do long haul with baby. Why are your usual places not an option?

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Pradaqueen · 11/01/2017 10:24

Dubai or the Middle East. They are great with kids including free strollers to borrow the minute you get off the plane. Trust me, you never noticed this when you didn't have kids! Don't forget to book the bassinet seats.

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Bear2014 · 11/01/2017 11:31

How old will baby be? You can get away with a lot with a baby that you couldn't with a toddler, so if you like faraway holidays, I'd just go for it.

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chloechloe · 11/01/2017 12:03

I agree that babies are so much more portable! DD1 is nearly 2 and we've been to Sardinia 4 times with her. The first two times she was 3 and 5 months old and it was super easy! As long as they're immobile and just need milk it's much easier!

The second two times were with a toddler and we got off the 2 hour flight covered in food, drink and dripping in sweat from trying to keep her amused in a small space!

So if you want to go long haul the sooner the better. I would however still stick to Europe as I would worry how a baby would cope in the heat further away.

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Glitteryunicorn · 11/01/2017 12:12

Watching this with intrest as ww are in the same boat.

I was playing around with the idea of Japan or the philippines but keep thinking it's too stressful and we won't be able to relax, I did think Thailand would be best but dh says no as we've been already.

I'm looking at Italy, Greece or Spain in Europe but also considering Croatia maybe

We want to go may/June this year though so do really need to decide!

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Glitteryunicorn · 11/01/2017 12:14

Sorry for spelling and not meaning to hijack I'm sleep deprived and waffling

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Potnoodlewilld0 · 11/01/2017 12:16

Menorca is two hours away and it's a family based Island. No stags or hens. Lovely beaches. We go to cal'n bosh. Beautiful Marina with lots of nice restaurants to sit out in. It's very quiet first week so I'd advice going 3/4 week in May.

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JaxingJump · 11/01/2017 12:22

One baby is handy enough. You can pretty much do a normal holiday, it's just a bit busier with scheduled feeds. We went to Cuba with our 9mth old. It was a fantastic holiday and we've great memories.

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Scotinoz · 11/01/2017 13:59

Go to the good places when they're still small 😀 Long haul with a baby is a piece of cake compared to 2 under 3s who just want to run around!

Glitteryunicorn we took the above mentioned 2 under 3s to Japan last year. Not remotely relaxing but fabulous trip. Japan was very child friendly, heaps for them to do, food went down a storm etc

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Sparklyuggs · 11/01/2017 14:04

scotinoz that really inspires me! I'm hoping to go away with the little one, mum and I talked about the Sensatori resorts by Thomson which are meant to be nice quality but family friendly. I've not been but could be an option?

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SunnyDayDreaming101 · 11/01/2017 14:48

Thanks everyone!

I'm in two minds we can either go long hall when the baby is still little. Thinking Indonesia/Philippines but don't want to go when bambino is too little. Due end of April so September maybe? any later and we will start to hit rainy season.

But - I would like a break before going back to work and by then our wee baba will be 1 which is a whole different set of challenges! If we do this then we wouldn't want to go too far.

Any thoughts if it is better to go with a 5/6 month old or grab some sun right before headed back to work but coping with a 1 YO?

Off to buy a lottery ticket so I can do both

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Bear2014 · 11/01/2017 14:54

5/6 months for sure!

If you go before 6 months and you are breastfeeding, you don't need to take anything at all for baby to eat/drink and won't have to worry about that aspect at all. During weaning it's trickier, and if you formula feed, extra luggage for bottles and powder etc.

You can also just tote them around and they can't wander off. Plus do more baby wearing and not have to take the buggy everywhere.

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StarCrossdSkys · 11/01/2017 15:05

4 months was a great time for us to go away with our first baby, but my friend tried the same thing and it was a nightmare as the baby wasn't sleeping or feeding well, so it was just more stressful than being at home. I would definitely recommend going away before weaning onto solids but maybe wait until the baby is born to book, because you just never know if they are going to have health problems. Even fairly common and non serious things like reflux or colic would be enough to put me off going abroad.

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SuperUnicorn · 11/01/2017 15:44

My family are Australian and family members have traveled between the two countries with babies at various ages with no real difficulty. My aunt said with her boys the smaller they were the easier it was, once they got to toddlers and older it needed more planning to keep them happy on the plane and to adjust to the time difference.

Not quite the same thing as we have only booked to go to France but we do have a skiing holiday booked for this time next year, I'm due in May and not really anticipating the travel being a problem (ignorance is bliss and all that!).

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Mustbeinsane1984 · 11/01/2017 20:16

We have family all over Europe and my young son and I had our first flight when he was 3 months. Very easy. Just get rid of all your luggage in the hold and take a small back pack with all baby essentials on plane. I used a baby born as it helped free my hands up when needed. Always timed feeds at take off and landing to help his little ears. Was bliss I could sit and enjoy my book. We have also done long haul to the US and throughout Asia. Our DS is almost 4 and we have just spent 6 months traveling not all easy but what an experience! Enjoy while they are young as as soon as they in School starts the holiday prices in summer are horrendous and difficult to get longer time from work as others have to have holidays in summer. If you feel confident enough go for it!

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SunnyDayDreaming101 · 11/01/2017 21:38

Wow, 6 months travelling- I am so jealous! That must have been amazing.

I am thinking of headed out to Asia, DH can only get 2 weeks but thinking of being brave and maybe staying an extra week or two in my own with the little one, don't think I will ever have the opportunity again.

Just need to get him to agree to it now

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Figgygal · 11/01/2017 21:41

Ds1 is 5 never been abroad never fancied taking him of course now regret that as we tied into school holidays only.

Ds2 is 6 months in may and we have decided to bite the bullet and are off to a family friends apartment in Portugal I wanted an apartment as thought would be easier with little one having kitchen facilities.

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chloechloe · 12/01/2017 11:33

I would definitely say 5/6 months over 1 year (unless the budget would stretch to both!)

Like bear has said they only need milk at 5/6 months and if BF you don't need to take anything! At 1 it's difficult to anticipate where you will be up to with weaning - a baby is likely to be picky at that age and maybe only eating a limited range of food, including purees. If going long haul it would likely be a hassle feeding them. Also at 1 they will probably cruising and maybe starting to walk.

We did a 3 week road trip with DD through Italy at 11months with the car. It meant having to pack a lot of jarred food that I knew she would eat as she was eating finger food and sharing our meals at that point but not reliably. She was also starting to walk which is difficult when traveling as you have to watch them every second. At 5/6 months you can stick them on a blanket on the floor without worrying about them disappearing off!

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mimiholls · 12/01/2017 15:33

I think between 4 and 6 months is easiest. Mr and Mrs Smith and i-escape both have kids collections where you can search by baby friendly places. You may also want to look at self catering villas/apartments as it will make your evenings easier if you're putting baby to bed early.

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