What do you wish you knew before your first holiday with a baby? - £200 voucher to be won

[MaddyMumsnet]

Where do you begin when it comes to planning and booking your first holiday with a baby? Exciting but also, well, slightly nerve-wracking. There's so much to consider, from packing the essentials to managing travel logistics. That's why we want to hear from you about the valuable advice you wish you had, before embarking on that memorable trip with your little one.

Share your top tips and stories in the thread below. Whether it's advice on entertaining children on flights, managing sleep routines while away from home, or how to actually have an evening together once the baby is asleep, your wisdom could be invaluable to other parents planning their first holiday with a baby.

• Post your stories/items/challenges/tips in the thread below to be entered into a prize draw
• One lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice.
• Don’t forget to vote in our poll below.

Here’s what Mark Warner has to say:
“Over the last 50 years Mark Warner has perfected the family holiday.
In our family-friendly beach resorts across Greece and Turkey our kids’ clubs are all about activity. Every child from 4 months old to 17 joins a club where they come first, led by qualified and energetic childcare professionals. Babies and toddlers enjoy home-from-home care, while children aged 3-17 learn to kayak, paddleboard, play tennis and so much more.
Holidays that give you a lifetime of memories - guaranteed.”

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

Insight T&Cs apply

@ErnestCelendine Fair enough! I only clean the house once a week anyway so it seems normal to me 😅

We found self-catering much easier with a baby - more space for all the clobber, the ability to sleep in a separate room (if the baby would allow....) and taking away the pressure of mealtimes in public (although we did eat out). We found babies much easier than toddlers for travelling - they don't tend to wander off in the middle of airports for starters.... But all the challenges of life with a baby (especially the sleep deprivation if you have one who doesn't sleep) don't go away because you're on holiday, so don't expect things to be the same as they were pre-kids. Having said that we travel as much as before we had kids, just differently - you learn to take delight in things like a twenty month old finding a tiny slide they can go round and round and round again with no help needed while their parents collapse on a nearby bench!

I've never been on a beach holdiay with my 4yo, can anyone recommend areas dorset

That talc is the best way of getting sand from feet without them getting into hysterics.

I wish I had realised there were lots of shops and pharmacies where we were so I did not need to pack so many extras.

I wish I new just being in a vest and socks all day - in the shade was all I needed to think about (with nappies of course) all the unused outfits I need not have bought and packed.

Travelling on our first abroad holiday was a nightmare, as the DC didn't enjoy the flight. This was circa 15 years ago so downloads onto devices weren't a thing but for our next trip we took portable dvd players with headphones and it was a game changer. So having films downloaded onto iPads or tablets may help.
We practiced opening and closing mouth widely to help with ear popping.
We found all inclusive great when the children were 3-4 years and upwards as it meant there was a wide choice and no money wasted if they didn't like what they'd chosen as they could just get something else.

I wish i had taken a small stroller instead of our large pram - nightmare to carry on and off the plane/coach/up in the lift - a stroller would have been much more practical

That I should have taken up the offer of going with grandparents, I wanted to go just the 3 of us - but we were exhausted, and would have welcomed the free time they would have given us.

That delays happen and you should be prepared for them in terms of extra nappies, creams, travel milk and finding somewhere quiet to rest. - and yes we have been delayed and had to head to the shops to try to stock up for the delay.

I wish we had not gone transatlantic and gone nearer - the time difference really messed up our routine for days afterwards. The DC's did not adapt to the time difference as well as we had hoped.

I would not take a tiny baby on holiday. It is not a break for anyone. We first travelled when my dd was a toddler. Went all inclusive and if possible all have a siesta at the hottest part of the day. Also lots of sunscreen.

Don't overthink it, accept routine will be different and take a reclining buggy for the evening even up to preschool age. I've travelled extensively with mine, 10,s of thousands of miles in total and it really is fine.

BTW if you plan to travel with a young baby eg family overseas, i cannot overemphasise how much easier it is if you breastfeed, even as very small babies I was able to travel with very little equipment compared to if you formula feed. I also coslept with mine

Oh and we always stayed in hotels, no way am I spending my holidays cooking, the buffet breakfast was always such a treat once they were able to eat food.

This comes up on every post about travelling with kids. You don't have to cook if you stay in an apartment! Restaurants for every meal are available 😂

I wish I had known that Spanish supermarkets are even better than UK ones - good quality food !

We went with a 14 week old baby, and again when he was 2 - and I can say the first is NOT a holiday - just an extension of your home life - just cost us a couple of grand - the holiday with a 2 year old - although frantic and busy was so much more enjoyable - in the pool, eating in a restaurant whilst they were sleeping in the pram - it was a holiday to remember - so to sum up - the age of your family has a lot to do with whether it's a 'holiday' or ordeal.

The all inclusive hotel in Malta looked brilliant on paper lots of pools and kids areas, but the food was really poor quality, with long waiting times and hard to find a cleared tables - I wish I had read the customer reviews before booking.

Take a buggy for the evenings even if you've stopped using one.

Give up on your routines.

@EllieSmumsnet @MaddyMumsnet can you let us know if there has been a winner announced from this tread please ?

Don't go anywhere hot.
Take loads of sun screen.
Invest in a blackout blind & pram parasol if not already.
Have low expectations!!

Don't book a hotel room!
When baba went to sleep at 7, DH and I were stuck in the dark keeping quiet! Now we do an Airbnb or caravan so we have a separate space.

Packing
Honestly a baby needs so much. We realised half our suitcase was nappies, formula and many outfit changes.
We realised we could buy smaller packs of nappies and formula on location in UK which helped. But you never have enough clothes, even with three items per day!

Food
Self catering is the answer with a small one. Their routines and meals make mess and relying on restaurants tough.

Activities
Once DD could crawl, activities were great. DH and I would alternate so the other could do something like gym or swim. But little things for little ones like messy play, dance classes etc DD adored and were well worth the money.

Plane journeys are tough
We are no-screen and so had a variety of pop up and flap books for a brief flight to Italy. But still most of the flight was spent walking up and down the aisle! We are dreading a 6hr flight this year to see family!

This is a old thread - March - can you please let us know if a lucky mumsnetter has been selected -I'd sure the extra spends would be great for the summer @MaddyMumsnet thank you (I.ve not posted on this thread because its very old )

The winner of this thread was @itsywitsy - congrats!

Take grandparents 😜
Also pack lots of their usual snacks.
Lots of snacks for planes in case delays (if over 6 months).
Don't go anywhere really hot. Make sure you have a pool as beach can be tricky with babies.
My best tip, is wait until they're older if you have a baby and toddler 😂