At some point every family will enter the debate and deliberation over the ‘first family holiday’. Will it be local or abroad? Are we willing to take the risk of ours being the crying baby on a flight or bus? How far are we willing to travel?
When you have no children the prospect of a holiday is full of exciting possibilities...where shall we go? Where do we want to explore? Adults-Only or Villa? Although there are still elements of fun and excitement, for us the decision behind a family holiday destination was based more on practicality and a little less spontaneity and freedom. I’m a huge fan of Joe Wicks (The Body Coach) and his experience travelling across Costa Rica with his wife and baby, but my adventurous side was a bit shy for our first holiday.
So our decision led us to a week away to the Balaerics, with grandparents coming along too. I’d like to explain the thought process behind it and to share our experience of this momentous occasion.
The Thought Process
Before stepping on a plane, we needed to ensure that we chose a destination that suited us and our 3 month old.
When to go?
Our initial thoughts were to wait until baby was 6 months old and not so young – he would have had his jabs, able to sit up, etc. It was a trusted friend and experienced mum-of-two who pointed out that 6 months would be around the time of weaning and more likely that baby will be rolling and possibly starting to crawl. And that a trip before these milestones would be more relaxing and easier… so we bagged a last minute deal, meaning baby would be 14 weeks by the time we would be travelling.
Location
Our little one typically has a good eating and sleeping routine at home so travelling abroad meant considering time zones. I figured that we could travel to a destination of 1 hour time difference and still maintain the same routine with minimal disruption. Plus such destinations would mean a decent short haul flight duration.
Accommodation and Board
The aim for our holiday was to get some relaxation – especially for my partner who has a fairly hectic job – and more importantly to have quality time together. With the grandparents in tow, this would definitely give time for our son to be with his grandparents and at the same time providing us with a bit of a break to chill out.
To attain this type of holiday we weighed up a variety of options, such as villas vs hotels, self catering vs all inclusive: an all-inclusive family resort won the vote.
(This blog is not a review of the hotel itself but there were facilities that made our lives easier, which will be mentioned later).
Getting Around
Our trip would involve various forms of transport: a flight, a coach journey and getting around on foot (e.g. in the airport, in the hotel , getting to the beach), which needed some forethought.
We already own a full travel system pram, however knowing how baggage can be handled I didn’t fancy taking it and the risk of it becoming damaged. We needed another pram (one that fully reclined as baby was under 6 months) and following recommendations from other mums we settled on a Joie Mirus, which I was able to pick up second-hand. This was the best purchase we made – the pram was a god send and was used so much, not just for transporting baby but for napping and sitting up when he was awake!
I had also toyed with getting a baby carrier to help with carrying George when he was awake. I’m glad I didn’t bother as we didn’t do alot of walking during the holiday and instead was just extra careful when getting on/off the plane – the rest of the time he was in his pram. If your holiday plans involves walking or terrain that isn’t favourable for a pram then a carrier would be very useful.
Whilst on the plane, George had a dummy or was feeding during take-off and landing and typically was either feeding or sleeping for the majority of the flight. The upside of a short-haul flight is that we didn’t have to worry about multiple feeds and occupying him for periods of time.
The Holiday Experience
Our days were mostly spent poolside and, in between feeds, we dipped in the pool and relaxed on a sun lounger when he slept. I even managed to read an entire book!!
My recommended and essential items:
- Sunsuit and sunhat – George sported his sunsuits and sunhat daily.
- Suncream – although kept in the shade for the vast majority of the day and sporting his sunsuit, his skin was slathered in Soltan Baby Factor 50 (and re-applied) for when he would be briefly in the pool or being transferred to/from his pram.
- Sun shade – our pram did have a full hood, providing good coverage, but we couldn’t have lived without his sun shade! It was reassuring knowing he was cool yet protected while napping in his pram. (You can get the Snoozeshade, we had a Mamia one from Aldi and seemed to work just as well)
We also had a Babymoov UV tent for use on the beach. We did go to the beach once and it was great to shelter the baby when snoozing and when being fed. It saved us money, not having to pay for a parasol each day, which if you were using the beach frequently then it’s a decent purchase to make! (Although putting it down wasn’t as easy as I would’ve liked – I was like something out of You’ve Been Framed! It took me about 30 minutes and watching several YouTube videos to get it packed into the carry case.) If you’re taking one of these, I strongly recommend practising the packing away before going.
Although I am breastfeeding, baby does have a bottle of expressed at 10.30/11pm and I was keen to continue this on holidays. So it meant packing my electric breast pump, bottles and a frozen bottle of expressed (transported in a chill lunch bag with ice packs to stop it defrosting while travelling). George was able to have his defrosted bottle the first night and I could express for the following night. I had also been a bit apprehensive about feeding in swimwear before going, which certainly was not as bad in reality.
Take a look at my blog specifically on feeding abroad coming soon.
The Hotel
We had requested a cot for our room and ensured that we brought some home comforts to recreate his sleeping surroundings. George seemed settled from the first night and sleeping in the cot remained just as good as at home. (We also took our Gro Egg 2 to be able to monitor the temperature of the room).
Being abroad there is a concern about drinking water, so as I had my breast pump and bottles the plan was to clean bottles and pump items in boiled bottled water. We were fortunate that our hotel had a Baby Room that contained a steriliser, bottle warmer and microwave (ideal for sterilising my MAM bottles) – this facility took away the stress of having to boil water and washing in the sink in the room. If you’re going somewhere that doesn’t have these facilities then take a container than can be used for sterilising items in – our sinks were too shallow.
All in all, a lovely holiday that was far more relaxing than I had envisioned and we even had the holiday blues when we got home! Despite the pre-holiday anxiety, I would recommend taking the leap and going away if that’s something you would like to do. I certainly have no regrets and I cannot wait to book our next trip!
WelshMummySteph 