Tips and tricks for your first holiday with a baby
I remember when we went on our first holiday with a baby. I had so many expectations about how it would go. How relaxing it would be and how loved up we’d all feel when we came home.
Spoiler alert.
It wasn’t. We didn’t. And if anything it was just regular parenting in a different location.
BUT! These days I like to think I’m a little bit smarter (official jury is still out) and I have some tips and tricks to share with you to help you actually enjoy your first holiday with a baby.
How to actually enjoy your first holiday with a baby
1. Don’t try to go too far away
Remember that your holiday starts from the moment you leave. There is nothing worse than a screaming baby in the car for hours or having to sit squashed in the back trying to entertain them. For us, 2 hours away was perfect. Luca slept the whole time and woke up happy because he’d had a good sleep. We also arrived stress-free because we’d all had a two hour mental break.
2. Choose a place that caters really well for the age of your baby / kids
Make the location as easy for yourself as you can. For us, that means going to a place that has lots of things for our energetic older boys to do. Pools with slides, kids clubs, mini-golf, etc. If you’ve only got one babe it might simply mean booking a room on the bottom floor so you can settle bub in the pram and then walk to a restaurant. That way you’ll still feel like you get a holiday yourself and not have to stay cooped up in the room for the sake of nap-time.
3. Manage your expectations
Try not to have too many expectations around what your holiday will look like. I learnt this the hard way during our first family holiday. I had imagined having long blissful days spent at the beach relaxing. In reality our (then) 8 month old who had never seen the ocean was deathly afraid of it and screamed whenever we went to the beach. Good times.
Be realistic about the fact that you’re still going to be parenting, just in a different location. You’ll be more likely to plan well so that you can both get a break while you’re away.
4. Give each other equal solo time
It can feel like you should spend all of your time together when you’re on holiday. But when you’ve got a baby the best way to make sure that you both feel like you’ve had a break is to give each other one!
This could be as simple as one person takes the kids to the pool or for a walk while the other naps. You’ll be surprised at how much you’ll enjoy the rest of the holiday with even just a little solo time.
5. Keep the packing simple.
With my first baby I packed evvvverrrryyttthinnnggg for every scenario, and every possible sleeping (or non-sleeping) situation. Which really just made packing a whole lot more stressful.
Nowadays I keep it simple. I planned for Luca to just sleep in bed with us (because let’s be honest that’s what he does at home 99% of the time anyway). We ended up lucking out though and there was a spare mattress in the room so he slept on that one the floor beside our bed. I’m not even exaggerating when I say this kid had the best sleep of his life. Go figure.
Moral of the story. You can’t plan and pack yourself into a relaxing holiday because kids are unpredictable. Save yourself the stress and just pack as simply as you can.
So they’re my tips for taking a holiday with a baby. If you want to check out the highlights of ours watch the video below. And let me know in the comments your best tips for actually getting a chance to relaaaax when holidaying with kids.