Hey,
I think it still feels like a holiday, especially as you have your partner around all the time so you can share parenting duties more. The tips for enjoyiing area really just to be flexible. Not too many "must be here by this time" so ****tails by the pool sounds awesome.
If you manage to relax your DD will hopefully pick up on it and relax too. Sleep might be weird so just ride the wave.
At 13 months you're still your bubs favourite toy. Books are always good.
I look forward to hearing how wonderufl your trip was!
Thanks so much for all your advice girls! I'm starting to think it will be brilliant even if it is VERY different to our pre-DD holidays I've phoned a couple of resorts in Broome today and a couple have said you can request an apartment by the pool so then we can relax (with our monitor) while DD sleeps. I had already thought about that but that was good advice for others reading Trish!
I've actually found a great deal on a stunning pool villa at a new complex at Cable Beach. The private pool is fully fenced with security gate and all but do you guys think I'd stress more than relax? In saying that, I hardly take my eyes of DD so between DH and I, I'm sure we'd be fine. The gate to the pool would always be checked by one of us. The alfresco looks great too, good for DD to cruise around easily from inside to out. It's fully self contained which means we'd probably need to hire a car for at least one day to do a decent grocery shop for the 5 days but that's not a real drama.
JM - I love the idea of not cooking at all but I think I'll have to go self contained as that may be my winning card when I present the offer to DH tonight, LOL.
Will you get there by driving or flying? If you drive, you can pack a ride on for DD to play with which if there are good footpaths and gardens around the resort will keep her happy for hours. And things like buckets and spades for the beach are also lots of fun. If you are flying, you can probably see about borrowing some from the resort. I always pack an assortment of toys and I set them up in our room so if we are having some quiet time in our room, the kids have plenty to do.
Also, I don't know what they have out in Broome, but we are flying to Sydney, so I am planning on doing an online shop for Coles before we go to Sydney so I can have nappies, wipes, some fruit and other snacks that take up too much room in our luggage delivered to our hotel when we arrive so that I don't have to waste any of my holiday grocery shopping but I still have what I need
Kim - it's 'The Pearle (of Cable Beach)'. Great rates from Sunday to Thursday
JM - AWESOME advice!! You have so many good ideas! DD's bike is the Little Tikes one so it collapses really well! We'll definitely take it, thanks for the tip! The home delivery of groceries is another amazing idea but I've checked both Woolies and Coles in Broome and neither do home delivery yet - boo!! Oh well, maybe they'll introduce it before we get there
I have to put a vote in the "I find holidays with kids difficult" camp, but this is probably mainly because we just came back from a weekend away with DS (just over 2), and I did NOT find it particularly relaxing. We went to the States when DS was 13 months old, so I have experience travelling with kids at that age too.
Its not that its not still enjoyable or worth going, because it is. As others have said, the change of scenery is great and its nice to relax during their naps and not be home where you see the twenty trillion things that you *should* be doing. And kids open your eyes to things you would never have seen before, and you delight in their view of the world and their reactions too. So there are definately good things.
But its very different from pre-baby holidays and I guess you just need to try to know what to expect so you can adjust yourself. For one thing, there are no sleep ins. I know this is part of daily life, but for some reason it is far more difficult on holidays. There are no restaurant meals unless your LO is really good in a high-chair (my 2 year old is NOT), so its having a kitchenette and still cooking yourself. Your activities have to be geared around your LO's naps (unless they are one of those wonder-kids who sleep in the pram or anywhere else), and you have to not have too many ins and outs of the car because it makes them CRANKY. But neither can you just hang around your hotel room because that makes them stir crazy. Car trips or flights which used to be a time to relax and catch up with your partner are now about trying to control, placate and continously feed your child. A lot of time is spent in playgrounds (although your LO may be a little too young for you to do this).
I guess on the whole, my previous experiences of holidays have been quite selfish- as holidays tend to be- its all about recharging yourself. But life with a child is an extended, unrelenting exercise in selflessness. And on holidays you REALLY feel this difference in a way you've adjusted to in daily life. Its not that kids are that much harder on holidays or travelling with them is hugely difficult (apart from the logistics of carrying half the house with you!), its just that you need to keep really giving at a time when you just want to relax.
So in future, I know that I need to look at holidays as a break from daily routine/ work and scenery and a chance to do new things with my little family. Relaxing and rejuvinating is something I need to, somehow, fit into normal life.
It gets easier when they get older, right.....? Please? (sorry for the negative tone, I am just a bit worn out from our holiday and probably used this as an excuse to vent- apologies for hijaking!)
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I've phoned a couple of resorts in Broome today and a couple have said you can request an apartment by the pool so then we can relax (with our monitor) while DD sleeps. I had already thought about that but that was good advice for others reading Trish!
my plan is coming together... 
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