Holidaying with a 13 month old - need some advice!

[Taurean]

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.

Hmmmm my plan is coming together...

Any more advice would be welcome!

[~Kim~]

That sounds fantastic!!

Might have to PM you for the spot....

[Just Me]

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

[Taurean]

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

[~Kim~]

Thanks hun!

[amberj]

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!)

[bubno.3]

AmberJ:

Im with you on that it really not a holiday like we know it pre baby days BUT if you plan a trip with your kids yes you must be able to be flexible!

WE my DH and i and kids DSS18 DSS15 DS 10 DS 18mth (at the time) went on a road trip to the NT from Melbourne .... me NEVER again will i agree to do that with camping involved with a toddler, or driving all the way . Now thats not because im a princess and need all my mod cons but it at times was a nightmare especially when in was stinking hot ..... YOU need to be aware that the 'precious' pram you spent and arm and leg on lol will get drenched to keep you toddler entertained and not to HOT.

Next family holiday will be a self contained unit next to a pool bar resort type thing ... so yes you can still swim and relax and leave the child in doors if need be perfect!


However i do know that the P&O cruises like some resorts do KIDS ROOM and Babysitting which would be very handy and i think it can be a whole afternoon thing as well.

I think it is up to the individual couple and how they share the responsibilities with LO .....

Perfect holiday : GO ALONE if you are lucky enough to have family/friends/ babysitter to have them for a week

[Just Me]

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!)

I agree with what Amber says. We did a couple of holidays with our kids expecting things to be the same as before and it wasn't until we embraced the idea of making it about them and doing things that kept that happy that we really found we enjoyed holidays. I think our best holiday so far was to a resort on the Sunshine Coast last year. We had planned to go to the Gold Coast, but decided that theme parks was probably too much for them - they were too short to do most things and it would probably be a lot of them being stuck in the pram. We settled for the Sunshine Coast instead and were amazed by how much fun we had just doing things they liked.

My kids are best in the morning so we had a buffet b'fast at the resort whenever we were all up and dressed and headed straight out from there to make the most of the mornings. We did different things everyday - Strawberry picking, playing on the beach, Big Pineapple, Play Cafe, movies (we took them to see Ice Age 3 and it actually went really well even though they were only 2 & 1), Maze world, Aussie World. We only planned stuff until lunch time and after lunch we headed back to our room and put the kids to bed for an afternoon nap. DH and I had naps with them or watched a movie in our room so we still got our chill time and then we went and did the resort activities in the afternoon - sailing, swimming, beach play. After the afternoon activities we had baths (we had a spa so the kids thought it was the best thing ever) and went to dinner. A couple of times we had room service because the kids were too tired to venture into public but mostly we ate at the hotel restaurant because they had buffets which was so good for the kids - kids ate free and there was enough variety to give them something of a balanced diet.

I tend to be very organised about our holidays now and plan it so that we all have a rest in the afternoon which kind of compensates for not sleeping in. DH has always been big on breakfast on holidays and loves his buffets. It is something we haven't had to compromise either - we have just tried to be smart about how we do it. We pick places designed for families and found the staff in the restaurant very accommodating and we weren't the only ones there with toddlers and babies. They put us in an area where it didn't matter if food went all over the floor and the kids being unsettled didn't cause too much disruption to other people. The staff can make such a big difference to your experience as well.

We love our holidays and we are starting to get used to doing them differently to how we did them in our pre baby days. In many ways our holidays are far more special and exciting now than they were when it was just us. Showing our kids new things is such a thrill and spending time together as a whole family is wonderful. The kids are thrilled enough that DH doesn't have to go to work for a few days. Even the plane ride on our upcoming holiday will be such an adventure. We have taken DH to the airport twice in the last week for work and the more we go, the more excited DD1 and DS are getting about going on a plane. They have both been on planes a few times before, but I don't think they really remember so it is really exciting this time.

We have taken the kids to Sydney twice before so we have been looking through our photos of our last trips (DD1 was 15 months and 2 years the last times) and looking at all the different things we can go and do while we are there. She is pretty excited.

This is a bit of a side issue, but I turn our photos from things like holidays into story books for my kids when they get home and I have done it since they were babies. I just use a photo editing program to print some simple text across the bottom of a photo and print them out at Harvey Norman and stick them into a small $2 photo album. These are their favourite books - encourages literacy, helps them with their re-telling skills and it is an easy record for them of things we have done. I have quite a collection now of little books about things that we do. As they get older, I will start getting them to tell me what text to write and let them take their own photos. Once we start talking about our holidays, they get out the holiday books from other holidays so we have plenty of time to talk about everything that is going to happen.

I guess that is another point - I am really into preparing kids (even when they are still small) for everything that is going to happen. Even if they don't really understand, I tell them what is going to happen, how it is going to happen. I find my kids cope really well with most things and I can see the difference when I don't prepare them beforehand. I am amazed what they can understand from such a young age as well. If they know what we are doing and what they need to do beforehand, everything generally goes smoothly (nothing is fool proof and there are times that things flop still but it does make a huge difference overall).