Baby's First Holiday

We were lucky enough to be able to spend three weeks in France in September. Eden's Grandparents have a house in the South of France, so it was more of a home from home. They also have a car with a big enough boot to get all the equipment we took there (and we filled it to the brim!). Ideal with a young baby.

We had a lovely chilled out holiday, and it was great having Gran and Grandad on hand to help out with Eden during the day. Myself and Ali even managed to go out for a meal one evening!

I can't imagine going on a package type holiday with a baby that young with all the stuff you have to take and having to deal with airports, transfers etc. However that being said we did take too much clobber so I thought I'd write a few tips from my experience on taking a young baby abroad.

1st PASSPORT

Get it as early as possible!! We ended up taking a trip to the passport office in order to get it in time. In order to get the passport you need a full birth certificate. So, if like us, you are going soon after baby is born, ring for an appointment at the Registry Office asap - there can sometimes be a wait for an appointment.

A babies passport photo doesn't have the same stipulations as an adult one. Whilst no,one can be in the frame apart the baby, it doesn't matter if baby has their eyes closed or not. We used Snappy Snaps for the image, much easier than juggling a baby in a photo booth. They had a bean bag to lay Eden on and took the photo from above, we were in and out in 5 mins.

Even though you sign on behalf of the child, you still need to get the form and pictures countersigned so make sure you have sorted out someone suitable for that too.

USEFUL THINGS TO TAKE

SNOOZESHADE - they fit over car seats, are fully UV protective and also have blackout qualities. We used ours loads and, due to the way it fits and stretches over things, had it over the pram when Eden was in that too. It also helped him sleep during the day as even in the shade it was brighter than he was used to.

GRO-EGG - really helped check the temperature of the bedroom at night. I couldn't do much about the heat but helped in regards to whether he should sleep in a vest or just a nappy etc. at night.

BABY CARRIER/SLING - useful if you're out and about in places like markets that are busy and not really designed for pushchairs. Only thing to watch is that baby doesn't get too hot in them in high temperatures and that they're not directly exposed to the sun. We put a hat on Eden and then tucked a light weight muslin around exposed legs and arms. We got the Morph Baby Carrier from Mamas & Papas, it was comfy to wear and Eden seemed happy in it too.

CLOTHES - bear with me on this one I not stating the bleeding obvious! We took far too many clothes. I reckon Eden wore about a third of them even with poo explosions!

Check what temperature it's going to be and plan for that, we took long sleeved full body sleepsuits that he never wore, perhaps pack one just in case. On a similar vein I also took four different jumpers/cardigans when one would have done. I was also tempted into buying cute little shorts etc, he wore them for about 10mins for a photo and then was back in a vest bodysuit as it was too hot for layers!

Also look at how much room they have in their clothes, I took several outfits of the next size up 'just in case'. Realistically even if Eden had the mother of all growth spurts while we were out there he would have been fine with the suits he had especially as they didn't have legs in them. If baby is close to growing out of them I would just take the next size up.

PLAYMAT - great for putting Eden down on as well as entertaining him, especially as homes/villas abroad often have hard tiled floors.

OTHER ESSENTIALS -

• Sunhat
• Baby Sun Cream (remember they shouldn't be in direct sunlight until over 6 months)
• Baby Thermometer
• Formula if using (I'd also recommend taking the ready mixed stuff as you can't use tap water even when it's boiled abroad so saves you buying bottled water too)

GO WITH THE FLOW!

This was my biggest learning, and made for a much happier baby and holiday. Normally on holiday I'd be out and about exploring etc. This holiday not so much, some days it was just to hot to be fair on Eden, some days he simply wasn't in the mood. There were days we'd planned to do stuff and abandoned it at last min as Eden was a bit whiney, we only ate out a handful of times and then at lunch time and we didn't go near the beach.

Also be prepared for a change at nights. Even though babies aren't really in a routine at this young age, it took a noticeably longer time to get Eden down and he woke more. Probably the change in heat, light and environment in general and it did settle down in the later stages of the holiday.

Some days we didn't leave the house, but with a young baby it was far more relaxing for all involved.