{"id":7354,"date":"2019-03-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-03T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/?p=7354"},"modified":"2020-04-02T05:36:41","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T19:36:41","slug":"first-baby-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/family\/tips\/first-baby-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"9 game-changing tips for your first holiday with a baby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your first trip with a baby is, let\u2019s face it, a little terrifying. Will they completely lose the plot while in a confined space with 100 people (e.g. the plane)? Will we get any sleep? Will we even get to see the holiday destination? The list of fears goes on, which is why I\u2019m glad you\u2019re reading this article. Enjoyable baby travel is<\/strong> <\/em>possible and I should know \u2013 I\u2019m a new mum myself!<\/p>\n

We recently had our first trip with our bubba, Mackenzie, when she was six months old. She was going through one of those \u2018stages\u2019 \u2013 crying all day, no sleep, a million teeth\u2026 you get the gist. We were really unsure how the trip would go, but along came \u2018Holiday Mack\u2019. The relaxed holiday vibes completely changed her personality, making her the most easy baby ever! Here are my top tips to get your own Holiday Mack.<\/p>\n

Say G\u2019day to Holiday Mack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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1. Choose the right destination<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Now this is totally subjective and depends what type of holiday you like. We were keen for something low-key, so we opted for Port Douglas<\/a> and Fitzroy Island<\/a>. Mackenzie hates car trips, so being in one place was important for us too. The less screaming, the better! We also wanted to make sure it wasn\u2019t too hot, so we decided to go in October (before the jellyfish and the heat, but still warm enough to swim). Because show me a baby that loves being overheated \ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n

Nudey Beach winning us over, thankfully without the nudes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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2. Pack well, but not too well (hello luggage fees!)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Call ahead and check what your hotel has available well in advance so you\u2019re not packing the kitchen sink. Depending on where you\u2019re going, you can probably buy anything you need there, so don\u2019t worry too much about forgetting things. And remember that you can always wash clothes (and may very well need to if you have a vomitron baby), so try not to pack too many outfits. I WOULD, however, pack as many different toys as you can \u2013 that stash will be invaluable.<\/p>\n

3. Make (grand) friends on the plane<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I won\u2019t steal my colleague\u2019s thunder here \u2013 he\u2019s written a brilliant article on everything you need to know about flying with babies<\/a>. But what I will say from personal experience is to find the grandparents on the plane! They entertained our little bubba the entire trip (praise the lord) and Mackenzie just thought it was the best thing since Mumma\u2019s milk.<\/p>\n

Spot the look of pure fear on my hubby\u2019s face<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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4. Choose the right hotel<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Everyone has their own list of priorities \u2013 try to find accommodation that ticks your boxes. We looked for hotels with separate bedrooms and living rooms so we didn\u2019t have to sit in the dark every night once baby went down at 7pm (as fun as that sounds). We also looked for a kitchenette so we could prepare our own meals and sterilise bottles, an amazing pool with lots of shade, and a nice outlook since we knew we\u2019d pop back to the room for Mack\u2019s sleep times. We chose the Oaks Resort Port Douglas<\/a>, and Fitzroy Island Resort<\/a> and were stoked with them both!<\/p>\n

View from our room at Fitzroy while the baby slept \ud83d\ude0a<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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5. Prepare for sleep<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Our baby doesn\u2019t enjoy sleeping in new environments. So to help with the transition, we started to sleep her in a portacot a few nights before we left. We also packed a blackout blind to help with the light \u2013 anything for a decent sleep, really \ud83d\ude0a. In the end, Mack\u2019s sleeping pattern stayed pretty much the same on our holiday. I\u2019m not sure how much our prep helped, but we\u2019ll claim it!<\/p>\n

6. Be realistic<\/strong><\/h3>\n

No longer will you spend your whole holiday sipping margaritas by the pool and reading the latest Liane Moriarty book. But setting realistic expectations for your trip will help you enjoy what you CAN do \u2013 like going swimming together as a family, walking along the beach and having midday naps while the baby sleeps! We changed our perspective early on to make the most of the new norm.<\/p>\n

Exploring the Daintree rainforest and teaching Mackenzie about selfies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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7. Just go with it<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A phrase I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve mastered since becoming a parent! Being in a new place and experiencing so many things outside their normal routine can be overwhelming for a bub. If we couldn\u2019t do something because Mack was upset or having a bad day, we decided that just being together on holidays, having quality family time, was all we needed. Sure, we had a list of things we wanted to do. But if we didn\u2019t get to all of them, it wasn\u2019t the end of the world.<\/p>\n

I guess pool time is over<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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8. Enjoy the nights in, but also have some nights out<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Because sleep had been such an issue for us in the first couple of months of parenthood, we naturally planned against any night-time disruption. But then we thought, \u201cStuff it, we\u2019re on holidays, let\u2019s test it!\u201d So we had a few dinners out and pushed Mack\u2019s bedtime later… and surprise, surprise, it was totally fine! So live a little! It\u2019s a holiday, after all \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Just living our best life past 7pm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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9. Lastly, don\u2019t worry about mistakes!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Maybe you forgot her favourite toy or didn\u2019t pack enough onesies. Don\u2019t stress \u2013 it\u2019s all a learning experience! Just try to enjoy the quality time together and the other little things won\u2019t matter as much. This is your last first trip together!<\/p>\n<\/i> PLAN YOUR FAMILY GETAWAY <\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your first trip with a baby is, let\u2019s face it, a little terrifying. Will they completely lose the plot while in a confined space with 100 people (e.g. the plane)? Will we get any sleep? Will we even get to see the holiday destination? The list of fears goes on, which is why I\u2019m glad …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7356,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,80],"tags":[406,408,405,39,407],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7354"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7354"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7439,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7354\/revisions\/7439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}