{"id":2918,"date":"2019-05-01T23:54:20","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T23:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vickygooden.com\/?p=2918"},"modified":"2020-01-01T22:13:29","modified_gmt":"2020-01-01T22:13:29","slug":"holidaying-with-an-11-month-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vickygooden.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/01\/holidaying-with-an-11-month-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Holidaying with an 11 month old"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m sat here in our little Portuguese garden while John nips out for supplies (nappies, wipes and nappy sacks) because we\u2019ve run low.<\/p>\n

The baby monitor we\u2019ve borrowed from the resort doesn\u2019t work well outside so I\u2019ve propped it up at the exact threshold of the house and garden while I try and catch some morning sunshine.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 10.10am. We\u2019ve been out for breakfast and baby is now napping in her room.
\nEven though we\u2019re on the same time zone as Portugal everything routine wise has sort of shifted back an hour.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s defo a holiday, you know why? I\u2019m not cooking and hoovering and changing bed sheets and doing laundry every day. I\u2019m with my husband every day. We wake up together, eat together, hang about, see to baby together, laugh and go to bed together. Together. Us three. Magic.
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The flight<\/b><\/p>\n

It was only a 2.5 hour flight to Portugal and our actual take off time was 10.15am. I thought she\u2019d be amazed by looking out the window as the ground faded away beneath us at take off but nah. We did what we\u2019d read and gave her a bottle on the way up and again on the way down to help with ear popping. She showed no sign of any ear issues at all.<\/p>\n

After some crying and struggling and trying to get comfy, she eventually fell asleep on me for a 45min morning nap. Which let me tell you, was heaven for me and her dad. Watching her sleep seems to be mainly via a monitor these days or through a quick peek in the stroller if out on a walk. We got to look and marvel at all her little face details and that was the best. She\u2019s growing and changing so fast. Those moments are priceless and to be completely soaked up.<\/p>\n

Food wise, I\u2019d packed in her lunchbox some peanut butter sarnies and some bread with hummus. Plus some blueberries. We\u2019d picked up a Pret coconut chia pudding too as she loves those and a banana. Plus formula.<\/p>\n

All our baby food and drink got checked at departures and was fine to take on board. We got boiled water on board the flight to make her bottles and took two baby bottles full of distilled water we\u2019d made at home.<\/p>\n

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Timings. Here\u2019s what be going on, more or less:<\/b><\/p>\n

7.30am<\/b> – baby has a bottle in bed with us
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\n8-8.30am<\/b> – we\u2019re all trying to get ready to get down to breakfast at the little poolside restaurant. **Baby usually has breakfast at home around 8.15am**
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\n9ish<\/b> – breakfast at the restaurant. A mix of toast, fruits and pancakes for baby. Perfect. She starts getting restless though so we go to the \u2018soft play\u2019 (aka the sofas and cushions) where she rearranges everything and does some dancing because she\u2019s very pleased with herself. A lot of mums gather at these sofas and start chatting about naps and family holidays. It\u2019s like we need one another. I like it.
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\n9.45\/10am<\/b> – back to our little house and nap time for baby. Up to an hour later than usual. We then sterilise\/sit about the house. Today I\u2019m in the garden making the most of this.
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\n11.30\/12 <\/b>– baby wakes and we change her, pack bags and go for lunch outside of the resort. Her normal lunch time at home is 12, by the time we\u2019re settled somewhere it\u2019s at least 12.30\/1.
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\n1.30\/2pm <\/b>– baby needs to sleep so on a few occasions we\u2019ve tried to do this out and about with her napping in the Babyzen Yoyo borrowed from a friend. HAHAHAHAHAH. No thanks mummy. I\u2019d like my cot. Now, we really respect baby\u2019s need for her daytime naps so we\u2019ve always headed back to the house and let her nap there, us then taking to the garden with the hope that she then wakes up with enough time to spare that we can go to the pool or beach with her for an hour. I\u2019ve been reading two books though while out here so all good; The Mother of All Jobs and The Tattooist of Auschwitz if you\u2019re interested.
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\n4\/5pm<\/b> – baby wakes. She\u2019s sleeping longer out here during the day. Is it the heat? It\u2019s only mid twenties. Or is it just the change of scene and all the new things and people and food that\u2019s knackering her out? I won\u2019t complain though, she\u2019s such a good sleeper (even though she\u2019s definitely teething again).
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\n6pm<\/b> – dinner, usually at the resort as we\u2019re half board. This is normally her bath time back home. She\u2019ll have anything from steamed veg and omelet, or salmon fillet to fish fingers and pasta that the hotel chef rustles up for her. He also makes a lovely fruit pur\u00e9e for dessert.
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\n8pm<\/b> – we\u2019ve only bathed her once out here given everything\u2019s a bit out schedule wise. So we\u2019ve been dabbing her down on the bed with a washcloth from home before getting her in her PJs with a night time bottle. It\u2019s sometimes 8.30pm before she is asleep, waking in the morning from 7am-ish. Stirring sometimes from 6.30, but never crying. Bless her heart.<\/p>\n

John and I then have a wine, usually some sort of biscuit or dessert fetched back from the restaurant and watch Line of Duty on the iPad (we\u2019re on series 4, no spoilers!).<\/p>\n

Holidays are different now, they just are. And of course they fucking well are. We have a very small person with us. I mean she knows how to wave and point which arguably could get her by in any restaurant but still. I know some people are all \u2018strap the baby on, we\u2019re having ourselves a holiday and baby will have to fit in with that\u2019 but when you see them rubbing their little eyes and wanting the security and coolness of their cot and bedroom for a little nap I think it\u2019s our job to facilitate what they need. All babies are different. Should I have got her more used to just being put in a stationary stroller for a nap out and about at an earlier age? Who knows. I\u2019m just working with what we\u2019ve got. As all parents do.<\/p>\n

She has however, slept out and about in the stroller during the daytime (just not stationary but by being pushed around) and of course in the car. But a few days back, when we dreamed of a couple of hours over her afternoon nap time on the beach, her in the stroller under the straw parasol she was having NONE. OF. IT. So we hotfooted it home. Which was fine.
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\nWhat has baby been wearing?<\/b><\/p>\n

The days of planning my own holiday outfits and hoping I look semi-nice have sort of been put on hold a bit. See below for more on that. But while packing for her I literally had no idea what to do. It\u2019s early season out here so is just reaching 25 degrees during the day.<\/p>\n

For bed time, because we have air con and the tiled house stays relatively cool anyway, she is literally in what she wears at home every night; a full sleepsuit and a 1.7 tog Aden and Anais muzzie sleeping bag. So the short sleeved and legged PJs I bought and packed were a bit of a waste of time.<\/p>\n

For breakfast I\u2019ll put her in a short sleeved vest with some shorts or a little strappy playsuit over the top. Or a T-shirt and shorts.<\/p>\n

For dinner time she\u2019ll again wear shorts\/leggings and a T-shirt. With a short sleeved vest. Maybe a lil dress if we\u2019re feeling fancy.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve packed a few cardis for her and I\u2019m really pleased I did. Usually pop these on her on the walk down to breakfast and take with us for dinner too.<\/p>\n

Swimming wise. I packed:<\/p>\n