Taking 8 month old baby on holiday

I think your better off leaving at home with grandparents in my opinion. We never took our eldest till she was nearly 5 and with a second on the way in September he/she will be staying at home when we go abroad the following year. You're spending all that money to sit in a hotel all day as you cannot go on trips and see the sights etc and constantly having funny looks from people when the inevitable crying happens. I went to Canada when I was a toddler and have no recollection of it at all. Even something like Niagra falls.

A lot of people call it selfish but it is in fact selfless as you are not enduring your fellow passengers with the endless crying/vomiting on the plane and the same that endures during breakfast and dinner. Your child will remember nothing of it at all and would more than likely prefer being with grand parents watching Peppa pig and going to fun farm type things.
 
I'm not sure "selfish" or "greedy" are the correct terms, it's purely down to personal choice.

My personal opinion is that i too would not take an infant that age on an overseas holiday. Why not:

  • Leave toddler with family and enjoy your holiday yourselves

  • My personal preference is what we used to do when kids were that age - we used to love loading up the car and heading to Devon/Cornwall etc, usually Haven holiday. Lots of close contact with each other and the whole park is geared towards children. I used to baulk at the idea of a caravan, but some of them are 5* - hot tub etc. Once the infant is older, then you can expand to foreign holidays.
 
Don’t let children put you off travel, ever. We did 6 cities last year in Italy by train/plane. My daughter was 1 and my son was 4. At times it was testing however we all had a great time. We took our son to Thailand when he was 1! We were inspired by the French families we saw in and around Asia when we were younger.

You only really need the obvious unless your little one requires specifics.

Nappies, wipes, milk, creams, decent folding buggy, carrier, etc
 
It’s no more difficult than leaving the house in the UK and dealing with a baby. Anyone who tells you differently is either a melodramatic parent who hasn’t done it because they can’t bare the thought of the imaginary hassle they’ve created in their own head or is a childless individual who thinks all children automatically ruin everyone else’s holiday.

The key is knowing roughly what you are going to be doing at any given time and planning accordingly.

For example when our boy was under 4 we always found that getting a flight which takes off around the time he naturally wanted a sleep, meant he was zero hassle for other passengers. Now he is over 4 making sure he is kept entertained on the flight again means he has been zero hassle to other passengers. We haven’t had a single melt down or crying fit on any of the flights we’ve taken.

Ignore anyone who tells you it’s unfair or a massive hassle as quite frankly it’s not. From the time the baby is born until they go to school is the last chance you’ll get to take them on holiday without paying an absolute fortune because of the school holiday tax. So do it and create memories for you and your partner.
 
johnny6 said:
It’s no more difficult than leaving the house in the UK and dealing with a baby. Anyone who tells you differently is either a melodramatic parent who hasn’t done it because they can’t bare the thought of the imaginary hassle they’ve created in their own head or is a childless individual who thinks all children automatically ruin everyone else’s holiday.

The key is knowing roughly what you are going to be doing at any given time and planning accordingly.

For example when our boy was under 4 we always found that getting a flight which takes off around the time he naturally wanted a sleep, meant he was zero hassle for other passengers. Now he is over 4 making sure he is kept entertained on the flight again means he has been zero hassle to other passengers. We haven’t had a single melt down or crying fit on any of the flights we’ve taken.

Ignore anyone who tells you it’s unfair or a massive hassle as quite frankly it’s not. From the time the baby is born until they go to school is the last chance you’ll get to take them on holiday without paying an absolute fortune because of the school holiday tax. So do it and create memories for you and your partner.
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There are plenty of instances where taking a baby/toddler is not the wise thing. When we go Skiing it is pretty obvious why you wouldn't take a baby. Two years ago we went to Rhodes. With a baby we would have had to miss going to Lindos, Acropolis and the Old town would have been a chore. Last year we went to Crete and did Samaria gorge (One of the longest if not the longest in Europe) which would be impossible with a toddler.

If your idea of going on holiday is going to some complex all inclusive and sitting by the pool all day then I can say you can most likely do it with toddlers but actually going out and seeing things. Forget it
 
adam cool dude said:
There are plenty of instances where taking a baby/toddler is not the wise thing. When we go Skiing it is pretty obvious why you wouldn't take a baby. Two years ago we went to Rhodes. With a baby we would have had to miss going to Lindos, Acropolis and the Old town would have been a chore. Last year we went to Crete and did Samaria gorge (One of the longest if not the longest in Europe) which would be impossible with a toddler.

If your idea of going on holiday is going to some complex all inclusive and sitting by the pool all day then I can say you can most likely do it with toddlers but actually going out and seeing things. Forget it
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Lol and yet we went to Rhodes with our little one and visited many parts of the island including the places you mention without any issues. So I stand by my statement it’s really not that hard in the grand scheme of things with the right planning. Yes there was a lot of walking, yes there where cobbled streets and a bunch of steps but we’ve got some amazing pictures and memories of the three of us at the Acropolis and in the old town. Tell me again why it cant be done with a kid??????

Skiing I’ve not tried with the kid but that’s mostly because my wife doesn’t want to do ‘cold’ holidays. I’d happily go skiing with the kid however, if anything he’s got infinitely more balance than me so I reckon he’d be good at it. I accept though that skiing is probably and after the age of 5 holiday.
 
Found the grumpy old men!

The holiday is obviously for the parents, not for the baby. It's not the same type of holidays you do before like trecking through jungles or jet skiing between islands but it is a break from the monotony of baby life. Why not have a break? It's been a stressful time, more for some than others, so a bit of relaxation is deserved.
 
NVP said:
...Had a hire car which meant from landing at the airport we were in control. It made things much easier with unscheduled nappy changes, breast feeds etc. A focus estate was what we had and it fit the pram and they supplied the baby seat so it was all pretty smooth sailing...
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Definitely this. Our 3 year old has had 51 flights since he was born starting at 3 months. A car makes things so much easier.
 
Couldn't do it.
If I had kids the planning and regimented process would completely kill the holiday feeling for me.
Going to Rome and having to do X, Y, Z on day 1,2, 3 was bad enough.
Does seem not worth it though some pull it off.
If you do mine planning etc or all inclusives I can understand it might be ok. But not if you want to explore

And then there is the thing they won't remember etc. So the holiday is for the parents.

Screaming kids on planes drive me crazy too!
 
413x said:
Couldn't do it.
If I had kids the planning and regimented process would completely kill the holiday feeling for me.
Going to Rome and having to do X, Y, Z on day 1,2, 3 was bad enough.
Does seem not worth it though some pull it off.
If you do mine planning etc or all inclusives I can understand it might be ok. But not if you want to explore

And then there is the thing they won't remember etc. So the holiday is for the parents.

Screaming kids on planes drive me crazy too!
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You say that now but there’s a good chance your views will change after having kids.

My son was 6 on holiday last year and his favourite thing he still talks about now a year later. Wandering around the sagrada familia in Barcelona and seeing all of the different stone carvings and the statues in and around the building. That and the ice cream, but what 6 year old doesn’t like ice cream.

I feel lucky that we can show our son parts of the world that we never got to see growing up. Yes I had some great holidays with my parents and I wouldn’t change them for the world, but the world is bigger and infinitely more diverse than going to butlins or haven for two weeks every year.
 
If you take an infant on holiday, you're not getting a holiday and the baby won't benefit in any way whatsoever from it.
 
johnny6 said:
Lol and yet we went to Rhodes with our little one and visited many parts of the island including the places you mention without any issues. So I stand by my statement it’s really not that hard in the grand scheme of things with the right planning. Yes there was a lot of walking, yes there where cobbled streets and a bunch of steps but we’ve got some amazing pictures and memories of the three of us at the Acropolis and in the old town. Tell me again why it cant be done with a kid??????

Skiing I’ve not tried with the kid but that’s mostly because my wife doesn’t want to do ‘cold’ holidays. I’d happily go skiing with the kid however, if anything he’s got infinitely more balance than me so I reckon he’d be good at it. I accept though that skiing is probably and after the age of 5 holiday.
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I am not talking about children but toddlers/babies. My daughter has been everywhere with us since the age of 4.
 
Took our youngest abroad at 6 months old.
This was to a villa with pool in Fuerteventura, so not too hot & all amenities.
Was a really easy holiday from what I remember.
We took a suitcase of baby equipment though like door bouncers & even one of those things with wheels you sit them in.
 
We took our first abroad to Rhodes when he was 4 months. We then went to Dubai with him at 8 months. We didn't have any significant problems. In fact, the more you travel with your children the faster they adapt. Our children now 3 and 8 are brilliant travellers. The bottom line, if you want to go abroad, then go.
 
terley said:
Personal oppinion but i find a young child that will have no memories of the journey being exposed to travel just isn't in the childs best intrests, children can make travel for other passengers borderline unbearable and the child benefits entirely nothing from the ordeal... Adults are often immensley fatigued after a holiday, babies would be exposed to loud noises, climatisation and heat in a country foreign to them.

I have no issue with 3-4 year olds travelling with parents, but babies and young toddlers it makes zero sense to take them abroad in my opinion.

As far as the greed part goes, i see the first couple of years of a childs life as absolutely crucial, and trying to fit a trip abroad in that very small window i feel is greedy beyond measure... Like i mentioned above, the child will have zero memories of the trip, at that age its learning to stay alive.
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Ugh, fun police alert.
 
Ours will be 17 months old when we go away. Not really doing anything special just taking his medication.
Were not letting the fact we have a baby stop is enjoying life. We want him to be part of it so start him off while he is free.

Deluxe1 said:
Nothing worse than crying babies when you are travelling.
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Babies cry deal with it. Guessing you're one of those people that sit there huffing and tutting.
 
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