Author Topic: Vacation with one year old - tips?  (Read 5503 times)

dinkhelpneeded

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Vacation with one year old - tips?
« on: June 21, 2017, 01:57:23 PM »
Since he was born we've stayed home mostly or gone to places with the grandparents.

We are planning to take our first family of 3 vacation sometime this summer probably to a beach or camping somewhere.

Any tips or suggestions? He goes to daycare most of the week, so managing him on vacation doesnt sound like much of a vacation (sometimes!) maybe i'll feel differently when I am actually on vacation.
Should we stick to a stay-cation type scenario or is a vacation with a one year old a good idea?
He is at a point where everything goes in his mouth, so camping sounds likes a disaster waiting to happen or am I wrong?
Ideas or suggestions on types of vacations that work well for parents with one year olds?

acroy

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2017, 02:16:17 PM »
Very do-able!
Yes it is less of a vacation. Now you have a responsibility beyond feeding & clothing yourself ;) congratulations!

Beach is awesome. We let our young kids eat a fair amount of dirt. Not worth fighting the oral fixation.

We took a beach vaca in May with the 7 minis mmms ... small ones will be 4mo and 2. we'll do it again in Oct!

have fun!

MrsDinero

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2017, 02:41:00 PM »
Just keep in mind going anywhere with a 1 year old will not be a vacation, it will be work.  I'm not saying it won't be fun, but it will be very different from pre-kid fun.

We just came back from our first family vacation with a 21 month old and a 9 month old.  What we learned is the 9 month old will sleep anywhere, the 21 month old will not.  She was up for almost 18 hours (two 6 hour flights), then slept for 14 hours straight.   Renting a condo is better than staying in a hotel, but you have to be extra vigilant for baby proofing.  We brought some baby proofing stuff with us.  We still had fun, but hindsight we should have picked a closer destination.

SimpleCycle

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #3 on: June 21, 2017, 07:09:13 PM »
How old is your 1 year old?  We took our DD to Spain and Morocco when she was 15 months and it was great.  We obviously had less flexibility than if we hadn't had a kid, but it was most definitely a vacation.  We also took her at 23 months to Florida, which was fine except for the plane ride because we didn't buy her a seat.

I agree that a suite or a condo or apartment is easier than a regular hotel room.  Scope out the layout ahead of time for obvious hazards like stairs.

We skipped the stroller for Spain and Morocco and wore her in various carriers.

Bring lots of snacks.

Jaguar Paw

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2017, 08:46:38 PM »
We have gone  a lot of places with our baby (from Texas). When she was 6 months, we flew up to Boston and road tripped around New England. We played in the snow, went sledding, it was cool. When she was 9 months old, we went to Vail where it was more of the same with playing in snow. 10 months old, she went to Florida, where she ate a lot of sand and charged towards the ocean repeatedly. Next month, at 13 months old, we are going to Seattle and Alaska with her.

It is definitely more work with a little one, but also a lot cooler to experience stuff with her for the first time. More work, but more rewarding. We tossed around the idea of camping, but it did not work out for other reasons. Otherwise, we wouldn't have too much of an issue at least attempting to camp with her.

We have not brought a stroller on any of the trips as it just seems like too much of a hassle. Car seat/stroller, blah blah too much. we bring the car seat, and a sweet thing to attach it to so it rolls through the airport and we check it at the terminal. Then when we get to the destination we either carry her, or wear her.
Note: Our 1 year old can have 40 toys in front of her and will crawl 30 feet to eat a penny she sees on the ground, I feel your pain there.

Good luck!

meatface

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2017, 01:19:04 PM »
Get a lightweight travel seat for the plane (and rental car).

Pigeon

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2017, 11:36:12 AM »
We never took anything other than staycations when the kids were very little.  The few overnight/weekend trips for things like family weddings were enough to teach me that it was more stress than vacation.

9patch

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2017, 12:58:06 PM »
Vacations are definitely a ton of work with a 1 year old. My husband and I took a cruise to Alaska for our 5 year anniversary, with a 1.5 yr old, and it was a nightmare, mainly because he was walking/running all the time, and just imagine all of the stairs on a cruise ship. It was non-stop toddling and climbing up stairs on a wavy ship. The first time we went camping, I think he was 2.5 yrs old, and it was great. He is a real outdoorsy guy, so loved playing with sticks and rocks and pine cones. So I would say the main tip for traveling with a 1 yr old is to have somewhere you can go that is contained where you can relax for a bit. Or somewhere safe where it's okay if they run away from you. So Paris metro, not so relaxing. Camping in a forest, more relaxing.

Yankuba

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #8 on: June 23, 2017, 01:01:56 PM »
We never took anything other than staycations when the kids were very little.  The few overnight/weekend trips for things like family weddings were enough to teach me that it was more stress than vacation.

+1

I don't like traveling with kids under 3. We actually cut a vacation short because it was too much work and our son wasn't sleeping well. I'd rather save the travel for when they're older and can remember the places we went.

Heinz

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2017, 03:52:15 PM »
My wife's parents lived in Hawaii, so we traveled from Washington DC to Hawaii with our one year old.  He did not sleep for the entire flight, so there will have to be some tag teaming for the travel portion -- and get him his own seat on the plane. I would try something with a 2-3 hour direct flight and realize the child's routine will need to remain the same - morning and afternoon naps (which gives you some free time) and a bit later bed time. 

startingsmall

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2017, 07:48:17 PM »
My daughter is 4 years old. I read this article a couple of years ago, while on a beach trip that definitely did not feel like a vacation, and it definitely helped me redefine my expectations. I still re-read this article frequently!

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7789310

I also vote for the beach. Just remember that this trip is more about memories than relaxation and you should be okay.

Pigeon

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #11 on: June 23, 2017, 07:55:26 PM »
My daughter is 4 years old. I read this article a couple of years ago, while on a beach trip that definitely did not feel like a vacation, and it definitely helped me redefine my expectations. I still re-read this article frequently!

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7789310

I also vote for the beach. Just remember that this trip is more about memories than relaxation and you should be okay.

The thing about this for me is that a one year old isn't going to have memories, and the memories I have of traveling with my one year old are memories I could do without.

Dee18

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2017, 08:58:59 PM »
I loved traveling with my one year old.  She liked cities and people watching....she did not like sand or ocean at that age, although she liked sprinklers and wading pools.  (I found a beach vacation to be the absolutely most exhausting trip to take with a young child; you have to be a full time life guard....and it's too hot and too sunny much of the day for a young child) Since she could fly free we flew to New Hampshire, New Mexico, Kentucky, and Georgia....where we had friends to visit with. Of course we visited different things than I would have alone, such as children's museums and zoos and neighborhood playgrounds (especially a seesaw we found in NH). But she was pretty happy to go anywhere.  She learned to climb stairs in an almost empty art museum.  She was fascinated by the t.v. in a hotel because we didn't have one at home.  I like to talk long walks to see a place and she liked to take her naps in the stroller so that worked out well.  The only problem was when her ears hurt when a plane was landing. 
« Last Edit: June 23, 2017, 09:01:39 PM by Dee18 »

NorCal

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2017, 10:19:32 PM »
We took an excellent vacation with our 1yr old.  Here's what worked well for us, although it may or may not fit your vacation style.  Some of the things that made it more of a vacation:

1.  Road trip is much less stressful than air travel.  We took our time driving and it was just fine.  Typically easier on the wallet too.
2.  Find a spot where you can walk to everything you need from where you stay.  We stayed at a Hotel on a beach in San Diego.  It was perfect because we weren't getting in an out of the car all of the time.
3.  Find a spot where the kid can sleep separate from you (assuming they do already).  Our hotel room had a kitchenette that we put a small crib in.  It was okay, not great.  Having a ground floor room with access to the pool was surprisingly nice.  Our daughter could nap in the room, while we turned the baby monitor on and went to the pool.

We also did do an independent camping trip when our daughter was about 10 months.  It was work, but it wasn't as bad as you'd think.  We still had a lot of fun.  Just be prepared for the usual food, sleep, etc.

CupcakeGuru

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #14 on: June 24, 2017, 04:17:11 AM »
We never took anything other than staycations when the kids were very little.  The few overnight/weekend trips for things like family weddings were enough to teach me that it was more stress than vacation.

+1

Jaguar Paw

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #15 on: June 24, 2017, 09:48:58 AM »
We like traveling with our 1 year old because it's free! Hooray! Flying free before she is 2 is awesome! This way when she is older and complains that we don't take her anywhere, we'll show her photos of her in 10 states or so before she was 2! Kidding..sort of.

Traveling with a baby really isn't that bad.It's the same thing as daily/weekly parenting,  but in a cooler place. Does she fully grasp the beauty of a New England white Christmas? no. Did she appear interested and more engaged than a normal day in Houston? yes. Add in: eat/poop/sleep/crawl/sleep/drink/eat/play and you have an infant on vacation.

kimmarg

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Re: Vacation with one year old - tips?
« Reply #16 on: June 24, 2017, 11:04:40 AM »
Just got back from a week with an 18 month old. As far as 'stuff' We  had amazon ship one of these to our destination which was great and recommended.

Travel booster seat: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GCJN6K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We bought a seat and brought the car seat on the plane. I'm glad we did because she slept in it because she's used to that. Plus our kiddo is very active and large for her age and I didn't want 28lbs of "I don't want to be on your lap" on my lap for 5 hours. YMMV if you have a smaller or low key kid.

We have been camping at 8 months, 9 months, and 17 months.  As far as the 'stuff in the mouth' phase we found that if we gave in and gave her the pacifier she would eat that instead of the rocks/dirt/sand.