Whether your little one is still tiny or a growing toddler, if this is your first holiday with baby, it’s going to be a trip unlike any other! As a mother of two, I have been in your position and it’s exciting – you want to enjoy some time away and have fun as a family. As the date draws nearer, it can also be a little daunting, realising all the paraphernalia you will need to bring with you just for a week or two! Don’t worry, here’s everything you need for a wonderful first family holiday with your beloved new baby.

FIRST FAMILY HOLIDAY

You have begun a new chapter in your lives as a couple and however much you have said having a baby won’t change anything, it will and in many ways, your life will be enriched. Your first holiday with your baby won’t allow you the freedom of being able to read by the pool all day, stay up all night and then sleep in late. This will be a different kind of getaway and travelling in the UK rather than crossing time zones and waiting at airports can make things easier for you all. Exotic far-flung backpacking trips, while not impossible, are a lot more challenging (not to mention tiring) with a small baby. Booking a lovely comfortable self-catering holiday home where you can make your own evening meal and perhaps sit out on a veranda with a glass of wine in the evening or relax in a private hot tub once your baby is in bed can ensure you all have a wonderful, relaxing break. All you have to do is choose where to go, what to do and see while you’re there and the rest is just to focus on getting a much-needed rest!

TRAVEL COT AND BEDDING 

A travel cot can be a great investment, although they do take up a lot of space when travelling. You might prefer to bring your own travel cot away with you, but most holiday homes do offer them if booked in advance and some places charge a small fee. Do be aware that a borrowed/hired travel cot won’t come with any bedding so you should bring a fitted sheet and your baby’s usual bedding or baby sleeping bag. If you don’t already have baby sleeping bags, they’re safer than loose bedding and I thoroughly recommend them, particularly for travelling. Remember also that your baby will need to sleep during the day so you will need to factor this into your days out. That said, some babies will sleep through anything but it’s a reminder not to let older babies get overtired if they’re used to having a routine. 

TRAVELLING WITH A BABY

The easiest way to travel with a baby on UK holidays, I have found, is to bring a combination travel system of a car seat and lightweight pushchair plus a baby carrier so you have the option of spending some days taking it in turns to just carry your baby on you rather than pushing them along. It’s worth mentioning that very young babies should not be left to sleep for hours on end in a car seat since their skulls are so soft it can cause them to become slightly misshapen. For babies who don’t want to fall sleep in their cot however, the soothing motion of the car can send them off to sleep beautifully!

Baby holiday clothing

Bring plenty of layers so you can remove an outer layer if your baby gets too hot. Going on holiday, even in the warm summer months, you should also make sure you bring cardigans or fleece jackets for cooler days and a snowsuit or warm outdoor clothing – just in case. Unless you’re going to be spending a week or two somewhere particularly remote it’s usually easy to buy nappies in most places in the UK which will save you bringing a week or two’s worth of changes with you. Eco-minded parents may prefer to bring washable nappies and staying in a self-catering holiday home with a washer-dryer makes this a lot easier than staying in a hotel. If you fancy a break from your usual nappy washing and drying routine though, it’s sometimes easier to take eco-disposables along or buy them on the way.

Babies love water and if you’re planning to take your baby swimming then you’ll need to get some special swimming nappies. You don’t want to be the parents of the baby who caused the pool to be closed for cleaning! If you’re planning on going to the beach or an outside swimming pool, then a good UV swimsuit is recommended, and for babies over 6 months old, factor 50 baby sunblock is essential. Remember sunblock washes off and wears off so does need to be reapplied regularly. Babies under 6 months should not be exposed to the sun’s rays so loose white clothing and a sun hat and shade are all that’s needed.

Baby food and drink

If you’re bottle-feeding then you’ll probably want to bring your steriliser along with all your bottles and formula, although many parents with older babies do use the dishwasher to sterilise bottles. If your baby is just starting on solid food and you’re making every meal freshly then you may want to bring a hand blender with you as not every holiday home will have one. For ease of travel, shop-bought baby food is a good option and you can choose to bring some along or buy on the way. Remember to bring your baby’s cutlery, bowls, bibs and cups with you too. If you’re finding mealtimes with baby in your lap just a little bit annoying, a portable highchair can be extremely useful for days out without the pushchair/car seat when you eat somewhere without highchairs. Do make sure your baby drinks enough water on hot days.

Toys and playtime

For toddlers, most child-friendly holiday homes have some kind of children’s playground with an outdoor space and an indoor soft play area for rainy days. Some resorts also have a separate indoor baby pool which can make time in the water more relaxing being away from boisterous older children and teenagers. It’s comforting to bring your baby’s favourite toys with you including bath toys, and you may also want to bring your baby bath if you have space. Check your holiday home has a bath at the time of booking.

BABY’S FIRST HOLIDAY DESTINATIONS

Staying in a holiday park with on-site facilities can sometimes be easier than being on your own in a holiday cottage some distance away from shops and children’s play areas. Many holiday parks have their own on-site restaurant, cafe, shop and launderette which can all be very useful when you’re on holiday with a baby. Booking a ground floor holiday home is also a good idea since carrying a sleeping baby in their pushchair up several flights of stairs is never fun. And a creche or babysitting service is worth every penny! For peace of mind, I don’t recommend leaving your baby sleeping with a baby monitor while you go out for dinner. Take your baby with you to sleep in their pushchair lying flat in a child-friendly restaurant and then transfer them to their bed or go out for meals at lunchtime with baby and eat in your holiday home in the evenings while baby sleeps.

Most self-catering holiday homes come with a flat screen smart TV and a fully equipped kitchen but if there’s something you would like in particular such as a dishwasher or washer-dryer then it’s worth checking before you book.

If you have close friends or family with a baby of a similar age it can be fun to go on holiday together. You don’t have to share the same living space as in many places you can book adjacent or interconnecting holiday homes.

Baby’s First Holiday Checklist

• Nappies, wipes, bags, cream - the usual kit bag!

• Swimming nappies

• Sunblock factor 50 for babies over 6 months old and lip balm

• Sun hat

• UV swimsuit

• Pool inflatables

• Layers of baby clothes, warm baby coat/snowsuit

• Pushchair/lightweight buggy, sunshade and rain cover

• Baby carrier/sling

• Bottles and steriliser plus dummies if used (and a clip to stop the dummy falling)

• Baby bowls, cutlery, cups and bibs

• Fitted cot sheet and sleeping bags 

• Baby monitor

• Favourite toys

• Baby bath and bath toys

• Baby food jars/ small containers/ hand blender/ formula if bottle-feeding

• Baby cutlery, bowls, bibs and cups

• Portable highchair

• Beach shade/pop-up tent

• Car seat and window shade

• Calpol and Sudocrem

Holiday Home Booking Checklist

• Indoor/outdoor play areas

• Baby and toddler soft play

• Separate baby pool

• On-site shop/launderette

• Ground floor

• Dishwasher

• Washer-dryer

• Bath (rather than or as well as shower)

• Hand blender

• Adjacent or interconnecting rooms

• Creche/ babysitting service

Some baby-friendly holiday homes offer a cot, high chair and steriliser free of charge if arranged at the time of booking. A high chair, travel cot and stair gate are available at others. 

Luckily, going on holiday in the UK means you can pick most things up if you do forget. And yes, this is all common sense, but I know from experience that having a baby to look after makes you tired and checklists can help!

Find more inspiration for holidays with toddlers and older children in Best Family-Friendly Short Break Ideas for School Holidays. 

Words by Kate Thompson.