Tales from a family beach holiday

Last week I wrote an only slightly tongue in cheek piece listing some top tips for taking a baby on a beach holiday for the first time.

Since then (I was only five days into the 14 day holiday at time of writing) I've thought of another 40-odd things that I could add to the list.

But I'm not going to do that, as a) that's a very long list, and b) it would have to grow bigger with every subsequent trip.

Instead, I thought I'd write a few words about some of the stuff that happened to us on our first family beach holiday, as it was an eventful trip for all kinds of reasons.

Stress Buster

First off, we had a family medical emergency a few days before we were due to travel that made us think about cancelling the trip.

In the end we decided that a two-week break with some friends and family would actually do us good, so we nervously pressed ahead.

In the end it turned out to be the best decision we could have made - a welcome distraction from the real world. But...

Routine Ruiner

One of the points in my 'top tips' list was that routine goes out of the window the moment you touch down at your destination.

Let's just say The Boy swiftly switched to an Iberian routine of late nights and lazy sleep ins.

The problem is, we've been back in the UK for four days now and he doesn't want to revert. Those pre-holiday 8.30pm bedtimes are now 10.30-11ish. We're hoping a full week back here will put him back to normal.

It will, won't it?

Go with the flow

It was certainly a different kind of holiday with a nine month old tagging along. I certainly under-estimated/hadn't fully considered the impact The Boy would have on what I considered to be your standard issue holiday activities timetable.

Ayia Napa 2002 this certainly was not (nor, I should point out, would I ever have wanted it to be *shudder*).

You can - just about - sunbathe if, as parents (and with some help from family and friends) you employ the 'tag team' child entertaining system. Same thing applies for those lovely al fresco dinners by the sea - one of you eats a lovely starter of sardines while the other keeps the little one busy or pushes him around in the buggy.

The point is, the quicker you abandon expectations based on past, childless holidays and embrace the change, the better time you'll have.

And you know what? It's fine. In fact it adds a whole different kind of fun.

Quality family time

That's a cliche if ever there was one, but like the best cliches, it's true. We're both working parents lucky enough to have childcare in the form of grandparents and a nursery for four days of the working week.

About seven days into the holiday we realised that it was longest amount of unbroken time we had spent with junior since mum went back to work. Brilliant.

And he changed while we were away too. More alert than ever (he's 9.5 months old), some early steps (albeit supported) and growing confidence each day in the pool. Even brillianter.

Appreciating how lucky we are

Two bad things that happened before/while we were on holiday made us realise how much we should cherish our time together.

The first was the aforementioned medical emergency, which carried into the the holiday and is still impacting us now.

That sense of togetherness was only amplified when, halfway through our stay, a taxi carrying the family members we were on holiday with crashed into an oncoming car.

Incredibly, everyone walked away with only a few cuts and bruises (kudos to the taxi driver, as without his evasive action it would have certainly been a different outcome)

But the accident was a timely reminder for everyone to appreciate how lucky we are to have, well, what we have. And that seat belts should be worn at all times.

What next

With the post-holiday blues in full effect, we've already cast half an eye over some options for next year's getaway (you've got to have something to look forward to after all).

I'm excited about it already - The Boy will hopefully be swimming (at least with arm bands!) by then and he'll be on his feet too. A whole new level of fun and games.

And best of all? He'll still be able to fly for free!