Travel / Weekend breaks
Mini break – with a baby
Alba and I went on our first mini break abroad together, to Rome. It was beautifully full of awe, architecture, gelato, spaghetti and sunshine. Here are some travel tips when a baby is your accomplice on a city break adventure.
* Pack your sling – the sling was invaluable when Alba wanted to be close and up high in a new environment, however she was very happy to be in her buggy most of the time and thoroughly enjoyed grinning and holding on to the bar on the metro, which apparently is like some sort of new swing, just like the plane taking off and turbulence.
* Pack a little flannel – if the weather is very hot (it was around 28 C in Rome), then take LOTS of water and a small flannel to wet and bathe a warm baby. Alba enjoys squirting water from her beaker, too. Everywhere.
* Let the baby enjoy the local food – age appropriate and totally personal choice, but Alba loved the pastas and pesto, the tomato sauces and long spaghetti (al dente, Roma style). And the oranges were perfect.
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* Talk – tell your baby everything that’s going on, what they’re seeing and ooh and ahh at the sights, sounds, smells etc. They will feel comfortable and get excited with you.
* Embrace – the local music and people etc. Alba thought the violinist was fantastic as we danced and wiggled around, while the passionate Italians cooed and chatted to her, she smiled and chatted to them. People watching in the cafes was one of her favourite parts of our trip.
* Don’t take too many bags with you – just take one bag with everything in for you and your baby. Faffing around with one million bags is never fun, with or without baby chops.
* Having your own apartment instead of a hotel is brilliant in many ways, not least because it’s so much easier and freer when you have a baby travelling accomplice. I would recommend air b n b and Cross Pollinate.
* Include several large muslins for shading, sitting on and wrapping up against the sun’s rays… basically everything.
* Make sure you have plenty of nappies and wipes. Just incase it’s hard to get hold of some.
* On a mini break – and many holidays – you don’t need to worry about a cot or high chair and we were provided with both. I’d be tempted to just take the sling, but when it’s very hot, this can be intense and I found Alba very excited when she was up high, watching the world.
* Enjoy yourself. Relax, it will all be fine.
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