Holidaying with Infant

jimbojon

Hi, I am thinking of bring an 8 week old infant to Spain for a week in August. Has anyone done this? Am I mad. Will it be too hot. He is 4 weeks now and doing great. We have air con in apartment in spain and would be keeping them indoors mostly. Any feedback would be great. Good and bad!

kc66

We brought our 6 month old to Portugal a couple of years ago. As long as he was kept in the shade he was happy. It was around 25-30 deg most days. It wasn't too much hassle. But we couldn't go near the beach as it was too hot for him. Although Spain in August could be much hotter.

Jagera

It will still involve changing nappies, feeding, bathing, and all the good stuff, just in a different location. You won't get to sleep in, have a romantic dinner, or go out to bars or clubs. Your baby's sleeping habits and other routines may also be adversely affected, so be prepared.

Some babies can be fairly strongly affected by cabin pressure too.

Jumbo156

Was in Nerja in Spain last september for a 10 days with a 4 year old and 7 month old..
It didn't go very well. It was really very hot at night and neither of them settled.
Air con is great but sometimes can be very noisy, so you turn it off and then it's too hot again. So it's a bit of a catch 22...

So it basically depends on how hot it's going to be. We were unlucky as the weather was seemingly unprecedented for that time of year.

My other question is, is there any point in bringing them to spain when you intend on keeping them indoors all the time...just a thought...

DubDani

We were just in Thailand for 3 weeks with our 6 months old daughter.
I think you can have an enjoyable holiday with a small baby, as long as you plan properly.

We went to the pool for an hour every morning straight after she got up (i.e. around 7.30) and in the evening when the sun had settled down and temperatures went down to more normal levels. She loved the pool and knew very quickly when we were ready to go.

You will just have to plan things more. In our case dinner had to be early at around 5.30pm, so that we were back at the apartment around 7 to prepare for the pool. During the day we went to places that we knew were not too hot or were covered in some way (i.e. markets, shopping centers, cafes, forrest parks, aquariums etc.).

Her sleeping pattern has been slightly different, as that she woke up once every night instead of sleeping through. We guess it was due to the temperature / Air con.

Nevyn

I wouldn't do it tbh.
Too many factors need to be looked at and the infants need and routines need to come first in my opinion. If anything goes wrong your far from home and help and support. I wouldn't do it with a baby under 6 months, how many of their vaccinations have they had?

How Strange

We'll be faced with this dilemma next summer (hopefully!) and my gut instinct would be to stay in Ireland next summer for our holiday, pack the car up with everything we need and rent somewhere in West Cork or Connemara or Donegal.

Jumbo156

This year we packed the car and headed west. Had a fantastic time. No interruption to routine and we all got on great, even me and the wife !

metrovelvet

Its not going to be a holiday. You know how much crap you have to pack for an eight week old? HAVE YOU GOT ANY IDEA HOW HOT IT IS IN SPAIN IN AUGUST?

That sounds like hell on earth to me.

max power 18

I Brought my 6 month baby to spain 18 years ago and had a ball.
He slept slept slept for most of the time .[ Under an umdrella by the pool}
was like a prune coming home after spending the whole time in the pool.
He just loved the water,
In the evening time He slept in the buggy for an hour or two while mummy and daddy had a meal so didnt go to bed till later on so we all were able to have great lie-ons!
Would certainly recommend it.

doodlenoodle

The Siesta (afternoon nap) is a perfectly normal thing in Spain, for children and adults. Just answer a few questions of your expectations of a holiday:

* How well do you manage in the heat? If it exhausts you, imagine caring for a baby on top of that. August is really the hottest month in Spain, and the way the weather is it might hit very high temperatures (35-40 or more).

* Are you expecting to be out a lot? No problem, Spain is the perfect place for sitting out very late. You will always see children out on the streets after hours in the summer, as late as 1am.

* Do you want to spend the day at the beach or in town? Do very early and late hours at the beach, pool or town. Spain closes between 1/2pm-4/5pm anyway...go for a siesta.

* Be prepared on how to handle the heat....loads and loads of liquids. Cross the street for a few metres of shade, sun hat even in the hottest weather, get a good fan (very Spanish anyway). The cinema is a great place to pass a cool and refreshing afternoon.

Have a good holiday!

K4

Go for it
I brought my (then) 7 week old to Canaries. It was the easiest holiday with kids.
The baby slept most of the time (under an umbrella by the pool).
Cold bottles (which was brilliant when we returned as we never went back to heating bottles).
Abundance of attention - everyone loves an infant, including flight attentants
and you CAN have a romantic meal, 7 of them in fact. So long as you have a pram and baby can sleep flat out, you can simply cover with a blanket (even though its hot during the day, babies esp need to be covered at night) and park the pram, the Spanish waiters are particularly good with babies and will happily ask other customers to move their chairs out of YOUR way.

The only reservation I would have about doing it now is the weight restrictions on your luggage. When I did it the restrictions were not as strict. But remember only bring enough nappies to see you through your first two days. If your apartment has microwave, bring a microwave sterilizer.

GOOD LUCK!!

Moonbeam

Brought my 4 month old to France last year, it was fantastic:)
This year @ 17 months brought her to Lanzarotte,it was also great.
France was easier because there were big supermarkets and the french adore children also I think it is easier go anywhere with a baby then a toddler.

tom thum

yeah. we had our three month old in lanzarote. it was really hot there. and she was fine. sat back in the buggy with the umbrella covering her adn she was happy out, watching the other kids playing at the pool