My fiance and I will have our first vacation trip in late August with our son Eli. He will be 1 year and 2 months by then. He has developement delays so i don't even know if he will walk by then. Can any one give me practical advice as to what I should take with me for my son. We are going to Florida for 5 days, staying at a condo/resort, if it was up to me I would take everything. I don't want this trip to be stressful on all of us. Thank you all!
Depending on where you are staying in Florida, if it is one of the major cities; like Orlando or Tampa... You can rent baby gear from cribs, to high chairs, strollers, etc.. That is what I do when I go out of town.
Have Fun!
we are also traveling for the first time with our daughter (8 months old) to florida in about a month. i called the place where we are staying to ask about renting some of the larger baby supplies, such as a porta crib, highchair, and exersaucer. they referred us to a company called baby's away that rents all different kinds of baby supplies. i would call the condo/resort you are staying at and see if they rent these things or if they have the name of a place that does. we go to florida every summer but this will be our first family vacation with a baby!! we aren't taking our stroller because we plan to eat at the house every night, we won't be doing much shopping and i think it would be hard to stroll a stroller on the beach. i hope this helps!! we are staying in the destin/panama city area and if you are staying there, i can e-mail you the baby's away information i have if you want. have fun on your trip :)
Just take the basics when you travel. When you get to your destination then you can buy the extras (diapers, wipes, baby food, etc.). Take some "new" toys (start now by taking away some of his current toys & keep them out of site. Bring them back out during your travels one at a time). For your stroller buy some toys that attach to it so he has toys to play with that can't keep dropping on the ground.
And don't stress out...you'll be fine. It sounds like you're going to a place that will have things you can buy if you need it.
I would start by talking to the hotel/resort where you'll be staying. Most hotels offer cribs to rent to put in the room with you. If you are flying and he'll be in your lap, you can usually ask the rental car company for a child's seat in the car. If you are driving, you can pack pretty much anything that will fit in the car. You're right, though, don't over pack. Just a few beach toys, cause he'll love playing in the sand and his clothes. Perhaps some books for night time and some of his favorite CDs and a CD player with plenty of batteries. You should be able to rent or use an umbrella at the resort. If you're flying, take something for him to suck on for his ears during take-off and landing. And, oh yes, an umbrella stroller.
A. -
Call your resort and see what they can provide - these days, most really cater to families and will have cribs, playpens, bottles, strollers, the whole nine yards.
As for what you need to pack - you didn't mention any activities, but I can tell you from my experience - you will want to really optimize luggage space. I would take 2 outfits per day, plus 1 sleep outfit per day. You can send out to laundry if needed. Take travel sizes of diapers and wipes, and buy the rest when you get there. Same goes with food. Get enough to get you there and get through the first night. Take a few things from home that will remind him of home so he can sleep better. Be light on toys - use your imagination with hotel gadgets to amuse him. Take some DVDs to keep him entertained - the resort should be able to provide you with a player.
For your plane ride - I highly recommend you buy chocolate - and pass it out to all those people sitting around you ahead of time and tell them you hope this will make it a little better that they have to sit near a baby. :) This worked for me. Well, I think it did - I didn't get any death-ray glares when my son acted up.
The thing you SHOULDN'T pack, is a jammed itinerary. Trust me, Eli will dictate what you can and can't do - he will be out of his element, and therefore really out of sorts - just go with the flow and don't expect to see/do everything you want. Let go of that frustration in order to have a great vacation.
I would suggest snacks and bottles for the trip. Extra binkys- if he uses one. A pack and play for the beach and one for him to sleep in back at the condo. A baby monitor is helpful just so you can sit out on the patio and not worry. Sunscreen- and most importantly a sense of humor.
We traveled with 6 kids all under the age of 4 and bought inexpensive toys at Walmart once we got there. We did not care about leaving them behind for other kids to enjoy after we left.
I just took my 11 month to Cozumel. I was so glad we brought the baby monitor. Our room was close to the pool so we could hang out and have a few drinks while my son napped or slept. At the last minute we upgraded to a 2 room cabana. I didn't think about it until the last minute, but if we were all in one room my son wouldn't go to sleep until we did and I didn't want to go to bed at 8. And once again the baby monitor saved the day-no worries with him in another room.
We brought our pack and play and I am so glad we did. The hotel's crib was 20 years old. We took the pack and play to the beach and it worked like a charm.
When my son goes to sleep we play the baby einstein lullabies so I loaded it up on my iPod and bought some $15 speakers on Amazon (a cool little white cube about 3"x3"x3"). Once he fell asleep my husband and I enjoyed having music thoughout the day.
We took a small portable DVD player to watch movies at night. I wish I had just brought all the diapers and food I needed instead of buying them there--it was a hassle. Also, I just saw this neat contraption that turns your regular car seat into a stroller for $50 instead of the $200 version that has the wheels that poke out to become a stroller.
You'll want some water babies sun screen. A good SPF hat. A SPF sun shirt and some sand toys and bubbles.
My son was so used to being in the air conditioning that being outside in 85 degree weather made him really hot. This may be obvious, but it wasn't to me, if you can hit the beach early like 9-10 then go back inside for the heat of the day and back out after 3, your son my actually let you enjoy being on the beach.
Good luck and have fun.
We've stayed at a couple places in FL before, it's important to find out what they already have in the unit, they can rent or secure for you so you don't bring it along unnecessarily, etc. Let's communicate if you want some specific advice. We've recently moved from FL also-where'ya going?
