Vacation for 1 year olds?

Hello!

I'm still in the first year, but we're fast approaching their 1st birthday, and a month later hope to get away for a few days!

Before kids, we would pick random cities and hop from town to town, checking out the music and the history. I don't imagine we will be going out to any clubs anymore! What do folks do for vacations?

What's a good idea for two one year olds? We were thinking of a long weekend at a cabin or something like that, and I got nervous about childproofing and them exploring possibly dangerous areas. Beaches? Museums? Cities? I'm overwhelmed by the possibilities!

Thank you!!
Melissa

 

I am going on an all inclusive to Punta Cana in about 2 weeks with my twins who will be 18 months and my 3.5 yr old. It is a resort my parents have been to twice before with my oldest when he was a baby. The twins fly free because they are under two. Apperently where we are going is a great resort for kids, from what my parents have said. I am a little nervous about going though.

Soeaking for experience about a weekend away in a different city, did it with my 3 about 2 months ago, it felt like all I did was drive and feed kids. I did not enoy it at all. I am hoping this all inclusive thing work out. I dont have to worry about ordering food, as they have buffets, dont have to worry about childproofing as we are in a hotel, and I get to "relax" by the pool or the beach.

 

I would do just a trip to the beach. My two loved going to the beach, even at that age. Maybe if there's any lakes or rivers nearby that have small beaches, that way they can play in the water and you don't have to worry about the waves.

 

We went to Lake George when my girls were 2 and I loved it. It was a very relaxing trip because the place we stayed had a nice protected little beach. But if you want to get away some where further, I would look into renting a house on the beach so you have some comforts from home (kitchen mostly), and so the babies can go to sleep in another room and you and your husband can relax together.

 

I was going to say the same thing! :acute: My mom used to have a cottage on Lake Michigan, and we would take the boys there for vacations (the last time we went they were 13 months old). This was great because we could babyproof, and had separate rooms so we could have some adult time without the boys. I would definitely try a beach vacation, and rent a house or condo. :good: I know my guys wouldn't have gotten a lot out of a city vacation or museums at that age, but they *loved* playing in the sand and dipping their toes in the water.

 

I just got back from a weekend roadtrip with my twins. We stayed in a resort with a wading pool. We didn't do much exciting for the adults, but the kids LOVED running around the resort. My only regret in the childproofing arena was that we didn't take plug covers with us. Today's hotel rooms cater to business clients who have laptops, cell chargers, etc. As a result, there were a lot of outlets to stick little fingers in. I am now going to pack a small bag of plug covers in our luggage for each trip. Other than that, all you can do childproofing wise is try to cram kid-unfriendly things (decorative floor lamps, sharp edged chair tables, etc.) into a closet or corner where they aren't easily accessible.

Other than that, have no expectations about the trip and it should be OK.

If you will be traveling by car, you may want to try to time your driving with their regular nap time. There is no guarantee that they will nap, even though it is "time," but it is possible that they might be more mellow during that window.

Good luck and try to have fun.

P.S. If you do the beach trip, share your experience after. Our extended family (12 adults, 13 kids) rented a beach house in August for a week and that trip is freaking me out. I have visions of sand in every baby orifice and am petrified of both taking off for the water in different directions, or everyone assuming someone else is watching them - they'll be the youngest there. Wish us luck.

 

If beach is not easily accessible to you, any city that has a zoo and parks will have things fun for 1 year olds. At 15 months we went to St. Louis with my two and they LOVED the zoo, loved going out to eat, etc. We didn't do a ton, but just the change of pace/new place was fun for them. Splash parks are also fun at that age because they usually have an area with small fountains that toddlers can walk around.

As for childproofing, the best thing to do is bring a roll of masking tape or duct tape. You can tape over outlets and tape doors and cabinets closed and not have to worry about bringing a bunch of different childproofing supplies.

 

-duplicate--

 

We flew to Florida, and stayed in a hotel. They loved both the pool and the beach, as well as just wandering around the hotel and grounds. We used harnesses so one adult could walk with both of them easily. We had a blast, but it was tiring. Sometimes, we just stuck them in their PNPs in front of the TV--not ideal, I know, but we knew it was a safe place they could be for a few minutes. Our hotel had a balcony, so we had to be super cautious.

I love the tape idea!

 

Absolutely love the tape idea. We go over my parents and ils alot. Their houses are not baby friendly. I will buy lotnlotbpf duck tapes lol. Thanks for the idea!

 

We are doing this in August as well...I am DREADING it!!! We have a 14-16 hour drive to get there too. We did it with my oldest when he was 11.5 months old and it was horrible!!! I am not sure how it's going to go with 3 of them or why I agreed to this but we're going. My parents, and FIL will be there as well as my sister (preggers with #1 ) and her husband, possibly my brothers and some other family memebers but since we're the only ones with kids no one else's schedule will be like ours and everyone else will be in relaxation mode while I'll be on high alert for all the lurking dangers, lol.

I agree to keep your expectations very low and maybe you'll be surprised, that's what I'm trying to do this time. I have amazing memories from the place we are going as my fathers family has been spending their summers there since he was a boy and want my kids to have them too, I just never realized what a lot of 'work" a vacation is with kids . GL!!!!

PS. LOVE the tape idea...I will be adding that to my packing list .

 

They actually did not get as sandy as you might expect. They both wore rashguard t-shirts, and I think that helped. But we didn't have tons of sand in their diapers or anything like that.

We used backpack harnesses, and that was a lifesaver. And we would always verbally assign the kids to an adult ("Can you watch them both?" "Yes") or split them up with one adult for one kid. With the harnesses, one adult could handle both easily, and they would come off the harnesses when we did 1 on 1. But we never assumed that the other parent was watching them--we always verbalized to clarify this. We did have to chase the kids a lot, and didn't get to spend practically any time relaxing, except during nap.

 

we are taking my girls to the beach at the end of june they are 13 months now !

i dont know how much of a vacation it will be as my family likes to hang on the ebach all day, i think i will jsut be chasing toddlers!

but its worth it bc im hoping that they love it!

good luck pickin a spot!

 

We took our boys to the beach last August when they were 15 months old. We stayed in a beach house with the in-laws including my DH's sister and her family. There was also a lot of extended families in other beach houses. However that never translated into us getting to have much time to ourselves (just one brief, early dinner out). I can't say I enjoyed that trip very much. It was exhausting getting everything packed up and hauled to the beach, and we were oceanview and only had to cross one street. My DH got to swim in the ocean some but I never did because I felt like I had to always be watching one or both boys. As for the boys, they didn't seem to care much about the water or the sand. In fact they were scared of the ocean waves rolling onto shore. We were invited to go again this year, and DH's parents pay for the beach house, but I had so little fun last year I just couldn't bring myself to do it again. But don't let my whining discourage you, LOL. You may have a completely different outlook on beach trips and not expect to be swimming in the ocean like I used to do pre-kids And your extended family may not be so busy with their own family outings that they can help watch your kids more.

As for getting sand off of your LOs, take some baby powder! It gets the sand right off. My DH's cousin taught me that trick at the beach. I also took a shoebox size bin of duct tape, masking tape, socket plugins, and cabinet locks so that we could babyproof the kitchen and living area somewhat.

 

TAPE - What a great idea.

I am going to investigate the shirts, but am glad/hopeful to hear I might not be digging sand out of nether regions. My girls never cease to surprise me. I found a cheerio in a diaper the other day... and she was wearing shorts and a onesie!

I am also a fan of the harness, but my DH is opposed to it. He thinks our girls are not pets. I think he'll change his mind when he loses one some day, but I also don't want that day to come either.

I have heard this, but wondered how it works. Do you just shake it on the sand? I am from a land-locked desert state, so anything involving water is completely foreign to me.

 

Yes, you just shake the baby powder on their legs, arms, etc (whereever there is damp sand) and just rub it around. The damp sand then seemed to fall right off. Our boys also wore short sleeved rashguard shirts. We did the baby powder thing on the beach right before packing up the babies and gear to head back to the beach house. That's not to say you won't end up with some sand in their diapers though But our boys weren't very keen on the ocean water. Instead they played more in a small inflatable pool that was filled with some ocean water. So they didn't get quite as much sand in their diapers as they would have if they were sitting on the beach letting the surf roll up around them.

 

Baby powder!!! I will try this weekend . We are going to Sandusky, Ohio for memorial weekend. Its 3 hour drive. I think we will be ok. We will visit Cendar Point Ameseument park (one of the best of the world), African drive thru zoo, zoo, merry go around, and of course the BEACH. My kids love the beach. They did eat sand the very first time. But never do again after that. We always bring cool beach toys which I bought for 24 cents (the best 24 cents I ever spent lol) and our step 2 wagon. they love sitting in there and I pull them in the water. I know we will have so much fun as we always do with them. My kids love going out and have fun. They have been cooperate very well. They adapt to on the go schedule very well. So I do expect we have good family time this weekend hehe.