Vacationing w/ little ones...WWYD?

kmb585

Hi Ladies,

Sorry I haven't been on much lately but I went back to work and life has been just a little bit crazy (as you are all quite aware ) lately....

Anyways, I wanted to ask you experienced MoM's out there a question...

We are/were planning to head out to San Diego this summer (we would drive) and now I am seriously reconsidering even going as taking the twins (who will be 1) + our very energetic soon to be 3 year old seems like it would be soo much work that it would not be worth it.

WWYD? (Sorry, have no idea how to make a clicky poll)

a) Go w/ the gang and suck it up to experience...

b) Wait until next year when the twins are a bit older.

c) Skip the trip all together and not travel until all the little ones are at least 3 years old

Anyone who's has done the trip before (we were thinking San Diego Zoo/Sea World and possibly Lego Land) feel free to chime in on any advice/recommendations???

Thanks!

 

 

UsedToBeGoldie

as long as you go into it knowing it might not be a ton of fun for you - b/c it's a LOT of work - then I say go for it.

We took the kids to the beach the summer the twins were 1 and DS1 was 3yo... we only went for 3 nights (normally we'd go a full week) b/c we knew it might not be fun, lol.  We left wishing we had 1 more night there... it was fun- but was a lot of work... so leaving feeling that was was good - it meant we liked it enough, lol.

is there another adult that could come to help?  We brought my 16yo niece with us to the shore and that helped a TON and made it so much more fun for us all.  She also came with us to Sesame Place last summer to help...  She's coming with us to Disney next month, too (so is my mother) b/c 3 kids and 2 adults anywhere at that young age isn't that much fun lol

 

google123

I don't understand why you would consider forgoing a vacation just because you have twins+3yr old?   We always take our twins with us, and have gone on many vacations with them.   Otherwise we'd be stuck at home indoors all the time which isn't healthy for us or the babies.  It's obviously more work than people with singletons...but we're already used to all the extra work with twins.

We have a 22hour plane ride coming up next month, and though I'm NOT looking forward to it, we want to go to visit family.  

MagPie08

I would go. Just set realistic expectations for the trip And ditto Goldie- if you can bring a helper, all the better!

jenn_darrin1515

ditto what everyone else said...so long as you only expect to do 1 thing every day and allow extra time for everything you should be fine...I would go with a hotel with a pool and room service for sure...

we've been to the beach with the girls every summer since they turned 1...it was a lot of work, but we shared the house with family and usually one of our sisters would come to teh beach with us and it was totally doable...if you can bring an extra helper along that would be ideal - plus you and your dh could theoretically get a date nite in while on vacation taht way too...

I wouldn't NOT go on vacation just b/c it's more work.  it's totally doable.

GeauxTigers82

I think it all boils down to IF you really want to do or not. I find that the vacations I don't really care about always seem to be more work than I'm prepared to do. But...the ones that I really want to do don't seem as bad. Selfish, I know, but I can't help the way I feel, especially since I'm the one doing all the work, before, during, and after the trip.

Of course, it is a ton of work, so like everyone else said, as long as you realize it won't be that much fun for you (which is why I said the above about really wanting to go).

If you like the location and people you'll be traveling with, then you should go! If not, maybe it is too much work!!

keg

Sure, it's a ton of work, but it can be fun.  We went to the beach when the girls were 6 months, 2ish, and 2.5ish, flew cross county to visit family when they were 18 months and 2.5, did a road trip to DC and various other stops when they were 2.5, and driven 4ish hours to visit family several times.   Here are a couple of things I've learned so far traveling with my girls:

1.  Extra hands are good.  Most of the trips we've taken involving visiting family or having other family come (e.g., the beach). 

2.  Driving is a plus.  Not only do you not have to worry about your screaming kids bothering others, you can take a lot of gear if you drive.  

3.  The ideal place to stay is one without stairs but with a kitchen.  It makes life so much easier not having to eat every meal in a restaurant with little ones.  We just throw our FP Healthy Care booster seats into the van and we're good to go.

4.  If you have to stay in a hotel, go with a suite.  That way you can put the kids down and then not be in the same room with them.  

5.  Don't schedule too much.  The attention span of kiddos is short and they are just as happy to play at a playground or go swimming in a pool than go to the fancy amusement park, plus it's much cheaper.  I'm not a fan of spending a lot on admission and only being there an hour or two.

6.  If you have memberships to zoo, museums, etc where you are, check into the other places you may get free or reduced admission.  We belong to a Children's Museum where we live and it got us free admission to a Children's Museum we visited in California.   

7.  I felt the 10 months-18 month age range was really tough to travel with.  They are mobile but lacking judgement so I felt like I had to watch them like a hawk.  I remember staying in a hotel when they were 10 months old and it was exhausting because they were still putting things in their mouths.  Once we started traveling around 2, things have gotten much easier. 

 

PolarBerry

I think it's a personal decision... because i disagree and would probably wait until they were 3.  Maybe I"m too regimented and rely on my routine too much, but just taking our twins to grandma/grandpa's house 4 hours away can stress me out.  I personally will be waiting until they are older to take them on any extended multiple-day vacations like that.  I'm all about a day trip to a zoo or park, but for now, I need vacations to be just DH & I to be an actual vacation where we get a break!

erinruns

The big factor for me would be - how do they sleep away from home?  My girls slept horribly if they weren't in their cribs that vacations weren't doable until they were able to sleep in a queen size bed.  The one vacation we tried to do before that I tore my hair out at every nap and bedtime.  It was beyond frustrating and had me in tears by day three.  But if they'll sleep in a pack and play?  I say do it!  But keep your expectations low.

MrsCali_Bride

A and just plan to make lots of stops for people to stretch their legs and run off some energy. We've done SF area to Anaheim with our oldest with him being 10.5 months at the youngest (we did it 3 more times since then) and we just made sure to stop for food and bathroom breaks/diaper changes and we were good to go. We're driving two hours to the Monterey area in May with all three and we're planning to make a stop halfway so we can all stretch our legs and grab a bite to eat (and so I can hit the outlets).Good luck!