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Tips for vacation?

mae0111mae0111 member
in Working Moms
We are going on vacation next week with DH's family.  We go every year to the beach - each family in separate houses, all close by.  It's typically a good balance of togetherness and separate time.  The older kids play together, the grandparents get time and even babysit one night, everyone takes a night for a meal.

My concern is this... for the past several weekends, either I have both kids while DH is working on a project, or DH takes DD1 (the "easier" kid) with him on an errand or to work on something, or just to play and swim.  I have DD2 at all times.  I love her to bits, but man, she is TOUGH.  Almost 16 months, and into everything.  And FAST.  She's a runner, and a climber.  Turn away for a few seconds and she's standing in the middle of the coffee table.

I cannot take a week of chasing her around a non-babyproofed house, along the beach, etc., all by myself.  My MIL/FIL can't keep up with her, so they're not really helpful.  My SIL is super helpful, but she has her own (older) kids to worry about. 

This is not all DH's fault.  DD2 is in a mommy phase (and has been for at least the last 6 months), so it's hard for me to be there and have DH take over while she's screaming for me.

Any tips???
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Re: Tips for vacation?

  • Virgo17Virgo17 member
    Well, it might be a little late for this, but I think DH and DD2 need to have some time together.  If he isn't comfortable going out with her, maybe you and DD1 can leave the house and go do something together.

    To be honest, 16 months is kind of a hard age, but that doesn't mean DH gets to be off the hook.  And if you are the only one spending one-on-one time with her, then it just further encourages the "mommy phase".

    Can you take one of those plastic play yard type things with you?  It would be a big enough space to set up in the living room or out on the beach w/o having to run after her every 5 seconds.  
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  • jlaOKjlaOK member
    We had a similar experience when we went on our vacation last month.  DD is 1-yr-old and isn't as active as DS, didn't really like the beach, and still takes 2 naps per day.   At first DH was the one who stayed with DS playing and I was in the condo with DD.  I just told him that I wanted to switch off and so we tried to make it as even as possible throughout the rest of the trip.
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  • litzo27litzo27 member
    How old are your nieces and nephews? Are any of them old enough to babysit? If they are teenagers I would consider offering them a nice hourly wage to help you out. Even with you around it should be helpful - what I have in mind for example is while you guys are at the beach for a couple of hours pay them a $20 to occupy DD: chase her around, play with her, etc. while you lounge in a chair.
    Will she sit still for cartoons? Nothing wrong with extra-TV time on vacation in order to get some downtime IMO.
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  • MommyAttyMommyAtty member
    This won't help with vacation, but for the long term, when DD was uber-clingy to Mommy, we started having Daddy have special things with her. For example, he does her baths, which she loves. They go to the donut shop on Sunday mornings together. He takes her to swim class on Saturday mornings. Now, magically, if she's upset, she is as willing to let Daddy comfort her as she is to let Mommy. And with DS, I'm just demanding he be more hands-on from the beginning.
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  • jennyelfjennyelf member
    From past experience with both stays in other people's homes and beach house rentals:

    • Masking tape works really well for closing cabinets and covering outlets.
    • A lot of rental houses don't have a ton of knick knacks, and we've always just removed all of the decorations on the first day and put them up high and then put them back in place before we leave.
    • Baby proofing a the main living room allows a large space where you can be around family but don't have to worry as much about the kid. Move the coffee table to another room if possible, have a bunch of her toys there to distract her/ keep her occupied.
    • Spend as much time at the beach as you can (just remember the sun screen / sun clothing!)
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  • BabyHope2013BabyHope2013 member
    We went to the beach and stayed in a rental property when DS was about 14-15 months old. He was all over the place. What helped us was bringing our own outlet covers, I also brought rubber bands to put around the cabinets that were at his level. Our biggest challenge was getting the rest of the family that were were with to remember to keep the door to the patio/in ground pool closed at all times to make sure he didn't run out there and fall in the pool. 

    Otherwise, DS really wasn't too bad. We brought a bunch of toys and kept them in the family room and made that more of his space. Anything that he could reach that was breakable in the house, we just moved to higher levels out of where he could reach it. You might find that even if the other kids you are with aren't of babysitting age--just having them sit with your LO while you sit in the same room will help because they are chasing and playing with your LO. Then you only have to watch to keep an eye on things. We also found that with new activities like swimming and going to the beach really tired DS out and he was out like a light for long naps each afternoon. We took our baby monitor with us so that I could sit outside and relax while he napped inside. 
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  • mae0111mae0111 member
    Thanks everyone!  So far, the weather is looking great, so we should be able to spend lots of time at the beach and local playgrounds.  Good call with the babyproofing tips.  I like the idea of the play yard, but she's a sprinter and explorer, and she HATES to be cooped up.  She screams if the nanny puts her in her pack n play while she runs to the bathroom (and that is absolutely necessary - she will hurt herself and leave a path or destruction in her wake).

    I just don't want it to be me chasing her ALL the time.  The older kids are 10 and 8, and they're great at keeping 4.5 year old DD occupied.  But DD2 won't sit still long enough to even play with the kids yet. They'll chase her for a while, but then they just want to play.

    Luckily this beach has some great tidal pools when the tide goes out.  I think she'll enjoy sitting and splashing for a bit here and there.  

    thanks again!
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