Taking vacations with kids can be difficult, but especially if they are toddlers. We took a trip to mexico with our daughter who was a year and a half at the time. Here are my tips/tricks, must have and things to avoid!
When I was planning our trip I scoured pinterest and blog posts to see what other parents experiences were to help ease my mind. That being said there are so many other lists out there and I know I dont have the "Master List" so take a look around at other peoplea posts and ideas and take from them what works for you. Hopefully this can help you even just a tiny bit... for now or for later.
My personal pros and cons
Pro:
1) incredible experiences and memories together. Especially if it's your 1st and you plan on having more kids it's a special time with just the 3 of you
2) she got to see and touch baby turtles and even though she likely will never remember it we talk about it all the time and she loves point out turtles any time we see them
3) we got to be with her for a whole week no interruptions. No work, no errands, no projects just 7 days of family time. Which I know not everyone is into but it was a great thing for us
4) she was under 2 so she wasnt an extra for anything
Con:
1) there is no doubt that it was exhausting and draining at times. Especially since she got sick while we were there
2) we were lucky enough to sit next to great people but not having a seat for her definitely sucked on the way there, but we did have an extra seat on the way back!
3) it can be expensive like all vacations but that's up to you and your own budget. We personally agreed to 2 excursions and planned for it but it would have been nice to do more
4) we found out our kid HATES sand. Like I mean HATES IT! she refused to walk on it (with or without shoes) or even touch it without freaking out. Which made things limited and something we didn't know until we got there.
Either way it's up to you. You have to weigh out your own options. I had been before and my husband never has so it took a lot of convincing but he is so glad I did.
Things that helped (items)
• Going to the dollar store and letting her pick out a bunch of toys. Her favorites were a telephone, a puppy, this light up rubber chicken. Stickers, coloring books, things that make noise (trust me people prefer toy noises over screaming children)
• Kids headphones even though she ended up just watching Paw Patrol without sound
• Baby carrier and stroller that she would sleep in. I always wanted to give her options and I learned from my first trip to Mexico (before kids) that it's possible to be stuck at the airport for 5 hours and have no where to sleep.
Things we didnt find helpful
• The kid leash. We bought one second hand because I love the idea of safety. Except once she hit the end of the leash and realized she couldnt go any further she lost her damn mind! It became clutter that we Carrie's with us since we didnt try using it before we left.
Wish I would have had
• Beach blanket, my kid HATES sand... which sucked finding out in mexico
• Burp clothes! Even for a toddler who doesnt spit up she got sick and it would have been nice to have a few on hand
• Small container of dish soap to wash her bottles in the sink easier
• Our own umbrella tent for shade
• A wet bag
• Beach toys if your kid likes sand
Packing
• Diapers & wipes (if your kid isn't sensitive you can buy more while you are there)
• We brought our play pen (you can get cloth sheaths for transporting them in but ours was destroyed)
• Check the rules of where you are flying but make sure to bring childrens medicine like tylenol, advil, gravol, benadryl etc incase your kid gets sick like ours did
• Our sound machine was a life saver
• A deck of cards for us to play on the deck after she fell asleep
• Food pouches and tons of toddler snacks. Our little one refused to eat anything (partially from being sick) except on the 2nd last day she had some bread and some eggs. So she lived off formula and squeeze pouches the whole week. You can find some at the local market stores if you run out.
• We brought SPF 110 for my daughter and we each picked what ever we wanted for ourselves but we could have just saved suitcase space and bought some for ourselves while we were down there. But we only saw the SPF 110 at home so make sure to bring that!
• Make sure you all have hats and ideally a second one for babes just incase the beach wind takes it. It's usually easier to buy a replacement adult hat
• Velcro water sandles or water shoes for everyone not just flip flops (ill share my boat story below that could have gone VERY differently if I hadn't of worn proper footwear)
• Insulated water bottles helped so much to keep everything cold when we went out for walks in the Mexican heat
• Life jacket, the kind with floaties and a pool floaty for them to sit in
• Lotion, beach shampoo and soap
• Sunglasses
• Swim suits and swim diapers and a toddler towel dress
• Reusable swim diapers are best for saving space but if your little one is too big (as ours will be for our next trip) you can always buy disposable swim diapers down there
Tips/tricks along the way
• Download shows on netflix the day before you leave, they expire after I think 7 or 14 days depending on the show
• Bring a small travel sized baby powder for getting sand off your feet... its magic! Seriously it's a must have!
• Pick your seat at the front of the plan if you can, more room for toddlers to crawl around on the floor without annoying anyone
• Make friends with other people bringing their kids, it is so helpful to have people who understand if your kid has a melt down. Depending on where they are sitting too your kids can entertain each other. Also not a bad idea to have someone to trade snacks with
• Budget in paying for wifi if it isn't great where you are. Having wifi made her sick days so much easier
• Bring a stroller that can lay down so that they can sleep
• If you do an excursion that says it includes food, bring extra food just incase. Especially for the little one
• Take your little one to the doctor before you go to be checked over. They can also give you tips for flying with your toddler
• If one person doesnt fly well... that being me, and needs to take medication or a few shots before getting on the plane make sure the other parent knows where everything is in the diaper bag
• Buy a waterproof camera case for the water and a lanyard for your wrist. You'll get better quality bringing your own and it is totally worth it!
The Boat Story:
One of our excursion was to spend the day snorkeling on a tiny island with Lunch and a boat ride over to the island. The trip itself was amazing! It was gorgeous and very flexible in regards to when and what you wanted to do. As long as you were back for the boat home it didnt matter, which was great with a little one! The one thing to keep in mind with where we were (which was Ixtapa) is that their boat docks in this area were not like the wooden ones I see at home. They were made of stone which made them very slippery and there was nothing in terms of a hand railing where you get on and off the boats. The trip to the island was easy. There were no other boats around and all we had to do was jump down into this small fisherman's boat with a helping hand. I had our little one strapped to me on my chest in her baby carrier and we all had a fun ride over to the island.
The way back was a different situation as it was peak time and there were a lot of boats trying to get their turn to dock. With so many boats zipping in and out the water was rough with the constant waves. As we tried to dock our boat kept slamming against the slippery stone adding more water to the surface. Each person getting off had to put one foot on the dock and jump without any hesitation or the boat would swing out and you would fall between the gap of the boat and the dock and then get slammed at the boat swings back to hit the dock. Scared and terrified didnt even begin to explain how I felt. Thankfully my little one was asleep! I knew I couldnt hesitate for even a second or I could lose my daughter and maybe even my life. I managed to make it up safe and sound other than my heart beating so hard and so fast I thought I would pass out. One of the biggest things that saved me and gave me the confidence to not hesitate was my shoes.
That may sound ridiculous but I watched another family hand their baby over the "gap" as they didnt have a carrier and then as they tries to jump up on the dock they slipped and luckily fell back into the boat. I can not Express how important it is to have good quality footwear and not just cheap crappy flip flops that you dont care if they get lost in the ocean. From a mother who's been there... buy the damn shoes
The biggest thing I learned from going on vacation with a toddler it to be okay with things not going the way you planned and be flexible. Vacations with toddlers can be challanging, breaking their routine is something most kids dont handle that well. But as long as you are prepared mentally for things to go sideways, it's easier to go with the flow when they do. Its always easier to focus on what you can control (your attitude) than what you cant control and the variables that inevitably come up.
Whether you are planning a vacation or just hoping for one in the future remember that most people love kids and are more than happy to help you out if you need it. Dont be afraid to ask for what ever you need.
We plan on taking a trip again this winter and a few things I plan on doing different are:
• We will be going with family, this way when we want a night out past 8pm we can trade off. Being able to sleep in and have breakfast on our own or even potentially take an excursion without her if it's not kid friendly is a great option.
• We are going to have her own seat now as she is older but also her own bed rather than the play pen since she sleeps in a big girl bed at home.
• Trying on anything we want to bring before hand! This way we arent wasting space like the toddler leash backpack
• Our little one will be able to carry her own bag of toys and fun things to do to keep herself entertained
• We are going to buy sand toys there. Even though we have warmed her up to the idea of sand over the summer at the many parks we went to. I dont want to waste space for something that she may not want to use. I would rather buy it there and either give it to another family or maybe sell it super cheap
We hope you enjoy the sunshine 🏖🌞👙
