FAMILY HOLIDAY IN ABU DHABI AND 32 TRAVEL TIPS

It’s daunting booking a long haul flight and family holiday with a six month old… More daunting, given our history, was booking it before he arrived, when he was still a dream. When we found out we were pregnant we had an amazing trip to Kerala planned and paid for… We backed out of that immediately (and got almost all the money back thank goodness) because of zika. And swapped our flights to the furthest future date possible, and to somewhere that would be easy with a baby. When baby arrived we added him to the booking!

With some epic planning in advance (it took me 5 months of maternity leave to pick a hotel), some inspired good luck with our hotel (check out my review of the Rixos Saadiyat Island here), and just the right amount of sun, sea and fizz… Our first proper holiday as a threesome turned out spectacularly well! Doing the sort of trip we used to take for granted, with a baby, feels like a massive undertaking! This holiday was an achievement and thankfully the kind people at UK Swimwear helped me look good too!

I have marked in bold in the post my tips from what I learnt, which adds to what we learnt on our short hop to Vienna last year. Don’t worry, no sucking eggs. All mums will pack the kitchen sink, so I only mentioned the rest! The count is I think at 32, but my ac-counting is 8 months rusty!

And apologies for the length, this post turned into a holiday photo album!

Packing

Since our trip to Vienna in November I updated my packing list (longer, not shorter) and adapted it for weaning.

I have never left the house with so much luggage, and so little for me! A hold bag (full of packing cubes) and two roll on bags for baby. A shared hold bag for me and Mr P. Two rucksacks with baby bits in. One of my le pliage bags (first time using a handbag for 6 months, the passports needed to be kept safe after Mr P’s got stolen in San Fran) and a pushchair… Thank goodness for the XC90, we filled it!

Additions to my packing this time were mainly around his weaning needs, but also:

• Books – it’s a great way to calm him if we need to (TIP)
• Travel sleeping bag – to plug him into the car seat, sky cot and pushchair. We never disturbed his sleep in the evening. I love the JoJo ones, the detachable arms means they work in different temperatures (TIP)
• Travel pushchair – the GB Pockit+ is one of the best things I’ve bought in 7 months! Price wise it is far cheaper than the superior YoYo but does the job and saves lugging a Bugaboo around the world (TIP)
• Swimming – a float for him to sit in, a wetsuit to cover his torso, a rash vest, a reusable Bambino Mio swimming nappy, factor 50 suncream, sunglasses… (TIP)
• Bathtime – his duck and his little boat,  we’ve worked hard to make bathtime fun so we took his favourite toys (TIP)
• For weaning – all the normal stuff we use at home plus disposable bibs, which were useful when the highchair table was too high for his silicone one. And on the plane. A sucker toy to stick to the highchair (TIP)
• Playmat – I took his thick crocheted pram blanket as a padded mat (TIP)
• Nail clippers – if we are away longer than a day the talons grow!! (TIP)
• Matching swimming trunks for my boys because you can never have too much cute (TIP)
• First aid kit – with all the usuals but also teething bits and plasters and antiseptic wipes (TIP)

Airport

We gave ourself three hours at the airport (TIP). Last time we’d had just 90 minutes, it was manic (and we walked to the wrong gate!) and I didn’t get a pre flight glass of fizz… With more time at the airport he got to play and we got to relax and feel like we were starting an adventure in a civilised fashion.

Obviously there was lounge fizz this time! Sadly I didn’t spot any celebs in the Concorde Room but we were too busy with baby to look! I did smile wryly as we walked down the immersion corridor as work were still sponsoring the graphics… It felt a bit like they were waving us off whilst reminding me where my airmiles come from!!

I pre-ordered all the baby milk and food that I would need for the holiday from Boots (TIP). Collecting it airside, I just trundled an empty suitcase through security! The shop assistant confirmed this was totally normal and all Mum’s did exactly what I felt ridiculous doing! A weeks worth of milk (with plenty of surplus (TIP)) and purées looks excessive!

Before this trip I bought a GB Pockit+ pushchair (TIP). I couldn’t reconcile putting a £1200 pushchair in the hold again and it felt excessive for the beach! £130 for a lightweight one that could travel as hand luggage was a sound investment. As our flight was at 9.30pm, baby had his bedtime routine in the lounge, got into his sleeping bag and slept in the pushchair with a snooze shade (TIP) on for an hour or so before we even got to the plane. The only snag in this was a gentleman using the baby changing facilities in the lounge for evening prayer which meant a late start for us!

Flight

The pushchair worked a treat, it had paid for itself before we were airborne! I wheeled it onto the plane and scooped my snoozing baby up. Because he’d been snoozing he was pretty chilled in my arms waiting for take off as a result! Once he had bored of smiling at the other passengers (most of whom didn’t smile back, nobody wants a baby in First Class) he got stuck into his milk and was asleep before we even pushed back. My arm was also asleep…

Thankfully his little ears weren’t bothered by pressure changes on these two flights either. In fact the 6.5 hour outbound flight was totally uneventful. Once we had taken off the cabin crew immediately put together his cot over my bed, we quietly transferred him into it and he slept until about thirty minutes from landing when I retrieved him. I slept too, grateful for a proper bed just below him! The cot was specified in our booking so it pays to book well in advance (TIP).

I was really nervous about the nighttime flight as people pay a lot of money for First and I didn’t want to ruin it. I can’t describe how relieved and proud I was of his sleeping prowess. The planes white noise is awesome! I was thankful for an absence of turbulence too, as baby has to come out of the cot if the seat belt signs go on…

On the way home there were actually two babies in First Class. All of us breathed a sigh of relief when we met in the lounge! This being a daytime flight it meant that we shared the pressure of keeping the babies amused and quiet! Both babies only cried twice and we had them silenced nice and quickly. The beauty of the flat bed was that we could build a safe little den to play in. He was pretty happy there, he even got to watch Thomas the Tank Engine which was a real treat. As well as playing, he slept for half the flight and managed to drink twice as much milk as normal… What a relief I had catered for extra than normal (TIP)!

The seat was also of great amusement to him, fiddling with the dial that makes it go up and down. Sam also taught him how to undo and do up the seat belt clasp… They enjoyed doing that for a while: a skill we will regret he knows on the next flight!

Thankfully we didn’t have to do laps of the plane with the baby carrier to make him sleep (TIP), but we were prepared! Mr P did take baby to see the cabin crew in business class. One of the crew took charge of baby and gave Sam a nice break while she cuddled, cooed and amused baby!

I’m glad we packed extra nappies for the flight (TIP) as there were definitely more changes… Thankfully no leaks but some impressive explosions! One obvious benefit of First Class is being able to get off the plane first… Apart from if your baby fills his nappy as the plane is landing! I watched everyone else get off the plane while Mr and Master P were dealing with nappy things… Thankfully though, we’d landed in a country that puts family first… As we trundled the pushchair towards a very long passport queue a new line was opened for us and we went straight to the front! Stamps in the passport, an extra stamp in baby’s BA logbook (TIP) and we were through in moments!

Transfer

I booked with Blacklane to pick us up from the airport (TIP) and take us to the hotel and do the return leg. It’s very easy and they provide a car seat free of charge. They are corporate chauffeurs but without the extreme price. All very efficient. Outbound we were impressed as we were whizzed through the airport to our waiting Chevrolet Suburban. Our return trip annoyed me, and you need a smooth one at 6am. The driver didn’t know how to fit the car seat or how to adjust a stubborn buckle. Obviously we take responsibility for putting the baby into the car safely, but for him to turn up with the seat unfitted and not even realise it wasn’t really functioning… I was not impressed.

Blacklane have given us a large discount off our next fare as a result of my complaint. I will use them again.

Hotel

I have already written a glowing review of our hotel. A different luxury to our old normal, true. But in a large resort we still had ample private outdoor space: hello private heated pool. All inclusive isn’t my go to, but it was high quality and easy for us as we got to grips with a hassle free first family holiday (TIP). The real win of this hotel was being truly baby friendly. No one put baby (or his parents) in the corner, the staff were wonderful and it was access all areas.

Beach

This was one of the deal breakers for us. The hotel is on a real beach, that looks out to sea, rather than at skyscrapers! It’s a stunning beach. The last time we were in Abu Dhabi the island was relatively underdeveloped. Thankfully it has stayed stunning even with low rise hotels springing up.  Once we were checked in and changed into summer clothes, we went straight to the beach!

Taking our baby onto the beach for the first time was a magical moment. His eyes almost popped out as he took it all in, the sand and the sea and the noise of the waves and the wind. The first time we dunked his toes he wasn’t too confident, but we went back each day and the more time we spent watching the waves and walking along the shoreline, the happier he became!

We spent a lot of time carrying baby facing forward so he could see more. With so much to look at he loved touring the whole hotel in this manner. His little legs swing along, I truly think he thought he was walking!!

Looking back at all the photos now, the colours must have been mesmerising for him, all the blues, as well as the white caps on the waves too! Water is the most fascinating element for a baby in all its guises.

On our last day having played in the hammock and had some paddles in the sea, he also had a good play with the sand. Sand of course went everywhere but how much harm can it really do! He loved it and was fascinated by the granules of sand as they moved in his hands, under his feet, and no doubt in his mouth too!

Pool

We’ve been doing swimming lessons since he was about 4 months old and rarely get a smile. He takes the lessons so seriously! Happily taking 3 or 4 dips in the pool each day was a game changer. In fact in his first swimming lesson back home he was smiling and kicking and splashing like never before! In the mornings the main hotel pool was quiet and so we’d kit baby up with his little wetsuit and go for a big adventure. Where we swim at home the water is the temperature of a bath. Outdoor pools even in hot places are cooler so I bought a little wetsuit for his body (TIP) which meant we could spend a little longer in the pool before he got chilly. I also bought a rashvest set so that we could keep him covered from the sun (TIP) in addition to suncream.

I was so glad of the GB Pockit+ pushchair poolside, as baby would happily snooze through his naps with the snooze shade across the front. The only slight design fault is that a lot of light comes in the side… GB don’t sell anything to cover this, so I am going to get some snooze shade material and make my own. It will certainly accelerate the start of the snooze if he can’t see out the side!

In the afternoons, after his nap we would spend time at our own pool. The peace and safeness of that meant we could do lots of kicking practice as well as a few submersions! I had also bought a pool float (TIP) and he loved the autonomy of bobbing around the pool in it. It also kept him out of the water so he stayed warmer.

I have one major tip for parents poolside… Always take three sun loungers (TIP) even though you just have a little baby that doesn’t take up much space! To start with we were just taking two. But baby wobbled once and gently knocked his head on a wall next to the lounger as I stretched to come between the two… Tears, parent guilt and an egg on his head all came quickly. He was fine, but lesson learned. From then on we pushed three loungers together and baby sat in the middle (TIP).

On the last day baby had such water confidence that we went and played in the water park and wave pool for the bigger kids. Being able to just dip in and out of the water made such a difference to his water confidence. We couldn’t have imagined doing that at the start of the holiday!

Sleep

I think we were lucky here. The night flight (as well as his pre-flight snooze) was almost long enough to count as a full nights sleep. Add his snooze during the car transfer and I don’t think baby had too much of a sleep debt! As soon as we were at the hotel we worked on local time (TIP) and I counted the usual: first nap 2 hours after waking up then next one about 3 hours after waking and 3 hours later again for his pre-bedtime nap. It seemed to work, because on 5 of our 6 nights he slept through the night.

The one night he didn’t sleep through I’m pretty sure it was our fault. I hadn’t got his routine quite right the day before, and he was pretty cranky. And a bad day normally leads to a bad night. Although even then he only woke at 2am and 5am. On the second wake up we just moved him into the middle of our enormous bed, turned on Ollie and we all slept through until late!

Each night we put him to sleep in his JoJo travel sleeping bag (TIP) and plugged him into his pushchair. We mostly found that if we went for a walk and then had pre dinner drinks and then dinner, that he would sleep through the lot peacefully with the snooze shade on. By the time we got back to our room he was deeply enough asleep to move him into the cot without waking!

Sometimes though, he came for drinks before we managed to convince him it was bedtime…

Enforcing naps is harder, and easier, away from home. Everything about hotel life was akin to a Baby Sensory class, so when baby did nap he napped well. However, there was always too much interesting stuff to look at which made starting the nap a challenging! We found it easiest to pop the snooze shade over the front of the pram and trundle around the hotel grounds, hanging out near generators for white noise! Once he was asleep he’d happily snooze for 45 minutes next to us in the shade at the pool.

He wasn’t a massive fan of the hotel cot. He has a big cot bed at home and so being back in a baby cot meant he could touch the sides. It also didn’t have a raised mattress so we struggled to bend and put him in delicately. As a result he had a fair few naps in the middle of our bed. He thinks rolling is so 2018, so it worked out ok!

What was important was that we went the flow. The main aim was to ensure he had enough sleep at the right time. It didn’t really matter where. That gave us flexibility and kept his routine largely in order (TIP).

Feeding

One for the baby book is that he had his last nursing feed in First Class on our outbound flight! It wasn’t purposefully that way but when we landed it was breakfast time so he had to have a bottle on the go, and then the next morning none of us even thought of it! He’s happy so I’m happy that I did right by him combi-feeding for six and a half months.

I took far more milk than he would normally need (TIP). Good planning I’d say! He doesn’t drink any more in volume now he’s not nursing but on daytime flights he gets bored… Milk was the only acceptable solution and he’s pretty clear when he wants it: ‘mmmmm’ is milk.

For weaning a buffet is quite frankly amazing! The choices!! Thankfully never a shortage of high chairs, and the hotel properly cleaned and clingfilm wrapped the chairs after each use too. We took our own pots, spoons and suchlike, I just washed it up in the room with some fairy liquid after each meal (TIP).

For breakfast he always had his porridge, he is a porridge monster! Most mornings he then had bits of fruit to follow. Watermelon was a real hit: solid to hold, easy to bite and great for teething. We tried pancakes a few time – not much was eaten but he enjoyed the size and texture!

For lunch there was actually some zucchini and baby rice baby food in the buffet. He had that most days and loved it. Strangely for baby food it had added salt. I suspect that was why he liked it! I tried him on some Ella’s too and he didn’t like it, although as the week went on he warmed to it. I think the issue was a lack of texture. I love crudités and hummus and thankfully so does baby. Pepper and cucumber, and more watermelon! The hotel offered to steam and mash anything we needed too.

And did we relax?

We did actually relax! It is so much easier to relax when you operate as a family unit for a holiday, not just a weekend. And we picked the easiest type of holiday too!

We were blessed to fly in comfort and all adjust to the time zone quickly and easily. It meant we hit the ground running and the routine each day was as simple as at home. Warmer air and the surroundings being a perfect sensory playground made it fab for us all!

I am so thankful for being able to take the holiday that we did, be it the flight, destination or hotel. I don’t think I would have chosen to fly long haul when he was so little, but it was a good first world problem to have. And it all worked out so well. It was a holiday for me being able to share the childcare with Mr P. It was a holiday from work for Mr P who excelled as primary carer for our gorgeous boy. (To put it in perspective I think I changed just 2 or 3 nappies in 7 days!) It was a holiday for Baby P, even though he won’t remember it.

It was never in doubt he’d like travel, it’s in his blood. But, it was a relief to watch him smile at new things and see the ongoing wonder in his eyes. Totally worth all the worry and hours of planning.

Now where to next?