My first family holiday with my newly born

Warning! The first part of this story is not for the faint of heart, or parents with frayed nerves (just kidding).

But I'll have to be honest and say that some of what I'm about to say won't make you want to go on a family holiday with the little one. But don't be put off. The trip was worth all the trouble, frustrations and money. And today I can laugh about it all. 

It was January, my daughter had turned 7 months, and since we were both on maternity leave at the same time, we wanted to take advantage of it and take a month away from the cold and down to the warmth in Andalusia. Like so many others, we had also seen idyllic pictures on Instagram from other people's maternity trips.

The airport and the trip

Since we were going to Southern Spain, we were looking at a 3 hour flight which frankly made us a bit nervous. So, to ensure the best possible chance that the little one could sleep some of the time on the plane, I went to the airport in advance with all our luggage for check-in, while the little one could take her first morning nap. This was to ensure that she was awake at the airport and ready for her next nap while we were in the air. In theory.

In addition to my girlfriend's and my own bag, we had a whole extra suitcase just for equipment for the little one, with everything from a child carrier, eating equipment, changing equipment, beach equipment, etc, etc. In addition, of course, we had our stroller with us. It was indispensable for getting around down there.

So, somehow I managed to get on the S-train from Vesterbro to the airport with two bags, a suitcase and a stroller.

At the airport, I had to pick up a so-called Airshell, which is a large zipped bag that you rent at the airport for the stroller to be secured on the flight. Otherwise, our stroller, which costs several thousand kroner, would not be insured on the flight.

Of course, the Airshell had to be picked up at the opposite end of the airport to the special baggage check-in. So I ended up lugging the giant Airshell bag across the airport, picking up all the airport dust and dirt in my path. It was only afterwards that it occurred to me that of course I could have thrown it on a cart. But I was stressed and under pressure and not fully aware. You live and learn.

Well, we got off and luckily the little one got to sleep a bit on the plane. So the trip went well.

On arrival at the airport in Malaga, we were greeted by a less than pleasant surprise. Here there was no place where we could leave the Airshell bag. Instead, we had to put it in the trunk of our rental car and take it with us. Fortunately, we had rented a rather large car, so it could just be there. But don't know what we would have done with a smaller car. Because we also had our two large bags and a suitcase.

In Spanien

I won't spend a lot of column space on the stay itself, since it's not the focus of this story. But we had a nice trip. We lived in a small town an hour's drive from Malaga called Nerja. The city was absolutely perfect for us. It was just big enough that there was a bit of city life with restaurants and cafes, and not too big and chaotic. I can really recommend Nerja to other travelers - both with and without children.

We lived in a beautiful apartment that we had rented through AirBnB. The host had provided a travel bed, as well as a high chair, so that the little one could sit with him at the table.

And then we were lucky enough to be visited by the grandparents on both sides. 

In addition to our normal carrier, we had brought a shoulder carrier called MiniMeis, as I wanted to test whether it should be included in our range at Easygoing. It had to, because it was really nice and gave us the opportunity to go on some small hikes and trips in the mountains around Nerja. Here you can see the MiniMei baby carrier.

What have I learned for the next family vacation?

First of all, I have that it requires a lot of planning and equipment to travel with the little ones, especially the very little ones. We filled a whole suitcase just with equipment for the little one. And she was only one. Still, there was a lot of equipment we lacked or could have enjoyed down there.

We could e.g. really use some kind of changing table so that we didn't have to bend forward on the bed every time the little one had to be changed. Because they have to do that many times a day at that age.

A baby bathtub would also have been useful so that we didn't have to bathe the little one in our hands while you were standing in the shower yourself.

For the same reason, we have now added changing tables and bathtubs to Easygoing's range.

Well, yes, and then I learned that the airport has trolleys, you can use;-)

But most importantly, I learned that traveling with the little ones is great. It's different than when you're just two, and of course not as relaxed. And you have to adjust to fewer restaurant visits, lazing on the beach, etc.

But being together all day and getting away from everyday life at home means that you still come home with renewed energy.