Go on holiday with a 4-month-old baby? My first born? Are you mad?!
I can’t take liquids through security at the airport, and I will need at least 10 made-up bottles, just in case. What if my luggage is mislaid with all the nappies, formula milk, Calpol and his clothes in it? What if I can’t use the tap water in Greece and they don’t have the right bottled water? What about sterilising bottles?
And so it went on. Every reason in the book why I didn’t think it was a good idea to go on holiday with a baby. But with a nervous twitch, two large boxes of Aptamil Formula milk, umpteen long-sleeve sleepsuits, short-sleeve vests and a medicine bag big enough to use up my entire luggage allowance, we were on our way.
Check in: All goes well, and everyone smiles at you when you have a baby! Security? – a breeze. All the staff are child-friendly and I even manage a laugh as I sip from every made-up bottle of formula I am carrying. Oliver sleeps during the flight; for the short time he is awake, everyone coos over him…
So far a breeze… We arrive at the Lemnos Beach Resort in to a great welcome and a room with baby travel cot made up and ready to go. Must clean bottles, sterilise bottles and make up enough for at least three days in case of emergency… Whew, panic over. Am directed to the 24-hour baby kitchen – complete with steriliser, microwave and kettle, all British. Am told that hundreds of babies have passed through Lakitira and that the tap water is safe, but how sure are they? I’m pleased to say Oliver is living proof that they’re right.
Completely at ease: Off to baby club after a good night (if you ever have a good night with a 4-month-old baby). Slightly nervous – my precious baby is being left in a crèche. But our nanny and for that matter all the staff in the baby club are just fantastic. Welcoming, calm… and most importantly, the first thing they do is bypass me and fuss over Oliver. They ask all about Oliver’s routine, and my wants for him. I’m put completely at ease.
Time to myself: So I leave him there and return at lunchtime having read my book, visited the SENSES salon (a must) and baked in the sunshine. In truth, I can’t wait to go and collect him, but part of me is also enjoying that me time.
And that is how it goes for the rest of the week.
