Our very first family holiday

August 15, 2013

Blue skyIt’s summer, the sky is blue, and everyone is thinking about holidays. However, if you’re a new parent you might have lots of questions about going away with a baby for the first time. So here’s a sponsored guest post from Haven about what you can expect:

“I became a mum in February and life has changed beyond all recognition.

With all the excitement and expense of a new baby, my partner and I had shelved our usual plans for a holiday this year. This seemed like a small price to pay for turning our twosome into a family (and it is) but with all this fantastic weather we’ve been having, I’ve started to get cabin fever. I can’t think of anything better than a holiday.

However, so far we haven’t really taken the baby further than the local parks and we’ve only stayed away from home for one overnight with family – how can we get away, with all the stuff that she needs; cot, steriliser, toys, clothes, nappies etc, and on a budget too?
Does everywhere accept babies?

That might be a daft question but I’ve never done this before. What about dogs, too? Our poor mutt has been a bit neglected since Amelie came along and it’d be nice for all four of us to go somewhere together.

I did see a tele advert for Haven and got a bit curious.

We live in Swansea and when I Googled Haven caravan sites in the UK, I found two within a couple of hour’s drive from home – so far so good. There are loads more, they’re all over the country (I had no idea).

Still, I don’t want to go too far for our first trip.

Before I got carried away with looking at the facilities, I checked for babies and dogs first and they’re both allowed.

In fact they make it really easy to take either or both. For a little extra on the booking fee, I can hire a cot, which saves a huge amount of hassle and car space. There’s a “Little Cubs Club” for 0-4 year olds that runs every morning, which is when she’s at her best so this works really well for us.

There’s also a choice of indoor or outdoor heated pools which is perfect for babies; a regular pool would be too cold for her but this way we get to introduce her to swimming. She loves the bath and her granny’s bought her a swimming costume, I can’t wait to see how she reacts to all these new experiences.

Haven’s Tenby campsite is just over a mile away from the town. I’ve never been but I looked it up on You Tube and saw this promotional video:

I love the idea of strolling there with the pram, taking a wander down those narrow streets, getting a nice lunch somewhere with a view of that coastline and having a bit of a mooch around the shops – well, you can’t go on holiday without picking up some souvenirs.

I knew my other half would need some convincing, we don’t have a lot of spare cash right now but when I told him about the facilities for Amelie, the fact that there are country walks for him and the dog to escape on, nearby beaches and a Papa John’s Pizza place within spitting distance of our caravan, he was sold.

We’ve booked a week in September for our very first holiday as a family and can’t wait. Hopefully, the weather will have cooled just a little and we can all enjoy a sea breeze and wiggles our piggies in the sand.

I’m especially looking forward to the end of each day, when Amelie’s asleep and me and her dad can sit outside the caravan, with a glass of wine and each other’s company again. It sounds like bliss”.

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