Mummy and Maya on the Canary Islands

When Maya was 8 months old we spent a week in Tenerife with friends.

We kinda went on a whim and didn’t plan much, but neither did we have to. On this trip I decided to bring a stroller as she was in a period of her life where she was used to sleeping in one. For this trip we bought a cheap one that folds up and is easy to travel with, as I was traveling without Maya’s dad. It is front facing, which is something I don’t really like for babies that small, but I really didn’t want to spend the money on a rear facing one when we had an expensive stroller at home. We used it a lot for baggage and it was great for daytime sleeping as it has an enormous hood. As most airlines allow a foldable stroller on board in addition to any luggage for free this was a no-brainer.

As luggage I decided to bring a rucksack and carry Maya on my front during the trip. At the airport I quickly checked in everything and got ahold of an airport push chair. Many airports provide these for free once you have cleared security.

In my experience the only trouble traveling with a baby is the on board meals. It’s really hard to have a baby on you lap and eat at the same time. Both because she just takes up so much space and also because anything new is a reason to touch, throw around and break. I think I sort of put her on the floor in the aisle thinking it would be a great way to get her out of the way, but there were too many people walking past all the time, so I shoved some food in my mouth and tried to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. Not ideal.

One thing about traveling though, is the time it takes. Even though the canaries aren’t far away it takes a lot of time getting to your final destination. By the time we got to our hotel me and the three other mummies were starving. Also, it was getting quite late and we needed to get out for dinner before our babies got too tired and fussy for it to be a pleasant experience. Luckily we were all breastfeeding and could feed our babies on demand when needed. Anyways, our first meal in Tenerife was a success!

During our stay we tried going to the beach once, but it wasn’t hugely popular as none of our babies we moving very well and there was just sand everywhere!

We also spent some time by the pool, which was hugely popular amongst the babies. All of them loved spending time in the water and “swimming” around. Maya even learned to throw herself into the pool and immersed herself totally without any tears. It was a treat having her enjoy herself so much.

We had a hotel room with a kitchen in it – which was key for us mums. We could put our babies to bed at night and have a snack and a beer on the patio in the evening, and we could cook breakfast (which was not served at our hotel). Some of us had lunch at the hotel and some us ate out at local restaurants. I had lunch out and opted for staying in for dinner, as Maya was getting increasingly fussy at night at that time.

I also spent a lot of time walking around the area as Maya would have an easier time napping when the stroller was moving. A lot of parents will probably recognize this. This was great for me, as I both got some exercise and was able to get to know the area pretty well. The other babies didn’t share Maya’s need for a moving stroller so many of my walks were enjoyed by myself listening to podcasts (one of my favorite pastimes).

On the last night Maya started having trouble breathing and I stayed awake much of the time with her on top of me. In the morning we went to a local doctor and he stated that she had gotten both tonsillitis and bronchitis and she was put on antibiotics. We were told it might not be a good idea that we travel home that day, but we took the chance as we did not want to stay alone in a foreign country when she was so unwell. The trip back home went smoothly and it was actually easier traveling with an ill baby than when she was well, as she was calmer and slept more.

What was not nice was being told by the doctor that we made a mistake traveling with a baby under one year. He meant that this was a huge risk as they were so susceptible to disease. Luckily our doctor back home told us that this was antiquated and outdated and not something that we would hear from him.

Phew!

Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions!