Maisie’s first holiday
Three children to pack for this time around but I try and go with Less is More so I pack everything and then take things away. I think I’m pretty good at packing for the kids but I always pack badly for myself. Plenty of snacks and some toys for the flight and now that Tom and Evie are older they get to watch movies on the I Pad. I pack a book for myself, determined for some me time. This time I even got my nails manicured and eye brows tinted, a nice treat for this hard working mama! Living close enough to the airport makes for less rushing so, bags and passports at the ready along with a not too early start and we arrived with plenty of time..or so we thought. We got checked through quickly (it helps when your husband works for the airline!) the queues weren’t too bad but it was still a rush to get to the gate, travelling with young kids is never easy even when things are going to plan. Luckily Maisie had a short sleep before we boarded. This was huge as it would have been difficult to get her off once airborne. Surrounded by other families with younger children I felt relieved that the tired screams weren’t coming from our camp. Delayed onboard for an hour we took off for the 2.5hr flight. Maisie was so good. We distracted her with toys and snacks and took her for walks if she got restless. Once we landed it was only a short drive to the villa. Even though everything went smoothly we were both exhausted by the end of a long day, but very happy to be here again after five years. I had a new appreciation for my parents in law’s beautiful holiday home. Spacious and comfortable with its own pool and pretty garden, with a view of the Med in the distance it felt heavenly and remained so until interrupted by fighting siblings. But I try and block out those parts!
Maisie on the other hand was a dream. We set up a safe area outside for her to play and she was happy out. She had started to crawl by now but seemed content to stay within the confines of her space. She slept well most nights and when she napped I read my book or swam with the kids. We sat her in her Bumble Seat when we ate out and all things considered this holiday felt so easy with her.
I wondered before Maisie was born whether our holidays would be different due to her Down Syndrome diagnosis. Even thinking this now seems silly to me. Having Down Syndrome isn’t a life limiting condition. We are like any other family, only with more appointments! Obviously when she was waiting to have her heart fixed we wouldn’t have gone abroad due to the concern of anything going wrong. Now the only difference is we have more to bring and less room for it all. As holidays with an infant go this was a success. A short flight, beautiful accommodation, our own pool to chill out by and access to a car so we could get around easily. Our next holiday, a two week stay at a campsite in France won’t be as straightforward but it will be more of an adventure, and having gone through the monotony of Covid restrictions it is something we’re more than ready for.
