Holiday In 1st Trimester

This is one of those posts I’ve been putting off for as long as possible. There’s just so much to say! It’s also taken me this long to recover from the embarrassment of a 5 hour flight each way with a less-than-impressed 17 month old. I honestly don’t know how we coped. The fact that the home leg was a night flight with incredibly sympathetic but tired passengers on board made it ten times more traumatic.

I guess we’ll start with the accommodation. Obviously traveling during term time means we get the pick of the deals. We were also in a position to spend a little more on this final holiday before becoming a family of four. We therefore picked a really impressive premier garden villa at the stunning Villas Bahiazul on the outskirts of Corralejo - and boy did we pick well. We couldn’t have been more shocked on arrival to find we had three double bedrooms, three ensuite shower rooms, and a HUGE open plan kitchen /diner for the three of us. Other features included a private pool, a Balinese bed, a rooftop Jacuzzi and BBQ, and iPod / iPhone docking station thingy that allowed you to play music in every room.

Obviously the villa was far too big for our needs and we only used 1 bedroom throughout our stay - but it was lovely to be able to spread out. The pool area was a little scary with a toddler but Dexter seemed strangely aware of the danger and was quite happy to watch daddy splashing around. The pool shoes we got from Sportbaby were also invaluable as they saved us from plenty of slips and tumbles. Dex also struggled without a bath as he’s too young to appreciate a shower. There also wasn’t an oven in the villa (we knew this in advance and were perfectly happy with it as we planned on eating out every night) which could be problematic if you wanted a self-catering experience. I did find the pool too cold (even though we requested it heated) but it didn’t stop us both from midnight skinny dips to cool down our sunburn.

The clubhouse restaurant was fabulous. We didn’t eat there in the evening as there were so many highly recommended restaurants a short taxi ride away on the harbour (coincidentally most of the recommendations we received were from the villa reception!) but we did have breakfast there every morning. This was included in the price of our stay and was simply amazing. The staff were superb - very patient with all the miserable and grotty toddlers, the highchairs were secure and clean, and the choice of both hot and cold foods was excellent. It was a buffet service and you could help yourself to as much as you wanted. The fresh cakes, fresh fruit and great quality cooked offerings were far superior to anything I’ve experienced on holiday before.

Corralejo itself is a lovely place. The beach is clean with good facilities and there’s a great water park for families within a short walk of all the main hotels. We also found some interesting excursions - jeep rides, catamaran excursions, surfing etc - which we weren’t able to enjoy due a combination of my pregnancy and Dexter. I wouldn’t recommend staying for longer than a week however as I doubt we could have filled two weeks with fun things to do. The strip also has some great shops with a huge Zara and a few surprisingly fabulous boutiques, plenty of supermarkets, and dozens of perfumeries. I got some deals on designer make-up and perfume as you can haggle some way with the sale assistants.

So how did Dexter find it?

Although Dexter is the most charming and adorable baby in the world, there are times when he tries my patience just as much as the constant advert breaks during X Factor. It’s not his fault, but the climate, being away from his cot, and unfamiliar surroundings, all led to frequent toddler meltdowns on the beach, in restaurants, and at the clubhouse. These weren’t mini whinges and a few tears either, they were like none Craig and I have experienced before. Dexter’s body would go rigid making it impossible to sooth him, he’d buck his way out of his pushchair, and scream like one of Freddy Krueger’s victims overacting in their film debut. It was embarrassing, unrelenting and enough to make us gobble down expensive food incredibly quickly and evacuate restaurants.

In fact, Dex mysteriously became deaf on holiday. He appeared to lose all ability to hear or understand the word ‘No’ or even respond to his own name. Surely it would be bad parenting on my part to accuse him of deliberately ignoring us when we tried to stop him wandering off in the restaurant quarter, attempting to ride the escalator on his own in shopping malls, or throwing his breakfast on the floor in the clubhouse. He also insisted on a diet of chips and chicken nuggets the entire time. As we cook fresh at home this went right against our principles but we were so relieved to see him eat something we had to relent.

You see, the main strip of Corralejo must have some 200 restaurants. It’s so competitive that you are accosted every two seconds by restaurant reps wanting to show you their menu and how fresh their meat is. This means whenever you are sat in one restaurant, you are most probably less than 10 metres away from its neighbour - in fact, you’re so close you can smell someone’s seafood platter in the adjoining restaurant. In some of the cute courtyard squares, we therefore let Dexter play freely and stretch his legs with all the other toddlers. The delightful thing is there is no language barrier between children - there were hundreds of Dutch and German children there that my little guy could chase after, rugby tackle and rub noses with - it was incredibly sweet to watch. He’d follow these children back to their families tables (regardless of the fact they weren’t dining where we were) and it was positively hilarious to see my 17 month old turfed out of restaurants like one of those irritating knock-off DVD peddlers in a nightclub. As funny as this was, I’d definitely recommend toddler reins for days out on the strip.

One massive plus for me was also the clean toilets everywhere on the island. I know it’s a strange thing to praise but given I’m still suffering from morning sickness and there’s no holidaying from bum-changing duties - I was impressed at the level of hygiene everywhere. The malls also catered for kiddies and there was a great kids area in the main mall that Dexter had hours of enjoyment in.

All in all I’d say it was a great holiday with a great choice of eateries, perfect sunbathing weather, and a safe and fun destination for families - but I must admit, I’m very glad to be home and to have my beautiful happy baby boy back.

So have you been to Fuerteventura? What did you think?

I’m back from holiday and have finally waded through the thousands of emails, comments, tweets and Facebook notifications from when I was away. I’ll get around to writing up exactly what I thought of Fuerteventura soon but thought I’d start my holiday hangover therapy by sharing my experience of holidaying in my first trimester.

We didn’t intend to travel whilst in the thick of all the exhaustion and morning sickness as we booked it before we discovered those two pink lines. Having spent thousands on the trip, delaying it wasn’t an option and we both spent the first few weeks of my pregnancy utterly defiant that the whole thing would be a breeze. But as the weeks slipped by, it was clear it wouldn’t be a walk in the park.

Kicking off with a positive, the sickness wasn’t a major factor at all. Although I’ve spent more than my fair share of this pregnancy with my head in a toilet, the saving grace is that it tends to be like clockwork. It was actually easier to cope with on holiday as Craig was on hand to look after Dex when it reared its ugly head. I had plenty of time to shove my hair in a ponytail, grab a bottle of water from the fridge and make myself comfortable in one of the 4 bathrooms in our villa (yes 4! Don’t ask me why we picked such a huge villa for the three of us). The only tip I’d offer is to remember to take a towel into the bathroom with you. Most holiday villas in warm climates will have tiled floors and it’s not much fun cosying up to the loo with freezing cold knees..

The absolute killer was the exhaustion. As this was only magnified by the heat, I was forced to take a nap everyday between 11am and 1pm or I’d turn into Cruella de Ville by 8pm. Every morning we’d wake up, roll out of bed, and haul our butts to the clubhouse for a breakfast buffet like newly awakened zombies from Dawn of the Dead. We’d have a little family time at the villa then I’d be sent to bed to rest whilst the boys had fun in the pool.

Despite being utterly shattered it wasn’t easy to drift off as I didn’t have a maternity pillow and could hear Dexter’s excited little screams echoing throughout the villa. He also discovered a new ‘noisy’ hobby - namely playing with the pool squeegee. On a telescopic handle this squeegee resembled a broom without the bristles and became Dexter’s toy of choice. Craig would set him an obstacle course using the pool furniture and Dex would drag, carry or throw the squeegee through the maze. We’ve decided not to encourage him into a career as a lifeguard as he seems to have more fun throwing things into the pool, watching them sink, and getting daddy to dive in and retrieve them. The squeals were ear splitting!

All this napping meant we had to miss out on lots of island excursions. It also meant Craig had lots of solo parenting to contend with. Luckily my Craig is a far better parent-under-pressure than me and really enjoyed having some lad time with Dex, but I can totally see it being a problem for less hands-on daddys.

As is always the way when you go abroad, you discover just a small a world you in. It just so happens another couple were on our flight (and in our resort) who live a few miles down the road from us, are only a few years younger than us, and also expecting baby 2 in April. But there’s where the similarities end - it was like Jade Goody holidaying with Elizabeth Hurley - she looked amazing and I looked as though I’m entering my last month of pregnancy already. In fact, I felt huge enough to sink the entire island of Fuerteventura with a few well-timed jumps.

I’m trying to laugh it off but I’d say this was definitely a sore point this holiday. I’m used to being able to knock back the Prosecco and do some nudey sunbathing - being pregnant meant both these were off limits. I think I’d have been arrested for indecent exposure if I had even attempted wearing a two piece given the size of my belly. Hurley didn’t have a problem here though - she was bronzed, buffed and waxed within an inch of her life and you couldn’t even tell there was a baby in there It’s totally ruined the illusion I’ve been selling to Craig that all women pile on the pounds whilst pregnant.

So… would I do it again? In short, no. I’m a right whingey mare when I’m pregnant. Toss in the heat, a lack of alcohol, and swollen ankles and I’m a royal pain in the arse. Craig doesn’t believe in stress but I guarantee he would if we’d have spent another week there. He’s still determined to whisk us all away again in January but I’m not sure it’ll happen now.

Of course this is just my experience - I’m sure there are hundreds of Hurley’s out there that take a beach diet seriously and will continue to look and feel fabulous right up until the very second they dip their toes in the birthing pool - but I’m simply not one of them. I can also imagine it being a thousand times easier for first time mummy-to-be’s. Without a heat-frustrated, fussy eating, little escape artist in tow, you are bound to enjoy the experience a little more. There’s something magical about a first baby too - you almost welcome the nasty pregnancy symptoms as it means you can mentally tick them off as you read about them in What to Expect When You’re Expecting. When you get to baby 2 you actually get affronted by the sheer audacity of your body for messing around with your gag reflex or making those little veins on your boobs stand out.

Other than all that - it was fabulous thank you. Lol. What a ridiculous moany wench I am….

So… anyone else had the pleasure of holidaying in your first Trimester?