Week 13: 16/04 - 22/04
Roland and Parents take Wales
This week saw Roland's first holiday.. Destination: Llyn Peninsula.
When I saw that it was Easter bank holiday coming up, I asked Tee if she would like to go on a little break. Her answer? Heck yeah. While we would usually be doing this in the van, Roland is still figuring out how to regulate his body temperature so we opted for an AirBnB. Locations of choice were Whitby or Abersoch. The ulterior motive; surfing.
Rainy days
The weather was very British. We were rained on three out of the 4 days, but we still tried to make the most of it. Saturday was our first full day, we went into Abersoch to show him round and took him to the beach for the first time. As with most of his first visits anywhere, he was asleep. We enjoyed it though. Took him for hist first pub lunch, this one was easier for him to be awake for. Uncle James and Auntie Roxane joined in the afternoon for some shopping, coffee, and dry robe mocking. Then we took him for his first surf session, asleep.. again.
Sunny days
The holiday hinged on a Sunny Sunday. We got our stuff ready for the beach while Roland napped in the morning, then headed down to the beach around mid day. Beach days pre-Roland were spent alternating between lounging around (Danny) and playing games (Tereza). Beach days with Roland are walking up and down for 45 minutes while he sleeps in a carrier. Seeing his face when he played with his feet in the sand make it worth while.
Car journeys with a baby
Car journeys with babies are.. interesting. I've come up with a formula to calculate how long said journey will take.
Drive time under 1 hour 30 minutes: The sweet spot. You can get there in the same time it would take you without a baby. You'll need to leave for their first nap and coax them through a sleep cycle to get an hour and half nap.
Drive time between 1:30 and 3 hours: Doable! You now need to add 45 minutes to 1 hour to your drive time. You'll need to the same as before, then have a break, and do step one again. Coax through a sleep cycle, and you should make it there in 2 naps.
Drive time over 3 hours: You're cooked. You only get 2 long naps a day, after you only get 45 minute naps. So now you need to add 1 hour 30 per 45 minute additional drive time.
Driving 4 and half hours? Nope you're traveling closer 7 hours. Sure, your baby might like the car seat. Congratulations, you've won the lottery.
A taste for things to come
On the Sunday night after putting Roland to bed, Tee and I talked about if we felt "relaxed" on this beach holiday. Truth be told, not relaxing at all. The break from city was great and much needed. You can really feel that when you drive back in. But in terms of how things used to be, it's a stark contrast to gateways before. Would we change it? Not for the world.
We talked about taking the opportunities you are given and being very grateful for those small moments that would have been previously overlooked. An ice cream at 9am. A short surf session. Feet in the sand. A well cooked chip. It's not about getting away and doing nothing. It's about getting away, showing the boy new experiences, and getting one or two things in the bag for ourselves.
