We have just come back from a lovely little family holiday. One we haven’t done altogether for 6 years! I thought I would share some of the top tips that helped us whilst we were away.
Battery Blender
We recently discovered a battery-powered blender that was perfect for meals out. Ethan can bite and chew soft foods but bigger meals including meat and some veg are just not manageable for him. We were able to order whatever he wanted and pop it in the blender at our table. No need for a PowerPoint, just press the button and away it went. I needed to add a little extra water than usual and we split his dinner up into two portions, but it worked perfectly for us and meant Ethan could join in with dinner with us!
Swim Showers
Where we stayed had a wet room but it didn’t have a hoist or changing bed. In the swimming pool area, they had a shower with a wet stretched bed. We booked our swim sessions on the first and last day of the weekend so that Ethan could have his showers without the struggle of us having to shower him on the floor. It saved us a lot of hassle and made Ethan more comfortable.
Always Ask
We found that on a couple of occasions rather than making do we just mentioned needing a space to park or extra allocated time and this helped us to be able to be given a special pass to park where we wanted and time to enjoy experiences better. It’s always better to ask rather than suffer in silence. What your asking for is usually something someone has asked for before anyway.
Be Prepared
Before we went away I got in contact with the place we were staying to clarify a few things about our trip. This meant that when we got there we weren’t hanging around waiting to access a special chair for swimming because they already knew we would need it so they were prepared for us. It made transitions a lot smoother and meant we got lots more time to make memories instead.
Downtime
The biggest thing for Ethan whilst we were away was downtime, even the girls and we needed this too. We made sure there were plenty of opportunities to chill in between activities and food. Ethan enjoyed a sneaky little nap which he doesn’t do at home during his downtime. It gave him time to not be overstimulated and time to be ready for when we headed out next.