A self-experiment: vacation alone with 3 small children

Hello my dears!

If the man is often on a business trip all week, that’s good and nice. At least for the man &# 128521;

For me, these weeks are rather exhausting, because I really can take care of two small children, a baby, the dog, house and garden 24/7 all by myself. And 24/7 is to be taken literally here, since we live free of kigas and I then take care of the two little ladies and our young gentleman alone around the clock. And to be honest: At the end of a week like this, I sometimes don’t remember what my name is actually or where my head is. I sometimes lay my glasses and find them in the fridge by chance the next morning. But that is another issue &# 128521;

Now there is another "Papa is-on-mission"-Week, we decided that we should just make the best of the situation. So I packed our bags, put the children in the car and we drove to the sea.

Everything is better at the beach?

When I told about our travel plans in advance, the reactions were usually rather subdued. A friend looked at me with raised eyebrows and said: "Uh, Lisa … But you are already sure that you really want to do this to yourself! Yes?"

Well, I was certain &# 128521; And had decided that we should just give it a try. If it did not work at all and ended up in chaos, there would still have been the option of simply packing our bags again and going home early.

Because on vacation, outside the usual environment, it is always a little different with small children than at home. Do you know that Because like most children, our kids need some time to acclimatize in the new environment. And are initially somewhat "explosive".

Seagulls on De Haan’s North Sea beach in Belgium

However, it doesn’t matter how you ultimately turn it. A week without a dad is always stressful. Even at home. And maybe it would even work quite well on vacation, since a vacation by the sea is always a great adventure for children. And besides, the sea air is known to be relaxing and tiring, or? &# 128578;

Our self-experiment: Mom and the k >And indeed, the sea air has really made you tired. First and foremost me &# 128521; But seriously: The vacation was of course quite exhausting for me. Because:

Three small children wanted to get ready every day, provide them with several meals and put them to bed in the evening.
Indeed, the children needed two to three days to arrive at the holiday destination internally.
Once again it was a big change for the children that Papa was not there.
The baby mouse had problems sleeping in the strange environment at night. And yes – that was pretty stupid for me. Sleep deprivation is not used as a torture method for nothing … * Lol *
Everything in the apartment was a bit more cumbersome than at home. Logically, the apartment was not as child-friendly as our house.
Logistically, everything was a bit more work. "We’re going to the beach quickly" is not so easy to put into practice with three small children.

on the other hand the vacation was also incredibly beautiful and it did us all very good.

A change of location and the fact that you can just get out of everyday life are usually good for you.
We could do a lot of great things. The children could not only let off steam on the beach every day, but we also took many exciting trips. The days are followed by a detailed holiday report! &# 128578;
The children were able to collect many new impressions. This is an aspect that is always particularly important to me personally.
The time just flew away on vacation and before we could know it, the week was over.
I actually had the time to chill on the beach and enjoy the sea air. It was awesome. Just awesome &# 128521;

De Haan beach with a view towards Ostend

I also tried to make life as easy as possible for us. Sometimes you just have to let five be straight &# 128578; So there were disposable diapers instead of cloth diapers, ready meals (yes, I had ready-made food &# 128521; ) instead of freshly cooked food and while I was getting ready in the morning, the two big boys were allowed to watch TV. So there was a kind of deterioration of custom, morality and decency with us * Laughs *

Our conclusion. We would do it again?

To say it in the words of my girlfriend mentioned at the beginning: Yes, we would definitely do such a mom-and-child vacation again! &# 128578;

Because the vacation definitely did us all good. Even if we all thought it was a pity that Papa wasn’t there. Because of course he was missing a lot. We also missed our dog, who is usually with us on every vacation. However, the idea of having to take care of the three kids and the dog on vacation seemed too stressful. And so our dog lady just spent a cozy vacation with grandma and grandpa &# 128578;

In conclusion, I personally can absolutely recommend such a vacation. If you feel like it and the situation allows it – just do it! The claim to spend a quiet and relaxing holiday can of course be left at home. You don’t have to fool yourself &# 128521; However, you can definitely expect to have a good time with your children! Far away from everyday life.

Have you ever spent your vacation alone with the kids? Or – if you have no children – have you ever been on vacation all by yourself? What were your experiences like? And you would do it again?