In February, we were super lucky to go to the Maldives for a week with family. Annabel was 6.5 months for this trip, so we had started weaning, she slept less than when we’d travelled with her previously, and by nature of the hotel being its own island, access to anything we might have forgotten was very limited – so this trip took some fairly meticulous planning packing wise.
The added challenge here was that we were getting a seaplane to our hotel, which had a lower weight limit than the allowance we had on the international flight, so we also had to be conscious of how much we were taking.
We flew directly from London Heathrow to Male. The outbound flight was an overnight flight, so we got to the airport at about 5pm. We gave Annabel her food before we left home, so that we didn’t have the complication of giving her dinner whilst at the airport, but we got her into her sleepsuit before we boarded the plane. We used the baby carrier through the airport, and checked our pram (again, we travelled with our main pram rather than a travel one, given its off-road tyres were probably going to come in useful on the sand).
Once we were on the plane and it seemed like we were going to take off fairly soon, we put Annabel in her sleeping bag so that hopefully when feeding on take off, she would fall asleep as if she were going to bed as usual – which she did. We were fortunate to have a bassinet seat, so managed to transfer her to that once the seatbelt signs were off and it was set up by the cabin crew. She lasted long enough in that for us to eat our meal and then woke up. She then fell asleep on me in the seat which was a little uncomfortable but she was content so I managed to get a little sleep too.
The flight was about 9h45mins, and fortunately she did sleep for the majority of it. When she woke up, we fed and then got her dressed into some summery clothes ready for when we arrived!
We got through the airport surprisingly quickly (again with her in the carrier), and then were transferred over to the seaplane terminal for the second leg of the journey. Unfortunately, it was a very busy day and they told us the wait for the seaplane would be about 4 hours… which was not music to our ears after a long flight already. Luckily we had space in a lounge and made ourselves at home and put the toys we had in luggage to use! Much excitement when, after (just!) 3 hours, we were called for our flight!
The seaplanes are incredibly loud and hot, so we had some ear defenders ready for Annabel (and we donned our noise cancelling headphones). We got her the Alpine Muffy Baby and put them on her a few times at home before we left to get her a little used to wearing them. She wore them quite happily without trying to get them off, and they seemed to be really effective. We also had a handheld fan at the ready. We kept Annabel in the carrier on the plane, which was hot but ideal and she nodded off pretty promptly, because there’s nothing like the white noise of an aircraft and a breeze to make you sleepy! The fan was definitely a good idea – for us as well as for Annabel!
About 18 hours after leaving home, we arrived at Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa for the week. Paradise!
Before we arrived, we had asked for a travel cot and a steriliserin our room, which had been provided and the hotel was so well equipped for kids. All the staff were very welcoming and accommodating towards the children, they know if your family need high chairs for your table reservations and they provided bibs, children’s cutlery, children’s plates etc too. The buffet restaurant also always had kids food ready, including puréed vegetables which was ideal for Annabel. She was just on one meal a day plus a bit of fruit at breakfast. We took Ella’s Kitchen pouches for dinners which we used most nights. We used mainly 4+ month pouches and sometimes added a bit of baby rice to thicken them up slightly. At breakfast there was an amazing fruit bar where you could have fresh mango, banana, pineapple, melon – or basically any fruit you fancied – so we gave hersome of that, often mashed again with some baby rice and also in fruit teethers to keep her entertained a little longer while we finished our breakfast. They also made some special pancakes for Annabel using oat milk (as she has a milk allergy) – we asked for them one day and they made them for us every day!For water, although the water provided is all through a desalination plant, we boiled it using the kettle in our room and let it cool just to be on the safe side.
We had a beach front villa with its own pool so we took a little inflatable and some bath toys for Annabel. We also took a foldable play mat which we put on the patio area or inside for her to sit on. She had just started sitting unaided which was so useful but wasn’t yet on the move (also useful!). Naturally, to entertain her for the week, we took lots of toys and used a Front Runner box which had been folded up in the suitcase to store these in and also transport them easily if we were going to the restaurant or to the day beds round the main pool! She could also sit in the box surrounded by her toys, which she enjoyed! Having a toy box with everything in for each visit to the beach or bar also made it easy for any member of the family to entertain Annabel.
There was also an amazing kids club which is open all day. Obviously at Annabel’s age, they can’t be left there but parents can take little ones in to enjoy the facility. It was amazing – they had a little splash pool, lots of water fountains, tonnes of toys and for older kids, lots of activities each day too. There weren’t many children there during our stay so it was always really quiet in there!
We had an amazing week, Annabel loved spending time in the pool, and playing with her toys! The heat didn’t seem to bother her at all. I was a little concerned as she has eczema, and therefore there was the risk that it could flare up in the heat, but it didn’t and I think it was good for her skin to be exposed in the summer clothes, rather than wrapped up for winter in the UK!! On that note, I had also been a little worried about what suncream might do to her eczema. I did research the most eczema-friendly suncreams and actually took two different ones with us – the Ultrasun Extreme SPF50+ suncream, and the E45 Kids Sensitive suncream. I tried the Ultrasun one on a little bit of her skin before we went, and no issues appeared to arise so that’s the one we used while we were away, just having the other as back up. Obviously we also made sure we had all her eczema creams, and also took calendula cream as it had been recommended for heat rash – but we didn’t need to use it, fortunately.
The flight home was 10h45 and during the day which was a little daunting. Again she fell asleep on the seaplane which was useful, but woke up when we landed and was awake while we were in the airport. That worked fairly well as she napped when we got on the plane and we had the bassinet set up for us and managed to transfer her to that that once the seatbelt signs were off. It didn’t last very long but it helped! We had the box of toys handy to keep her entertained and sat her on the floor in front of us (you get a little more leg room when you have the bassinet seat) a couple of times to play. We also had the benefit of a few family members who would also take her for a little while! She got a bit agitated, so we walked to the galley area and said hello to some air hostesses who gave Annabel a plastic cup which kept her entertained for a while! Then we gave her some food (again using a pouch) and she soon fell asleep on me for a couple of hours. She was quite happy again when she woke up and we played a bit and then put her in her sleep suit before landing. We were landing at around 7pm UK time which was effectively early hours of the morning in Maldivian time so we wanted to put her straight to bed when we got home. She fell asleep for the hour journey in the car home from the airport, waking up (crying!) for only the last 10mins or so of the journey. As soon as we got home, we popped her straight in her sleeping bag, fed her and put her to bed as usual.
One of the things I was most worried about with this trip is how she would adjust back to the time zone when we got home as we’d be struggling with not so great sleep before we left and the thought of it getting any worse was a concern! But in fact, this trip seemed to reset her a little and her sleep was actually a bit better than it had been. A couple of early wake ups for the first few days after coming back – sometimes she would feed back to sleep and other times wouldn’t but she was up less in the night, so it felt like a bit of a win!
Big Adventures, Tiny Feet 
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