“So I guess you’re going to stop traveling all over the world after the baby is born, right?”. WRONG. So, so, oh so wrong. Maybe we’re those naive parents who think it’s perfectly doable to travel with a kiddo. Maybe we’re bad parents because “traveling with kids is selfish” and you’re not doing them any favors. I’ve heard it all before. We just know that traveling is a big part of our life as a couple, so it will naturally be a big part of our life as a family.
I guess it won’t surprise you that we made travel plans even before the little one was born. And there was a lot of pressure for that first family vacay :). Ticket to the tropics? Snowy winter wonderland? By car? By plane? In the end our baby’s first vacation was an Amsterdam staycation. That’s right. We stayed at the relatively new Hyatt Regency Amsterdam – not even 5 km from our home. Ha! Well, rest assured because we have a family winter trip to Norway coming up, ánd we just booked a tropical getaway to Guadeloupe. Oh wait, we’re also discussing a trip to Tbilisi with the guys we met in North Korea (and who we went to Moscow with). Like I said: possibly naive and bad parents.
Anyway, our staycation wasn’t only our first trip as a family, it was also our first night away from home as a family. In other words: Luc had never slept in another bed besides his own (and the hospital bed). And although we are blessed (yes, we truly feel #blessed) with a newborn who only wakes us up once a night, it could very well be possible he would struggle in another sleep situation. Spoiler alert: he didn’t. He slept through the night (read: mommy woke up with exploding boobs). Halleluja.
So what did we do on this first trip?
Just like last year, we shared our Amsterdam staycation experience with some of our close friends. After we all checked in at the Hyatt Regency, we laid back on the comfy sofas in the lobby for some drinks & bites. It really warms my heart to see my bambino feeling nice and safe in my friends’ arms ♡.
The restaurant in the Hyatt runs an Indonesian cuisine and as a something-something generation Indo I can tell you that the chicken saté definitely has my stamp of approval. Selamat makan, for sure.
Table for five, please
And obviously there was more food on this weekend getaway. Come to think of it, we didn’t actually do anything beside eat and drink. Those are the best weekends, right? We had a table at one of our favorite ánd family-friendly restaurants in this hood: Cafe Restaurant De Plantage.
Since we are members of the Artis Royal Zoo that’s right next door, we usually come here for a pre-zoo lunch. But this was the first time we had dinner here, and besides the pretty snobby waitress (welcome in Amsterdam), the food was very good. Pro tip: order the sharing platters as a starter and share the lamb dish as a main. Done and done.
And how did Luc do?
We’ve taken him out to grab a bite a couple of times before, although usually during the day and not this long, and like those other times he was a total trooper. He was awake for most of the time, but didn’t cry or fuzz at all. Sometimes we had to pass him around so everyone could enjoy the food (and HOT coffee!), and he didn’t seem to mind one bit.
We’re so happy that we can take him along on dinner dates with friends. At least for now. Because for some reason I can’t seem to shake the feeling that the other shoe is about to drop somewhere along the line; we can’t be so lucky to have this chill and happy baby, right? Oh wait, maybe the other shoe is our daily struggle with breastfeeding… I’ll probably share something about that journey around the 6 month mark. You know, when it’s behind us. And who knows, I might even miss it by then. Fingers crossed.
Cocktails & Pool With A Newborn
After dinner we went back to the hotel where we had some very good cocktails in the hotel bar. Even my virgin cocktail was exceptionally tasty. While I danced around with Luc in the baby carrier (I can’t praise my Mezaya ring sling enough) the others played a few rounds of pool. And being the curious little dude he is, Luc was wide awake and extremely mesmerized by the mirror ceiling in the bar. Awesome baby entertainment. I might consider putting up a mirror on our ceiling at home as well… No, of course not. I’m not that crazy. Or am I..?
Slept Like A Baby
As I said earlier: Luc slept through the night and we basically had to wake him up for his breakfast. We had a nice family snuggle session in the comfy bed. Oh how I love hotel beds. And Sundays. Sundays are my fave. Did you know we got married on a Sunday? See more here.
Our friends offered to babysit for an hour so we could hit the gym. This was actually our first time alone as a couple since Luc’s birth 2,5 months ago. Wow.
Brekkie Time
After a quick workout we picked up the little man who was in the mood for his second breakfast, and then we all headed downstairs to grab a bite of our own. Truth be told: not the best hotel breakfast buffet we’ve ever seen (remember the breakfast at the Sofitel in Manila?). We opted to order one of the egg dishes instead, which was the better choice. Although we all thought it’s kind of ridiculous that a €14 omelette doesn’t come with some toast – you have to order it separately. It was tasty though.
Hey Ho, Let’s Go
After a group selfie in the hotel lobby it was time to check out and head home. You know, we had those 5 km of traveling ahead of us. And I have to say, I really love staycations. Even though it’s only one night, and even though you’re super close to home (the husband even went back and forth to walk Polly), I truly felt like we’d been on a short break. And this was a very good practice run for our upcoming travels. So stay tuned if you wanna know if we still think traveling with a little kiddo is a great idea!
