No going back – Lanzarote here we come

It’s now more than four months since I last got on a plane, which seems a ridiculously long time ago. So I’ve been hanging onto the thought of a trip to Lanzarote with my parents to keep me going. To be on the safe side, I didn’t want to book flights (my parents already had the accommodation arranged) until after Minnie arrived and I had one functioning brain cell to think about it.

I can’t swear to the brain cell but regardless, we’ve bitten the bullet, hit confirm and booked the flights for November. This time instead of only looking at the price and checking it doesn’t leave at 5am, there was a bit more to consider. At slightly less than four months when we fly, Minnie will have had her first two sets of vaccinations, and hopefully we’ll either have cracked breastfeeding or have moved on, so I’ll know how things stand there.

And while she doesn’t get her own seat, which would be a bit pointless, she does get her own luggage allowance. I’m planning to travel up to my parents’ house the day before so we can all fly out together (giving me a chance to discover how baby friendly Birmingham airport is) and so we have more helping hands to manage the bags.

The airline choice came down to Monarch or Thomas Cook, which both cost similar amouts and have similar infant policies, with the former winning out thanks to its flight times.

So Minnie may have to share her seat with me but she gets 10kg baggage, as well as a buggy and car seat, if I decide to take them both. And although it looks like I’ll be able to get a travel cot as part of the villa accommodation, along with a baby bath and playmat, Monarch will also let you put travel cots in the hold as part of the baggage allowance.

There’s also hot water for baby bottles on board, although no heating facilities (with any luck, I’ll be able to feed her myself so that won’t be an issue) and nappy changing, which should be all she needs. If only I could pre-book a nap…

So now we’re definitely off, there’s one more thing to sort asap – Minnie’s first passport!

Image: Noel A. Tanner/Flickr