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I had low-expectations for our nine-day trip to Bali with an 18-month-old recently.
As we all know, babies love routine and holidays are definitely not that. So in my worst-case-scenario brain we were going to be up all night, starting our day even earlier than we do at home and dealing with a lot of tears and confusion.
Sure, our trip wasn't perfect. But it was bloody brilliant, and I do actually feel refreshed, relaxed and rejuvenated now I am home.
Watch: Parents of toddlers translated.
What I wasn't expecting, was just how much my son would enjoy our holiday. He was thrilled to have 24/7 double-parent time, and would push his swimmers into my arms each morning keen for another day of pool, eat, sleep and repeat. While his sleep wasn't perfect, it wasn't woeful either, and he adjusted to the two-hour time difference easily.
He was in toddler heaven, and thanks to some carefully thought about booking and buying decisions, my husband and I were too.
Here's how we managed it.
1. For your sanity's sake, pick the slightly more expensive flight.
I read up while planning my trip, and learnt from my colleague's failures before me who wrote here, and here about booking the cheaper flights without thinking about what chaos they'd wreck on their kid's schedules.