What a delight it was when we got the news that Regional Victoria's restrictions were easing and we were able to travel to other area's within Regional Victoria!
Aidan and I were tossing up the idea on whether or not we should make the 4.5 hour drive up to visit his Dad when we found ourselves in the position that we had my 18-month-old nephew Ziggy for a few nights. We were needing to drop him off at my Mums house which would conveniently be the halfway point on the drive to Aidan's Dads - so that sealed the deal for us.
I was SO nervous to be in the car for that long with Felix, let alone with a baby and a toddler but we were strategic about it and planned to leave home when they were both due for a nap and I made sure I gave Felix a top-up feed just before we left. They both slept for the majority of the way to my Mums and when they weren't asleep, they were content (thank god!).
Once we got to my Mums I fed Felix as he was now due for a feed again, we had lunch, dropped Ziggy off and made sure he was settled in, gave Felix another top-up feed before we left and hit the road again.
Felix was slightly more unsettled on the second stint but I attribute that to him not being used to being in the car for so long, getting him in and out of the car when we stopped and not getting much attention but again, he slept most of the way and only began grizzling in the last 30 minutes of the trip - to be honest, I was also over it by then!
We stayed at Aidan's Dads house for the first night and then at Nug Nug Park Log Cabin for the remaining two nights and if you looked at how much we packed you would think we were moving house!
For Felix we packed;
- Bassinet (thankfully his bassinet is travel friendly and folds up into a little travel bag)
- Glow Dreaming machine (he sleeps so well with this at home, we didn't want to trial a night without it, especially whilst on holidays)
- Pram
- 2x Baby Blankets
- 3x swaddles
- 6x jumpsuits
- 2x tops
- 2x pants
- 4x singlets
- 6x bibs (he is a dribbly baby lately!)
- 1x jumper
- 4x wash cloths for the bath
- 1x baby shampoo and body wash
- 1x baby brush
- Surplus of nappies and wipes
- Normal everyday nappy bag filled with normal everyday nappy bag items
Needless to say - we did not need that many clothes but I would rather be over prepared than under prepared!
Now, onto the actual trip.
We were quite limited in what we could do whilst away due to Aidan still having a busted up ankle (see previous blog post to find out why), COVID restrictions still being in place, a lot of businesses still being closed and travelling with a baby - so we decided to treat it more as a relaxing get away without the pressure to do anything.
And we loved it!
We got to Aidan's Dads house around late afternoon and after driving all day, we really didn't feel like doing a whole lot - so we just hung out, had dinner, watched a movie and went to bed.
The next day, Felix and I went on a nice long walk around Myrtleford, we all had lunch together, Aidan and I packed up, went to the supermarket to stock up for our stay in the cabin and then headed out there (about a 15min drive from Myrtleford).
We had seen photos of the cabin when booking and it looked nice but I honestly wasn't prepared for how beautiful it was! It was nestled at the foot of the mountains, surrounded by lush green paddocks and cute farm animals. It's hard to believe that at the start of the year this area was being threatened by bushfires - the mountain is still bear in spots where the trees are only now starting to grow back.
After unloading the car and setting up, we lounged around on the deck with the cows coming up to the fence to say hello, we met the owner as he dropped off some firewood and had dinner. I got to have a nice relaxing bath to myself and once Felix went to bed we spent time by the fire and enjoyed a few drinks (probably my 3rd wine since giving birth).
The next day we had such a beautiful breakfast on the deck and invited Aidan's Dad and his partner over. We're talking bacon, eggs, avo, spinach, mushrooms, yoghurt and berries - it was delicious and so peaceful sitting out there. Whilst we were in the region, we decided to catch up with friends who lived nearby (50min drive away) and stopped in to explore Beechworth on the way.
It was dark by the time we were getting home and we decided to drive into Bright to see what dinner options were available - we got burgers from a cool little burger shop and had planned to eat them in a near by park... Felix had other plans and was well and truly over being in the car yet again.
We decided to just eat and drive as we headed back to the cabin (about 40mins drive) and had a nice quiet night once we got home.
Aidan had a bath, it was only fair that he got one as well, we watched some TV and went to bed.
The next morning we were eager to get on the road and were packed up ready to go at about 9am - another strategic feed and we were off.
We pit stopped at a random park to feed Felix about half way, stopped in Pakenham for lunch (Felix was fussing by this point), I jumped in the back seat with him and we continued home.
Both on the way there and back we decided to go 'the back way' to avoid the long queues at the check points and figured that the scenery would be better than staring at the freeway the whole time!
Key takeaways from our get away -
Strategic feeds are essential to a happy and content baby
Jump in the backseat if the baby is fussing (even just until they fall asleep)
LOTS of coffee
Travel bassinets/cots are essential as then you aren't limited to where you can stay and always have a suitable spot for baby to sleep
Don't put yourself on a deadline for arriving and stop as much as you need
It was so much easier than I thought it would be!
Next time, I would also ensure that we had a playmat (or something similar) and some toys to keep him occupied in the car but they are only minor things!
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