Bringing someone on a trip to help???

[Anonymous]

Has anyone had experience taking help when they traveled? We do not have a nanny or even a real babysitter... I am in a wedding in the spring and the bride wants my 2 year old in the wedding too! I would LOVE for her to be in the wedding but want her to go to bed after so we can enjoy the reception! I thought about bringing someone along but I would not even know how to go about finding someone reliable that I would also feel comfortable traveling with...

[Anonymous]

Can you bring a family member? We've traveled with my parents, not specifically in the role of babysitters but knowing that they would be around to help out if/when needed. Other than that...yeah, I have no idea. A close friend?

[Anonymous]

We have travelled with my mom and, separately, with our nanny. I will never go on vacation again with a child without an additional person to help deal with the kid. We went on a cruise with her with no one else and it was a disaster. Beyond the obvious babysitting bonus of having someone else with you, it is immeasurably helpful to be able to tell your nanny/family member, "OK, dinner is at 6pm in the hotel restaurant. I will have her ready by 5:30. Can you please pick her up at 5:30 and take her downstairs to run around the fountain for a few minutes and then take her to the resaurant to get settled? I will finish getting dressed and meet you there at 6pm."

At my own sister's wedding which was here several years ago, I hired a sitter for the entire day. She came to our house, got my daughter ready, drove with my husband to the church, met us there. She sat in the family pew so my daughter went right to her and was with her and my family for the whole service. If my daughter needed to be removed from the service, our sitter had instructions to take her out into the vestibule. Consequently, I could be there the entire day for my sister and not have to worry about where my daughter was or if she was having fun. Our sitter sat at the family table for the reception with my mom, dad, husband, etc. It worked beautifully.

[Anonymous]

On the flip side, I did this as a sitter in college. I went with the family to a wedding. I got the kids ready, stayed with the kids during the ceremony, drove them to the evening reception to make an appearance than back to the hotel for bed. Worked great.

Is there anyone in the city where you are going who could recommend someone? You would probably just need someone once you got there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have travelled with my mom and, separately, with our nanny. I will never go on vacation again with a child without an additional person to help deal with the kid. We went on a cruise with her with no one else and it was a disaster. Beyond the obvious babysitting bonus of having someone else with you, it is immeasurably helpful to be able to tell your nanny/family member, "OK, dinner is at 6pm in the hotel restaurant. I will have her ready by 5:30. Can you please pick her up at 5:30 and take her downstairs to run around the fountain for a few minutes and then take her to the resaurant to get settled? I will finish getting dressed and meet you there at 6pm."

At my own sister's wedding which was here several years ago, I hired a sitter for the entire day. She came to our house, got my daughter ready, drove with my husband to the church, met us there. She sat in the family pew so my daughter went right to her and was with her and my family for the whole service. If my daughter needed to be removed from the service, our sitter had instructions to take her out into the vestibule. Consequently, I could be there the entire day for my sister and not have to worry about where my daughter was or if she was having fun. Our sitter sat at the family table for the reception with my mom, dad, husband, etc. It worked beautifully.

How sad is it that you cannot take care of your child by yourself? It is just one child right? If you want time away from your child, then take it. But don't go on a vacation with your ONE child and feel the need to take someone else. I am a single mom and would die for the chance to go on any vacation w/ my DD. You don't need someone to go with you.

[Anonymous]

When my brother and SIL were married in SFO, they asked local friends for help in arranging childcare for our son and his cousins, as well as the children of the best man (8 kids total). We took the kids to the church, then back to the hotel where we were staying, which was just down the streett from the reception site. While we were at the cocktail hour and dinner, the nannies of two local families worked together to care for the kids in our mini-suite (it was like an Embassy Suites). They had pizza, movies, games, crafts etc. When the dancing started we walked over to the hotel to bring some of the older kids to the reception (the little ones stayed behind for a pj party). The kids had a great time and so did the grown-ups.

[Anonymous]

With one kid? Is this for real?

[Anonymous]

When my sister got married, our kids were in the wedding, and my DH ended up going back to the hotel room with them a bit early. But in the meantime, they stayed up late and had a good time at the parties too. I didn't get to spend quite as much time as I wanted to with my sister, but it was still a very special day for all of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have travelled with my mom and, separately, with our nanny. I will never go on vacation again with a child without an additional person to help deal with the kid. We went on a cruise with her with no one else and it was a disaster. Beyond the obvious babysitting bonus of having someone else with you, it is immeasurably helpful to be able to tell your nanny/family member, "OK, dinner is at 6pm in the hotel restaurant. I will have her ready by 5:30. Can you please pick her up at 5:30 and take her downstairs to run around the fountain for a few minutes and then take her to the resaurant to get settled? I will finish getting dressed and meet you there at 6pm."

At my own sister's wedding which was here several years ago, I hired a sitter for the entire day. She came to our house, got my daughter ready, drove with my husband to the church, met us there. She sat in the family pew so my daughter went right to her and was with her and my family for the whole service. If my daughter needed to be removed from the service, our sitter had instructions to take her out into the vestibule. Consequently, I could be there the entire day for my sister and not have to worry about where my daughter was or if she was having fun. Our sitter sat at the family table for the reception with my mom, dad, husband, etc. It worked beautifully.

How sad is it that you cannot take care of your child by yourself? It is just one child right? If you want time away from your child, then take it. But don't go on a vacation with your ONE child and feel the need to take someone else. I am a single mom and would die for the chance to go on any vacation w/ my DD. You don't need someone to go with you.

If she has the means to take someone, why not? I went overseas with my whole family (me, DH, 2 kids) and it was pretty hellish at times, especially during the actual traveling part. And I went once with my family plus my parents, and it was wonderful to have 2 extra sets of eyes and hands around. Really took a lot of the pressure off.

The PP also didn't mention how old her child was at the time, I'm guessing toddler-ish. Probably as she gets older, they won't need someone to travel with them. Or maybe they will still take someone so they can get some time off and relax.

[Anonymous]

That's what my MIL is for. She's been on many trips with us (usually FIL and MIL) which makes it so much easier with our kids. They can pitch in whenever we need an extra hand or go do their own thing when they want; they don't stay up late so are always happy to stay with them at the hotel if we want to go out for dinner etc.