Our first trip as a family of 3

It was our first trip as a family of three. The trip that inspired it all.

I knew traveling with a 7-month old would be far from relaxing. I had realistic expectations of the trip (borderline pessimistic, probably as a defense mechanism), but I still needed to at least have a shot at being able to relax. Somewhere beautiful, warm, and where we didn’t have to leave the resort if we didn’t want to. We decided to return to the Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection, on the Big Island of Hawaii. It seemed fitting to return to the place where we had our Babymoon. Maybe if it felt somewhat familiar to our little one, it would go smoother.

And smooth it went. Beyond smooth. What I didn’t know when we stepped out of our rental car and into the ocean breezed lobby of the Mauna Lani is that I’d be stepping into a love nest with my little fam, creating a core memory that would be cherished forever.

Let’s start with the facts.

We checked into our oceanfront room and after opening the door, the view took our breath away. Good start! When I was finally able to break eye contact with the Pacific Ocean, I laid eyes on the crib already set up in the room, adorned with the cutest crib sheet and stuffed turtle for our babe. My heart swelled.

Next up, the bathroom. I opened the gliding doors and immediately noticed the baby tub in the shower, and the diaper pail next to the trash can. Okay, these guys are GOOD. I immediately felt at ease - we have the essentials to create our home away from home. Other thoughtful amenities: a large hamper inside the spacious closet (I love a place to put dirty clothes, even while on vacay), cozy cloud cotton robes by Parachute, deliciously scented bath products by MALIN+GOETZ, and his & her bathroom sinks opposite of each other.

Dining options

The Mauna Lani has three restaurants: the renowned Canoe House, a fine dining restaurant, Ha Lani, the hotel’s main restaurant, and the Surf Shack, a lighter lunchtime option housed next to the water sports rentals desk. There is an awesome cafe & store on property, the Market, which is perfect for those lighter meals when you just aren’t in the mood to sit down at a restaurant. We loved the Market! It was well stocked. We would grab a bottle of wine from there and bring up to our room to enjoy on the balcony after LO went to sleep. We picked up sandwiches when we didn’t feel like eating lunch poolside, and enjoyed coffee from there after those early morning wake ups from baby in a different time zone.

Let’s add texture to the experience.

After waking up way too early, we’d make coffee at the coffee bar in our room and enjoy the sunrise. We’d all go back to sleep when LO was ready for his first nap. We’d wake up again (properly this time), get ready for the day and head down to Ha Lani for breakfast.

We had breakfast included in our rate, which made it one less thing to think about. I love a good omelette bar and the one at Ha Lani does not disappoint. Baby recently started solids (baby-led weaning) and it was fun to serve him egg strips with different ingredients each day. LO was able to explore a variety of fruits over the course of our stay: papaya, mango, banana, melons, dragonfruit, pineapple. I could mash up some of these and add them to some plain oatmeal for him to enjoy. We really looked forward to breakfast each day - it was delicious and so fun to serve for us to try new foods with our baby.

After breakfast, we’d mosey on over to the pool. We had no issues getting chairs and they all had umbrellas. Going into the pool for the first time with our baby was such a fun experience! He loved it.

To be continued :)