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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

The magic of holidays as a new parent? They’re like time travel back to childhood summers

family of four on the beach at Westward Ho! in North Devon
‘It was like travelling in time, and has given me some of the happiest moments that I have ever known.’ Photograph: Terry Mathews/Alamy

The people who design travel cots belong in prison. I’m generally in favour of restorative justice and rehabilitation, but for this I’ll make an exception.

We are luckier than most, in that the baby will sleep on the hard bit of plywood that’s supposed to pass for a mattress, but he does need a few pats on the bum to settle, and unless you are Stretch Armstrong (a contemporary reference there for you, kids) this is all but impossible. Likewise, lowering the baby (or in our case, large toddler) into the cot, which if you’re a woman of average height involves squatting over one of the corners and hoping you don’t bash your crotch on it so that your swearing wakes them up, something which definitely hasn’t happened to me – ever. Basically, they are designed for babies who are heavy sleepers, and tall men.

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