If you're travelling with your baby for the first time, it can be a daunting prospect choosing the right place for your holiday, not to mention worrying about everything you'll need!

All our properties have oodles of baby kit to free up space in your luggage, not to mention the reassurance that we've been there and know it has all you'll need for a relaxing break with your baby.

Casa Alessia, Tuscany, Italy
One of our owners has taken her young family offering even further and is offering Family Fitness and Mum & Baby Breaks, to make the most of your maternity leave, relaxing in the stunning Tuscan countryside.

The owner of Casa Alessia, Rita, says, ‘It is evident that new mums would love to get away for a few days, but don’t want to leave their babies behind. We provide the perfect environment for them to relax and recharge their batteries, with their babies. It’s also an excellent way for mums who are suffering from the baby blues to lift their spirits’.

Family Fitness Break - 10-17 Sept 2010

For mum there are daily fitness classes with an instructor, tasty, low GI food, Italian cooking lessons and even spa treatments on offer. With your little ones being entertained, painting, drawing and baby Italian too, your little bambino will enjoy the break as much as you!

Mum & Baby Break – 3-8 Oct 2010, 22-27 May 2011, 29 May-3 Jun 2011

A wonderfully relaxing break with yoga, walks and cooking as well as time to enjoy visits to the local olive mill and the lovely medieval town of Anghiari. Babysitting and baby & toddler activities are laid on too. What a blissful way to spend some of that cherished time off with your little one!

To find out more about either of these breaks, or simply to book Casa Alessia for your own family break, drop us a line on enquiries@totstotravel.co.uk or ring us on 0845 26 941 26 anytime.

With a bit of planning and a few essentials stashed in your hand luggage, the whole process of getting to your holiday destination with your baby can become part of the adventure, not a necessary evil!

Here are our top tips to make travelling with a baby a breeze...

1. Plan your time...
Decide how long you need for each part of the journey – then add some! Allow for longer than normal feeds (lots of distractions to look at in an airport!), a little exercise if they are crawling (find an empty gate or ask if there’s a play area) and emergency changes before boarding or getting back in the car

2. Hang on to the buggy...
Remember you can usually keep it right to the steps of the plane, a lifesaver if it’s Gate 99 of 100!?

3. Seating plan..
Unless you are in your own car, getting to the airport can be tricky without your car seat and there’s the onward journey to consider too. Check with your airline well in advance as some will allow you to check in your car seat as luggage

4. Check in...
Do it online or get to the gate early if you can – being forced to sit apart and pass your little bundle back and forth is a hassle you can do without!?

5. Catering...
Everyone’s appetite seems to increase when travelling so pack extra bottles and healthy snacks close to hand (if you’re flying, check with the airline for their policies on what you can carry on). If the timing works out, a well placed feed at take-off or landing, or a dummy of not, will help to protect little ears.

6. Entertainment...
Variety is essential – a selection of lightweight, stimulating soft toys and cloth books won’t take up your baggage allowance and a couple of new ones brought out at strategic moments can work wonders! Don’t forget any essential comforters and for the sake of the other passengers’ sanity, no squeaks or loud rhymes is probably best!

7. Sleepyhead...
In the car, they may sleep more than usual (my 6ft4 husband would beg to differ after spending 4 hours cramped in the backseat of our overstuffed car entertaining our son who flatly refused to sleep his way home from Luton airport!?) If you’re flying, call the airline and ask about a bulk head seat where they may be able to provide a small crib.

8. Enjoy it!
It would take a miracle to be prepared for every eventuality so try not to worry! You’re not the first, won’t be the last and the photos and memories will provide plenty of funny stories for years to come!

Our friends at Cuddledry have expanded their fantastic range to include beach and holiday towels with the amazing SPF50+ poncho towels. The colourful towels use patented Rayosan™ technology, which acts like a mirror, deflecting the harmful UVA and UVB rays off the towel, instead of them passing through the fabric and harming delicate skin.

Suitable for children aged one to three, the UV protection ponchos are made using soft brushed cotton to give snag-free towelling. They have poppers under the arms which can be done up to create a loose ‘sleeve’ when worn, to help keep the towel in place and make it comfortable for its little owner.

For a limited period, Cuddledry are offering Tots to Travel customers 15% discount on everything in the Cuddledry range - visit the Cuddledry website and enter the promotional code TRAVEL15 at the checkout (Offer ends Tue 31st Aug 2010).

More sex? More reading? More cooking? More eating?

These are just some of the questions we're asking in the Tots holiday survey.

Plus, we’d like to know which countries you’d like to see more Tots properties in, what pieces of baby kit are essential to your holiday and what kind of services make your holiday truly relaxing, rather than just like being at home, only harder!

So help us out and let us know the nitty gritty of how your holiday affects you. You can answer it entirely anonymously but if you don’t mind sharing your email address with us, you could also win a fab prize.

Complete the Tots Holiday Survey here