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Parenting

Is it crazy to want to go to a convention with a 2-month-old?

13 replies

rrreow · 24/03/2013 15:51

There's this convention I'd really like to go to (nineworlds.co.uk in case you were wondering). DS2 that I'm currently baking will be around 2 months old at that point. DS1 would be staying at home with DH (DH does not have the geek gene).

I was thinking of popping him (DS2) in a sling and just going along, seeing how things go on day 1 (it's 3 days in total) and take it from there. I'd be going with a friend.

Am I totally crazy? Has anyone gone to a con before with an infant, would you recommend it/do it again, any tips?

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Wigeon · 24/03/2013 15:57

I don't think you are crazy to consider it (although I haven't' been to a convention with a baby, or even without!). Are you planning to breast feed? It would be pretty easy to do this if you were. Sling is a great idea (I loved this one).

Couple of things to think about:

What if your DS arrives late? Might be quite a bit less than 2 months old and you might not feel so ready.

What if you have a C-section? You might not feel up to it. Or you might - but hard to know in advance.

If your DS is a terrible sleeper, you might be feeling like a complete zombie and not be up to three days of a convention (I was having a nap during the day when each of the DDs were that small!). But then again, it might be just what you need!

Do you have to book the tickets in advance or can you just wait and see how you feel?

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noblegiraffe · 24/03/2013 16:00

I've got a two month old and I could happily stick her in a sling and go to a place like that. However, she's a very very easy baby and would probably sleep most of the time. I'm also breastfeeding so would only need to carry a bag with a few wipes and nappies and a couple of muslins. I imagine if you're formula feeding you'd need to lug around a lot more paraphernalia.

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noblegiraffe · 24/03/2013 16:01

Oh, and my 2 month old was a c-section but I've had a really great recovery.

Ticket price seems a bit steep if you're not sure you might make it.

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nannynick · 24/03/2013 16:14

Sounds like it could be more of a festival than a conference, so depending on how things are actually laid out, you could participate in some things whilst baby is in a sling.

"Specifically, we're aiming to dump the sexism that infests many geek spaces and sci-fi cons. We've got a strong anti-harassment policy and we'll work hard to make Nine Worlds a safe space for women, LGBT+ people, people with access issues, and other groups that are often marginalised at geek/fandom events."

I wonder if safe space for women also means they are providing baby changing facilities... probably not what they have in mind, though perhaps call the organisers and see what they say. As they want to encourage women, maybe they could do things to encourage mothers.

"At Nine Worlds you'll be able to wander from session to session"
But does that mean you can leave a session part way through when baby starts to make a noise?

"We're founded on the radical belief that geekdom should not be restricted by class, age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, or the ability to cite Wookieepedia in arguments."

So an age of 2 months should not be a problem then.

In the FAQ (on KickStarter) it says that children are welcome.
"We do not want to disadvantage or exclude people with childcare responsibilities, and are committed to making the convention a friendly and safe environment for children. Young children will get free entry, and we'll sell half price tickets for older children once the Kickstarter has finished. Children must be accompanied by adult parents or guardians, who are responsible for their safety and behaviour. We have appointed a child friendliness co-ordinator, who will help to bring together a range of age appropriate content throughout the convention and act as a point of contact for questions and concerns about these issues."

So, if you are sensible then I think it could go great. Perhaps get in touch with the child friendliness co-ordinator so that they know you are coming and thus what baby friendly things they may need to try to arrange, such as somewhere quite to feed baby.

When you are there, keep in mind about Heat level, Noise level and the general busyness of things, as you do not want you and baby to get pushed/shoved, or get too hot, too cold, of have babies sensitive hearing damaged.


Never been to anything like this myself with a young child. Sounds like it could be fun though. Many parents these days go to festivals with children, so why not try seeing if it would work for this convention/festival. The organisers seem up for it, so that's a good start.

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TaurielTest · 24/03/2013 21:03

I went to something similar with DS1 when he was wee. He was fine, and I loved the experience. Breastfeeding and slinging made it possible IMO.

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rrreow · 24/03/2013 22:45

Thanks for all your positive responses! Thanks nannynick especially for hunting down all that extra information, I hadn't even seen that on the site.

If DS2 is anything like DS1 (breastfed, very low maintenance, usually letting me get 2x 4 hours sleep a night) I think it would be absolutely fine. But I guess you never know what type of baby you're going to get Grin

I think I'm going to buy a ticket and then just see how I feel closer to the time. It's not an amount of money I'd like to waste but if I end up genuinely not being able to go I might be able to sell the ticket or something.

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LapsedPacifist · 24/03/2013 22:57

Well, if it helps, I took (fully-BF) DS in a sling aged 10 weeks to a Legalise Cannabis convention in a disused cinema in Camden Town many years ago. He was fine!

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nineworlds · 25/03/2013 12:37

Hi there! This is Ludi, the pink-haired one in the Kickstarter video - really glad to hear you're thinking of coming along! We'll be setting aside a couple of our small rooms to create private space for breastfeeding and changing, and by all means you can come in and out of sessions, that's all fine. I wondered if there was anything else we could do to help make the convention more accessible to you? It's our first year, so we're learning lots :)

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nannynick · 25/03/2013 12:50

Ludi, it is great that mothers with babies are being encouraged to attend. Feeding/changing/chillout rooms sounds good.

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rrreow · 25/03/2013 19:04

Hi Ludi, that's awesome, thank you for responding. I think dedicated feeding and changing spaces are a great idea. Other than that I can't really think of anything but if anyone else wants to chip in with ideas that'd be great too.

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TaurielTest · 25/03/2013 19:53

That's really encouraging, thanks. If you can somehow make sure, when you word your signage / information, that the fact that there is a private room for feeding doesn't imply - either to mothers or to anyone else - that breastfeeding isn't welcome wherever else the mother might wish to do it, that'd be grand.

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specialsubject · 25/03/2013 20:37

with a baby it is all about the hotel - cot, changing areas, milk if you need it. The baby is not going to be bored, or bothered about some of the more outre content.

if you feel up to it, cons usually have a fancy dress section so include the baby!

s-f/fantasy fans are generally a friendly, harmless, laid-back bunch who (Whisper who dares) might actually think a baby is quite cute. The con is obviously expensive so be prepared to leave a session if the yelling is drowning out the speakers, (as you would with anything else) but apart from that, why not?

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TaurielTest · 20/06/2014 13:55

Reanimating the thread to see whether rrreow or anyone else is going to Nine Worlds this year...

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