What age to take baby for weekend away?

[Glittertips]

Our baby will be born soon (at 36 weeks). Obviously getting him here safely and making sure he’s well is our top priority however following a very rough pregnancy I am keen to have a family weekend away once baby is here.

I was thinking of around September time, baby will be between 12 and 14 weeks old. Is this too soon? We would be going somewhere no more than 2 hours away by car.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

No one can answer that - including you! - as it will depend on how you both are post birth. After my first we were both very poorly and recovery was slow so it was a long time to get up to weekends away. My second was a breeze and we drove to France when she was 7 weeks old for a three week holiday.

I'd say all being well around 12 weeks is a good milestone though - hope all goes well and you have an amazing time!

My baby is now 16 weeks and I would be ready but she is a great sleeper and a very ‘easy’ baby even then I’d say I would only have been ready in last couple of weeks

Sounds like a good time. We did our first at 8 weeks, then 10 weeks, then 14 weeks.

We took less stuff each time!

I was told to make the most of the baby being portable.

It's much easier if feeding is established. If you're exclueively breastfeeding you obviously need less kit than bottle feeding.

I took my first away at five weeks! I don’t think this is something anyone can really tell you/ it depend entirely on you and your baby and what you want to do.

It depends on the baby and on how well you and your DP are coping.

My DS2 was such an easy content baby, we took him away for a week with our other DC when he was just 10 weeks old.

I wouldn't have taken my DS1 anywhere at that age, as he was a very difficult baby, and we were dead on our feet.

Thank you! We definitely won’t book anything until much closer to the time, but good to know that a few of you took similar aged babies away.

We went to Tenerife at the beginning of my pregnancy and I was sitting next to a mum with her 6 week old!

You should be fine by then, and baby should have had its jabs etc so you'll be good they sleep a lot then too. Your baby might be one that hates the car seat and screams so good idea not to go too far away!

Dc1 was healthy, I was ok we went away by train at 6 weeks (post c section). On an airplane by 12 weeks.

Dc2 was still in NICU at 6 weeks and now at 6 months we still haven’t left the country.

You won’t know until the baby arrives. Good luck.

In general by that age you should be healed, your baby has its jabs and there should be some form of routine.

But, we just came out of colic, DD had silent reflux, I was on a restricted diet thanks to her not agreeing with my milk if I ate or drank certain things.

We went to stay with family and I was never so glad to be back home after a week.

We went again when she was 8 months and had a blast.

When I had dd I was crippled by anxiety. She was born late November and in a state of hysteria and everyone driving me crackers I booked a week at CP early January. She was six weeks old and it was the best thing I ever did. That quality time with nobody else did me so much good.

I'm sure that would be fine. I was away visiting family that distance by car at 4-6 weeks with my first. Didn't even really think about it, to be honest.

I found 8/9 weeks with my first though was a real turning point when things got a bit easier and I knew what was night and day again. 😂I wouldn't have wanted to go away for leisure reasons before this really. But things should certainly be easier in many ways from 12 weeks up until baby becomes mobile.

That said, I took my youngest away to Spain alone at 8 months and we had an amazing time.

By 12-14 weeks you will be feeling much more human and have bits of routine established, I’d say do it, I took my daughter away for 3 nights with my 5 yr old son when she was 11/12 weeks. We did take a lot of stuff but had a lovely time

We went away when my oldest was 5 weeks and it was lovely.

We had a weekend away in the UK at the end of paternity leave when baby was 2 weeks old. We wanted our baby to meet family and friends, and I'd had a Caesarean under general anaesthetic and recovered very quickly, so I felt well enough. I didn't enjoy sitting around at home with my baby. It will depend on you and your baby, but I suspect you'll be fine to do a weekend away by 12 weeks.

I took DD away for a weekend at 8 weeks (caravan park with a friend and her daughters), about a 2 hour drive. The following weekend I drove 6 hours to visit family for a fortnight so it was a good trial run for packing the essentials!

We took a gamble and booked a family holiday to Austria for the end of August when our daughter will be 13 weeks old.

Thankfully two weeks in she is a very easy baby who, like her big brother, is an excellent sleeper. I'm also pretty much healed downstairs already which is a stark contrast to my son's birth.

Whether or not you enjoy a weekend away will be dependent on whether you and baby are sleeping at night. I wouldn't book anything this far in advance tbh.

There’s no too early, it’s about you’re wellbeing how you’re feeling and managing.

Don't book anything until the baby is here so you can see how you feel, but we did take our eldest away at the same sort of age, under 2h in the car and self catering apartment so had the kitchen etc. Youngest one we took away when she was about 4.5 months on a family holiday also about 2.5h drive.

My first was born on December 21st and we spent New Year away. But I know I'm not typical-I was physically and mentally ready. Many aren't. Don't make plans. Wait and see.

So much depends on how you both are post birth. I had a horrible birth leaving me in agony (that I thought was normal) but I travelled 13hrs to visit family when he was 5 days old as I had not realised that the pain I was in was not normal, I then flew with him (alone) at 7 weeks to visit family again. Listen to your body it will tell you if you are ready. I wasn't and I am still paying the price 7yrs later.

If you feel up to it do it!
we took my second DD away for a fortnight holiday when she was 3 months and our other DD was 5. Worked out fine.

We took our 11 week old (and 4 year old) to Cornwall recently and it was great! The younger the better imo, as they sleep most of the time😂

We did have to pack quite a lot though and we bought our next to me crib which took up a lot of boot space along with the pram.

Going away on Friday with a 6 week old, 6 year old and dog!

Thanks everyone! I will be having a c section and will hopefully be all healed but definitely won’t book anything until the weeks leading up to it. We’ve had a couple of holidays cancelled during my pregnancy thanks to my complications so have learned the hard way about booking things too far in advance!