to take a 3 -4 week old on a long weekend involving 4 hour car trip and 50 minute passenger ferry?

[paddypants]

Baby due a couple of weeks before my mum's 60th birthday and a family weekend being planned on an island with a lot of sentimental value to her. Ferry is covered. I have a two year old also but have kind of forgotten what mother and baby are capable of in those early weeks. There will be lots of people on hand to help - its more the issue of exposing a very small baby to travel conditions.

Any advice either way?

Assuming your birth goes ok and you have the support of another adult on this trip, you'll be fine.

FWIW, I flew long-haul with a 3 week old, a 2 year old and 4 year old as well, and it was fine.

Have a nice trip.

You will be fine, but do factor in at least a couple of longish breaks in the car journey so that you can take the baby out of the car seat for half an hour or so, plus feeds etc.

my dd was 10 weeks early, and straight into an incubator. However she was 6 weeks old and the DAY she got out of hospital we drove from Liverpool to Southampton, 6 hours, over on the Isle of Wight Ferry 45 min, and onto the MIL's .

DD was fine, no problem. I'd be more worried about keeping the 2 year old entertained on the journey. they will be far more likey to be fidgety!

Babies are very portable at that age, have fun!

Just allow extra time for car-seat breaks, feeding and changing and hopefully LO will be asleep the rest of the time. We did it when DS was about 9 weeks old (3 and a half hours driving, 1 and a half hour ferry and then another hour drive).

If you have a c section would you lose a lot of money on ferry etc should be unable to go?

Should be fine - I'll swap you that for the 13 hour drive we have back from Spain in August with 4 DCs between 3 and 8. Must invest in some earplugs - or one of those sound-proof screens they have in limousines...

A tiny one should be fine. Just stop and feed when he / she gets hungry.
Good luck!

We took DD2 to the Isle of Wight at that sort of age. Not quite as long a car journey but the same sort of thing. Was fine.

Thank you all for your reassurance. Am happy to take financial risk of cancelling in event of c section so shall go ahead and book!

We took Ds aged 10 days on a 5 hour drive to Wales, a 90 minute ferry trip to Ireland and then 3 hour drive the other side. We also had DD aged 2! It went well apart from 6 hour delay because of bad weather on ferries! We went to show new baby to the in laws and let them spoil and pamper us and DD! Glad we did it!

We did a 4 hour drive, 4 weeks after a (planned) c section, so even that need not actually be a deal breaker, depending on circumstances (c-sections and recovery from them vary hugely, as do other types of birth obviously). The midwife did tell me not to... but both the baby and I were fine. We also had a 3 and a 5 year old. We booked last minute a week before we went though so I knew how I was feeling if that makes sense. After my first (emergency) c-section, which went less smoothly, I would probably not have been up to it. We had 3 breaks on the drive if I remember rightly, and my DH thought I was a nutcase for taking the baby out of the car seat every time even though he was asleep, but I was paranoid about damaging his back... He slept almost all the time in the car much easier than the 8 hour drive we did with him and his big brother and sister last week at 13 months, 4 and 6 years!!!!

Good luck :)

As long as your alright (as people have said) god yes! Go for it. When my baby was born i remember posting on MN saying i'll never be able to go traveling, people told me to get a baby sling and pack a bag. I wished id done it, as they are so easy and manageable at that age.

I did used to go to manchester on shopping days out, and she's sleep the whole day, being easy as pie to look after, thats as exotic as i got!

Go! Babies are very portable . Its only when they can speak tell you what music to put they become a pain in the arse. Whats the worse that can happen they cry?

First took mine to the IOW (with 6 hour drive beforehand) at 3 months, I think. Was fine.

if you have a baby like dd, yabu we knew every stopping place between dp's and home.

if you have a baby like ds you will be fine. it was disconcerting not to have to stop.

much easier a 4 week old than a 4 months old, and easier a 4 month old than a 4 year old. The younger the baby the easier your trip will be. No need to worry

I would have thought that after 3 or 4 weeks the main issue would be whether you were fit for the journey rather than the baby!
Have fun xx

Yup, I think the same as brie - more worrying is you, not baby. Tiny babies are very portable, and if he/she is anything like mine, will sleep very well in the buggy/car seat.

I'm a bad person, from pre all this fuss about car seats. DMIL lived 5 hours away, if baby was a sleep you drove, if baby was a wake you feed.

Never give a leaving or arrival time because small babies always choose exactly the wrong moment to explode their nappies and need a full change of clothes.
Always take one more than you think you need and an extra packet of wipes.

Given a ferry you will just have to leave lots of time. Good luck and have fun.