...to think it's possible to go on holiday with a 6/7 month old?

[naranciata]

Expecting DC1 in April. Friend getting married in India in November and has invited me, DH and baby to be. I am very keen to go and have wanted to go to India for years and years. DH is trepidacious (understandably) but he's naturally much more risk averse than I am. I think it will be hard and scary but mainly an adventure. DH is Googling stats on road traffic accidents in India and saying I should go on my own.

Can I have your experiences of holidaying with small babies?

I have nc for this. We are from India and have travelled there multiple times with dd who is now 21 months old. my bits of advise would be:

1. If you are breastfeeding, carry a breast pump (dd refused to latch on the flight).
2. Also carry formula bottles from here as back up, as the ones in India may or may not agree with you lo. I found European formulas to be the best world wide.
3. Don't worry about anti-malarial tablets or shots. Get a good mosquito repellant and that should do the trick. Keep hands and feet covered and use the mosquito repellant. There are ones available in India as well, which are quite well known and good (suitable for baby as well). Check Burt's Bees or California Baby. I found California baby to be perfect.
4. Please let your hospital know that you are travelling to India. There is a BCG vaccination given only to children travelling to these areas on the NHS. This is given within a week of birth. It is absolutely safe.
5. Please only drink bottled water while there. Ask for 'aquaguard' water when in India.
6. Eat at reputable places rather than smaller joins which may or may not be suitable.
7. Potentially get head phones / ear muffs for baby or bath ear plugs as Indian weddings can be loud.
8. Carry enough nappies and wipes for the time you are there and some more. The ones you get in India aren't great quality.
9. If you are having a girl, keep some money for shopping. You get great quality and really cheap outfits for girls that are beyond gorgeous.

10. Take your car seat. Much easier handling little one and gave my dd comfort of a familiar space in an unfamiliar vehicle. 11. Carry some rehydration satchets and baby food (if you are planning on weaning baby before you go). In terms of food, stick to hot stuff even for LO. This hot 'dal' or boiled veg rather than rice or yogurt.

Hope that helps.

PM me if you need any further help :)

Of course! Go for it! Baby's first adventure!

We flew long haul with DD when she was 5 & 6 months. It was relatively straightforward as she was breastfed and compact (apart from the huge volume of nappies, wipes, car seat, pushchair...). Make sure you request bassinet seats - some airlines (eg BA) have more of a car seat style, which is better for bigger babies.

Personally I would not choose to take a baby to India due to the risks of disease, poor sanitation etc. I would also be concerned if you need to fit in extra vaccinations on top of the normal schedule. It depends where you are going in India, but also think about the risks of terrorism and attacks as a foreign female.

If you do go then make sure you are all comprehensively travel insured should you need medical care. I would also be very careful about what you eat and drink if you are bf, as you will be keeping baby hydrated and protected. Think about how practical it will be being at a 3 day wedding far from home with a baby.

Always carry at least 1 change of clothes. Babies are great at puking down your back just before you get on a flight and having a pooplosion on landing! It's also worth having a travel cot at home that they sleep in for naps so they get used to sleeping in different places, as some kids can be fussy.

Travel with kids is great, just consider their needs in your planning.

Do it, you'll be fine. We took my girls to Honkers, when they were 8 & 20 months.

It is perfectly doable it won't feel like a holiday though...

If I was in your position I'd be very tempted to go but I would definitely wait till baby was here and you get a better feel for what would be involved. Mine is now 9 months old and luckily a very happy breast fed baby but until they are here you just don't know. I might not have been able to breastfeed and she may have been a horrendous sleeper so any long haul flight etc would have been a no.

At the end of the day everything is doable/ manageable if you are up for it so it really is whether you feel up to it.

One thing lots of pp have mentioned is baby not being mobile yet. Some babies like my crazy ones insist on crawling at 6months. Crawling babies sticking stuff in their mouths are hell at weddings where you can't put them down and often come down with bugs from all the s* they slobber on. Invest in a good baby carrier?

Fwiw I'm not particularly the adventurous type and DH is practically risk phobic and we both agree in these circumstances and being properly sensible with food and water we would go for it

Good grief go and enjoy yourself. your going to be second or third in the list of your priorities for the next eighteen years if you don't do something scary and adventurous now when are you ever. Yes there's scary stories and yes it's a slight risk but no more so than say a hotel in Cornwall with a over worked pissed off chef that didn't check his temperatures .. be sensible and have experiences you can tell your baby when older. Be bold be brave do some research you'll be more than fine.

My babies, now 9 and 10 started annual long haul flights from 3 months old...we live in the UK, but my family lives in the US. No problems at all with flying, other than boredom!
We also lived in New Dehli for two years, and I would say it's fine to go with your DC. The medical care was great, plenty of my friends had babies living in India, they all travelled around the country extensively, and it was all fine. Eating in hotels is generally safe...water is the main thing to be careful of wherever you are. Because we lived there, we developed tough tummies, but I used to tell visitors to brush teeth with bottled water, just in case. If you can use a sling rather than a pushchair, I would recommend it...pavements are often uneven or not totally paved. Traffic is horrendous, it's true, however, because it's often so congested, traffic isn't fast moving. I'd say go and enjoy it...you'll be fine with common sense precautions!

Just returned from India and there were lots of babies on the flight. Jet Airways. Aim for a bassinet and a night flight so baby can sleep. You too. Stick to veggie food yourself. Less likely you will get an upset tummy. Take the usual precautions about street food and anything washed in tap water. Plenty of delicious veggie food available and most people don't eat much meat anyway. .I took both my babies on holiday when they were tiny and it was fine. India is so beautiful. Enjoy.

Yes it's perfectly possible although not the relaxing holiday you will remember in your previous life.

I went on holiday with DS1 at 4 months (6.5 hour flight), DS2 was 6 months (4 hr flight). Would do again if there was another.

I would not however consider this in the slightest due to the destination, no no way for me.

I took ds1 away long haul at 7 months old and again when his twin siblings were 8 months old and ds1 was just over 4 again long haul. We had twin cots for them to sleep in they were only on laps for take off and landing. All three were fine, flight attendants let me bf in their area. All three were great on the flights in fact some of the passengers near me said they were the best behaved children they'd seen on a flight. I doubt they'd be that well behaved now in their teens.

It would seem a bit risky, as you don't really know how your birth will go.

And is your DH really suggesting that if you go, you should go on your own? So he thinks he'll worry less this way?

I took my DC to LA from the UK when he was 7 months. We stayed with friends with a similar aged child and it was lovely. I would just check what immunisations you would need for India and the age at which you can have them before booking.

Hi I took my 19 month to Africa and she was ok, however the 8 month old in hotel was miserable with the heat. Its the only thing I would consider really as everything else can be dealt with.

I travelled to India with my eldest when she was almost a year old. She was still fully bf at that age and suddenly got interested in solid food while we were there. She is 15 now and still prefers spicy food.
Seriously tho, I think a bf 6 month old baby is the perfect age to travel long haul. Use a ring sling on the plane, and drink plenty of (bottled) water.
I travelled back and forth to India from 10 months old, once or twice a year. I've had food poisoning twice in all those years. I'm 44 now. My ex-husband had food poisoning once of the several times he went during our marriage.
I think you will be fine! Have a super time and good luck in general with your pregnancy and baby.

We did Gran Canaria at 6 months and she was fine. I'd recommend feeding on take off and landing for their ears. They're very portable that young so you could be OK.

I'd be cautious about :

1. length of flight
2. you getting ill (when breastfeeding you need to make sure that you're healthy and well hydrated etc)
3. healthcare at destination if something goes wrong
4. what about vaccinations etc?

You also need to think about: the heat for the baby, how the baby will sleep, how you'll cope in the heat.

Took DS1 to Caribbean at 3 weeks, DS2 made the trip with older brother at 3 weeks too. Breastfed babies are easily portable just make sure you are feeding them on takeoff and landing and have lots of changes of clothes and nappies. For India you need to be scrupulous about hygiene, cleansing hands often and always before eating, use netting to keep flies off baby and cleanse your breasts before having baby latch on. You will need to increase your water intake, do not use a bottle to give baby water, bottles and dummies are dangerous. My main concern would be the temperature as my two would get prickly heat unless kept cool with lots of air circulation. Air conditioning is not enough, you also need an open sided cot or single bed, definitely not enclosures like a Moses basket. Take paediatric rehydration solutions in case baby gets ill plus any food you might need for baby. Don't rely on buying anything there, stick to familiar foods for baby.
Have a wonderful time.

I declined an invitation to a wedding in Venice because I'd only just toilet-trained my son, who was two at the time, and I was worried about possible "accidents". I really wish I had gone because I could have managed and it would have been a wonderful experience. I've also both lived and travelled in India a lot and it's absolutely fine if you take sensible precautions about eating and drinking.

Did the West Highland Way (100+ miles through Scottish Highlands) with 6 month old DS old on my back. We stayed in tents, huts, hostels etc. It was a fantastic adventure. They're very portable (especially if breastfeeding).

We first took our DD on holiday at 10 weeks, on a flight to Portugal. She was bottle fed. She was brilliant, it was an excellent holiday (apart from one night when she was howling at an outdoor restaurant - we were mortified but the waiter sang to her and the lovely couple sitting at the table next to us leaned over to say 'don't worry, it happens to us all!') . We've been on many flights since, and with her baby bro. I also go to India regularly with work and have never had an upset stomach - you'll be staying in a nice hotel , they'll provide you with bottled water and they will help you if you need anything. That said, it's a long flight ...but babies are easier than toddlers long haul :) My tuppence worth is if you can afford it, then GO. Once in a lifetime. Even if you do all get sick, it will provide comedy family stories down the line :)

if you are a confident traveller yourself then id say go for it!! it will be more difficult than usual but not as difficult as you imagine. A 7 month old is actually less bother than an older child in some ways because they sleep longer and you can carry them easily!!! I travelled with my baby and my toddler and the baby was far far easier to travel with than the toddler! Make sure you take everything you need though.

I did the south of France with mine at six months. Flying is so much easier actually than when they're older. Nappies can get interesting though! If it's in a big fancy hotel, the flight might be trickier than India.

Find out from gp about vaccinations you would all need to go, and how would she take malaria tablets if you are going to an area where it is prevalent.

When I went, we were told not to eat meat, because you don't know if the meat you are told you are having is not always the meat you think it is (more relevant for adults than baby). Start a vegetarian diet a few weeks before you if this is what you are going to do. Not saying you should or shouldn't go, but something to consider.

We went to Goa one Christmas and had to get covered for mossies and yellow fever. There were a few tinies and their parents spent most of their time trying to keep them cool and mossie free. Hard when you are dealing with upset tummies too! I just wouldn't take tiddlies to India.