To take my 8 week old to London?

[meow1989]

Curious as to what other people think;

My DS IS 8 weeks old, formula fed generally about 2 hourly in the day, delightful and smiley. He tends to nap throughout morning and be awake in the afternoon and evening. He's not had his first jabs yet as they're happening next week.

It's my DM birthday on Saturday and my sister is planing on taking her to London for a wander round all of her old haunts and to meet with some friends. I'm thinking t would be nice to go and DH can have hjm for the day, but I'm not sure I want to be so far away from DS and not able to get back quickly (live about an hour from Kings across by train so longer after tube etc). I was planning on taking a sling and the pram and possibly using his rather than tube and I figure if we lived in London it's what we'd do anyway.

Both parents grew up in London. My DF thinks the pollution will be too high and it'll be too noisy, dirty and busy. DM is worried about there not being enough places to change and feed him and that he'll be bored walking all day.

So mumsnet jury what do you think WIBU taking him with me?

Well, there are quite a few babies and their parents that LIVE in London, full-time, so YANBU... You might need to take things at a slower pace though, factoring in lots of stops for milk and nappy changes. Babies are a lot more portable at 2 months than 10 months, so make the most of it!

Take a fold up changing mat and then you can change anywhere, even the floor of toilets if you have to.

Otherwise, just plan a bit less than you except to manage, lots of pit stops, take changes of clothes with you and it should be fine.

A baby will love walking around with you all day, what do you normally do?

Many avoid the tube around rush hour if you aren’t used to it.

*maybe, not many

I think if there’s more than one of you bring the pram too for naps and you can carry it up the escalator so anywhere there’s not lifts (not with the baby in!)
Almost everywhere (including the big stations) has baby change facilities nowadays.
I breastfed but for a day out I’d buy the little ready made bottles of formula as they’d look easier (do they need heating up?)
DS won’t get bored there’ll be lots of familiar faces to look at/plus the sky/different sounds etc.

I know it’s completly irrational (as plenty of dc live there!) but I refused to take DS to East London (made the dgps come to us) until he was about 3 months old because I worried about the pollution/air quality but that was a summer when there had been air pollution warnings though telling people with asthma etc not to exercise...

Of course you can take a baby to London.

Sorry about the typos i OP

@ThePricklySheep Normally we... go for walks! 
He doesn't nap in pram so much but is quite content looking round or at his toys hanging from the hood.

I'm not averse to changing him quickly in the pram either, I can't get upset or offended about a quick flash of a baby bum in public (pops once a day in morning so nothing too off putting for passers by!)

Typos in the OP, for goodness sake!

It'll be fine. Bus rather than tube is a good idea. Having once fallen down the escalators (on my own), when someone pressed the "stop" button, I never felt safe carrying a baby down. Get one of the London bus apps on your phone, which will make it all v easy.

Stating the obvious, but avoid rush hour

I have a 7 week old and tbh I would take him to London he’s a little dream. But your husband is his dad if you think you could manage it I would go for a nice day out with your Mum and sister you are only an hour away and he will be fine xx

Perfect age! Babies that young tend to sleep most of the time while they're being pushed about.. you can have lunch or a coffee when he needs a feed or nappy change.

Of course. Just take.him with you and have plenty of stops in nice cafes. It s London and plenty people have babies here.

Absolutely no different to taking him anywhere else. Lots of people that live in London have newborn babies. Take a pram or sling.

I think if I was you I would leave him with DH, it'll be good for him to have some alone time where he is totally responsible for DS and it'll make you more free to spend time with your DM.

I’d leave him with his dad.

I took mine to New York at 8 weeks. They did central London from about 10 days old. You will be fine.

You’ll be fine, I did it when my youngest was the same age and I wore a sling, and pushed my middle child (then 15 months) in the pushchaIr.

We stuck to buses and the overground instead of the tube.

I’d leave baby with his Dad tbh, baby is formula fed which makes you going out much easier and a bit of daddy daycare will be nice.

Seems silly to me to take baby when Dad is perfectly capable of looking after him

You know that babies are born and live in London don’t you? It’s fine

Very easy to do & there are coffee shops with changing facilities every few metres in the centre.
As others have said - they are much easier to take at this age than when a few months older and a sling is definitely the way to go.
Enjoy your day.

I have a baby in London and it’s fine, he’ll probs sleep for most of it anyway... have a fab time.

This muhht helpful for the tubes though if there are a few of you you can just carry the pushchair up and down any steps...

content.tfl.gov.uk/avoiding-stairs-tube-guide.pdf

Of course it'll be fine but I'd definitely leave them at home and have a baby free day.

What is your actual quandary OP?

Is it the fact it's London? (IE would you have posted this if the day out was somewhere else?)

You will be fine.

As you are with people then don't expect strangers to stop and help you but if you weren't plenty of people will help you get get your pram up and down stations stairs, plus off tubes and trains.

If you do go on the tube, trains and overground as PPs said avoid rush hour.

There are a few minor issues with buses. The first is that if a wheelchair user wants to come on you have to get off as the spaces don't fit a pram and a wheelchair, and it is a wheelchair space. However you have an hour transfer time so you just get on the next bus, swipe your payment card again and no payment will be deducted.

Secondly some bus drivers expect you to get on at the front of the bus even though you know your pram/buggy can't fit down the aisle. Be assertive and make it clear that you are getting on at the back doors. Get on, put the brake on, go to swipe your card as quickly as possible before the bus moves and go back to standing behind the buggy.

I'm in central London with a baby. What you need is a phone app called Mumderground. Invaluable for tube journeys personally I avoid buses if I can as they're usually packed and pram spaces are usually full!

FGS. You know we have babies here in London, right? Some of them even survive into adulthood!