To take a 5 month old on a girls' weekend to Paris

[Patapouf]

Has anyone done this and has tips to make it less stressful? I know the baby will get nothing out of it but I am not ready to leave him at home with DH for 2 nights just yet and I'm desperate to make the most of mat leave.

Travelling by Eurostar, probably stay in an Airbnb. Planning a bit of sightseeing but mainly mooching about, sitting in cafés and stocking up on skincare and food or maybe not having seen the value of the pound

Friends will be hands on and help as much as they can but I'm very anxious that it will be disastrous. Baby is BF (not going well), but mostly EBM so worrying about the logistics of expressing or BF out and about. I also can't imagine trying to manoeuvre a pram on the narrow pavements. I know babies live in Paris, I did too once, but I'm a worrier.

Can I make this work? How can I pack light?

I suppose my AIBU should really be how can I be less nervous about travelling with a baby?

I think you will have a great time.
Too many posters are thinking of what they would do on a girls weekend and not reading that yours will not include much alcohol(or non if you don't drink either)..
Breastfeeding in public is easy,I used to wear a vest top that got lifted up and a loose shirt(this also covered any leakage)Most of the time no one knew I was feeding.So I hope your baby masters his latch.
Your baby won't care what part of the world he's in if he has you and friends he is familiar with.Maybe test how/where he could if you don't take a cot/pram with you ,sleep while you are still at home.
Having tonnes of equipment with you is the only thing could irritate you friends if you're only away for a few nights.
Only take enough nappies for travelling,you can buy some there.
A really good,compact change mat system(room for nappy,whipes if you haven't got one)
Go and have a really good time,these friends sound like good ones it is the toddler years that will try them.

OP, how did this trip come about? We might understand better if we knew that part. Is it a recent thing where friends said let's go to Paris in October? Or planned a while back?

Why not just wait til he's a bit older and stopped breastfeeding?

Why not do it now, and then again when the baby is older?

Honestly, you lot are no fun.

I didn't think it at all relevant to share the reason they are teetotal, but it is for religious reasons. So absolutely no raucous clubbing nights on the horizon.

The early nights on our previous trip were partly due to tiredness from a day walking all over the city, and partly to facilitate an early start the next day.

I didn't realise nomenclature mattered, but to me a girls weekend doesn't mean a weekend of partying- it's a weekend away with girl friends

I understand everyone's idea of a city break differs, but the plan would really be eating pastries, minimal sightseeing, and toiletries shopping.

I guess I'd blow your minds if I told you I'd been on a girls holiday to Ibiza and one of our group was 5 months pregnant 😂

@wigglybluelines because then she can leave the baby with her partner?
I am fun. I don't think a solitary baby on an adult weekend is fun 🤷🏽‍♀️
Babies wake up early, babies cry, babies need nappies changing. Not fun.

Did you talk about the trip before the baby? Have your friends been to Paris before? I only ask as a baby can be quite restrictive in terms of stopping for feeds, nappy changes, when they’re grumpy. I find taking kids anywhere adds more time to even the most simple of trips.

If you’re going to go I’d see what equipment the air b&b have as sometimes they’ll supply high chairs and travel cots. I’d also get a light buggy. Baby jogger zip is light as is the yo yo. And also a sling would probably help.

@Reversiblesequinsforadults this is my fear. DS can be perfectly safe, warm and fed with DH but that won't mean he's happy and it would break my heart to think he was at home crying and I was too far away to soothe him.

That all sounds grand then. As I said, I am child free myself so utterly clueless on most of this I am also teetotal and my night owl days are long gone, so a baby wouldn't be an issue on a girly weekend with like minded souls.

You have also been to Paris before so I am sure you know the areas that would be a no go with a pram. I think if you are just shopping, eating and people watching you will be fine and also, you don't have strict routines so can be flexible.

Hope you have a lovely time if you do go.

As a childless person I went away with a friend and her 6 month old baby. A group of 4 of us went to Marbella for a few days in a small villa and it was glorious. She got some sun, the baby had a nice time.

We were all happy to pitch in and help her BECAUSE SHES OUR FRIEND AND WE LIKE HER.

Are the posters who are so awfully suggesting the friends will hate her realise they probably like the friend and some childless people really won’t mind it?

Our trip was great and I wouldn’t hesitate to do again.

@Alwaysgrey no, planning is relatively recent. Our last trip to Paris was in my second trimester and they want to make it an annual thing

You're going to ruin your friends' weekend. You're very selfish.

Depends on your baby as well OP. DC cried a lot until he was 2 and would not go to anyone but me. I went away with my DSIS and her BF when he was 1 and they had him one night he to let me and my DH go out for dinner for his birthday. My DA cried the whole time and was sick. He was 1 and my DSIS BT said he ruined the holiday and that was in the UK and family Having said that my other DS was a happy content child who slept well and hardly cried he would have been easier on holiday and my DD was similar. So it may be Ok if your friends are ok with it and you have a less demanding baby

Oh and there is absolutely no way we’d have wanted our friend to eat dinner by herself just to give us some time away from the baby

I really think on MN a lot of people don’t like their friends. Actually, on this site there seems to be an almost competitive element of not having friends and being proud of it from some people. Maybe it’s those posters who are on this thread.

I would totally do it. A baby is easy and portable.

A toddler on the other hand, NO WAY!

Here are some links that might be useful:

Visiting Paris with a baby

Paris not to baby friendly the mistakes they made so you can avoid them!

Baby friendly cafes Possibly not places you all want to go, but if you do find yourself off on your own because your baby has been fractious or whatever, then these could be nice places to stop and feel welcome.

We were all happy to pitch in and help her BECAUSE SHES OUR FRIEND AND WE LIKE HER

Yes, this!

I think some people on this thread have no idea what the word friend means! It's pretty sad actually.

AnAC12UCOinanOCG, ODFOD

@wigglybluelines thank you very much, I'll have a read

Our last trip to Paris was in my second trimester and they want to make it an annual thing

How lovely. Are you the first of your friends to have a baby? If you go, hopefully they'll all feel encouraged to bring their babies if they start having them, so no one misses out.

Ooh, some really useful tips on this one:

www.ouicestchic.com/paris-with-baby-the-complete-guide/

e.g. this is a brilliant plan if you can pull it off!

Time Bedtime Around Dinner Time

Since most restaurants in Paris don’t open for dinner before 8:00 p.m. plan to have your baby fall asleep on your way out to eat. My baby’s bedtime is usually 7:00 p.m., though I don’t mind pushing it for special occasions or while traveling.

I found it particularly helpful to put him in his pj’s and stop at a nearby park to tire him out before heading to a restaurant in Paris. Once your baby shows signs of tiredness, put him in a reclining stroller, pull the shade down, and cover the stroller with a blanket to shield out additional light.

Walk your baby around until he falls asleep then find a nice restaurant with room to park the stroller beside your table. Avoid noisier brasseries or terraces to help keep your baby asleep.

What a weird thread title to ask for travel tips. There's a whole travel sectionon here, and countless baby equipment reviews and recommendations too.

My 1st thought was Yabu. But on second thoughts we took our then 6month old EBF DD away to Copenhagen for a weekend.

I can't say it was the most relaxing holiday but I enjoyed it and it was probably the easiest age to do it. Def take a sling, buy nappies there, get a seperate room from your friends ( preferably next door with baby monitor ) or rent an apartment with 2 rooms and living room style or you will be stuck in from early evening. You have more freedom with this age baby than any other I think. If you have been brutally honest with your friends of what having a baby is like then go for it and let us know how it turns out!

I think most posters who day it's a bad idea have had experience of handling a 5 month old, unlike the OP and her friends.
Crack on and do it. Report back what is was like.

See the idea of going out for a walk at, say 7pm, and then the baby sleeping while you eat at 8pm is the ideal.
Both of my babies’ eyes popped open the second I dared to stop wheeling the pram (even at traffic lights) and would then be extremely grumpy. So that would mean either me keeping walking or trying to rock the pram to settle them back, or having a cross overtired baby on me while I tried to eat dinner. Heinous.

Some of you are really over invested in whether I take my child on this trip
. I stopped reading at that point; you absolute madam!! You sound like a petulant 12 year old.
Try to remember who started the thread...