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 totally wouldn't. But I know people who would think nothing of it and I'm at some of the frothing from people who can't imagine circumstances different to their own.

And you sound like you've got a good attitude and the right support so have go!

Some posters here just can't read, it unbelievable! She does trust her husband! But would miss the baby! Fair enough.

I was being serious actually!

See, OP, your fatal mistake was describing this as a "girls' weekend" in the header. A lot of people seem to have trouble getting their heads around the fact that this doesn't automatically mean prosecco brunches, nightclubs and, I don't know, visits to sex shops? It's been a while. If you'd said "I'm visiting Paris with a young baby, we're meeting up with a couple of friends there, any tips for travelling with an infant?", I think you would have got very different responses.

This is honestly one of the weirdest threads I've read in ages. Leaving home for two nights with a 5mo baby has been variously described as 'madness', a 'disaster', a 'nightmare'. Really? Has nobody else ever taken their child on holiday before their first birthday? It's certainly easier at 5 months than at 18, when they still sleep a lot, aren't mobile and don't require solid food.

Anyway, enjoy it! (And bring a sling. Lifesaver.)

If course I’ve read your posts OP!

I’ve also said I hope you all have a nice time. Frankly you are coming across as particularly unpleasant - about dyslexia. You started a thread in AIBU. You were told you were by some & you’ve been rude clearly as you didn’t get the response you wanted by posters who’ve gone through this age.

But i still hope you have a good/nice time. It’s not my idea of a break away but you say your friends are up for it so go ahead & enjoy.

Of course! Not if course!! 🤦🏻‍♀️

I still think it's really interesting that posters are telling me off and think that I'm having a tantrum. My gut response was that there was no way I was going on this trip and I was preparing to be argued into going by AIBU 🤣

Then why is people saying “don’t go” causing you to dig in and say you’ll go?

Then why is people saying “don’t go” causing you to dig in and say you’ll go?
@LovePoppy where have I said I'll go?

Me: starts thread
MN: stupid and selfish, don't go
Nice MN: practical tips for travel
Me: I'm not sure if I'm going to go
MN: well go then! Ruin your friends' lives! Don't listen to us, have a miserable time in Paris! Make sure you come back and tell us we were right

I must have misread then.

Ftr, if you want to go, go. It’s not rocket science to travel with a baby, but it’s not as easy as at home either.

I’ve traveled with my husband and small kids often. I just wouldn’t do it on a girls weekend, it completely changes the dynamic

Tricky age. We went on holiday with a six month old and ended up putting her to bed at six every night (as was her routine) and then tiptoeing around wishing we could be outside. I wouldn't go with friends, personally. I know the pressure to 'make the most of mat leave' but really, being on mat leave is making the trip harder rather than easier. You could more easily do the trip when not on mat leave (as your friends are demonstrating).

Leave the baby at home with DH. You have time to practice as in he can take the baby one weekend while you are still at home. You'll see he is perfectly capable.

Doesn't your dh feel useless if hes not trusted with his own child?
Or is he just lazy?
I would stay at home, because of the bf and ruining the hen party.

@Rubyupbeat what hen party?? Calling my DH lazy when you have been to lazy to even read the OP is hilarious.

We've established my DH is perfectly capable, I think it's fair to say a 5 month old BF baby needs his mum.

@GotToGoMyOwnWay you were the one who mentioned dyslexia, don't make this thread into something it isn't. If I'm being attacked by posters it's perfectly justifiable for me to mock spelling errors when I am being called selfish, stupid etc.

And yes, I do know there's a typo in my last post 😩😂

Goodness patapouf you have taken a battering on here and I don’t really understand why.
My friends would also make the same suggestion I’m sure, because they are kind people. I would also probably go because I love Paris.
You have had some great practical solutions on here, hope you have a wonderful time!

Could you not pump some milk and keep it in storage // freezer // fridge for dh to use?

DH IS TRUSTED.
DH IS CAPABLE.
FRIENDS ARE TEETOTAL.

Weirdest thread in ages when a weekend in France with a baby is described as madness.

I also don't get the overreaction here! It's much easier to take your baby out and about before they're mobile than when they are!

I've travelled a lot with mine and always used a sling. Used a Moby for the first few months then moved to a Beco 8 - much easier to feed in, and less hassle at airport security when they want you to take it off, though sometimes they said it wasn't necessary!

My DS is 2.5 (and still breastfed) and I haven't left him overnight yet. My choice and no reflection on my DH, who's an excellent dad!

You know your baby and your friends best. I would have absolutely no problem going, or going with a friend and their baby. I'm not into drinking and clubbing into the early hours either! Under 6 months is a prefect age for gentle sightseeing and sitting in cafes when baby can be entertained by a spoon!

Pack light! Get a good backpack which isn't too bulky (better than a traditional baby changing bag, I have the Quechua NH500 10L from Decathlon), and fill with a couple of changes of clothes (use zip lock bags to separate things!), nappies, wipes, and a changing mat (IKEA have a great, foldable one) and you're good to go!

If I were you, I'd go

OP has asked for practical tips from people that have done similar trips NOT whether it is a good idea. We all parent differently. I have travelled alot with my DC since they were babies. Some trips went better than others. Actually the Paris trip when Ds was 5 months old was actually one of the easiest. I didn't expect it to be but it turned out it was. I've had friends that think we are crazy trips etc with children. They never would because it doesn't suit them or they Imagine it would've a nightmare but so what - it works for us.
What I'm trying to say us why bother posting advice about something you would never in a million years do yourself and have absolutely NO experience of. Your opinion is moot. Just move on and go and find something you actually know about to comment on.

By way of compromise, you, dad and baby could go but stay elsewhere and then you could join them for a few things over the course of the weekend, but it won't be the same experience really

DH and I travelled a lot when DS was a baby. It was quite doable. And we didn't even have a car back then. The difference is, we were the parents, we were in this together, used to having a baby around 24/7 and naturally adjusting to whatever we had to do. And it was our baby, which always feel different rather than someone else's if a situation requires patience and understanding.

In OP's situation (OP, sorry don't mean to be rude writing to you in the third person), she is going with childless friends. Who may well be kind but not used to all the baby stuff. I wouldn't be happy holidaying with the baby of even of my bestest friend. I am not tuned to it, it would get in the way, I don't go on minibreaks often and I would be resentful having to accommodate a baby on my holiday - however much I love them.

Fgs, its Paris, not Lhasa! They sell nappies, wipes and emergency babygros in Paris. A bit of ambling about with the baby won't destroy any of you, and if you go out for dinner and she screams, you take her out and walk about a bit. I dont think it will be too hard. I took DD on a couple of weekends away before she turned 1, it was fine. Shame you chose Paris, though; Rome is much more baby-friendly in my experience!

At 5 months my baby would have been fine on a trip like this (she's now 9 months and much more demanding of entertainment, crawling time etc). And my friends would have been perfectly happy to have baby along. Take a sling or carrier, you've got your milk with you so don't need to worry about taking food. Expressing probably tricky out and about but you can pump at the accommodation. Your friends can always go out in the evening without you if they want to. You'll be fine!

Actually I don’t think it’s fair to knock spelling errors as you don’t know the reason for it. By all means question what they say or be rude back but it is demoralising to knock people for their spelling. (Although sometimes it’s that damn autocorrect).

Go & have a nice time.

The OP doesn't trust her DH with the baby. Oh noes won't someone please think of the poor menz!

@SnuggyBuggy No the OP doesn’t feel ready to be separated from her child yet and her friends are happy for the baby to go along too.