3 month old baby vacation

[5431go]

Hello,

Looking for some opinions from families who do a lot of travelling have done long haul trips with a youngster.

Currently pregnant and thinking of booking a vacation in the spring when baby will be 3 months old.

We want to go to either the USA to New Orleans/ NYC/ Boston ( multi-city trip + visiting family or Japan.

We travel a lot, could go business class for all flights, I won’t be breastfeeding.

Wondering if anyone else has taken a trip like this ?

AIBU to be thinking of a trip like this ?

Is this your first child? I would absolutely not be committing to this trip yet. Despite not having travelled internationally with my twins until they were 6yrs old, I am not doom and gloom about travelling with young children/babies – it's an individual preference and some families find it works great for them. But I think it's very ill-advised to factor in now when you have not even had the baby.

It would be ten times easier if you were breastfeeding.

I think I would wait until baby is here and then revisit travel plans.

tenterden · Today 12:11
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It would be ten times easier if you were breastfeeding

Why?

(Ready made baby milk can be ordered in advance at most airports - Boots, etc., you just pick it up after security).

Go for it. Babies are made a fuss of when travelling.. I'd do Japan and enjoy nice hotels. I travelled solo UK to aus with a 8 week old. If you feel you can do it you probably can!

I think it's probably the best age to do it but I do agree it would be easier if you were BF - and I say that as someone who exclusively FF. You'll have to be quite organised if you FF to make sure you have access to clean equipment, water that's the right temp etc.

Milk available on demand, sterile, at perfect temperatures.

Much easier with a small baby than toddlers. Go for it x

Go for it but don't sit anywhere near a Mumsnetter on the plane! 😬😁

We're doing European holidays with a 1 hour time difference while DS is little. It's not the travelling so much at that age that's an issue as you won't have a wriggly toddler but their sleep would be disrupted if you've got a large time difference and they've started sleeping through the night for example. Personally I'd have struggled with even less sleep than we had so that would have ruined any long haul holiday, but not everyone would feel the same or make the same decision as us.

tenterden · Today 12:19

MrsSkylerWhite · Today 12:13
tenterden · Today 12:11
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It would be ten times easier if you were breastfeeding

Why?
**
Milk available on demand, sterile, at perfect temperatures.

As are ready made bottles. plenty of warming facilities at airports. Some people don’t want to/can’t breastfeed so stop with the guilt tripping.
OP is not asking for bf advice.

The people saying 'It would be easier if she breastfed'.

It would be easier if she booked a caravan in Skegness, but that's not what the OP wants to do.

ODFOD

I don’t care who does or doesn’t BF. OP mentioned it as though she thought that would make it easier, so I was offering an alternative opinion.

Dont take your BF hang ups out on me.

I won’t engage with you further as you sound rather odd.

I hope OP has a great holiday whenever she decides to go.

I think you probably just need to wait until baby is here. I personally couldn't have done this - I had a baby in NICU and emotionally wouldn't have been able to cope with a trip like this after her birth. I was only just making it to baby groups at 12weeks and really felt like i needed to be at home with her. Friends who had a straightforward birth and newborn stage had been abroad on holiday by 12weeks and had a great time. The issue is you won't know what camp you are in until baby is here.

I was about to say this. I think you should wait, if this is your first you'll have no idea if you'll feel confident and comfortable doing this, also your baby might be a terror and make travel impossible. BF will make it so much easier to travel.

tenterden

Likewise, Dear. No hang ups here. I fed ours.

No she didn’t. OP categorically stated she would not be breastfeeding. No further discussion of that point required.

I’m the odd one? Ok 🤣

Those being combative about BF vs FF are missing the point. It isn’t the travel bit of FF that is inconvenient, although I did find it annoying when flying with FF twins. If the OP is going to be away for an extended period, she will almost certainly need to plan to purchase formula at her destination. Brands and guidelines are different, and it can be challenging to find something that suits your baby in the same way as their regular milk. It isn’t a criticism of FF. It’s just a fact. I found it much easier traveling with my BF singleton than FF twins (although I admit that having twice as many babies did impact the experience in many ways).

We did and it was great! We booked it after they were here though (in case we had a prolonged stay in hospital), and once they had a passport, but they were around the same age.

I think both countries would be great with a young baby as they are so portable and they can just do what you do (no having to look for playgrounds/beaches/etc)!

Personally I found bottle feeding much easier than breastfeeding when travelling. I have never warmed milk and never had any issues!! Also we never had one brand of milk, we used whatever was on offer. Most brands are pretty universal.

I know lots of people who travelled with a 12 week old and we must have similar due dates as we have a very similar spring travel plan. But not going to book anything until baby arrives.

I wouldn't until the 3th month jabs are done, but maybe I'm over protective. Planes are dirty things at the beat of times, being cooped up with people who may be sick so I would want all the protection I could get.

I flew with a newborn and it was great, though only short haul. Much easier to travel when they are tiny than when they are older IMO.

Having done both, although I found FF much easier overall, BF was easier when travelling. Going long haul with formula is hard but manageable but it's the risk of being stuck on a delayed plane, or diverted somewhere etc, and running out that would concern me. Or if your luggage goes missing with your powder in it, or if you find your baby doesn't get on with a local brand etc. It's fine, just have lots of contingency plans, so if your plane malfunctions, you get diverted and spend 24 hours airside in some random country, without luggage your baby doesn't go hungry.

Otherwise, buy yourself a good sling and have a great time :-)

Edited to say - good on you OP for having a firm decision on FF though. So many women give in to the pressure to either give it a go, or say they will. I was very firm ahead of my first, and only accidentally ended up bf my second 😂. But it's hard to say 'no' when faced with pressure.

Thanks everyone. I realise I could have a prolonged hospital stay etc, I wonder if a travel insurance policy could cover this?

First born and I won’t be BF because I had a breast reduction some years ago and was told I would be unable to, so there is no debate really.

Agree with @CrispAppleStrudels

Obviously travelling business class to first world countries with a newborn is ‘doable’, but I would be careful not to under estimate the potential issues both yourself and baby may face during child birth.

Just because Suzy popped her baby out and immediately hopped on an interrailling trip doesn’t mean you will have the same experience. I’d wait until baby arrives before committing to any plans.

I would try to push it to 4 or 5 months old if I were you. Baby is likely to be a bit more robust, you'll feel more confident, but baby will still be immobile and therefore much easier than a crawling or weaning baby. I actually find age 6-7 months best though as food and snacks can keep them happy on a flight alongside milk but they don't need much, and are unlikely to be crawling yet.