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Infant feeding

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Original poster

Flying when baby is 4 weeks old - take the baby or not?

64 replies

cornflakegirl · 05/02/2007 15:21

My friend is 34 weeks pregnant, and needs to fly from Britain to Eastern Europe for 24 hours when the baby is 4 weeks old (assuming it arrives on time!). She's not sure whether to take the baby with her or not. The trip is for her goddaughter's first communion.

She plans to breastfeed - so if she does leave the baby with her husband for a day and night, what would be the best way to manage it?

She's not sure about taking the baby - whether it would be good for them to fly when so young, and also whether the logistics of a passport would be feasible - in addition to the hassle of carting a newborn out the country!

OP posts:
MrsBadger · 06/02/2007 13:47

yes - thank you very much

have passed the information on, much appreciated.

hunkermunker · 06/02/2007 13:49

I read that as weeing into the laundry basket, MrsB and thought shit I'm STILL getting it all SO wrong!

MrsBadger · 06/02/2007 13:51

I don't think even sufferers of extreme PFB syndrome wee in the laundry basket.

Neglected Subsequent Children, however....

Jaynerae · 06/02/2007 13:54

Expressing Breast milk does not always come easy - I breast feed by my DC's and with both of them - there was no way I could have expressed enough milk by four weeks old to have left the baby for that length of time. So I seriously doubt she could leave baby unless she had also introduced formulae in case of not enough breastmilk. The leaky boobs are also a nightmare when away from baby. Your Pal - will get a reality check - and I agree with Lazycow that she needs to make sure Goddaughters family are aware - she may not make it.

Eulalia · 06/02/2007 14:08

Didn't know about SIDS? I flew with my 9 week old baby no problems. We had the tickets booked months before he was born. Got his passport at 5 days old! 4 weeks though may be too young just in terms of the hassle of course.

Original poster
cornflakegirl · 06/02/2007 14:14

thanks everyone!

(i'm sure my friend will take the general derision in the spirit it's intended) [hmmm]

lazycow - thanks for coming back to share your experience - that's some really good advice.

jaynerae - yeah, i think her plan is for her dh to give formula while she's away. it does seem a big assumption that her dc will be okay with bottles and formula at 4 weeks - but then my ds started having bottles of ebm at a similar age with no complaints, and no effect on breastfeeding.

OP posts:
yellowrose · 06/02/2007 15:05
  1. i wouldn't go (bloody hell i hardly had time to go to the loo or take a shower when ds was 4 weeks old let alone fly to the other side of europe !!) - IMO communion not as important as a close family funeral
  1. if i was totally, totally desparate to go i wouldn't/couldn't leave a 4 week old behind (sometimes they feed every bloody hour night and day at that age, so expressing and leaving bottles in freezer is just not feasible)

the smallest baby i have ever seen on a flight (5.5 hours) looked around 2 months old very content, hardly cried, just slept and fed - mummy looked happy too (kept napping too !!) with boob out all the time feeding baby !

good tip when flying with baby: bf when taking off and landing to help relieve pressure on baby's ears - theirs block just like ours due to air pressure change except it is much more uncomfortable for a baby - the sucking on breast has same effect as chewing gum and stops discomfort ! i did this when ds and i flew when he was 8 months old - no problems with blocked ears at all

let us know what she decides (just being nosey and want to know what it's like bf and flying with small baby)

belgo · 06/02/2007 15:08

I have a friend who flew from Europe to Australia with her four week old baby. I really don't know how she managed that!

My children are now 3 and 18 months and I still wouldn't be able to leave the country without them.

harpsichordcarrier · 06/02/2007 15:12

hmmmm, well presuming the baby arrives on time is presuming a LOT isn't it?
if she is due to fly four weeks after due date, then that might be two weeks after the baby is born, which would be bonkers.
getting a passport would be very very tricky.
certainly expressing at 2-4 enough to leave for 24 hours + is a very tall order. it is really too early, and one would have to be expressing every day from when the milk came in...
sounds unworkable tbh.

mosschops30 · 06/02/2007 15:12

I took ds when he was 8 weeks, he was fine and much easier than now when he's two

Original poster
cornflakegirl · 06/02/2007 15:33

harpsichordcarrier - she won't be expressing to leave milk for the baby - she'll leave formula. it would just be expressing while she's away to maintain her supply.

OP posts:
harpsichordcarrier · 06/02/2007 15:39

oh I see, sorry I misunderstood.
well that's a bit more doable. there is always the problem of nipple confusion or is she planning to mix feed anyway?

yellowrose · 06/02/2007 15:42

aaaahhhhh - she may come back and baby won't latch onto breast any more - a defo. risk at that age.

Flamesparrow · 06/02/2007 15:49
Original poster
cornflakegirl · 06/02/2007 15:50
OP posts:
Original poster
cornflakegirl · 06/02/2007 15:51

i don't think she's planning to mix feed. although she is prepared for the fact that breastfeeding may not be plain sailing.

OP posts:
harpsichordcarrier · 06/02/2007 15:53

hmmm, well tbh I wouldn't risk messing up my supply or causing nipple confusion/latching on problems at that stage, but that's just my personal view.

oliveoil · 06/02/2007 15:54

I couldn't go to Asda without crying at 4 weeks so am in awe of those of you who can fly.

I would advise your friend to stay in bed and feed her newborn and look at pics of her goddaughters communion on her computer.

yellowrose · 06/02/2007 15:56

olive - is Asda really that depressing ???

oliveoil · 06/02/2007 15:57

mine is

I am not very good with newborns

xx

yellowrose · 06/02/2007 15:58

oh god - mine seemed to cry all the time at that age - shopping was a bloody mare !

nappyaddict · 06/02/2007 20:01

she needs to make the goddaughters parents aware that lo may not arrive on time and she will not be able to come. los can be up to 3 weeks late, meaning it would only be a week after the birth. you can't fly til 2 weeks after the birth.

nappyaddict · 06/02/2007 20:08

re the passport you can get a one week fast track service and sometimes they will do it the next day. not the same day though for a first passport.

tribpot · 06/02/2007 20:17

Sorry - leaving a 4 week old is just not an option. Not my judgement just a completely emotional response. I'm sure now she thinks "well surely dh will be there, it will be fine" but in reality, I couldn't leave the country without ds now and he is 19 months, I would literally rather have died than left him for more than an hour or two at 4 weeks.

I'm not a Christian, so the significance of a god-daughter's first communion is a bit lost on me, but I travelled c. 150 miles to a VERY good friend's wedding when ds was 5 weeks old, and to another VERY good friend's wedding when he was about 13 weeks old, and both trips literally nearly finished me. (In fairness, dh is chronically ill so it wasn't all babystress).

I think she needs to say she will only go if she feels up to it very shortly beforehand. There are just too many unknowns.

itsallabitmuch · 06/02/2007 20:21

Travelling with little babies is quite easy, but getting passports is quite hard as they have to look straight at the camera with eyes open nowadays for biometric passports. I had to wait til ds3 was 2.5 months to get the pic.

No way you could leave a 4-wk old for 24 hours if you're breastfeeding. You'd have a crap time as would be leaking everywhere even with a pump.

I wouldn't go tbh.