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Original poster

Travelling with a new born-first time mum

47 replies

Graciestew17 · 24/11/2015 21:17

Hi this is my first post, so please bare with me....

I've recently discovered I'm pregnant and my mind is spinning with all sorts of things which I'm sure is normal.

One thing I need to make my mind up is whether to go to a family wedding in Greece next year, it's all booked and deposits paid.
All being well the baby will be at least 4 weeks old, do you guys think I'm being ridiculous even contemplating going so soon after giving birth?..

Obviously if there was any complications etc I wouldn't go.

I've read on here ppl opinions of flying with young ones but not as young as I'm planning on taking and then there's the emotions and lack of sleep and everything else....

Please advise my heads in a spin :(

OP posts:

LumelaMme · 25/11/2015 07:40

I know I'm being overly optimistic and basing my thinking on a good birth and everything being fine.
No, you're not being daft. I went to a wedding in the UK with DC1, on my own, when she was two weeks old. I then went to live abroad (joining DH) when she was 3.5 weeks old: this involved getting not only a passport but a visa as well, and then a looong flight AND a connecting one at the other end. She was a bloody awful sleeper but we managed fine.

If you feel up for it, why not go for it?

eurochick · 25/11/2015 08:16

Other considerations aside, we couldn't have managed the timing. It took over three weeks for an appointment to register her birth and around a fortnight for a passport.

Artandco · 25/11/2015 09:11

Oh and one tip. You can fill in passport forms beforehand just leaving their name and date of birth. Get Dh to learn how to take a picture with passport guidelines ( all on website but basically eyes open/ no hat/ right amount of head and shoulders visible). Then if your in London take it personally to passport office and can pay for fast track passport. You can't get back in one day as first passport, but much quicker than postal usually

Hufflepuffin · 25/11/2015 14:17

Oh yes, Lilipot, newborns don't need anything but I was so sleep deprived it was easier to put practically everything we owned in the car than select the important stuff! (Also we didn't have a washing machine where we were going.)

I second what artandco says about filling the form out for the passport before the birth, and also getting all the certificates you need in advance. There's an app that helps you get the picture right.

LibrariesGaveUsP0wer · 25/11/2015 14:19

Another question is where you will be staying?

ff and sterilising can be quite challenging in some accommodation. If you are keen to do this trip, I'd plan how you'd go about ff if you need to, particularly what facilities you will have for heating/cooling things.

winchester1 · 25/11/2015 22:11

Sterilising is easy - large Tupperware and some sterilising tablets.
Most places have a place to boil water and my hotel at least was very accommodating.

mummymeister · 26/11/2015 14:47

sorry, I would just not be up to doing this. with the first baby I couldn't believe the tiredness plus the very sore breasts and the trying to sort out feeding and maintain a modicum of dignity. when your LO comes along you will not believe how incredibly focussed on them that you become to the exclusion of all else. this is particularly true with your first.

TBH - the thought of getting the photo, hassling to get the birth registered then hassling to sort out a passport would be enough to put me off without all the other stuff that goes along with a new born. 3 months - yes go for it but not this early. no jabs either which again would be a real issue for me.

do you have to decide now? can you wait until nearer the time to see how you feel then? very hard for the health professionals to advise at an early stage.

mrsplum2015 · 26/11/2015 15:06

We did a 24 hour flight with DD1 age 8 weeks - and she was on time (so she could have been 6 weeks if born at 42 weeks which isn't unusual). I'd had an emergency CS and was only just really capable of doing that length of journey myself!!!

But it was fine and quite nice to be with DH. I would be really careful about the timing. If it is 4 weeks after EDD no way, but if it is 6 weeks after EDD then probably!

Getting the birth certificate and passport in 4 weeks might be a challenge but not impossible.

Janek · 26/11/2015 19:08

My dd was born on 28 april and her passport renewal date is 15 May. I think she was about ten days old when we registered her, we had already filled in the passport form and had the photos taken and counter-signed, so we went straight from the registry office to the post office, did check and send and the rest is history!

We went to France on the train when she was 8 weeks old (she should have been ten weeks old, but she was 11 days late...). I was more than able to travel by that stage, and dd had no idea where she was.

NerrSnerr · 26/11/2015 19:20

I would have struggled to go abroad. Breastfeeding was really painful and we were still regularly seeing the hv for support. I had a C Section so was quite sore too. Going on a plane would have been the worst thing for me.

PestoSkiissimos · 26/11/2015 19:31

I don't think you'll be able to get travel insurance as you and the baby won't have had your 6 week check at that time.

annandale · 26/11/2015 19:39

If you really want to go and could afford just to cancel the whole lot if it doesn't work out, then why not (disclaimer: no idea about specific health and legal issues as listed above).

There is absolutely no way I could or would have done this, and ds's birth was quite straightforward with quick recovery. Actually, I remember now! At 4 weeks we were back in hospital as ds was still jaundiced and bf was not working. I felt better after a stay in hospital but still would have binned out of a wedding across the street, never mind hanging about in airports.

Just possibly when ds was about 8 weeks I would have been up for this not really

CalliopeTorres · 26/11/2015 19:47

If you can afford to potentially lose the money then I'd definitely book it. I took DC1 away when she was 6 days old (and attended a wedding with her at 4 days old). You won't know how you feel until the time is here but I think if you go into it with the mindset that it's impossible then it almost certainly will be. Have an open mind, see how you feel, it could all be fine!

Bunbaker · 27/11/2015 08:58

I'm not sure travel insurance would cover this, so if you book it and have to cancel you will have to take into consideration that you may not get a refund.

There is no way I would have felt up to taking DD on a plane at that age BTW, quite apart from the practical considerations of getting a birth certificate and passport.

poocatcherchampion · 27/11/2015 09:05

I'm five weeks in with dc3. I wouldn't go.

I've got an infection in my c section wound ans had mastitis this week. Prefer my local doc for those chats.

I actually don't want to sleep anywhere else. We are set up here for co sleeping. A travel cot is a recipe for awake all night.

Bf is fine this time. I dont care what I look like. But I can't walk that far and the journey would be a nightmare for me pain wise.

With dd1 we were readmitted with extreme weightloss at this point and barely able to provide ourselves with food and drink

Artandco · 27/11/2015 09:38

Poo - co sleeping makes its easy to travel. We have travelled the world with ours from
Tiny and always co slept as convenient

whatsagoodusername · 27/11/2015 09:39

We took DS1 on a 10 hour flight at 5 weeks. DS2 was 3 weeks for the same flight a year later.

They are very easy at that age compared to older ages. They eat, they sleep. If you are BF, it's very easy. If you are FF, it's a bit of a faff with bottles but doable.

You might not feel great. I had a dislocated coccyx from DS1, so sitting was very, very painful. I had lost 3 pints of blood with DS2, so wasn't at my best. But we did it, all survived, and I am glad we did it.

You can't book the baby on a flight until it's born and you will need to be organised to get the passport in time - have the forms filled out in advance (don't forget to add birthdate), book appointments before birth (you can always cancel if baby is late - I had to reschedule DS2's appointments three times due to being late and then a stay in hospital) get photos done within a day of leaving hospital, register birth ASAP so you have the birth certificate. And all of this is DH's responsibility to organise - you will have more than enough to do.

VegetablEsoup · 27/11/2015 09:46

we travelled with dc at 3 weeks old: but we didn't book in advance as due date would have been a week before. we picked up the passprt on the way to the airport, that's how close it was. since then passport requirements are stricter and it's even more difficult to get a first passport as quickly as that.

Bunbaker · 27/11/2015 13:07

It is clear that everyone's experiences are very different. Basically, you will not know how you feel or how fit and healthy both you and the baby will be at the time.

mercifulTehlu · 27/11/2015 13:19

No way would I have done this, and I was a reasonably chilled-out first-timer. Also, don't see how you are going to get around the passport problem, especially if the baby is late.

poocatcherchampion · 27/11/2015 14:25

I think that art but we are really spoilt by a super king size ans I can just imagine dh on the floor in a normal double. And in a small room the two toddlers will be there!

Hersetta427 · 30/11/2015 13:00

Travelling when they are tiny is easy - maybe feeding and the sleepless nights less so. I travelled on my own with DD when she was 9 weeks. Was a doddle (apart from having to be an octopus when you try and hold bags, a baby and collapse a pushchair with one hand) DD was so good the people being us were amazed when they saw me with a baby when we got off as she hasn't uttered a sound during the 3 hr flight.

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