travelling with baby

[smerchant]

Hi,

I wanted to ask is it safe to travel with baby after 6 months. My dc will be 6 months in feb and i want to visit my family in amsterdam (end of Feb), india (march )and america (again in march).

Will this be too much for baby? are there any issues with regards to safety and his wellbeing? I get advise from my mum that i should not travel until dc is one year old but i cant wait as then i will be starting work and will have no holidays to visit my family all over the world. Please share your advise and experiences.

thanks.

Oh yes. Best time to go! India would be my concern too but I know of a lady who took her 3 month old out there. Piece of pie for her as breastfeeding though.
FWIW I flew with my 2 week old from Cyprus to the UK.

I have talked to GP about india and he said i need to have malaria and hepatitis vaccines done for my baby which i will do 2 weeks before travelling.

It is especially fine in that you are visiting family and so will be able to arrange things you might need up front. So much easier to travel before they are mobile. I do recommend a sling or Wilkinet type carrier though esp if you will be travelling alone. I put dd1 in one for every flight so I could carry and stow hand luggage and collect luggage at other end before the pushchair arrived.

Someone i met recently advised me that i should not travel with baby in plane as oxygen is low on high altitudes and that can be dangerous for baby. The baby she knows travlled at 6 months and is handicapped and hence she is relating these two things togther. I dont believe her but as a mother i got a bit scared. What do you guys think. I am trying to take it off my mind but as first time mum i am a bit nervous...

Oh bless you, but that is absolute rubbish. We moved to Cyprus when dd1 was 4 mths old and so flew back and forth quite regularly with her. Dd2 was born in Cyprus and flew back at 2 weeks then again at 6 weeks and then we moved back when she was 6 mths and so another flight then. DD1 had done 5 flights by the time she was 1 I think. She is fine. Your baby will be fine.

Thanks VanillaPumpkin. How long was your flight to cyprus?

5 hrs. HTH. There will be others with positive experiences too.

We flew from NZ (a 24 hour flight) with a 4 month old, and friends did the same trip with their 8 week old. Much easier to do it when they are little and before they start moving. A v good idea to use a sling or front pack - we did, it makes it so much easier.

It's fine, don't worry about it. DS was born in Italy and we travel back regularly to the UK, he's done 10 flights already at 15 mths, his first at 8 weeks old and all been fine. Defintely take a sling with you, it's a life saver (also not all baggage handlers unload your buggy and leave it by the plane, often you have to wait til baggage collection so carrying a baby and hand luggage would be a nightmare) feed dc on take off and landing to help with the ear thing (ds has a dummy as well so he is sucking to help avoid ear problems). The younger he was the easier it was, he's a wriggler now! I was cacking it before the first flight but was honestly fine.

I feel much better now. thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences. Sling or baby carrier is a good idea.

Essential for getting on and off the plane. Baby on hip and bag takes up too much room.