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Experience of long haul flights/holidays with babies.

8 replies

Heatherbell1978 · 18/05/2014 09:30

I'm 27 wks pregnant and DH and I are keen to go on a holiday with our little one when he is about 5/6 months old. We definitely won't book anything until he's here and we know everything is fine but I'm just keen to hear about your experiences of holidaying with little ones. We both love Thailand and would be keen to go back there so it would involve long haul flying although they're very baby friendly in Thailand. I'm thinking that age is a good time to go before he's on his feet and eating solid food?

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
mildmaygrovenorth · 18/05/2014 10:23

We have taken lots of holidays with our DS10 months. I have flown long haul (around 13 hours) at 6 months and it was tiring but straightforward (I was alone but still breastfeeding which made it much easier). We just got off a 4.5 hour flight and again, no problem.

I find beach holidays with our DS great...but it is just really different to before. Obviously they can't go on the beach for much of the day but if you have a nice place to lounge around and perhaps some shade, it isn't a problem (and a good excuse to do very little!). Just get out early and then in the late afternoon. Having a house is ideal as you don't have to tiptoe around when the baby is sleeping.

Now our son is eating solids it is a little different - obviously you need to think about food. But we are doing BLW which is really great for travelling. We just came back from Japan where he ate similar food to us.

Lots of people will do a sharp intake of breath when you mention travelling with young children (at least they do to me)...but I think if you are reasonably chilled out parents and just get on with it, it is great.

Disclaimer - my DS is very easy. If he had colic, reflux etc maybe I would be typing out a v different message! Plus we live overseas where travelling a lot is more the norm.

Good luck!

Heatherbell1978 · 18/05/2014 15:25

Thanks mildmaygrovenorth. I guess at the moment we have no idea what DS will be like, as you say, we probably won't venture too far if we have to deal with any health issues. We're both keen travellers and have this notion that we still want to carry that on with baby in tow! What about vaccinations? Any issues with that? Did you find it hard travelling with lots of stuff?

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minipie · 18/05/2014 19:58

honestly I would wait till he is here, in fact wait till he's about 4 months, and reassess then. you may get an easy laid back baby who is a champion sleeper and loves new places and people. Or you may get a baby who is still waking 5 times a night at 5/6 months and needs a lot of attention and you are too knackered to leave your own postcode never mind consider a long haul holiday.

yes it's true that 5/6 months is a good age in terms of portability and food, but a lot depends on sleep and there is a huge range of sleeping habits at that age. Teething often starts about that age and again there is a big range in how well babies take it - some are grumpy for weeks, some breeze through.

we've just done a long haul trip with our dd (bad sleeper, difficult baby) at 18 months - it was fun, if fairly hard work. However I definitely would not have enjoyed a long haul trip with her at 6 months. If you don't get an easy baby it doesn't mean the end of your travels just a short break! and enjoy some short haul places in the meantime.

kit and vaccinations are the least of your worries tbh - it's more about whether your baby will be happy and will sleep. So, wait till he's here!

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Theyaremysunshine · 18/05/2014 20:48

We booked a trip to Australia when I was pg with dc1 which fell when he was 5.5m. We are also experienced travellers and were keen to continue.

And then along came DS. I'd read books, been on mumsnet, thought I was prepared. He bf well but often. Rarely off for more than an hour, day or night. He woke every 45 mins for 5m. I was a walking zombie. I had less than 4 hours sleep in 24 hours for months. And sleep when the baby sleeps? Not my DS, who screamed every time he was put down.

So the "holiday". Planned with military precision. Researched all the things I'd need to take. Panicked about my exhaustion levels and 24 hours on a plane with a screaming baby.

Do you know, seems he's a born traveller. Little rogue got loads of compliments for being a good baby. Basically bf the whole trip, slept on my knee, loved the engine sound and had no bother with his ears. We had a good trip.

One thing you can't imagine now though is a holiday will never be the same again. It'll never be head space time, or relaxing on the beach. It's the same stuff (feed, change, get to sleep, soothe, deal with teething, illness, reflux) in a different location, without the backup of family, the nhs and familiar coping strategies. If you have an easy going baby, who is happy out in a buggy in the pub for dinner, sleeps enough for you to feel human, eats well, doesn't have colic and can be put down, then you'll have that baby abroad too and it'll be great. If you have a higher needs baby, it'll be just as hard as at home if not harder.

So, wait and see? Yes I would. I dreaded the trip which took the shine off it.
Go at 4-5m rather than nearer 6. It's much harder to start weaning abroad. If you ebf then feeding is easy.
Yes you have to take a phenomenal amount of stuff, but airlines usually give allowance for buggy/cot/car seat.
Plan your trip to be as easy as possible - somewhere with kitchen facilities, or somewhere they'll bring decent food to your room in case you can't get out. Somewhere with restaurants within walking distance in case you can. Stay away from multi centre and just go to one place for the duration.

No immunisations or antimalarials for under 1s so I'd strongly recommend keeping to countries with better hygiene, no malaria, good healthcare. Also sunscreen not recommended under 6m so beach holiday can be tricky (look for resorts with good amounts of shade)

I know this is long but I wanted to give you the perspective of widely travelled parents with a high needs baby. Having said all that though we have 2 dc now and still travel, but not independently for the time being. All inclusive or self catering for a couple more years, which is not what I or DH would choose, but it works for us as a family.

mildmaygrovenorth · 19/05/2014 03:20

We live overseas so I am not sure on the vaccinations you get at birth in the UK. Our DS had TB and Hep B at birth. We take sensible precautions with mosquitoes.

Definitely wait and see what kind of baby you 'get' and also what kind of parents you are!

We don't get nearly as much sleep on holiday as at home but for us it isn't so bad that it negates the benefits of a lovely holiday.

CustardFromATin · 19/05/2014 03:37

Like others say, the flight will be manageable, probably not the most fun you'll have in your life, but manageable! However in my experience, going on holiday as a couple with a very small baby is not particularly fun or relaxing.

One of you will always have to be looking after the baby - which of course is lovely some of the time, but not when you want to relax by the pool, or go sightseeing when the baby thinks it's nap time, or at night when the baby is jetlagged and you have to take it in turns to have dinner alone, or your husband has to sit in the bar alone while you feed the baby to sleep in the bedroom (or vice versa). It does depend on the baby - but I would strongly urge anyone with an under-1 to try to holiday with family if possible, to increase the number of hands to hold the baby (and because it can be lovely for everyone), and if that's not possible, at least to do it somewhere you can have a couple of rooms and a kitchen.

tanimbar · 19/05/2014 13:55

Some good advice here, especially that about having plenty of space in your accommodation - a kitchen and a separate bedroom will make all the difference! We were also keen travellers pre-kids but tbh the best holidays we've had since their arrival have been very simple ones, with easy travel, low-key activities, and plenty of flexibility. Agree travelling with family can help, but if you're on your own, accommodation where you can be self-catering, but with plenty of eating options nearby gives you the best of both worlds. That said, if you yearn to go further afield, do it now, while there's only one of them, or be prepared to wait a few years.

Mildmaygrovenorth, I walk along you several times daily...

mildmaygrovenorth · 19/05/2014 14:58

Enjoy the walk! Tis a lovely grove.

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