Taking a newborn abroad

[mlhs4198]

Hi all,

Just looking some advice. Pregnant after a MC last year, currently 15 weeks - all is going well. Due 19th July. First baby.

We've booked a holiday for the start of September, Gran Canaria. Baby will be anywhere between 4-8 obviously depending on when baby is born.

My question is, will I be able to take baby swimming? Don't think immunisations will have been done by then but I've read elsewhere it's okay? The pool is outdoor and unheated however the weather will be about 30C. Will baby be okay just 5 mins at a time in a wetsuit?

Further to this, would just like to know if anyone has any experience of taking a baby this young abroad? Any top tips of things to take or general advice is very welcome. Starting to worry that we should have waited till baby a little older.

Thanks.

Full of babies that are usually 4 months plus (you can tell they aren't newborn by the pitch of the crying).

You are coming across incredibly naive.

Reschedule for when baby is 4+ months and it will be more enjoyable for you all. (I flew after my first section at this stage. My wound had only just healed and we had a great time).

@DivGirl

Thanks for your advice, glad to hear you bounced back quickly. The hotel is one we have been to about 5 times previously so very familiar surroundings etc, they do provide cots and everything we need will be in the room. Looking at buying a travel Moses basket anyway as it may be better with baby being so small. Thank you x

@FoxtrotSkarloey ah brilliant, great advice thank you so much! Of course to the birth and recovery advice, I am basing this on me being fine afterwards, in the rare chance I’m not then obviously we would cancel/move the holiday. The money isn’t a worry, £900 or my health is a no brained really. Will have to cross that bridge if I come to it

We too are going somewhere very familiar, been plenty of times and know the local area well so that’s a huge weight off my shoulders. All the family also coming with us too so plenty of helping hands should I need a little extra help.

Drop down, I believe everything will be okay, just wanted a bit of practical advice from people who have been there.

In hindsight, maybe baby swimming should have been one of the last Qs on my list but I’m just excited

Thanks again x

I would consider myself a pretty easy going mum, had c section and took baby out and went for lunch few days later, went to baby cinema at 3 weeks etc but there is no way I would have wanted to do this!

And your baby will likely hate having their legs or any part of body in freezing water. Honestly I dont think you will want to do this. You may still be bleeding too...

I was feeding every 2 hours at this age and was pretty shattered and just wanted to be near home

The earliest id have felt comfortable doing a proper holiday is maybe 4 months.

Mayb

Sorry, maybe make sure your room has a king size bed or more than one bed in case you’re having to co sleep

I can't think of anything worse.
An airport, flight and no home comforts a month after birth.

Yeah sorry OP but I can't see how this would be that enjoyable for any of you. Planes are full of babies, sure, but generally not tiny newborns. I had an easy section recovery and a very easy newborn generally, but at four/six weeks we were still working out feeding, I was sleeping when baby was sleeping throughout day as she was up a fair bit overnight, etc. At six weeks your baby isn't going to be interested in paddling its toes in the water. Six months maybe!

Do you have much experience of newborns? It seems like you might be expecting more like a six-month-old than a six-week-old and I just wonder if you have much practical experience of babies that young. They really don't take much pleasure in holidays.

@doadeer thanks for the advice yeah maybe the Q regarding swimming is probably a bit naive looking back on it, just excited love seeing all the little ones splashing in the baby pool with their parents on hols! sure baby will be fine under a brolly if water is too cold!

Hopefully if 6 weeks I won’t still be bleeding, but if I am, not going swimming is not a deal breaker for me, I am equally as happy land bound.

I am hoping to be breastfeeding to make it a lot easier, as obviously my boobs come everywhere with me so if I need to feed round the pool I can do. Understand BF may not be possible so I will be well prepared with bottles/formula. Already bought steriliser and bottle maker and all that stuff already anyway in case it’s needed.

Thanks again x

My first thought is depending on where you live you might have a 3-4 week wait to even register babies birth and without a birth certificate you can't get a passport.

So for that reason alone ignoring all the very relevant posts about post birth complications, healing and generally feeling like doing anything other than going on a plane I would cancel or rearrange.

I took a 4 week old baby on holidays.

It was by ferry rather than plane because I couldn’t get his passport on time though and you can do Ireland UK by ferry with just a birth certificate. I would have to France/Spain if we had been able to get a passport though.

He was my 4th not my first though and I booked it when he was 2 weeks old and I knew I was up to it.

Warwick Castle, Legoland and the London Eye probably are not the most usual places to bring a newborn but we had fun.

Also you mention sun cream. Babies shouldn't wear sun cream for first six months.

Took my 4 week old on a short flight several years ago. A good friend's wedding I didn't want to miss. It was fine, he was fine, it was a good break for us.

Flights are much easier when they're tiny, because they just eat and sleep. Plus they're so cute people generally forgive you for dating to take a baby on a plane. An almost 3 year old, not so much!

I think people on MN tend to castrophise but maybe take out good travel insurance, just in case

I flew at 7 weeks with one of mine, out of necessity though, not for a holiday. Passport was through easily by then, I had a section and honestly it was a good recovery, no complications, but I had to be out and about registering baby, sorting passports etc MUCH sooner than I felt ready for. Given a choice I'd have waited a week or so longer to feel more human before even contemplating those tasks.

We moved the first immunizations forwards, so that they were had before we flew, but I don't know how early they'd let you move them. We got them at just over 6 weeks and flew 5 days later. I was adamant I wouldn't take an unvaccinated baby on a plane, given how planes are a nightmare for catching things anyway. Not sure the first imms would have given a huge amount of protection against lots of things, but it was at least something.

We were heading somewhere hot, and didn't venture near a pool for weeks, as pools were in direct sunlight mostly. The pool where we lived was heated, and was still too cold for a tiny new born. Weather-wise it was 32deg ish most days, and the baby was fine in the heat, no fiddly babygros to contend with (!), but we did stay indoors most of the time due to the intensity of the sun.

The plane travel was a doddle, as newborns tend to just sleep, so the crying babies (or at least, MY crying babies!) are usually 4 months or older in my experience. Under 4 months all of ours just slept through the flights...better than they ever did at home...

Our baby we flew with at 7 weeks had feeding issues, which we weren't able to sort out between diagnosis and travelling, but we figured it out out of necessity. Had I had more time, I'd have stayed in the UK to resolve things. I think it would have been better for both me and the baby. But as you're only away for a holiday it might not be such a big issue. Though friends that have had severe feeding issues have still been needing a tonne of support and equipment at the 6 week stage, so if you end up like that it could be tricky to take everything you need to ensure hydration.

There are a lot of good baby sun products out there, but I would absolutely double up or triple up on sun protection - creams, clothing, shade...

I'd say it is doable but not desirable. Even if all goes pretty well, like it did for me, I was not in the frame of mind to be travelling and holidaying. I just wanted my own bed and all the equipment and routines I was getting used to!

Good luck to you though :) enjoy it, if you manage to get there!

The chances of complications are not rare. Most people I know had some kind of post birth issue from infection, tears, needing to get a tongue tie cut, needing help with feeding etc.

See if you can speak to any mums with a 6 week old baby in real life. This might help you to manage your expectations of a baby of that age.

@DesLynamsMoustache

My concern is not having to feed or being tired. I can easily feed and sleep round a pool or in the hotel room as I would at home. It’s a place that is very familiar with me, visited 4 times last year so I can’t see me being home-sick, to be honest Gran Canaria feels more like home

I totally understand baby will not be old enough to do anything other than sleep and eat, it obviously will not have any memories of the holiday. The baby can’t really feel any type of way about the holiday and obviously won’t ‘enjoy’ it as such as it won’t know what’s going on. But I also don’t think the baby will dislike being abroad, it won’t know! :’)

Thanks for the advice

Starting to worry that we should have waited till baby a little older.

You are right OP

I took my 8 week old to France for a summer holiday and we had a great time. She went in the pool as it didn’t occur to me not to - it was private at our relative’s house. I also had an ELCS and knew this from the get go so it was easy to plan timing. Luckily she was sleeping through too so it was all very relaxed and with extended family so it was nice to have the help. 4 weeks would have been a bit soon though! I don’t think the passport came back that quickly and we were straight on it.

wouldn’t take an unimmunised baby on a flight? that’s a bit OTT, it’s Spain not Ebola infected countries

Well the immunisations are not against Ebola anyway, so that's a bit of a weird angle. I would check what your baby does hey immunised against and then consider the risk of coming into contact with any of those things, both at your destination and during transit through the airport and on the aircraft itself.

I could t be arsed with the hassle of travelling with such a new baby but I appreciate lots of people do.

The temperature may be a problem. One of mine had to stay indoors for over a week as a baby because the temp in the UK was hitting 30. He came out in the most awful rash, which I now recognise, but at the time we had no idea what it was and ended up in out of hours.

Just some advice I have a 5 month old, flew first time with her at 4 months and it’s my first baby.

Check your airline allows babies as some dont until a certain number of weeks.

Check your waiting times for a birth certificate - mine was done in a week but a friend had to wait three weeks

Passport - mine came in three weeks.

My HV advises against swimming until immunisations.

You don’t know how you will feel in yourself, when I first began taking dd out I felt very overwhelmed (Which surprised me!) - just keep that in mind.

@FoxtrotSkarloey brilliant thank you! Yes already insured, baby on there too. Already have microwave steriliser and pushchair is still to be bought but that is the type we are going for, just need to make sure it’s fully collapsible for the plane. Thanks again x

Also measles is in Spain there’s been an outbreak but if your breast feeding (I never did) I believe the baby is protected via your immunisation.

Hi, I wouldn’t. If your un lucky enough to have to under go major surgery (ie Caesarian) there’s a high chance you won’t be able to enjoy the holiday. But my bigger worry would be such a delicate small baby being exposed to so many different germs on the plane etc etc. Don’t get me wrong I’m a fan of exposing my children to germs knowing it builds their immunity for later in life, but when u See your tiny new born I think u might change your mind, it’s so awful when they catch a simple cold or a tummy bug. X

Hi OP
A few years ago now (!), but I had a baby in early July and went to Spain in late September.

I'm definitely not mad or crazy, but in the interest of balance here's what went well and what didn't in no particular order.

• Second baby, good birth and quick recovery, physically fine 12 weeks later. Would no way have managed it if not as other have said,
• getting a passport only took a few weeks so should be fine as long as you do it promptly and research what you need in advance
• Grandparents came along with husband and toddler, we stayed in a baby friendly house belonging to a relative we'd been to several times previously so no stresses there
• travel absolutely fine, he fed / slept all the time, no crying. we had 4 adults to 2 kids so plenty of pairs of hands to cart the extensive baggage....
• it was still very hot. 28 degrees or so. Baby was fine in himself but I was exclusively breastfeeding so basically glued to him feeding the whole time cos he was even more thirsty than usual. And I mean the whole time - got very little sleep even by newborn standards.

If you don't end up breastfeeding you need a formula / bottles plan and to find the right kind of bottled water. I discovered this when we went back six months later!

• at no point did I even think to put him in the pool would have been far too cold as not heated
• Spanish people love kids and it's fine to take them out. Me and DH despite being shattered left DD with the GPs and managed to get out for dinner most nights with DS in tow which was very nice.
• it was nice to be away somewhere warm and different but wasn't really a holiday or relaxing in anyway. Forget lying on a sun lounger with a book. That said no UK based trip we took when they were babies was either.

So in conclusion, if all goes well with the birth it could all be fine logistically, but be realistic about how exhausting it will still be to look after a baby in a hotter climate. And if you don't have extra pair of hands, your DP is going to have an awful lot of stuff to cart about.