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.

I took my DS away when he was 12 weeks old. He had had his immunisations though :) loved every minute of it x

My local birth office had a 3week wait for appointmentS so you might want to check on that

I guess in some ways it's easier with a newborn...they can't run off etc.
However,at that stage my firstborn was screaming crying from 6pm til midnight every night. It was very stressful. And then the usual 2 hourly wake ups. I definitely wouldn't want to be in an echoey tiled hotel room trying to keep them quiet.

We went away when DD was 18 months and it was hard work in a different place!

Each to their own!

@Doveyouknow it’s a large apartment we will be in, self catering. We have been to this one before so know that there’s a kettle microwave etc. That should make it easier for sterilising and feeds and stuff hopefully.

Shame to hear you didn’t have much of a holiday x

We took DS on holiday to Canaries at 8 weeks. He slept the whole journey (except waking for feeds) which is much easier than now he’s older! I was bf and expressing for 1 bottle a day - we hired a steriliser and bottle warmer which was great, but if not available I’d also recommend Milton tablets.
Take a lot more nappies than you think as they’re more expensive out there!
We were overwhelmed with how lovely everyone in our hotel was to us - lots commenting that we were brave taking such a young baby away, but it just felt normal to us. Just organise all your packing well and remember you can buy anything you forget out there.
I would say others are right about passport though - register the baby’s birth as soon as you can - we couldn’t get an appointment for the first 3 weeks.

I took my first DC abroad at 5 weeks, on a ferry, to my parents’ house. I had an EMCS and was EBF at that stage. I wouldn’t have subjected a tiny baby to a holiday in a hot climate, nor would being cooped up in a hotel room doing night feeds have been in the slightest bit appealing.

With my second DC I had severe breastfeeding problems for 5/6 weeks - nipple vasospasm meant that every feed was agony, even though I had BF my first DC for a year without any issues. I would not have liked to have been going through that anywhere other than the privacy of my own home, let alone on holiday with what sounds like most of my extended family

Nothing wrong with going a abroad with a small baby, but you do need to be realistic. It can take 3 weeks to book a registry appointment and then probably another 1-2 for a passport. At 4-6 weeks you may still be bleeding so no swimming. With my first I still wasn’t managing to brush my teeth daily y 6 weeks, I was so exhausted. But beyond about 8 weeks or so, things do get easier. I went off to Spain on my own with my then 8 month old and we had an amazing time. I would probably re book for later so you can enjoy yourself.

Are you going to stay with family or are they going with you? You may have said and I missed it.
If the former then get them to get in as much stuff as possible in advance. For example I went to visit my parents in the balkans and they made sure to have nappies, wipes and paracetamol etc ready for me.
If the latter discuss with them taking extra stuff divided between you. Of course people have babies there too but it’s a lot more stressful trying to find the right shop and then the right product in a place you don’t know.

Positive experience here.

I took my 3 week 2 day old baby to the south of Spain two Summers ago and it was totally fine. My advice would be to just prepare to do very little and then you/baby won’t be too stressed. DS slept regularly and we took him to restaurants most evenings for the fortnight we were away - he was so new he just slept through any noise and they’re exceptionally family friendly in Spain, so very happy to see kids coming into restaurants.

As for heat - DS seemed to enjoy being in very little clothing 😀

No swimming but only as I wasn’t permitted to swim with a tear that wasn’t healing well but otherwise there is no issue with babies and pools - DS started swimming at 8 weeks at various temp. pools and before immunisations (NHS guidance is quite clear on swimming being fine).

Sterilising - I combi fed and took sterilising tablets with me. Never used an electronic steriliser at home so it made no odds to me.

Travelling - breastfeeding was a gift as it ensured DS was comfortable on take off but imagine a bottle would have same benefits on ears. Airport staff typically gave us priority access also which meant no queuing for us.

Feeding generally - if taking bottles out and about I had a cool bag with ice packs in it.

Passport - Passport photos at 1 week old, passport office meeting at 2 weeks old and picked up passport 3 weeks 1 day...we cut it very fine. So, book an appointment with the office well in advance of baby’s due date (for a date after the latest likely date) and simply turn up with the form filled and photos witnessed and bring along proof that you have booked your travel in advance - there is no guarantee however, they will likely try to fast track the application (although it is not technically offered for first time applications).

Can’t think of anything else other than go on your holiday and enjoy it - may as well be doing the new baby thing in a beautiful climate and have the option to get all your meals prepared for you and no house work!

You can do the express passport service which has a one week turnaround btw, and not all areas have a waiting time for registration, if yours does, just book a slot as soon as you can.

My DS (my first) was 6 weeks when we went skiing - I skied 2 hours every day although admittedly I had had an easy birth. We went with 2 other couples who had a 12 week old and an 18 week old (along with a toddler each). This was 30 years ago when we had no internet to ask for advice (or condemn us for what we were doing !), We had a great time, and the thought of a skiing holiday kept me going in those first difficult weeks. And being naive and stupid, we had booked the trip well before my DS was born. All the babies were absolutely fine (absolutely no swimming though).

Might be a challenge getting a passport in time if you have the same experience as others with registration. We took DD on a flight to see the in-laws over Xmas when she was 12 weeks. Flight etc was fine but her passport (which thankfully we didn't need in the end as it was within the UK) took much longer than the timescales on the gov.uk site and we didn't have it in time for our trip. There were no issues with the actual application or photo. You will need to apply using the express option, so factor that into your budget.

We were also lucky that the in-laws sorted out a cot, rocker, nappies and formula, but we still needed to bring A LOT of stuff. If you're flying as a group it might be an idea to see if your family members can stick a few bits and pieces in their luggage. This also makes it less of a disaster if you bags go awol. Also get down to a sling library, hire one that suits and bring it with you. Gives you that element of flexibility at the airport or if you head off somewhere where a pushchair would struggle (cobbles, lots of steps, etc).

In my naivety I didn't even consider the vax point but we were lucky- a friend doing that trip at the same time ended up with her baby the same age catching Hand Foot and Mouth. Her GP thinks he picked it up on the plane journey. Vaccinations don't cover that but it's just an example of how vulnerable small babies are and how easily these things can spread during air travel.

It's a massive adjustment with your first, indescribable. You do adjust, but those first few weeks are unlike anything you will ever have experienced. Added to that your body is also recovering from the birth- I bounced back from my section but I still wouldn't have wanted to be wrangling the baby, luggage and all the equipment (car seat, pram, travel cot, change bag, plus your own normal luggage) at that stage even with DH doing most of the donkey work! I was still bleeding at 6w/pp and dealing with intermittent thrush outbreaks due to constant pad wearing. Even though I FF I was still leaking loads of milk, the smell of which made me feel sick as it warmed with my bodyheat. It really was as delightful as it sounds.

If it was 16 weeks I'd be driving you to the airport myself, but 6 is ambitious. Just give yourself time and permission to recover and enjoy baby when they're so small rather than focus on the logistics of making this trip work if the stars aren't aligning (a la eurochick!).

OP I have had the experience of going away with a newborn, and I still think you are naive! But then most of us are before actually having a baby. I’m sure you’ll have an easy birth and great sleeper so it’ll all be fine Wishing you well with your pregnancy.

I have actually done this (and you can search for the thread I started on the subject.)

My baby was almost a month old when we travelled. I'd had several children already, and a track record of fast, uncomplicated births.

My concern here is not the baby so much (all those issues have already been covered by previous posters) but YOU. As a first time mother you have NO IDEA what the birth will be like, how it will leave you physically, psychologically... There is no way I'd have been able to handle a trip abroad with my first at a month old. Be prepared to not feel able to manage it - and prepare your family too, so that they don't pressure you, or get too upset if you can't make it after all.

Practicalities: you cannot get a passport (in England) without a birth certificate. These are issued by your local council; check their website, and ring them and ask what likely waiting times for an appointment will be in July/August. Could be a week, or it could be a month.

The fastest passport service offered for children is the 1-week Fast Track; you book an appointment, to which you must bring the birth certificate (see point above). These appointments are often booked up for weeks in advance. Again - check your local passport office, and be prepared to travel to the other end of the country for a sooner appt if necessary.

Once you've got your birth certificate and been to your appointment, your baby's passport will be delivered to within a week - but everything depends on how quickly you've managed to register the birth and get a Fast Track appointment.

You can buy suncreams specifically designed for babies, but in the end I just always kept her in the shade, and bought a UV umbrella for walking from A to B.

The baby will almost certainly be fine (as mine was); it's you that's more likely to have serious issues, all of which will be far easier and more pleasant to deal with in your own home.

Good luck!

Most of the people with experience that you seem to be weighting heavily with have had a child already and were older than yours.

Oh well, time will tell! Please do come back and tell us how it goes :)

Why do people do this to themselves?

Given the many reasons why this is a bad idea (passport timing, pre-immunisations and baby can't even take calpol yet, weeks worth of sleep deprivation, travelling around the time it's most likely you'd get PND, healing c section scar), can't you push the holiday back a few weeks?

I know that people have done it before, but is it by force you have to travel and do what you can at home with less stress (and admittedly, less sun but you can't even put baby in direct sun like that anyway... also, if you've ever seen a miserably hot baby, you'll know that sitting around fanning it all day isn't fun)?

You're being extremely naive OP. You'll be bleeding, leaking milk, exhausted and you may have other complications. The hot weather will be distressing for you and the baby.

I suffered from an extreme form of post-natal anxiety and OCD following the birth of each of my children. I became irrationally germaphobic and couldn't cope with any public transport (germs on surfaces, people coughing) or with anyone touching my baby who wasn't wearing clean clothes with washed hands. If a hat or cardigan fell on the floor it had to be washed... etc. It was hell and I cried more than I've ever cried before. All I wanted was to be curled up in bed with the baby so that's what I did for 10-12 weeks each time.

You just don't know, that's the thing.

I should add that I had no precious, and have no residual mental health issues, it was a pure reaction to the birth and having a newborn.

*previous

Hi OP

My tuppence - we went to the south of France on a plane when DS was 6/7weeks old. For context I had an easy pregnancy and Labour (at home), was 25 so recovery was quick (stopped bleeding within 10days) and we were travelling to my parents’ house for Christmas

• passport came on time
• I was physically In a great place
• has DH and grandparents on hand
• can’t actually remember if we’d immunised at that point but the flight was fine, fee during take off and landing to help with baby’s ears popping

My big issue was PND and DS has colic. It was so stressful getting there and back - thankfully my parents basically just looked after all 3 of us (one of the reasons we went!) but honestly looking back it would have been so much better for my mental health to have hibernated at home and had them come to me! It’s just another thing you don’t know how it will go. Alll well and good saying we’ll hang out in the hotel room, babies just eat and sleep - some don’t, some scream for 8 hours (and I’m not exaggerating) every evening. It was bad enough dealing with that in our flat (not as bad in my parents house in the middle of the countryside with no neighbours) but I would have found it so stressful to deal with at a resort.

But I appreciate you keep saying if you end up not being able to go then fine, you won’t. Has the holiday already been booked? If it has then sure make all the plans you can in advance but don’t let anyone pressure you into going if in the end you just want to stay home, for any reason

Should add that come DC2 we actually emigrated when she was 2.5months old - which was actually so much easier because she was my second and I knew what I was in for. And she didn’t have colic

We had a family holiday planned four and a bit weeks after I'm due and have said we can't go. Luckily it wasn't booked yet, but had been planned for 18 months! Oops. It's likely I will have a section, and from the reading I did apparently you may not be fit to fly that early. Something about not being able to do the brace position. Just something to be mindful of if you get an infection etc, as that could delay the recovery a bit more and make it less feasible. I think I've seen posts where people have driven before 6 weeks etc but they've got their midwife or GP to confirm they are fit to first for insurance purposes etc, not sure if that may be something to look into in case your dates end up closer together.

FWIW I had no idea about sun cream either. I am probably a bit naive too, but isn't everyone with their first baby? There are a couple of mean spirited people on this thread. Well done for not vanishing OP.

Honestly I think it’s a bit of a daft idea. Yes, it could be fine, but it could also be bloody horrendous.

We live overseas but with both of mine, I waited until they were 12 weeks before I felt comfortable flying back to the UK to visit family.

I mean, there’s no one big reason why you shouldn’t do it, but so many small ones that all add up. No vaccinations, breastfeeding struggles at the start, still bleeding, birth injuries, feeling exhausted, baby getting sick/a cold, baby not meant to be in the sun at all....

Sat here feeding my 9 week old and a sunny holiday sounds like it would be bliss. You might as well be sleep deprived on holiday as at home. 4 weeks would have been harder for me; I was still bleeding and breast feeding was still hurting quite a lot. From 5 weeks everything was more settled and I'd have gone for it.

I wouldn't go its selfish to be honest and your only going for your own benefit not babies, baby wont enjoy the heat or be comfortable , we had a tenerife holiday booked in very similar timescales , 6 weeks after baby was born and we cancelled it , why subject a baby to that heat , risk of dehydration , a flight on their precious little body
I think you need to think who benefit you are going for because its certainly not your babies