Holidaying with a 4 month old

[spannermary]

I am currently at the beginning of the third trimester, due in April.

I've just had an email from my lovely parents saying they are renting a cottage in the west of France at the end of the summer holidays, and would be like to come. Our answer will have a bearing on the size of the cottage they will rent, so they sort of need to know soonish.

Isn't that lovely of them!

Our little one will be around 4 months old at that point. Is driving, then catching a ferry to France, and then staying in France for up to a week bonkers at this stage? Or is it a perfect time, as they need very little other than my boob (if all goes well...)

I'd love to go - but don't want to take on more than is sensible.

Obviously we'd have to sort things like baby passport etc, but I was wondering what people thought about this. Has anyone done anything similar?

"would we like to come"

Should've proof read...

Sounds lovely.

I currently have a 4 mth old & would happily go on holiday with her. My only second thoughts would be re the long drive & whether baby would put up with it, & whether the sleeping arrangements would mean I was anxious about the baby waking everyone up at night.

I'm taking my baby on an 7 hr drive for a holiday in a few weeks... I'll report back...

I have done long trips with a baby this age and it was absolutely fine. You'll need a travel cot from somewhere, and will need to break the drive up if its longer than three hours so that you can give the baby a feed/change/stretch etc.
Say yes!

You will be FINE! I was camping at six weeks in which was a bit much and a cottage will be lovely.

Travel cot & baby monitor with a continental adapter will make life easier.

Definitely plan to break your journey every couple of hours. Set off at crack of dawn works quite well as you can then stop for breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea etc and it all works quite nicely.

Nappies, formula and wipes are quite a lot more expensive in France so if you have room in the car it would make sense to pack some of these to take with you.

youll be fine a baby is very adaptable I found it much harder work taking a todfler than a baby!!
go and enjoy!!!!!!!
im planning a holiday in late june my baby is due 7th april also ill have a baby and 2 year old that will find the change harder than the baby.
I wish id made the most of holidays etc when dd was younger and more freedom with routine with a baby as it all gets slightly tricker with toddlers xxx

We took our four month old to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia for 2 months. We took long haul flights, and travelled on a budget, taking buses, boats, stayed in basic accommodation ( with air mostly, but not always) and we had a fab time. Our dd was ready for solids when we left, so the last week or so I did a lot of nursing, but overall it was great and I would do it her again in a heartbeat.

Absolutely, go!

We're planning on taking a 2 month old to South of France in August - I'm just hoping it'll be ok! Debating whether to fly or drive though

blushingmare we took the train to the South of France, with a stopover in Paris. It was easy peasy and so fast, plus you can feed at your leisure.

You will find it much easier taking a 4 month baby abroad than when they start crawling/walking and generally getting up to all sorts.

I took our DD to France at 3 months, only stress was leaving the passport application 'til quite close to the mark but other than that fine.

Do it, your parents will love having a protracted time with their grandchild and you'll have babysitters for the odd hour or two off too.

I would recommend driving rather than flying, much easier to chuck a load of stuff in the car than a suitcase. The car-train sounds wicked, I will be investigating that.

Wow - that's a resounding yes from everyone! Thanks for all the advice. I particularly like the tip about the nappies.

I'm excited about it already!

Sounds fab!

We took DD away when she was 3 months, was actually a very good time to take her, despite her not being the best sleeper in the world. They tend to be very 'portable' at that age and much easier than when they begin to crawl/walk. We stayed in a hotel and were even able to put her to sleep then order room service and watch a film without waking her We went on holiday this year when DD was 17 months and I really didn't enjoy it, spent the whole time running around after her and found it difficult to get her to bed before us. She certainly wouldn't entertain going to sleep knowing we were in the same room awake!

Yep go!! We also went abroad when DS was 4 months... like everyone else has said, it's a good time to go. You're pretty settled and baby is relatively low maintenance (compared to what's to come :) ) especially like you say if bf.

Packing seemed a bit overwhelming at the time, I'm not really sure why now, but it was worth it!