So, DH and I have tickets for a weekend event two weeks after my due date (purchased before conception!). We've a little while left to decide whether to cancel now, or keep the tickets and risk losing the cost if we can't go (not an astronomical amount, but enough I don't want to just throw it away).
Going would involve travel from Scotland to London we had been planning to fly, since it's actually at Heathrow, but I have no idea what's easiest with a baby and a pretty free-from attending talks/panels/other stuff that it's easy to slip in and out of. I might be scheduled to be on a panel myself, but could very easily bow out and still attend. MIL (and possibly FIL, too) will be able to come with us to help out, looking after baby.
When I first got pregnant, I though, oh, well that'll be no problem, as long as the baby is born not TOO late. MIL will be there, and we can wander as we wish. My only slight concern was me being on the panel -- what if baby gets hungry then? (Do I want to breastfeed in front of everybody or slip away?) This perception was supported by the knowledge that there was a 2-week old baby at the event last year (won "youngest attending member" prize :) ).
But now as the date gets closer, I'm starting to worry how hard would this be? This is our first, so I have no idea what taking care of a newborn is like. I am really keen to go we'll get to see friends we only see once a year and it's related to hobby I'm very slowly trying to turn into a profession. It seems like the free-form nature of the whole thing makes it pretty easy for a baby. If all I do is sit in the lobby and chat with people while baby sleeps/eats/is-doing-something-else-that's-not-crying, I'll probably have managed to enjoy myself and think it's worth it. We'll be staying in the same hotel as the event, so it should be easy to pop up to the room if baby needs private attention, and MIL will be there... But, I really don't know what I'm getting myself into!
Can anyone give me an idea of how feasible this might be? Or at what point post-due date with no baby yet we ought to scrap the plan?
Also, if we do end up going, any advice about travelling with a newborn? We could fly relatively short drive or train/bus to the airport, and then we'll be at our destination on the other end. But I don't know what flying with a baby is like. Other options are train 6 hrs to London with one transfer, then however one gets to Heathrow from Kings Cross (tube?) or driving. Driving actually seems the worst to me I imagine we'd have to stop ALOT to feed, and it would take forever, and then there is the driving-near-London issue. So train or plane seem best, but I have no idea which is easier with a baby.