Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

New born and holiday!

60 replies

BabyAlfie22 · 20/05/2022 14:14

My baby boy is due June 11th.

My partner wants to go aboard for a family holiday, it is also his birthday. Weare both really excited to do this!

My concern is, is the baby too young , he could be anywhere between 4-6 weeks ( depending if he comes early or late or next week 😂)

Will he need anything , Jabs etc?

We were going to get a passport fast tracked.

We are thinking Tenerife/Spain so not too far on plane.

Would you take your newborn this young? Are there any complications ?

Need some advice please 🙏

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

chaos76 · 20/05/2022 14:54

I would wait until the baby is born and you have the birth cert and passport, then see how you feel and book a last minute holiday no rush to decided now.

congratulations on your pregnancy and good luck for the future 😊

pitterypattery00 · 20/05/2022 14:55

The first trip we managed was when my son was 8wks - we went to my partner's parents a 2 hour drive away. It was only at that point that I felt I could cope with anything like that. But our first 6 weeks were horrendous (feeding issues) - I was only able to leave home a handful of times in first 4 weeks, the majority of times for midwife/hospital appointments. The sleep deprivation of the early weeks was worse than I could possibly have imagined, I was barely functioning. But of course you may have a much more 'average' baby and things may be easier - but you might not.

Ponderingwindow · 20/05/2022 14:55

You would be crazy to book this trip. There is no way of knowing if you will be one of those women who snaps back and feels fantastic a week later or if you will still be hobbling to the bathroom. Breastfeeding also doesn’t often click into place and get easy until around the 6 week mark. Sleep is incredibly erratic in these weeks. You may feel like a zombie and should be trying to nap during the day with the baby. The baby will be fine because you will make sure the baby is cared for no matter where you are, but there is a very high chance of a trip like this being absolutely miserable for you.

Haveipeedontheircornflakes · 20/05/2022 14:57

Flipping hec...I'm concerned at how clueless you both are about what life with a new born is like And what recovery from birth will be like. You could still be bleeding mammoth "periods"/ lochia at that point!

Cas112 · 20/05/2022 14:58

Honestly OP, a holiday should/will be the last thing on your mind

prettylittlethingss · 20/05/2022 14:58

More stress than it's worth. I highly doubt you'll want to fly 4 weeks pp either. You might not also be able to get the baby registered with. That time frame as waiting lists are huge atm

Haveipeedontheircornflakes · 20/05/2022 14:59

Not to mention massively CRUEL on baby with their delicate ears on take off and landing. Not even sure this is legal?!

MajesticallyAwkward · 20/05/2022 15:00

It's doable as long as you're realistic about what taking a baby on holiday will be- it won't be a lovely piss up for a birthday. That's assuming you have a straight forward birth. You could have an assisted birth or EMCS and just not be up to travelling by then, one or both of you could need some extra care, you might just feel completely wrecked because you have a tiny newborn and haven't slept in weeks. And that's without where your comfort level is for taking an unvaccinated baby on a plane.

There are a lot of other factors that may or may not come in to it. For example my first baby had horrendous reflux, just screamed all day and night for 4 solid months, I wouldn't have gone on a holiday dealing with that.

passports are a huge issue right now, 4-6 weeks is pretty unrealistic to get the birth registered and the certificate and then get a passport.

It's a lot of unknowns, too many for me personally.

Haveipeedontheircornflakes · 20/05/2022 15:00

This really has to be a joke 🤣🤣🤣

Ihaveoflate · 20/05/2022 15:01

I honestly think you'd be mad to even consider this. There are just too many unknowns, especially with your first baby. What if you have a traumatic birth? Feeding issues? PND?

Around the 4-6 week mark I was still a physical and emotional wreck. I struggled to get on a bus into town let alone an aeroplane to a entirely different country!

LorW · 20/05/2022 15:03

I’d say no, 4-6 weeks is when it gets really hard. Baby is so small you don’t want to take them out the house let alone abroad, and he will be unvaccinated which I don’t think is worth the risk.

You'll still be bleeding so no swimming for you which is no bloody fun and surely you want to actually relax on holiday not be sat there cluster feeding all day by the pool unable to do anything especially when your DP will be no doubt having fun which will just make you resentful.

cestlavielife · 20/05/2022 15:08

Hahaha
Short trip to visit family in UK? Sure no problem if they will support
Necessary abroad trip to see dying relatives? Ok if really necessary

Flights rush to get passport unnecessary hot beach holiday? You would be mad to consider until you had baby few months and you both parents worked out your routine , when the dad realises there s no sleep etc he might re think. Do not let the dad go beach and holiday while you stuck in poo and sick. Make sure dad is involved poo sick nappies rocking baby from day one

Hoppinggreen · 20/05/2022 15:11

The fact that you are excited at this (stupid) idea rather than anything else suggests you have never had a baby before
Have your baby, recover and get settled then go away in September or October

CousCousSalad · 20/05/2022 15:13

Where I am you'd be lucky to have a birth certificate by 6 weeks, let alone a passport - and that's before you even start thinking about how very very unlikely it is you'll want to traipse through airports, sit on planes and stay in a hotel that soon after giving birth! I also wouldn't be taking an unvaccinated baby on holiday.

Order a takeaway and stick a film on whilst you cuddle your lovely new baby - that's what birthdays with a newborn look like for most people.

nearlyspringyay · 20/05/2022 15:13

Daft idea...you'll need the birth certificate and then the passport, and then how much fun are you actually going to have with a tiny baby. wait until Sept/Oct.

UpToMyElbowsInDiapers · 20/05/2022 15:15

We’ve done a local (2-hour drive) holiday at that age, which was lovely. The stress of passports, flights, etc. would just not be worth it.

I took DC2 on his first flight (though still domestic) at 10 weeks. That was great, but any earlier probably would have been a challenge.

Mommabear20 · 20/05/2022 15:15

Absolutely not! There's far too many unknowns in north and recovery for you and baby to plan anything that soon after.

Passport is very unlikely to come back in time.

The heat will be ridiculous.

Baby will be unvaccinated so a crowded plane is likely to result in a poorly baby on or after the holiday.

Seems a lot to put baby through so parents can have a holiday, when you could just wait a few more months.

ShadowPuppets · 20/05/2022 15:16

I mean, I’d disagree with some of the info on here:

birth registrations - I had DS on Tuesday and I’ve got a registration appt booked for next Weds when he’ll be 8 days old

lochia - I had 3 weeks of it when I had DD so I wouldn’t have still been bleeding at that stage

That said I agree with everyone that you don’t know what kind of baby you’ll have, the passport backlog would worry me and I wouldn’t want to be thinking about keeping baby cool in that heat; so it’s still a no from me.

asparalite · 20/05/2022 15:17

I think if I were you I'd be discouraging your Partner's idea of a holiday with a newborn, not really the best of ideas at all, maybe the following year.

UpToMyElbowsInDiapers · 20/05/2022 15:18

BTW, DH turned 30 four weeks after we had DC3. I organized a cake, a gift, a couple of bottles of wine, and had 4 friends come to celebrate in our garden for 2.5 hours after the DCs were in bed. I felt like a bloody hero. 😂

Babyboomtastic · 20/05/2022 15:18

I did this 6-7 weeks after my second was born (by c section). It was great, and I'd been fine to go much earlier but I wanted to make sure I could get a passport etc in time. No, baby didnt sleep well, but at least I was in a nice location (and if I waited for sleep to improve we'd have been waiting years).

The baby on holiday was easy. The toddler not so much...

For my first I'd have been happy to go even earlier as no toddler to juggle, and one newborn with 2 parents around I found absolutely fine.

However, passport waits are horrendous, and I'm not sure you'd get it in time, however much you'd fast track at the moment.

TheOpportuneMoment · 20/05/2022 15:24

At 4 weeks with DS1 I was still bleeding, had an infected episiotomy wound and cracked, bleeding nipples. Add in the post natal anxiety and absolutely no sleep and I felt like it was a considerable achievement just leaving the house to go to the supermarket.

With DS2 (now 4 months) I would have probably been fine (bar the inevitable lack of sleep) but it took us until he was 8 weeks old to get an appointment to register his birth (Covid backlog) and we're still waiting for his passport to come back.

SmallElephants · 20/05/2022 15:26

From 8 weeks or so (min - so beginning sept?) would be much more doable. Why not plan something for then? You’ll still need to be sure to fast track passports et.

you can buy flights before they are born, I think you enter ‘baby your surname’ and then you have to call the call centre to have it changed.

Babyboomtastic · 20/05/2022 15:29

asparalite · 20/05/2022 15:17

I think if I were you I'd be discouraging your Partner's idea of a holiday with a newborn, not really the best of ideas at all, maybe the following year.

Are you crazy? 😂

Stationary newborn, who you can vary in a sling whilst sipping cocktails or going out for dinner. Bring able to stay up and out as late as you want, as it makes no difference to baby.

Or supervising a wobbly new walker or fast crawler with no sense of danger near a pool. Having an early dinner and then being (at best) stuck whispering on the balcony at night. And still getting rubbish sleep.

Having to plan activities in another country, that will keep a child entertained vs the existence of your face being enough entertainment for a young baby.

Going in the first few weeks isnt for everyone, but stationary (and under 6m) age babies are by far the easiest age to take a small child away in my experience.

Caspianberg · 20/05/2022 15:37

I applied for Ds passport at 2 weeks old. Took 5 months!

The heat and travel wouldn’t bother me, it’s hot all summer here in Southern Europe and Ds was born in May so was 30/35+ degrees 0-4months age and it’s fine.

The first few months though Ds had loads of check ups and appointments. He would have missed a vaccination, and general health checks travelling abroad so early.

Plus lack of sleep me at dh and I both really weren’t safe to drive to and from airport long drive etc

Flip

1 2 3