Booked holiday abroad for 6 weeks after birth - am I mad?

[TigerJoy]

I'm having a c section, logic was I'd be able to swim. Get some autumn sun in October.

We're going to DH's place of birth in Italy, so it won't be too hot or a long flight. I'd like his family and friends to meet the baby.

But now I'm wondering- can the baby sleep in a hotel cot which probably has an old mattress? Or should we bring our own travel cot? And our own car seat if we decide not to rent a car?

This is our first, we don't have a clue. I know I have a lot of time to plan, I'm just wondering what we should consider.

It's a cancellable flight in case we're struggling too much to travel or baby/I am not doing so well after birth.

Based on my experience, C-section followed by mastitis and then sepsis, as well as a poorly baby requiring daily hospital visits (unforseen) I'd say you're nuts. Not to mention taking a very small baby with no immune system on a flight as well as all the fuss and upheaval and stress of having everything... stress which seems to have already started worrying about cots etc.
Personally I'd hold off.

I don't know why you would put so much pressure on yourself to be honest! There's no way I'd have been up to this with my two.

I have had two DS’ vaginal labours from experience, 6wks would have been far too early for us to have travelled, and swimming would have been the last thing on my mind to be honest. The first few weeks after having a baby are utterly exhausting, your body is healing, trying to get into a routine etc. Good luck OP.

I.also had mastitis after about 6 weeks, spent fathers day asleep feeling terrible. Still bleeding as well. No way could I have flown, or wanted.to be anywhere but home or my in-laws for more than a couple of hours

Six weeks is still in the newborn blur, I wouldn't have fancied it myself at all. You won't be sleeping much, so the thought of doing all the prep for a flight and holiday sounds a lot. I was also still bleeding six weeks after my c section, and I couldn't walk fast - the pain had gone by then but everything felt tight and weird. Plus leaky boobs, squishy body, sitting still for quite a long time on the plane - no thanks.

You'll feel much better by 10/12 weeks, better delay until then.

I think it's quite optimistic to think that you'll have the baby's passport by 6 weeks.

I didn’t manage to get an appointment to register the birth until 5-6 weeks after birth let alone a fast track passport appointment. You will definitely need an in person appointment to get the passport on time and they are not always immediately available (and only in a few cities in the UK).

i travel lots with both my children (families abroad) but 6 weeks after birth would
be my idea of hell personally.

You'll have to see what the baby is like. Most babies are really sleepy at this stage so is a good time to travel. Although my DD2 had colic and would scream for 2 or 3 hours in the evening so we didn't go on any holidays for a long time!

You might have a bassinet part on your pram they could sleep in? A travel cot will probably be too big. They like to be quite snug at that age.

I didn’t swim for about 3 months after my c sec. Parts of it blistered and burst so I didn’t want to risk infection. I didn’t drive until 7 weeks post surgery. Honestly there’s no way in hell I’d get on a plane with a 6 week old baby. I know people do and have, but I would be a wreck!

Remember even with fast track, it takes a week for a child passport. You will need to travel to a passport office for this.
Plus the time to book the registration appointment. Which can take a few weeks.

You might wonder why the hell you put so much pressure on yourselves. It's hard to estimate the impact of a new baby, hormones, recovery and breastfeeding when it's your first.

Whatever it will be it's unlikely to be a relaxing holiday at that point.

I've had two c sections and I think you are mad (per your question!).

After my most recent c section I was still bleeding heavily at 6 weeks and definitely wouldn't have been able to swim, it would have hurt too much round my wound.

In addition to the other issues people have identified around passport etc, don't underestimate the sleep deprivation. My baby woke up every 2 hours for feeding until she was well past 3 months old and I was barely coping. I couldn't have managed international travel as well.

6 weeks is a gamble. C sections are different for most people and Drs usually reccomend 6 weeks to take it easy. Some bounce right back and some needs months.
As the flight is changeable can you push it back to 10 weeks p/p? That would be better and give you time to recover and adjust to baby and feeding etc etc. You'll also have check ups around that time. 6 weeks and 8 weeks you usually see the HV and Dr.

We took a 12 hour flight when Ds was 6 months old. Door to door 26 hours travel. And it was fantastic. He was sleeping longer stretches had a routine with nursing and he was easily entertained by the people and what was happening. Also started solids at 5 months so could give him purees and snacks. I would do the same again 5-6 months was the best time for us.

We live in a tiny town and it took us a couple weeks to get birth cert and then 5 weeks to get the passport and that wasn't during peak time at all. So personally I would push back the travel until much later.

I was planning a short flight to a family wedding that would have been about 5 weeks after due date. My friend advised me not to go; on the date of the wedding I was so glad we weren’t going . I had 2 c sections, recovery from one was pretty smooth but the next one was difficult with an infection. I remember emptying the dishwasher taking about 40 minutes about 5 weeks after the birth, feeling like a major achievement and wiping me out for the day. So it’s hard to say how you’ll feel but surely it’s easier to leave it a few weeks more and be much more likely to enjoy it, and there are all the other logistical reasons pps have given for leaving it a bit when you’re more likely to be ok with letting extended family hold the baby etc

I wouldn’t be happy taking a baby abroad on a plane without their vaccinations. Plus, 6w postpartum is nothing at all, especially if you’ve had major abdominal surgery. It sounds a bit bonkers to me. I wouldn’t do it and I’m about to have my third baby.

My csection was no way near healed by week 6. It got infected too.
You need to think of baby's health too, October is RSV season and being on a plane amongst people coughing and spluttering is not good for baby. I doubt you'd have a very good time if baby caught anything and was ill while you were away.
Then theres getting a passport, birth certificate, being overdue by a week or so, hasn't had first vaccinations.

I didn't have a C-section but experienced a virginal birth with complications. I was still in PJ's at 6 wks and struggled to get beyond the local shops. I could not have done a flight.

Did you intend to take newborn into the pool? this may not be advisable as presumably baby will not have received any vaccinations. Check out the latest guidance, when mine were born it was no pool use under 3 months.

This sounds like madness to me. People recover at different rates, of course, but you won't even be signed off by your doctor to drive until six weeks, let alone fly off to Italy and swim with a still-healing wound on your stomach. If you were due to have a normal delivery, that would be pushing it, just from the POV of getting the baby's passport in time, but to go six weeks after a c-section? I think it's a bonkers plan.

We did similar, it was great. We booked it after the birth though, when we knew we were ok.

No way would I have been up for this and I didn’t even have a c section. I don’t think going on a plane before jabs is a good idea either.

Have you checked out your health insurance?

Both c sections I've been bleeding heavily at 6 weeks, and also my scar has not been in a position to want to be in water... In fact I made that mistake first time round and ended up with an infection. So maybe envisage sitting by the pool, rather than getting in it.

What!!!! Yea definitely.

Would you get travel insurance so soon after birth/surgery?

I'm 6 weeks PP now- I've recovered enough to go on a holiday, scar potentially is healed enough to swim too but only just as in overdid things and the wound opened/got infected about week 3.

Baby wise, we would manage on a flight but it would go either way, she'd either be fully chilled and asleep or screaming for the full time with no soothing if she wasn't happy, she's not overly fond of the dummy either. We've had some reflux/colic issues which would without a doubt be the deciding factor. If you have a chilled baby with no digestive issues you'd likely be fine but they are so common at first so I'd say plan for that too.

I can't imagine being organised enough to take everything I'd need away, that's what would probably put me off too, I just couldn't be bothered 😂 it's hard and wearing enough as it is. I'm sure I've read you can hire things like car seats abroad though so that's.m a potential but for me I'd probably still just take my own with my pram and put it in the hols for peace of mind. Baby won't sleep in anything bigger than her Moses at the moment either so that would be an issue for us, I'd probably order one there to families house though in your situation if it was the same.

All in all, you won't know if it's doable or not until baby is here, it's a massive adjustment to life with a first which might be too much of a struggle or it could be that you're absolutely thriving, recovering well and feel able to go. Book baby's registration as soon as you've had them to try and get passport back in time too.