How soon to holiday with a new born?

[WestYorkshireGirl]

Hi all

I am a newbie to MN and being pg - only 12 weeks so still getting used to it all! My baby is due on 22 July and on 6 August it will be our 10th wedding anniversary and I would like to mark it by going away (this country or short haul e.g. Europe). Obviously we won't manage to be away for the anniversary itself (!), but was wondering if anyone with a bit more experience could advise how you feel say 8/10+ weeks after giving birth and if going away is do-able or advisable?

I don't mean water skiing or anything, just self catering or hotel and being together/relaxing for a week or two?.

Any advice greatly appreciated - thanks!

Honestly - it depends on if your baby is sleeping or not. I did it after 10 weeks with ds and he was waking every 2 hours still.....had I left it a few more weeks until I had learned how to persuade him to sleep (!!) it would have been vastly better!

I took my DS away when he was ten weeks, and it was fine, I'd had a CS too. But you need to make sure you apply for the passport as soon as you've registered the birth.

depends on what sort of routine your baby is in, if still waking several times in the night you'll probably be exhausted and not enjoy it very much.

we took DS abroad at 4 months, he had been sleeping well before we left but the combination of the heat, the journey (short haul) and because he was hungry (i think growth spurt) he woke up almost hourly and I was totally exhausted by end of holiday and desparate to get home....

personally i would wait and try and book something more last minute when you know how the sleeping is going.

I took dd camping at 8 weeks and again at 11 weeks. Had a blast. I too had a cs and dd was feeding every 2hrs day and night but it was nice feeding her under the stars and feeling coccooned together as a little family. As long as you go at a pace you're comfortable with and accept that holidaying with a baby is very different to holidaying without one, it can be wonderful.

We went away - in UK - when DD was 12 weeks. Was fine and certainly no harder than being at home. TBH though as wethaer was rubbish if I did it again I'd have gine abroad for guaranteed sun. I would have been happy to take DD away before 12 weeks too.

I second what others say. Have the baby, wait and see how you feel/ how the baby is. And then book something. Babies are very portable at that age - however I travelled with DS when he was 6 weeks old and will never travel again with a baby that young. Travelled again when he was 14 weeks old and that trip went much better.

I took DD to Egypt when she was 10 weeks to see family. I was tired of course and she was still waking a couple of times a night but we all had a good holiday. We did have the advantage that my MIL and SIL helped with her and I managed to get out, go riding, swimming and spend time with DH and DS.
It is the easiest time to travel imho, before the baby starts moving about, then flying any distance becomes a nightmare!

I took DS snowboarding at 10 weeks. I'd had a CS but was back to normal by then and DS was sleeping from 11pm til 7am reasonably consistently and he stayed in the cabin most of the day while ne or DH were on the slopes. It was great.

We took DS away to Spain when he was 10 weeks. He had just started sleeping through the night and carried on doing so but he wasn't overly happy in general, I think it was a bit warm for him. He has enjoyed it every other time we have been since though.

Yep, dd was 10 weeks when we went (march so not too hot) to the Canaires. V easy if you are BF as don't need to really take anything else. Took her away again when she was 4 months with family (John Fowler holiday cottages in Cornwall) and again was fine

We took our DD loads of places in Europe before she was 12 weeks old including Brussels, Munich and Madrid. My DH works abroad a lot and it meant we got to see him more. I found it really simple as she was breastfed and even when we were delayed for 6 hours on the return flight once it worked fine.

However, if you are bottle feeding there can be issues with sterilising in a hotel room and finding non-mineral water to make up feeds with. Just something to consider.

Babies are incredibly flexible and at such a young age they will sleep anywhere and are quite happy to be carried in a sling.

I took DS to South Africa at 7 weeks old. He was much easier to manage on the flight at that age because he slept the whole time. I would much rather fly with a newborn than with a mobile under 2 year old - no seat on the plane etc.

My advice would be:

1. Don't book until the baby is born.
2. Don't go somewhere with a big time difference or somewhere too hot.
3. Wait until you have done the first set of injections (that was the advice I had and it also made me feel a bit better)
4. Get passport arranged immediately to save worrying about it.
5. Be organised and try to book a seat with a sky cot (or the equivalent). DS slept in his sky cot both ways on our flight. Different airlines have different policies on how to book them.

I hope you have a wonderful time.

We went on hiliday when DS was 8 weeks, had a real good time as I had my DH there all the time so it took the pressure off me a bit. Good luck with ur pregnancy!

We're planning on going away when baby will be about 12 weeks old - have a look on AIBU as there is a long thread with advice on it there.

Definitely wait and see how you feel.

With my first baby I couldn't have contemplated being away from home for several months. It was all too exhausting and overwhelming and the idea of rest would have been laughable, really, as DS slept so poorly.Our first trip was short haul to Europe when DS was 5 months old and that was gruelling - definitely NOT relaxing and fun.

However, with my second baby I was probably ready for a holiday within a month or so (and that was after a c-section).

I went to a family gathering holidaying together in another part of the country, it was booked for a week after due date, but ds1 fortunately came a week early, so he was two weeks old when we went on holiday. It was fine as at that stage they sleep alot, and I just made sure that I rested sitting talking to my family loads.

When he was 6 weeks old we moved to a new country, again no problem (apart from home-sickness contributing to post-natal depression). At an early age they are easy to take anywhere. The only danger is in the early weeks that it is tempting to do too much and tire yourself out.

Once you pass the 12 week stage, babies sleep much less and it is therefore actually harder.

So I think your idea of going 8/10 weeks after giving birth is fine, remember that baby might not come on time, and that you will just be getting used to being a parent for the first time, so I would suggest not going too far and planning a very relaxing time.

Go for it! How about somewhere you can get to on Eurostar to save all the flying hassle? You'll need to get a baby passport though!

We've done it with all three fairly early - 8-10 weeks, and are booked to go to France with DC4 when the baby will be around 10 weeks, depending on when it arrives!

The only thing I found tricky was bottle feeding DD (my number 2 who would NOT breastfeed) as sterilising stuff and carrying bottles around was a pain.

I honestly think it's easier travelling with a newborn than a crawling 8/9 month old, but perhaps that's just my babies, who have all been fidgets and climbers!

Passports need to be applied for the week of the birth though really to ensure you get the passport back in time.....

Thanks everyone for your comments. I will wait and see how things go, but plan to do something simple in this country I think.

DS2 should be about 3-4 weeks old when we are off for a week in a cottage. We had a weekend away when DS1 was 4 weeks.

I see other's have pointed out passports! Very important (obviously).

Newborns extremely portable and if breastfeeding everything is "on tap".