Traveling with an Infant

Much easier doing it with a 2 month old than an 18 month old. Go. Have fun. Weather in December is perfect. Not crowded unless you are goingnChristmas week. My fav time to go! Enjoy!

I took my daughter from Houston to Baltimore and attended a family reunion for her dad's side of the family. We stayed about a week and I took her EVERYWHERE. This was all while I was still on maternity leave.... so she was less than 6 weeks old.

It's more of a pain for YOU because you have to take all the *stuff*. Just try to limit what you take, buy diapers there etc. If you are b'feeding that will be easier for you because you won't have to lug around formula... but even that you can do, if necessary.

Go and have fun!

Youll be fine! When my third was 10 weeks old, we flew and spent a week at Disneyland - she was exclusively breastfed and too young to need baby food or much entertainment. Hubby and I took turns taking our boys on rides, but we all were able to go on many - small world, pirates of the Caribbean, etc.

Oh I would totally do it. It's so easy to travel with infants versus older babies or toddlers! If you breastfeed, no need to worry about food. They are super portable, you can wear them. The car will surely lull them to sleep. You can put them in a nice, portable bassinet or sleeper. We used the fisher price rock play sleeper with two babies and brought it to hotels. It folds up smaller than a pack n play. And why deprive the older kids? One other poster had a good point, heat is the one thing that might concern me. But adults can take turns bringing baby inside to cool off. Plus, honestly, at least for me, those few months postpartum made me feel so isolated and a little crazy. A trip is the perfect thing to bring me out of the baby blues.

Hi T.,

I did a lot of traveling when my daughter was a baby, but I only had one child. It was really only hard when I was with other family members who had plans that conflicted with my self-care, such as time to rest, or being quiet so the baby would stay asleep when we were sharing accommodations. If I had my own space and I could take down time when I needed, then we were fine. I was also nursing, which was convenient for comforting and feeding baby, but I had to make sure I was well nourished and hydrated. Hopefully your husband and friends will be really helpful with the other 2 children, so you can take good care of yourself and baby, as well as maybe have some fun! :)

I think it depends on your family's needs and circumstances.

Just scale back your expectations for how much you will do. You don't know whether you will have an easy baby or a colicky one, a good sleeper or not, one who's easily startled by the noises and lights of the rides or one who likes to move. I don't know the ages of the other kids, but they usually tire out by early afternoon, so it's a good idea to come back to the hotel or villa and just chill with some pool time.

We took our older 2 and our 9 month old to Disney - granted, that's more than 2 months old, what you're talking about! The older two were way beyond stroller age, but I gotta tell you, we saw a lot of pretty large kids in strollers there - really saves the wear and tear on their feet! Be prepared to split up and not have everyone do every ride.

We did want to have a little bit of a break and we hired a babysitter through Disney. We were thrilled - believe me, Disney is incredibly safety conscious and everyone who works there (from characters to waiters to sitters) is fully investigated. She was a godsend - she came first in the late afternoon when our little one was up from his nap, and took him to explore the grounds and play while we took the older kids to the rides and a decent dinner. Later, she came when he was napping and he was happy to wake up to her. We went back a few years later and had the same sitter again, by design. It was phenomenal.

If that doesn't work for you, at least trade off so you don't have the baby every second. My husband and I took turns with one getting up with the baby at 5 AM (charmer that he was) and spiriting him out of the room in the stroller with a bottle and a jar of baby food and a carton of yogurt, while the other slept later. If you aren't in an apartment, get a small refrigerator even if it costs a little more.

Other hints: take your own food and snacks for everyone; it's allowed, it's cheaper, it saves waiting in line. And when you go into the parks, go to the BACK first - fewer crowds. Ignore the kids' whining about wanting to see what's right at the entrance, and be determined to go further back. Then work your way back to the entrance, opposite the rest of the traffic. When everyone's exhausted, you're already at the exit. And of course don't waste time with an infant and the characters! Too scary!

Babies are pretty portable, especially if you are nursing. DD is far younger than her siblings and she spent many an event in her carrier. At 2 months old, she went to the faire for the day.

At a few months old, all they want is food, clean diapers, and love. You'll be with good friends, so hopefully you will be able to pass the baby around as necessary to ride a few rides and tend to the bigger kids. It will be a lot easier to take a newborn than it would be to take a toddler. I say go for it. Disney is a pretty family friendly place.

Just got back from WDW and we saw plenty of people with tiny infants with them in the parks. I was surprised to see so many out in the heat. Most people were carrying their infants. December should be a good time to go but check the weather. Although my granddaughter's pedi suggested they wait until my GD was 3 months old and had had her first set of immunizations. She has been going almost monthly since then and loves to go. I think you should ask your pediatrician if he/she has any concerns.
Since you have other adults going with you, you should be able to trade off with some of the adults to do some activities with your older kids, too.

It will be fine! We moved from Alaska to New Mexico, with a stopover to vacations for 5 days in Colorado when our daughter was 2 months old. She was born in October and we went in December....so exact same age. It was easy. She was tiny and easy to transport. She slept mostly on the airplanes. We had a great ski vacation. And then we rented a car and drove to our new home in New Mexico (about a 7 hr drive). You are not crazy to consider this...you should do it. :)

oh, heavens yes! go! newborns are incredibly portable. and no family should ever be deprived of adventures because there's a new baby. new babies are very adventure-friendly.
it will be hectic (as adventures are) but your family will have a blast.
can't wait to hear about the fun!
:) khairete
S.

I flew multiple times when my son was super young, at 2 months, 6 months, and 9 months. It was so nice and easy, and I was breastfeeding, which is perfect for long plane rides. We would attach the car seat to a piece of luggage we rolled around the airport and I had him in a carrier (a mei tai). He didn't use the car seat on the plane since I would nurse him and we didn't want to pay for the extra seat, but I would take my boppy (any pillow/blanket will work), so he could sleep and I wouldn't be too uncomfortable.

With babies at the airport (and young children), you can go through a special security line (the first class/employee line if there isn't one specified). Makes it so much easier to get through there with all of your stuff. They will even let you walk through with your baby attached to you if your carrier has no/very little metal (zippers are fine), I once nursed through security.

I traveled every other week with my son from LA to Chicago for work, from the time he was about 8 weeks old.
I don't think you're crazy at all, but be sure to manage your expectations. Be sure that you take care of you first. You won't be getting much sleep yet, and a tired, sore mom on vacation sounds exhausting. Don't feel bad if you opt out for one of the 2 parks, or if you only stay for part of a day. Try to stay somewhere very close to the resorts you're visiting, so that you can get back to your hotel or condo in the afternoon, or come back in the evening, so that YOU get to rest with the baby, but also get to have some fun with your big kids. If baby comes with you to the park, trade off with your husband to go on rides with your older kids vs. take a break with the baby.
Take a stroller that your car seat can snap into. That way, if you have to take a cab, you are portable with everything you need for baby. Take a small, or manual pump, so if your husband can bottlefeed and let you have some fun too.

I'd much rather go with a newborn than with an older baby or toddler! ;-) If you are exclusively breastfeeding, it will be easy. You won't need to bring anything but yourself, and you can just carry baby. Baby will still sleep anywhere, and baby isn't old enough to "play" with toys, so you don't even need to bring anything but diapers! Since you will be with friends, you will have extra adults around to help with the other kids.

Just make sure you have lots of hand sanitizer and that no one touches the baby without washing their hands..and you need to clean your hands before touching baby --every time. otherwise, go! have fun.

We just took our 5 month old away for over a week. I never would have done that with my other kids. baby 3 adjusted easily, and the older kids got to have a blast.

You may miss out on some of the fun but everyone else will get to have a blast (I missed out on lots of things on our vacation because I was busy breastfeeding or putting baby to bed...but it was well-worth it.)

Yes, go for it, just make sure baby has own seat and is in a carseat on the plane.

I have to say that they only way I would do this trip is to take someone along with you who will take care of the baby. If you are exclusively breastfeeding? Forget it. Let your husband go with the other kids and you stay home with the baby, or you stay in the unit with the baby during the day while they are gone. I wouldn't take a two month old to Disney, at all.

You can't believe how much work it will be for you to take this trip.

I think it's much easier to travel with infants than toddlers/young children, especially if you're breastfeeding. Sounds fun, go for it!
And if you are flying check with the airline first because not all car seats are approved for use on all planes.