Travelling with an infant?

cmokstu

Hello all!


I'm going to be a first time mom (due end of May) and am looking for some advice.  We have friends getting married in Italy in August and we are going to try and go with our newborn (assuming 2 months old depending on when I deliver).  We are also bringing my parents to help us with the baby.  Please forgive my ignorance with all this...here are some of my questions I'm hoping you all can help me with:

1. Stroller - Do we take it with us or just count on a baby carrier the whole time?  If we do take the stroller, does it get checked or do we have it in the airport with us until we board and then somehow it gets checked at the gate?

2. Airplane - We didn't get the baby a separate seat since we are travelling first class and we thought there would be enough room.  Where does the baby sleep?  Do we need to bring some sort of mini bassinet?  Where do you change the baby's diaper on the long flights?

3. Public Transportation - Do we need to take a car seat with us for the taxi rides from the Italy airport to our hotel?  Is there any other way for the baby to ride in a car safely without a car seat?

4. Hotel - What is the best sleeping arrangement for the baby in a hotel?  We have a stroller with a bassinet attachment, but I'm not sure if that is too big and unwieldy for travel (UppaBaby Vista).  If we have a mini bassinet, does it go in the bed with us?  On the floor?  On a table? 

5. Are we insane for even attempting this in the first place?

KidShrink

Good for you for attempting this! I have heard that it's easier to travel with very young infants, so hopefully that'll be the case for you. We were in Italy last summer, so here's my insight from what I've seen.
1) Stroller: the uppababy has a travel bag you can get. What I've seen people do is that I believe it gets checked (sometimes at the gate). Now whether I'd rely on stroller vs baby carrier depends heavily on where you're going. In large cities, a stroller is probably not a bad idea. However, we spent about a week in Amalfi, and a stroller there would have been an absolute pain as there were stairs everywhere, and cobblestone type road where there weren't stairs. 
2) I think people usually keep baby on them/in their arms to sleep during the flight. I don't know that you'd have space for the bassinet even in first class. 
3) Italians have NO concept of car safety at all whatsoever. We saw some people with a carseat, but I can't even tell you the number of times I saw kids riding in the car on their parents knees. I remember DH and I commenting on that regularly. I'd check with a travel agent to be safe...but I guess I'd possibly take a carseat? 
4) The uppababy bassinet can be folded for transportation... Not tiny, but still better than bringing a pack and play. I'd inquire with the place you're staying at, and if they don't have anything, I'd take the bassinet and just put it on the floor. That's what we're planning on doing when going to visit family in the first few months. I don't think I'd put it on anything elevated unless it was quite large, in case baby manages to shift and it goes off balance. 
5) Have fun! I wish we could go back this summer! 

Bltbear82

cmokstu said:

Hello all!


I'm going to be a first time mom (due end of May) and am looking for some advice.  We have friends getting married in Italy in August and we are going to try and go with our newborn (assuming 2 months old depending on when I deliver).  We are also bringing my parents to help us with the baby.  Please forgive my ignorance with all this...here are some of my questions I'm hoping you all can help me with:

1. Stroller - Do we take it with us or just count on a baby carrier the whole time?  If we do take the stroller, does it get checked or do we have it in the airport with us until we board and then somehow it gets checked at the gate?

2. Airplane - We didn't get the baby a separate seat since we are travelling first class and we thought there would be enough room.  Where does the baby sleep?  Do we need to bring some sort of mini bassinet?  Where do you change the baby's diaper on the long flights?

3. Public Transportation - Do we need to take a car seat with us for the taxi rides from the Italy airport to our hotel?  Is there any other way for the baby to ride in a car safely without a car seat?

4. Hotel - What is the best sleeping arrangement for the baby in a hotel?  We have a stroller with a bassinet attachment, but I'm not sure if that is too big and unwieldy for travel (UppaBaby Vista).  If we have a mini bassinet, does it go in the bed with us?  On the floor?  On a table? 

5. Are we insane for even attempting this in the first place?

You'll need gate check the stroller if you want to use it at the airport before boarding, you will get a ticket to put on it at the gate and leave it at the end of the jetway. I'd recommend Uppababy's travel bag, if you register it they'll cover damage to your stroller. But fair warning, the Vista is annoying to take apart and put in that bag and the bassinet doesn't fit if I recall correctly, just the seat. 

Call your airline to ask for a bassinet. I know United provides them on international flights but you have to request it in advance and previously you also had to be booked in the bulkhead, but that may have changed. Just call now and double check again before your trip. You can also wear baby but some flight attendants will require you to unhook the carrier for takeoff and landing. There will be a changing table anchored to the wall in one of the bathrooms. Its not always in first though. 

You really should bring a car seat even if you didn't buy a seat. There is no other way to safely transport your child in a moving vehicle. If you're getting a car service contact them and ask if they provide car seats. You can also gate check it, but buy a bag cover for it so it's not gross. Gate check items are usually handled with a little more care. I don't like gate checking our car seat because there could be unseen damage to it, so we buy another seat but I know that's not always an option. 

Your hotel should have a crib, you'll need to request one if you want it. If not, the Vista bassinet is rated for sleeping so it's fine. If you don't have the proper stand with youleave it on the floor to avoid any accidents on a table or sofa. 

No, we've regularly traveled with our 2 year old since he was born. You might be packing more gear than you're accustomed to, but I guarantee this will be the easiest trip since your baby is so young. It gets harder to keep them happy on long flights so do it now!

lionstigersbears

Most of this has been covered so I'll just throw in some extras! we have traveled extensively with our baby and just hold him on flights. Wearing through the airport is so easy at that age. It's a lot to hold for that long sometimes but trading back and forth isn't bad. I went to Venice, Florence and Rome pre-kids and would never have wanted a stroller. It would have been ridiculous. Also, I never even got in a car! If it were me I'd take a soft wrap like a Solly Baby since baby will be so little and snuggly and plan to use it most of the time. Since I'd have to get to the airport here and on the other side I'd take the car seat, gate check it, and just have it in the room unless needed. As for sleeping it's hard to say what your little one will be doing by then...crib by hotel would be easiest!

Bellodomani

I traveled with my first to SE Asia when he was 6 weeks old and it was way easier than traveling with him now than as a toddler! He was great in the fabric carrier (we used the K'tan) so we didn't even bring the stroller. In retrospect it may have been nice to have it just so he wasn't always napping on me. Also as a place to put all the crap you carry around when you have a tiny baby. 

Gate check everything- car seat, stroller, etc. I'm not particularly fastidious about my belongings, so I never used a car seat bag and have never had an issue, but many of my friends swear by them. 

I know many people would not be comfortable with this, but I just co-slept with my son whenever we traveled for the first 4 months or so, until he started rolling over. It was way easier than toting around more gear. They also make little portable bassinets/ Moses baskets that might make you feel more comfortable with that choice. The bassinet things on the airplane work fine, but just like having them sleep in the pack, you usually have to take them out for takeoff and landing, so prepare to have some interrupted naps. Also they look sort of like baby coffins. They have changing tables in the airplane bathrooms although frankly I usually just changed him on the seat next to me because, lazy. 

For many of these things (co-sleeping, wearing in the pack, etc.) you'll have a better idea of what works for you & baby once you've had a few weeks of experience under your belt. 

Two things that I wished someone had told me which would have made our trip easier- I was breastfeeding which really cut down on the amount of crap we hauled around, plus made feeding in flight/ hotels way easier- BUT I wish I had packed a small hand pump for when I had engorgement issues since my supply was still regulating. I did a fair amount of late night hand expression in the shower  

Also, at 6 weeks postpartum I was still not in great walking shape (had several stitches that were still healing) so I should have minimized the amount of activity on our daily schedule. You might not have this issue. 

Most importantly, you're totally not insane. It'll be slightly more tiring/ stressful than pre-baby trips, but you just have to account for that and slow down the pace of your day whenever possible. It's actually kind of nice to have an excuse to duck out of things and say, "oh baby's gotta nap" and just go lay down and watch tv for an hour. Have fun! I'm jealous, no crazy trips this time because now I will have a newborn and a 2 year old. 

vinerie

UNever done this myself, but on the sleeping-in-the-airplane part: We flew to Prague last year and there was a couple with an infant. The flight attendants set up this bassinet-type contraption that was attached to the wall of the plane--one of thos divider walls on huge airplanes. Anyhow,  They set it up several times throughout the flight. Strangely, though, the parents weren't sated next to it. It was an overnight flight and they had to wake up the passengers seated in front of this wall so they could set it up.

cmokstu

This has all been incredibly helpful.  Thank you all so much!!