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2nd Trimester
PotomacSt
member
Out-of-town wedding when baby is 6 weeks - which would you rather do...?
PotomacSt
member
I would love an opinion from some second-time moms. My husband's best friend is getting married in late June, and he's the Best Man. The wedding is in LA, which is a 4.5-hour plane ride from here.
I really want to go, but I'll definitely pay the extra cost for a possible refund on my ticket, because I know that there's a million things that could happen to make me not want to go.
So here are my options:
Leave baby at home with either my parents or parents-in-law. I'd be gone for 2 nights. My big fear with this is that I plan to BF and am worried that she wouldn't take a bottle, or else wouldn't want to go back to the breast.
Bring the baby, and my parents-in-law offered to come with us at their own expense. They're not going to the wedding so they would watch the baby. If DH ended up flying out earlier than me, they would come with me and help me haul all the baby gear I'd have to take. This sounds great to me, except for the fact that my tiny baby would have to take two long airplane rides 
I'd love to hear some opinions and any possible pitfalls to either of these plans that I haven't thought of. And if you think that either of these is not feasible with a 6-week-old baby, feel free to say that too. I admit I don't know what I'm getting myself into.
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Re: Out-of-town wedding when baby is 6 weeks - which would you rather do...?
Option B! Option B! There is no way I'd leave my LO at 6 wks - especially if BF. Your baby may not do well with a bottle and you will be so sore (full of milk) - although you can pump of course. Also - what if it wasn't going well? Would you be ok being 4.5 hours away?
The good news is at 6 weeks they sleep a LOT. That means that baby will be totally happy on the plane in your arms or with your IL's. They usually love being held at that point and he/shee will probably sleep the whole time. Its prob one of the easiest ages to travel at.
In terms of baby gear - you would need 2 changes of clothes (just sleepers) in case of leaky diapers (a major prob for us at this age) and some diapers (4?) and lots of wipes (again - in case of explosions). If you are BF then no need for any formula/bottles (BF is so easy this way), a binky/soother (if he/she takes it). No need for food or entertainment at this age. You can skip the stroller and use a baby carrier if you like.
Edited to add - can I have your ILs?
I was a single mom with my DD and by the time she was 3 she had been on over 40 flights. She never got sick. I started flying cross-country visiting family when she was 6 weeks. I don't know what's changed in nearly 6 years, but it was pretty easy to do it myself. I can say that it will probably be the hardest thing ever to leave her with family for 2 nights.
I say bring the baby, if you use a wrap or little baby carrier do that. My DD never came out of my little carrier strapped to me. I could nurse during take-offs and landings so her ears never hurt. I would bring the carseat with you, you can check it at the gate and pick up at the gate. If you check it with the rest of the luggage they will more than likely toss it around and one good fall will ruin the life of that carseat. They busted mine into pieces once. Good luck!
Ok so i went on a trip when my son was i want to say 4 months old. I took him with me because i wasn't ready to leave him yet and was breastfeeding. Now he did start taking a bottle within the first 6 weeks. It was of breast milk that i had pumped. I used the wide mouth bottles. He never once gave me a problem taking either one. Now when he was one month old i had surgery to where i could not give him my milk for 24 hrs and it took quite a while to pump that much in advance for me. If you are planning on switching baby to formula before you leave make sure you try her on it in advance. Some babies have issues with certain types of formula. Now as for the plane ride we were on a plane i want to say 3 ish hours. I hooked him up to me with a baby bjorn and he really wasn't fussy at all. I made sure to sit by the window so i could nurse him.
I think your best option would be to take her with you and bring your inlaws. My son is now almost 4 and i personally still could not go on a trip without him. I would spend the whole time missing him and it would bother me knowing if something went wrong i was so far away.
I think once you have the baby you will see just how hard it is to be away from her. Especially since this is your first baby.
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This is my inital thought.
We have a wedding to attend when baby will be around 6 weeks. DH is also in the wedding. Ours is about a 4 hour drive (from MD to Pittsburgh). We will be taking someone with us to watch LO while we are at the wedding. We didn't even consider leaving her at home since we will also be gone for at least two nights between rehearsal and wedding day and I, like you, plan on BF.
If you have had someone offer, I would definitely take them up on that. Our plan was to take the ILs and DH's friend just informed us that they are invited too. We are looking for someone to make the trip with us...
No way I'd be ready to leave my baby for two nights when he was 6 weeks old, so I'd definitely go with option B. Like pps said, buy a carrier and you can wear her the entire time. And make sure if you do bf that you bf during landing and take-off so that baby's ears don't pop. At that age, especially if you're bfing, I don't think bringing the baby would be that huge of an inconvenience.
I'd be more worried about if you're feeling up to going than if baby will be okay.
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This. We took DS across country when he was 8 weeks old and everything went well. Babies are so much easier to travel with than toddlers. We're planning to do the same with this baby. Our pediatrician said planes are fine past 4 weeks of age. If you have help, all the better. I think it's smart to be prepared, like you said, to get a refund if necessary.
Bored and lurking..
I would definitely take your LO with you. We went on a 7.5hr drive with my son when he was about 3 months old. He did wonderful and slept most of the way. Plus I didn't have to worry about pumping, bottles, or anything like that.
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I think the plane ride wouldn't be a big deal for an infant that small. They sleep so much anyway that it would probably not be too difficult.
I will tell you that personally I wouldn't have minded leaving DD for 2 nights at that point, but a lot of women don't want to be away from their new LO. Option B would be the best, but honestly I'd kinda feel bad making them fly out at their expense to babysit.
Wow - your in-laws sound pretty fantastic. Ooption B for sure, but ditto the insurane on the plane tickets because with a baby you just never know. GL.
Can IIIIIIII have your in-laws???
I think either would work, both would be hard, but doable.
I BFed my baby but could not at first because he was in NICU so he had bottles before breast and he was able to learn the breast. I would not be too concerned about your baby not going back to the breast, you just have to work at it and they will go back. Just make sure you have a good pump and let DH give baby a bottle every day so that the baby learns that it is ok.
I am taking my 4 week old to a wedding 2 hours away with my moms help for a wedding. It really is up to you. Either option would work. If it were me, I would take the baby. A baby that small will sleep most of the time on the plane and you will be so attached, you wont want to leave him/her.
I have a work trip I need to do when LO is 6 weeks old .. and I am bringing baby along and my hubby to survive the 3 days I am gone.
I would go with Option B.. odds are the baby will sleep on the plane, and so i would not be that concerned
Personally, I wouldn't make the trip. I tend to make babies with colic and 6 weeks is right around the time where there are the 3-6 hr inconsolable crying periods. I needed a lot of space to walk the babe up and down the hall. Not to mention PP depression and anxiety.
Or, you could be one of the lucky ones that have an easy newborn? Either way, I am not making any commitments for travel during the first 12 weeks PP... period.
Good luck!