A couple friends decided to get married next month on Maui. Though I love Hawaii and would love to go, I’m concerned about taking my kid for such a long trip. He will be almost 6 months by the time we take off. Am I crazy for even considering going? If it were just a couple days, would it be easier or harder?
I think I’ve already made my decision, but I’d like some input. Stories about traveling with infants are welcome.
I have no experience with kids but if you’ve been to Maui before I’m sure you know what it’s going to be like. No night life, just a relaxed open day and you’ll probably want to get to sleep early anyway. Good match for kids, perhaps? That is, unless the wedding activities change things up a bit.
If you think the trip might be a bit much, you could always kennel him.
(Note: I do not have children myself)
Travel now while he’s little! Traveling starts to become a real handful around 9ish months when there’s more mobility, food needs, and growing pains. At 6 months, things are still relatively easy, especially if you’re still exclusively breast/formula feeding. Also, if you want some time to yourself, a lot of hotels and resorts have sitters or nannies available.
I don’t have any kids but would it really be wise to take such a young infant on a plane in which it could be exposed to god knows what? I would imagine that its immune system is still developing and whatever and you would be running the risk of it catching something that say if it were a year it might not bother it.
I dunno if it was me I wouldn’t do it but that might just be being over protective or whatever. It just sometimes you see people with these kids that are just months old running around all different places and shit. /shrug
Definitely do it! Flying is surprisingly easy with a breastfed baby, you just nurse on take-off and landing, and the engine drone sends them to sleep. I did the lap infant thing, which is cheaper than a separate seat, makes baby happy because they can snuggle and nurse the whole way, but is not very safe.
If you plan to rent a car the other end, then take your carseat, rather than renting one. Rental companies are a bit crap about having seats that are in-date, and sometimes don’t have the right ones available. If you choose not to buy him a seat on the plane, just gate-check the carseat to reduce the likelihood of it being damaged by baggage handling.
Staying in hotels with babies is pretty easy, no real recommendations. If he can sit up unaided, then he will love the beach.
I think if the baby is breastfeeding, it gets a massive boost to its immune system through the Mom so it’s not too dangerous. I guess there are the really weird things like the measles since the baby hasn’t been immunized and the flu is already out there.
I would agree with Leah. It’s a lot easier when he’s six months than when he’s older. Someone here (Leah?) might have suggestions on how to combat pressure in the ears from flying…it’s very painful to infants.
Yeah, traveling with a 6 month old is actually WAY easier than one old enough to crawl, walk, or run. At that age they still sleep a lot and often do it anywhere. They don’t do much else, in fact. Get you a sling or one of those Snugli carriers or something and you’ll be set.
As Jojo mentioned, breastfeeding on take off/landing. If they won’t breastfeed or take a bottle on the plane for whatever reason though, you can blow in their face during take off/landing. It makes them reflexively swallow, which can help pop their ears if they need to be popped. This trick also works if you need them to swallow medicine.
At six months, you’re barely out of the “purse that poops” phase. Definitely go for it! Travel will only become more difficult for the next year or so.
We took my daughter from DC to LA at six months, and it was no problem at all. just plan appropriately.
Yes, see, what does this mean?
Six days is a long time to be on vacation with an infant. If you’re not renting a suite, remember that at least one of you will be going to bed very early with the baby every night (also napping in the middle of the day). A suite makes this more tolerable as you can bring a monitor and stay up in the living room after putting the baby down. You might know someone else going to the wedding to split a 2 BR suite with.
Maui has a great Costco, don’t bother overpacking baby supplies (assuming you’re a member).
As for the flight, Jojo is right - I would ditch the extra seat at that age and just commit to holding the baby thoughout. We flew from LA to Chicago and back at six months and it was a (relative) breeze compared to a similar flight three months later.
Some people suggest Benadryl to make the baby drowsy during a flight. Your comfort level with drugging your baby aside, note that Benadryl can also have the opposite effect on some kids, making them even more hyper, so check with your pediatrician first (she will probably recommend trying it out at home first to get a sense of its effect on the baby). Practice changing the baby while she’s vertically oriented - airplane bathrooms are cramped. When first boarding the plane, resolve to make no eye-contact with your fellow passengers - do not start apologizing or excusing yourself, simply go to your seat and attend to your baby. We brought earplugs to distribute to those surrounding us on the flights we’ve been on, but I’ve never had anyone take us up on the offer.
That’s all I got.
I have noticed that some of the nicer resorts/hotels have extensive baby-sitting facilities that might come in handy if you wanted that option (Four Seasons comes to mind…). Of course, this will be pretty pricey…
Pay it forward?
Go, babies tend to sleep on planes, just like they sleep everywhere else.
We took our daughter to Vegas no less than 6 times in her first year.
If you plan on having more than one go, traveling gets harder when they get older and there are more of them. This may be the last trip you get where you don’t have someone asking “when will we get there” in your ear in a closed space for 10 hours. Unless of course your husband is prone to such questions while you’re flying :).
I was lucky, we let my daughter sleep pretty much everywhere and were always on the go so she would sleep anywhere. I have hears stories of children that age that need to be at home in bed to sleep well so you may have different kinds of luck getting baby to sleep at night in the hotel.
It’s fine. Your suitcase doubles as a crib. Just put a blanket in it and it’s just the perfect bassinet size.
Do carry extra wipes / diapers though. One of the more memorable blowouts happened once on a plane with one of our kids. If you think the airplane bathrooms are small, you have no idea how small until you go in there and are trying to do a full bath and wipedown.
If your baby will eat on the flight, you’re good. My daughter wouldn’t eat as we went in for the landing and was screaming for about 45 minutes because of the pressure on her ears.
My son flew round trip between NYC & Tokyo, Japan twice before he was 11 months old.
The flight, especially if you’re nursing, shouldn’t be your concern. It’s more about feeling comfortable in your accommodations while you’re away.
See if you can get a bulkhead seat. Most flights have this little bassinet doohicky they can attach to the front wall if you’re in the bulkhead seat, and you can let the baby lie there when not holding/nursing. Definitely don’t buy an extra seat at that age.
For the flight:
-two changes of clothes for the baby, and a couple more diapers than you think you will need.
-extra top for yourself in case there’s poo-splosions or projectile vomiting.
-more wipes than you think you will need, plus a burp cloth or washcloth you can wet in case there’s a particularly gross mess to clean up.
-speaking of messes, diapers, etc…bring plastic bags that can be tied shut in case a mess happens on take off or landing and you can’t quickly dispose of things in a bathroom. Diapers can stink up a plane.
-If you’re breastfeeding, you’re set. If you’re formula feeding, decide whether or not you want to bring pre mixed or mix on the plane. If you need the bottles heated, the flight attendants can do that for you. Just be sure to double check the temperature when they give it back.
For the trip:
Unless there are special needs or concerns, buy when you get there. All you really need are clothes, a blanket or swaddling cloth, and enough essentials to get you through the flight. You can get dipes, wipes, binkies, etc on the other end.