Would you to travel abroad (to India) with a 5mo infant?

[Anonymous]

DH's family lives in India, and they'd love for us to come visit as soon as is feasible after the baby is born (EDD July 31). Christmas time is a great time to visit them because we could get a huge chunk of time off of work and the weather is great where is family lives that time of year. My niece was 5mo at Christmas this year, and I thought she seemed like she was a good age to attempt to undertake long travel -- not mobile yet, sleeping for good stretches, etc. Do others agree? Also, would there be any concerns about getting needed vaccinations by age 5mo?

We're FTPs, obviously, so could use a reality check. Don't want to get the relatives' hopes up if it's unrealistic, and they're already asking.

[Anonymous]

HELL NO, with a caveat. I lived and worked in India and loved it so that's where I am coming from. The caveat is if you are willing and able to fully vaccinate your child before leaving AND there is a suitable malaria drug for infants (I don't believe there is though). There are MANY health and safety issues with taking children to India. Firstly, health - even adults get extremely ill from food and water in India. What if you child does? The hospitals aren't exactly top notch. Secondly, cars and accidents are another equally bad issue. It is very dangerous to travel by car in India and carseats aren't all that common. If you go you need to be aware of those dangers and going back to the first issue should something happen poor access to medical care.

[Anonymous]

It's a long flight and at 5 months, it's a crapshoot with regards to how your child will behave. A little younger, and it would be easier, but I would still go, with a few caveats.

We flew to California with our 5 month old this Christmas...he was awesome on the way out there, a nightmare on the way back. We were delayed 4 hours on the way back, so it was a LONG travel day and he just couldn't handle it by the time we were finally under way.

If you plan to go, I highly recommend get a ticket you can cancel. If your dc has an ear infection or you've been fighting off daycare colds/sickeness/etc. I wouldn't go. It's the middle of flu season too, so there's that to consider.

If you do end up going, I recommend wearing baby in a sling during the flight...the only way you'll be comfortable in today's coach class, or even better, buy a seat for DC's carseat.

As for vaccinations, I believe you don't need anything exotic to go to India. I would consult with a pediatrician in advance, most definitely.

[Anonymous]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO My in laws wanted me to fly to Argentina with an 8 month old and i refused to do it. We have the rest of our lives to go to Argentina and I am not taking an 8 month old on a flight like that. I think it would be cruel b/c it's all for the family -- not for the baby. THe baby doesn't want to go! WTF

[Anonymous]

I would go. We took our 6-month old daughter to Egypt to visit family (this was before things devolved over there). The flights weren't too bad since she slept for a good portion of most of them -- she cried a bit on one leg on the the way out, but the way back home was a breeze. It was winter when we went, and there were some flight delays and cancellations on other routes that caused havoc in the airports and resulted in our flights being super packed. We had not purchased a seat for her, on the assumption that we would be able to get a bassinet since we were on an international flight. Unfortunately, we were not able to get a bassinet on any of our flights, which made it a little more uncomfortable than I would have liked. With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, I would have purchased her a separate seat -- so if you can swing it, I would definitely do that.

[Anonymous]

I'd do it, with a caveat. Diseases like malaria may be a real concern, and I'd check with your pedi at the very least, if not a travel clinic. I don't know what type of preventive vaccinations or drugs are available for a five month old.

However, just travel-wise, I'd absolutely go. We took our son to Egypt at 6 months, 18 months, and just this past December at age 5. The trip when he was 6 months old was by far the easiest. He was drinking formula, and I packed jarred foods for him. So his food intake was 100% controlled by me. I think the trip at 18 months old was the hardest. Age 5 was a dream.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Yeah, I'm just not worried about food intake -- I can easily control the baby's food intake btw breastfeeding and bringing my own jarred food/formula, and my ILs are super-vigilant about keeping those of us from the US healthy (none of us have gotten stomach illnesses when visiting at any point). We wouldn't be traveling around or eating out -- just staying at my ILs' house and receiving visitors and drinking tea. Similarly, I'm just not hung up on the medical care and traffic issues. Yes, they are not ideal and not as great as here in the US, but that will be true at every stage of my child's life, and we're definitely going to be visiting regularly.

I'm more worried about the vaccine/medicine schedule, which I have no concept of, and the behavior of a 5mo. Making sure the baby has a strong relationship with his family is extraordinarily important to me, and I am not putting off a visit for years -- and I totally expect toddlerhood to be a harder time to visit than infanthood.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of pediatricians in the area from India or with South Asian backgrounds. If there is one in the practice you end up with, you should definitely get an appointment with him/her to get a realistic, unbiased perspective on whether and how to make a trip with an infant safely happen.

[Anonymous]

I took my 8 month old on a transatlantic flight (not as long as a trip to India of course) and it was the best flight we've had by far. We stayed in Europe for a couple of months, and by the time we came back here he was walking. DH had to walk him up and down the plane for about 4 hours! Your DC will probably sleep for a lot of the flight. Regarding malaria, there are some really good natural mosquito repellents out there, so you wouldn't have to cover him head to toe in DEET.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't go because of the vaccination issues. My family takes a trip every other year together and went to Belize when my son was 10 months old. We went around the world about it - talked to our pediatrician, got a second opinion from another pediatrician and talked to a doc at a travel clinic. All of the docs we talked to said that they would not takea child that young to central america because he was not fully immunized. I don't know much about India but that seems even riskier to me than Belize. I'd definitely talk to some pediatricians about it before you commit. I am not usually a big worrier as a parent but for some reason, the travel before vaccination really made me stop and think and I decided it was not worth the risk. Several of my friends thought I was crazy, though.

[Anonymous]

Never with a baby. My husband travels to India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan often for work and he comes back so sick sometimes. Really sick. Sometimes he gets me and the kids sick. And malaria is a real concern. No natural repellent is going to protect your baby.

Travelling to Europe is very different than travelling to a place like India.

[Anonymous]

My DH is also from India and we took our DD when she was 6 months old to Bangalore. No big deal - don't listen to the alarmists. I was breastfeeding and brought along cereal and enough jars of baby food to last the month that we were there. She was absolutely fine. Also, there ARE top-notch hospitals and doctors there - many returned from the UK or US after years practicing there. There is a huge medical tourism industry there and the facilities and quality of care are amazing - if you have the $$.

Just be aware that EVERYONE will want to touch your baby, even strangers on the street. They mean well, but you'll have to try to prevent it.

DD is now 10 and has been to India 5 times. She's never had anything more serious than a cold there. She loves going and it is an invaluable experience for her to spend time with her grandparents, aunts/uncles and cousins there. Also, we've taken her all over India - from north to south.

Good luck - I think it's important that these kids grow up learning about their heritage and feeling comfortable traveling to places like India.

[Anonymous]

PP here again. The flight to India when she was 6 months was the easiest of all. She slept almost the whole way. Age of 2 was the hardest, but 4 and beyond are a breeze.

[Anonymous]

I would absolutely go!

[Anonymous]

OP - I think a lot of the answers you're getting are from people who (a) don't travel overseas a lot and (b) don't understand what it's like to visit family in India. Talk to your pediatrician about the vaccines, etc.. if that is what you are concerned about and please don't listen to the advice of complete strangers on the internet.