How soon can/did you fly with an infant?

[Anonymous]

What has been your experience with flying with newborns? Or your plans for this holiday?

I am due on December 8th and planned to fly home (2 hours, direct) for Christmas to introduce the baby to my family. If I deliver on time, the baby will be just over 2 weeks when we fly, but if I'm late he could be as little as 9 days (scheduled induction is plan B). The pediatrician recently recommended against travel under 2 months - but plenty of other pediatricians have published opinions supporting travel as early as day 1. I've been vaccinated for reg. and swine flu (which is supposed to protect baby), but DH is concerned and thinks it's too risky to travel. My thought is to move our flight to 2 weeks post birth if I'm late, but DH prefers our pediatrician's recommendation of waiting to two months.

I've been looking forward to the Christmas family time all year (and their support with the baby), and would be very upset not to go, but obviously don't want to take dumb risks with our baby's health. Any advice from those who've faced similar quandaries?

[Anonymous]

I travelled with my 1 month old DC-Orlando. he was born in Dec last year .everything was just fine.

[Anonymous]

That seems pretty young to me, both because it will be hard for you, but most importantly, airplanes are huge petri dishes and your newborn is particularly susceptible to everything on it. I am a pretty laid-back mom and I did not fly until about 6-8 weeks (I can't remember the exact amount). Can you convince any family members to come to you for the holidays?

[Anonymous]

I would normally say go, go, go but my mom recently caught H1N1 on a plane and was the sickest she's ever been. If you are able to nurse that will offer the baby some protection but nothing is foolproof.

The most important factor here is that your husband doesn't want to take the risk, and parenting is very much a collaborative process. I've learned always to err on the side of the parent who is more cautious because it can cause huge amounts of resentment otherwise (if, god forbid, your baby gets sick and winds up hospitalized it will be your "fault").

Listen to your husband, listen to your pediatrician (if you go against him/her now you might as well find another as you will likely not agree on many topics). Also keep in mind that once your baby is born you may feel differently. I'm as laid back as people come but I remember being scared to take my newborn outside in 40 degree weather!

[Anonymous]

While in general I agree that the younger they are, the easier they are to travel with (my son turned into a demon on a plane once he became mobile at 10 months but was great before that), I personally would not schedule travel that close to my child's birth. Is this your first? You have no idea what temperament your baby will be - easy or difficult - you will be sleep deprived and generally overwhelmed that early on trying to get a handle on parenthood. Trying to coordinate all that goes with traveling with a small child, during the holidays no less, would be too much for me but again, I bet plenty of people have done it and I guess it just depends on your personal threshold of what you can handle. I wonder why no one in your family is traveling to you to help with the new baby versus you traveling to them? Also, have these other pediatricians recommended that travel was okay for that young specifically during this H1N1 outbreak or was that just under "normal" circumstances? You mention that you've been immunized but of course you realize it's all the other traveling passengers on the plane and in the airports that will be the greatest risk. For me, it would be a clear no but it's a personal decision, OP. We're having #2 next week and we'll be staying put for the holidays until we have our feet underneath us a bit. (I think we traveled cross country with DC#1 at about four or five months last time.)

[Anonymous]

I totally agree with PP.

That said, I traveled with my 5 week old (and 2 year old) from London to DC. The 5 week old was cake (2 year old another story). But this was pre-H1N1...

I think you can do it, but be absolutely vigilant with touching baby (as in, don't unless you have washed your hands/used sanitizer). I would buy an extra seat for your child so that you can keep her in her car seat the entire time (which will help reduce touching, etc.). The big problem peds cite is lack of vaccinations at that point (but we traveled before baby had vaccinations and it was fine).

Good luck and congrats!

[Anonymous]

It's hard enough taking a known risk with a newborn, but doing it without your doctor and teammate (aka DH) on board is a doozie. I'd wait until you're given the okay, flu season is a game changer and it sounds like your DH knows this.

[Anonymous]

This is a tough one. Normally , I'm the type of person that would go. But not if my husband was against it. And besides you have no clue if you'll be up for a flight that close to delivering. You could recovering from a C-Section for all you know. It seems the best solution is to schedule your trip after the baby is born.

[Anonymous]

I could barely leave the house with my 2 week old - the thought of getting her, myself and our gear on a plane at that age makes me want to cry. I'm sure it can be done but I wasn't emotionally or physically ready for that yet. Going to the doctor exhausted me.

[Anonymous]

*I* would not feel ready to fly at only 2 weeks post partum.

It also seems awfully early for the baby. Generally speaking, I am willing to take risks that others don't, but 4-6 weeks would be the earliest I would feel comfortable taking a newborn.

Can your family come to you? (although I would recommend against a bunch of people coming at once. My husband's entire family came to visit when dd was 3 weeks old, and it was a disaster with no down time for me. This time around, only his parents are welcome that early).

[Anonymous]

Ditto everyone who says she wasn't up to flying. I can't imagine how uncomfortable traveling at 2 weeks out, esp with a c section. You may very well still be at the "can only breastfeed while topless" stage as well. I would also worry about germs but more I think you would be so exhausted you'd regret the trip for your own benefit as well as the baby's.

[Anonymous]

OP - Is this your first baby? I ask because with my first baby, there's no way I could have handled air travel with a 2 week old. It was hard enough when we took our first road trip when our baby was 6 weeks old.

I think the PP who mentioned your husband and pediatrician not being onboard also made a good point. Is your family not able to come see you?

[Anonymous]

no way would I fly with an infant this young, even without H1N1 around. But *with* h1n1 -- no way no way no way. A friend of mine caught it on a plane trip.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the PP that 2 weeks PP seems early from a personal perspective, and that from the newborn perspective I would be more concerned this year with the H1N1 concerns.

And I'm another poster wondering why your family isn't coming to you? Our DD was born 2 weeks before X'mas, and my parents and ILs both came to visit (on alternating schedules) between then and New Years. They didn't stay in our (small) apt, so it was REALLY lovely to have that time at home and to spend our first Christmas morning at home as a family of 3, but to also have our parents around to get to know the new grandchild.

I will also add that, even with a vaginal delivery, I was in NO emotional shape to travel by Christmas. Physically I felt OK, but we were definitely still working out all the BFing issues and my emotions were all over the place. By 4.5 I was up for a 5 hour car ride (with someone else driving), and then we flew to TX when our DD was not quite 6 weeks. By that point I felt great, and actually remember pushing the stroller through the airport and doing a little skip because I couldn't have imagined feeling that good again a few weeks earlier.

All of which is to say that the early postpartum period may be really easy on you, or you could have a period of Baby Blues like many (most?) women experience, and you just won't know how it's going to go until you get there.

[Anonymous]

I missed my good friend's wedding because my friend--a pediatrician--agreed that my baby would be too young. (I think the wedding was 6 weeks after my due date?) I did go to a local family graduation when baby was 6 weeks old, and it felt like a monumental task just to get me dressed up (in clothes I could nurse in) and baby out of the house for the event. (Plus I then spent much of the ceremony outside with a fussy baby.)

By the time the baby was 3-4 months old, travel was so much easier. By then, breastfeeding and nap schedules were well established, we knew what we needed to pack, and we could relax at the relatives' house while they had fun playing with the baby.