Alright people let’s pipe down on the whole Zika and Chikunguya thing and the fear of babies getting it and having some lifelong impact. Zika for example Has devestatimg effects on those WHO ARE PREGNANT or EXPECTING TO BECOME PREGNANT. The virus can harm the fetus. The VIRUS DOES NOT HAVE LONG TERM EFFECTS on those who have already been born.

Get a grip people. Zika has been around since the 1940s. It’s not new. There have been generations that have survived it. There are children and adults currently living in many places around the world with Zika and they are doing fine.

Again Zika affects the unborn and those who are planning to be pregnant. It has devestatimg effects on a fetus NOT babies and children that are already here in the world.

Unless you are planning to become pregagmt or are thinking of getting someone pregnant, then don’t go anywhere, not even to Florida or Texas...where Zika has also been found. Otherwise, you are fine. You may get sick, but you don’t die from these viruses unless your immune system is severely compromised,

Please educate yourselves adequately on these viruses before commenting. Go to the CDC and read. Look at the history. These viruses are not new and have been around for generations and we are all still here.

Anonymous wrote:What does it have to do with the trip itself that she's not good at helping cook or clean ? She's not your maid, right ?

If you go somewhere with your family, YOU do these things.
Especially if this is a trip for her retirement, she shouldn't do anything and her life should be made easier so she can relax.

So if you were my mom, I might go away with you and the kid to a hotel, but there is no way I would travel with you to a condo.

Staying in a condo can be nice, or a ton of work. There is all the usual stuff, no safety gates for the other kid, an ill-equipped kitchen, and the usual babysitters are t near by. Not every mom and baby at five months is ready to do all that. Not every kid is easy.

I would not be comfortable making a plan like that before the baby was born. Maybe superstition, but I think there is more...

I would worry that at five months post-partum, I or the baby wouldn't be ready for something like that. Most births go well, but not all.

I think committing money to a hurricane season trip isn't a good idea, and Aruba/Curasau are too far from anywhere else.

I’m the youngest of 3 children - the oldest is 4 years older - and we started going to the Caribbean when I was a baby. (Actually stopped when I learned to ski). We had lots of fun except my parents didn’t adequately protect my skin.

That said, my friend’s pediatrician told her not to take her preteen daughters to South America because no one knows whether / how Zika can affect / live in reproductive systems. I have no idea if that’s a valid fear but it’s worth considering.

If you are mostly relaxed and enjoy this trip, OP, your family, including baby, will too. Little kids follow their parents emotional lead. Take this incredible opportunity for a wonderful trip with your family and embrace it! This is coming from a mom of 3 who wishes I did more things when they were little and much MUCH easier

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do it. During my maternity leave we went to both Arizona and Florida for a week each. We only have one child, but no family nearby, and both of these trips were with each set of grandparents. So, the grandparents got to see the baby, I got some time to rest, and we had a little sunshine (had my son in winter). The flights were also a lot easier than they are now, with a toddler!

Choose the bigger life! Go!

Florida and Arizona are not out of the country. Big difference.

Ok, true. Have also taken him to Puerto Rico (I know this isn’t out of the country but it is tropical), France, Switzerland, and off to Jamaica this weekend. Point still stands, I would go and make some memories (not for baby, for you and your Mom)

My parents live in the Caribbean so I have never considered it a problem. My kids had been much younger than this and to me it is the norm. I am 1 million % aware of how crappy the hospitals are.

Anonymous wrote:We took a five month old to Puerto Rico (pre hurricane) and regretted it. Every baby is different, but ours turned out to be a terrible traveler who wouldn't sleep in the unfamiliar crib, cried when we took her near the (apparently scary?) ocean and screamed every time we tried to put her in a pack and play by the resort pool. She just did not adjust well to all the change in her environment, so we couldn't relax and enjoy ourselves at all. At that age, it was more headache than it was worth - she calmed down around 18 months and we were able to travel with her again. I realize that some babies are fantastic travelers but unfortunate ours wasn't one of them. She slept like a rock the minute we returned back to our own home.

good thing you can travel now! We have the opposite experience. We started traveling with DS when he was 2 months old. It was so easy! he is 12 months now, and has been to 4 countries, and 10 states, and everytime we travel it gets just a tad harder due to mobility and energy.

OP, I'd go. For what it's worth, our DS loved Puerto Rico, we went post hurricane.

Would she be open to doing a cruise instead?

We took a five month old to Puerto Rico (pre hurricane) and regretted it. Every baby is different, but ours turned out to be a terrible traveler who wouldn't sleep in the unfamiliar crib, cried when we took her near the (apparently scary?) ocean and screamed every time we tried to put her in a pack and play by the resort pool. She just did not adjust well to all the change in her environment, so we couldn't relax and enjoy ourselves at all. At that age, it was more headache than it was worth - she calmed down around 18 months and we were able to travel with her again. I realize that some babies are fantastic travelers but unfortunate ours wasn't one of them. She slept like a rock the minute we returned back to our own home.

Anonymous wrote:no. one word - zika

This.

Anonymous wrote:I would do it. During my maternity leave we went to both Arizona and Florida for a week each. We only have one child, but no family nearby, and both of these trips were with each set of grandparents. So, the grandparents got to see the baby, I got some time to rest, and we had a little sunshine (had my son in winter). The flights were also a lot easier than they are now, with a toddler!

Choose the bigger life! Go!

Florida and Arizona are not out of the country. Big difference.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does it have to do with the trip itself that she's not good at helping cook or clean ? She's not your maid, right ?

If you go somewhere with your family, YOU do these things.
Especially if this is a trip for her retirement, she shouldn't do anything and her life should be made easier so she can relax.

But OP would not othwrwise choose to go on this trip at this time. And they aren’t going to a hotel or a resort, but tenting a condo. That means that OP is in a position to move all the stress and labor of caring for an infant and a kindergartener to a new place without their comfortable routine and familiar surroundings and with the added stress of keeping older DC safe around water or entertained if it rains, etc. It is very relevant whether grandma will be mitigating some of that labor and whether she is understanding and tolerant about kid/baby needs.

So ungrateful! Mom is giving her a free trip and should t have to do anything else! Such divas here. Take care of your own family or don’t go.

Agree! OP doesn't have to go if she doesn't want, but her mom does not become the maid if OP chooses to go. the baby will be 5 months, not a newborn! Also OP has a spouse to help.

I would do it. During my maternity leave we went to both Arizona and Florida for a week each. We only have one child, but no family nearby, and both of these trips were with each set of grandparents. So, the grandparents got to see the baby, I got some time to rest, and we had a little sunshine (had my son in winter). The flights were also a lot easier than they are now, with a toddler!

Choose the bigger life! Go!