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International travel with a baby
We're close friends with two other couples, and we've all been throwing around the idea to go to London together in 2013. We've all been there before, but never as a group.
One couple is expecting their first baby in the fall, which will be the first baby in the group (the other four of us don't plan to be pregnant/have a baby by 2013, although I know that's not a guarantee). The parents-to-be are pretty laid back and said that we could just take the baby, who'd likely be around 6-10 months old during the trip, with us. Of course, that's easy to say right now when the baby's not here yet.
So, for you parents out there, do you think we're kidding ourselves that we can do this trip with a baby under a year old? We wanted to do this trip next year because we'll all be turning 30, and because it's likely our best chance to do a big trip together before the other four of us start our own families. I know we have a while to plan it and to see what happens once the baby arrives, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Several friends with kids have said that they'd never travel overseas with a small baby, but others have done it with no problem.
Re: International travel with a baby
i cannot speak personally as i neither have or want kids but what i can tell you is that my father and his wife have brought my half sister to italy abut 15 times between when she was an infant and 13 (she's 13 now). apparently when she was an infant it was FAR FAR FAR easier than after she had learned to walk.
also i think london's an easy city to navigate (subway and buses) so i think with an infant in a carrier it wouldn't be too bad.
Yeah, the subway was pretty easy when we were there, and I imagine that it's easier to deal with an immobile infant strapped into a stroller rather than a toddler who just wants to run everywhere.
I'm just curious as to whether anyone here was pregnant and though, "We can't take the baby with us next year, no problem!" and then thought, "Oh, HELL no" once the baby actually arrived :P
And the non-pregnant couple has a ton of experience taking care of babies, and MH and I are O.K. with babies, so maybe a 6:1 adult-to-baby ratio is the best possille scenario if we want to do this trip anytime soon.
We've made 5 trips to England since my DD was born, we took DS for the first time when he was 7 weeks. It is SOOOOOOOOO easy to travel with a baby. If anything, go for closer to 6 months than a year. Once they want to walk it gets a lot harder to keep them happy on the plane.
One baby with 6 adults is a piece of cake. Most pubs even allow infants under 1 in but some will kick you out after 6 pm from my experience, so if you are eating in a pub either eat early, find one with a 'family' side, or make sure to ask first. But we go over all the time and most of our friends in the UK have kids now so we are used to finding kid friendly places to hang out.
Thanks for the input!
I'm glad to hear that it's not a hassle. Hopefully we can get everyone to commit to this trip next year!
You can definitely travel overseas and have fun with a 6-10 month old baby. But it in no way shape or form resembles the sort of travel you did when childless. If your friends are fine with basically seeing the rest of you on and off then they should still go. Do not go if you're going to expect to be together 24/7, or even most of the day. Odds are while the rest of you are inside the National Gallery the baby will be outside with a parent squealing at pigeons. And the parents won't be eating at fancy restaurants. It depends what sort of holiday you're looking for. Maybe it would be better to all go somewhere once you have kids, rent a house and have a kid-friendly holiday.
Travel with kids is slower, you need to take breaks for sleep and food and changing, and sometimes they just get cranky so you spend the afternoon in a park rather than a museum. You can find hidden parks by using google maps, but make sure they're not those fenced squares. London playgrounds tend to have baby swings.
Also, six months is very different from ten months. A six month old will probably hang out in a sling quite happily, nap on the go and not need any food preparation/warming/mess cleanup. A ten month old will need to get down and crawl, they'll need food, which is messy and needs somewhere to sit down with them, they're also not as likely to nap anywhere. I've travelled with my kids internationally much every six months up to school aged, and six months and under is the easiest. 18 months was the worst.