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Flying?

post #1 of 6
2/21/03 at 9:46pm
Thread Starter 
Hey, I was wondering if anyone knows how old a baby should be to be safe to fly? I am thinking about flying out to see my mom in April and my baby will be 1 month old or younger by then- I am due late March. My mom had hip surgery and cannot come out to see me and I know she is just heart broken over it. This is my first baby and I would love to be able to go see my mom and my sister and let them see my new munchkin! I will ask our pediatrician but I will not see him until after baby.
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post #2 of 6
2/21/03 at 10:02pm
Crayon, I am not sure about what age you should fly with a new babe. I just would not buy any tickets in advance. You never know how you'll feel. I would not have had the energy to go visit anyone (even my own mother and sister) a month after the birth of either of my sons. Everyone is different, so all I am saying is I wouldn't put any money into it until after you have your new babe.
post #3 of 6
2/21/03 at 10:31pm
Hi,

While I have not had an infant myself, both my sisters traveled by air with thier newborns. One nephew was one month hold and another was almost 6 weeks old when they traveled and they both did great. It was, however really helpful to my sisters that they were not traveling alone, but with their husbands to handle the luggage and carry on stuff.

Good luck.
post #4 of 6
2/22/03 at 7:59am
Don't know of any "official" guidelines, but when I was pregnant last time, we had friends fly to visit us with their 4 week old baby (delivered by Cesarean). The dad is an MD. They also flew with their toddler. They seemed to cope with it all very well. I think it would be harder on mom than baby (just the travelling), especialy with a first child! I don't think there are concerns about the air travel itself. I think you should give yourself at least a month in your "own nest" though, and not try it before that. I guess the implication here is that I'd be infinitely more worried about you, and your adjustment to first time parenthood than about the baby. They baby is resilliant and "home" to the baby at that point is in your arms and at your breast.

I wouldn't have been able to do it with my first. I was still a hormonal wreck. We had terrible nursing troubles and were using all kinds of gadgets until about 7-8 weeks (though it seemed like a year!) So nursing anywhere but home was very stressful (heck, nursing at home was stressful!) and we avoided it at all cost.

So I second the suggestion of not buying tickets early--even though getting a lower cost would be tempting.

This time, we may be flying coast to coast for a wedding when this baby is anywhere from 4-6 weeks old. However, I'm more confident about just about all aspects this time--or at least avoiding the same issues as last time. Actually, I was confident last time too, but things went a bit differently, I should say. Ah, the steep learning curve of the first child!
post #5 of 6
2/22/03 at 12:14pm
we flew from India to the US and back when ds was 4 weeks old. He slept the whole time, it was soooo easy. much easier than now, now that he is 2.
post #6 of 6
2/23/03 at 12:59am
My sister flew coast to coast with my niece when she was a month old. I believe she was actually told it was a good time to travel because the baby will sleep most of the time and if your nursing, that really helps with fighting off whatever germs are shared through the air system. Also, nursing (or bottles, I guess) help them from having ear problems with the pressure changes. My niece has flown quite a lot in her short life so far and my impression is that the earliest trips were the easiest.