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Traveling after the baby is born

My husband gets 10 days maternity leave, we live in Louisiana and our family is back in Nebraska. Neither my parents nor his parents are able to come down here after she is born. Would they allow us to travel the distance so that our parents can meet their first grandchild? Has anyone else traveled right after their bundle of joy has arrived? I'm a ftm and need advice and opinions please!
14 Responses
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12730810 tn?1426940125
Newborns are portable.  I wouldn't take out if too cold or too hot. But other than that. They are fine to travel.
Noone can tell you you cant. Baby is yours.
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Avatar universal
I agree with rockrose. Traveling 12 hours with a newborn would be exhausting to say the least. Baby's immune system is also not developed. I personally would never do it. Good luck!
Helpful - 0
13897113 tn?1444726873
I totally agree with RockRose! And theres also this - you will see it on your own, when baby will be here - that it is not the best thing to do for neither of you. Everything changes after baby and first two months are for peaceful caring, you will see it. :) in our country, it is very common to not to show baby or invite any kind of guests for 1 month. It is not only becouse new family needs bounding time but also becouse baby has very fragile immune system at the beggining. Have a nice time!:)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Airlines require a birth certificate or a doctors note to travel with a newborn. We drove from Kansas to Nashville when my uncle passed away with a 20 month old and a 10 day old. It was not easy but there was so much family around that helped. I think you should do what you are comfortable with and how your doctor feels about it.
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Avatar universal
I think it depends on how you're traveling. The airport said that baby had to be at least 7 days old. I took my son at 5 weeks.
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15246051 tn?1439358267
I Never Traveled That Soon With My Newborn , I'll Probably Wait Into Your Baby At Least 3 Or 4 Months , But I Just Think That's To Soon & You Shouldn't Go Anywhere Into Ypur 6 Weeks Up
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I had to travel 8hours just to get home from the hospital so i made aquick stop in to my parents as they were on the way.. i dont see a problem as long as you rest and feed you'll be fine especially if your partner is with you
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13167 tn?1327194124
And I honestly don't mean that snippy,  or in a punitive way.  

You'll have a lifetime to be with your family and have them get to know your child,  it may just not be all that crucial that they see the baby the first week of its life.
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13167 tn?1327194124
Army mommy,  I wasn't meaning to disparage the grandparents for not coming.  I was just using the word "priority" - that means,  "first in importance" to state that seeing the newborn wasn't first in importance.  In their lives right now they have other things first in importance.  

I wouldn't make it first in importance,  in that case,  to travel all that distance with a brand new born.  

I think in this case,  your "priority",  "first in importance" should be to relax and enjoy the first month with your baby in your home and enjoy being with your husband during his  time off.

Best wishes.  Parenthood is a miracle.
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Avatar universal
You should not travel that far especially since your new born will NOT have her vaccines. Take the time to rest and relax with your new little one.
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Avatar universal
We traveled (by airplane) when my first son was two months. That was hard but doable. I wouldn't recommend doing it before that age. We also had to evacuate our home because of a wildfire when he was 2 weeks old. That was really rough and we only drove an hour away. Staying somewhere away from home with a newborn is really hard. You are exhausted and its a tough adjustment with your first. We traveled 16 hrs away (driving) when my second was 3 months. That was doable.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
With my parents they were already planning to come down here and my mom just told me that my dad is drinking again and that he's serious about going to a rehab center and my Hubby's parents just took vacation to visit his sister so they don't have any more vacation time.
Helpful - 0
13167 tn?1327194124
If it were an emergency,  you could do it,  like if you were forced to evacuate from a disaster.  

I can't imagine doing this with a first newborn child.  There's not much to "see" with a baby that can't be communicated in facetime or photos - newborns don't do anything.  

Also,  I'm not sure what their circumstances are but none of the grandparents have made it a priority to come see the baby.  I would take a cue from that and not put yourself out in this extreme inconvenience of traveling at least 12 hours by car with a brand new born,  and then back again.  I can see doing it when the baby is old enough to interact with them.
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Avatar universal
I would suggest you to wait a couple of months. Travelling with a newborn is not easy. You will be tired and the baby also.
Helpful - 0

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