https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 18 Apr 2026 14:12:10 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1535694 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 23:14:14 +0000 birdofafeather 1535694@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i would absolutely fly. driving that far with a baby of any age sounds so so so not fun. and 26 hours would turn into 3 days! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1535658 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 22:23:36 +0000 gracecat 1535658@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Fly. You will all be too sleep deprived to drive such a long time. Get home quick! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1535206 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 17:50:07 +0000 daniellemybelle 1535206@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Man, I don't know. Flying is SO much easier. But 2 weeks is LITTLE. Honestly, I know this is not what you're asking, but I would not travel that early on either way. Like @psw27: said, you will have to stop at germy places driving. We drove 7 hours with a 5 week old &amp; it was really hard &amp; I was a nervous wreck about the germy gas stations &amp; fast food places we had to go. But I don't think flying is recommended at that early age - our pediatrician said no flying until 2 months.</p> <p>If I had to do one, I guess I would fly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1534058 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:24:00 +0000 psw27 1534058@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would fly, 26 hours would definitely be most likely translate into 4 days of driving plus a lot of hotel rooms, fast food, gas stations and other germy places. (not that I am saying planes are clean!) I would just rather be home ASAP. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1534025 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:12:07 +0000 Rockies11 1534025@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Young babies aren't supposed to be in carseats for long periods of time, even less so if they're born before 38 weeks. I would maybe hold off on the decision for a long time and see how the pregnancy progresses. My inclination is to fly with baby in a wrap and make sure everyone keeps their germs away. But I would get a ped you really trust and go with the recommendation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533996 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:06:00 +0000 mrsjyw 1533996@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would say fly! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533977 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:00:06 +0000 Pumuckl 1533977@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@however briefly: Ohhh that is such a sweet reason to travel! Congrats on the baby!!! I guess you could always buy a flex ticket. With these you are allowed to rebook without an additional fee. I have no idea what the cost would be compared to a semi/non-flexible ticket though. But maybe such a ticket option would be worth it to just give you peace of mind. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533944 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 09:53:38 +0000 mkp17 1533944@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Don't really have an opinion<br /> one way or another, but we drove 16 hours with our DD when she was a week old (bringing her home after adoption). It actually went really well because as others have said, she slept a lot. We found hotel lobbies to be very helpful to stop at and us the bathrooms for changing and the lobby for feeding (all were very accomodating even though we were not staying there). They are much cleaner than other options. I would say an anticipated 26 hour drive will actually be MUCH longer with the numerous stops that you'll have to do. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533940 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 09:52:11 +0000 ShootingStar 1533940@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think you absolutely need to fly. It's not good for the baby to spend that much time in the carseat. Plus, as others have pointed out it'll take MUCH longer than you think it will. And your baby may not tolerate the car seat that much. My son had no issues with the carseat as a newborn, he pretty much always fell asleep. So the first time we took a 3 hour trip I expected him to sleep the whole time. Wrong. He woke up 1.5 hours into and SCREAMED until we stopped. Then proceeded to have a poopy blowout from the constriction of the carseat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533907 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 09:43:16 +0000 yoursilverlining 1533907@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would definitely fly. 26 hours is a loooong time; 5 is very manageable. If you drive, I think you'll probably need to break the trip into 3 days, because even though newborns sleep a lot (well, some of them); they also eat and poop a lot so every few hours you'll need to stop. I don't know how comfortable it would be to bottle feed a newborn sitting up in a car seat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533902 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 09:40:59 +0000 Smurfette 1533902@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>There is no way in hell R would have been in the car for 26 hours. She hated the car seat. I would just fly. I would wear LO so no one touches her and even put a blanket over LO to keep germs out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533882 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 09:35:40 +0000 LAZB 1533882@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you asked me 6 months ago I would have said fly, but after losing my 5 week old son to a virus that he caught when no one was seemingly sick, I would say drive. That is a crazy long drive, but I'm super paranoid now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533863 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 09:28:55 +0000 avivoca 1533863@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@however briefly: I definitely bottle feed while driving, and I am breastfeeding. I just pump before she's ready and give her the bottle while my husband drives. I've only done it on a four-hour drive though, and she wasn't a newborn.</p> <p>I would fly if possible. I've been in a car for 26 hours, and even with stops to stretch it's miserable. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533841 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 09:23:26 +0000 ElbieKay 1533841@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If your baby is anything like my 25-day-old son, then every three hours the feed cycle will correspond to at least two diaper changes. So I would not expect bottle feeding in the car to actually allow you to skip that many stops because you'll need to take your baby out of the car seat to change his/her diaper anyway.</p> <p>We just drove from NY to Boston for one night so that we could attend a funeral. We managed the four hour drive -- which luckily was traffic-free -- with one stop in each direction. We are lucky that our son usually sleeps in the car. He only fussed for about 10 minutes of the entire trip, and that's because he hates having a wet diaper.</p> <p>I think I would pick the 5-hr flight unless you could break up the drive A LOT and stretch it across multiple days. I can't imagine trying to drive more than 6 or maaaaaaaybe max 8 hours in one day with a newborn. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533789 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 09:01:55 +0000 however briefly 1533789@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Foodnerd81: This! This is my other stress! I mean, we're only at 13 weeks right now so lots of things can change but our surrogate has chosen a birthing center so planned c-section is not in the cards unless absolutely needed. We are hoping to literally drop everything at the first sign of labor and get a last minute flight but there are so many unknown variables when it comes to babies and birth that I feel like my head is going to explode any time I try to plan out all the contingencies. But at least we'll be living in the same country by then! Right now, we're halfway around the world! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533739 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:41:52 +0000 looch 1533739@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The thing that's hard for me about flying isn't the germs, its the recycled air in the cabin. If you have someone on that plane that has whooping cough or pneumonia, then you're all breathing in that air. </p> <p>26 hours in a car, on the other hand, sounds like my worst nightmare, in all honesty. My son at 2 weeks was still in his sleepy stage, but there would have been no way I could have fed him while he was strapped into his car seat given his spit up situation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533732 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:38:06 +0000 Foodnerd81 1533732@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Given your clarifications, I would probably fly. My baby hated the car seat really early on, but would happily fall asleep in my arms while eating, so five hours of holding her would be preferable to 26 hours of sleeping and crying alternately. Get a good wrap so you can keep her in there most of the time. </p> <p>Will the birth be a scheduled c section? Otherwise it seems like it might be difficult to schedule the flights, which adds one more wrinkle. </p> <p>Either way, it will be difficult but you will be so happy to be bringing your baby home that it will be worth it a hundred times over! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533728 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:36:58 +0000 kjpugs 1533728@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>OK just reading comments saw you were bringing baby from surrogate's home area to your home. So it IS necessary. I would say fly. I was adopted and flew at 10 days old myself :) It was "medically necesssary" and not "travel". So that would cover what the doctor's note would say- baby born in X state, traveling home to Y state. One way. Easy peasy. I think due to the amoutn of time you'd stop to feed baby (not safe to feed in car seat) I would say fly. But still ask your ped, they will tell you their preference based on baby's specific health (if they are possible a preemie might be different, etc) as well as the seasons in those areas, etc. YAY! Good luck. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533720 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:33:03 +0000 MamaBehr 1533720@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>26 hours is a LONG time. I have flown with two of my kids when they were 10 weeks old, and it went really well. The baby just slept the whole way. Even though you won't be nursing you can still cover the baby up (I just kept mine covered up with the nursing cover the whole time). </p> <p>My husband and I had to make a similar decision, but our baby was going to be 10 weeks old at the time, and we ultimately decided to fly because of the need to be fed so frequently, the ability to hold the baby if (when) he would get fussy, and to cut down the amount of time we would actually be traveling. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533718 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:32:17 +0000 kjpugs 1533718@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You may talk to your ped. I planned a trip with my LO around 6 weeks and she strongly advised me not to. She said, "if you are asking me, I'm telling you no." So maybe chat with them about what is best. Family ended up coming to us- much easier.</p> <p>I don't think I would choose either. That long of a car ride is horrendous for anyone, let alone with a baby who needs to eat so often (think about how much you'd have to stop!!!!!!!!!!!! omg, no way) but I would not feel comfortable at 2 weeks on a plane and I think your ped might not be ok with it. I also know some airlines require a doctor's note for babies to fly that young. (I think JetBlue requires it for 2 weeks or under... I saw something like that when reading "rules" on their website when flying with my LO at almost 4 months.) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533714 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:30:59 +0000 Charm54 1533714@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@however briefly: how exciting! Congratulations on your LO :)</p> <p>I personally would fly, because a 26 hour drive newborn or not, OMG . </p> <p>I would wear her and keep her close, disinfect as much as possible, etc. Is it a direct flight?</p> <p>I have bottle fed during road trips which definitely cuts down on stops if you decide to drive. I would feed her , then dh would pull over and Id take her out to burp. She was a bit older than 2 weeks (2 months when we did a 5 hr road trip) but doable. Like others said , since they sleep a lot it makes it easier! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533696 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:26:29 +0000 bhbee 1533696@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@however briefly: I think you can probably bottle feed in the car, but it's all going to depend on the baby, temperament, if you're having any feeding issues (reflux, etc). and you might need to take the baby out to burp etc but that would at least be faster than the whole feeding. I'm no expert on this though as we never did it.</p> <p>I think the really hard question is what if you have a baby who needs to be held and will scream the WHOLE time in the car seat. those babies totally exist. in which case you'd be much better off on the plane. I mean I get the germs thing, but 26 hours of screaming baby will be SO stressful for everyone in the car and probably dangerous (distracted/tired driver) so I'd still vote the shorter trip if at all possible. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533689 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:24:54 +0000 Mamaof2 1533689@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@however briefly: I would talk to your PED and get a medical opinion.</p> <p>Flying would be sooo much easier!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533674 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:21:39 +0000 however briefly 1533674@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Okay, to clarify, this is not a vacation. This is a one-way trip bringing the baby from where the surrogate will be giving birth to our home. Taking a vacation or visiting family that far away with a two week old stresses me out just thinking about it :)</p> <p>@Pumuckl: Thanks for bringing up different airline policies. I had completely forgotten about that.</p> <p>@looch: @bhbee: Definitely staying domestic, yes. Do you think, since I'm not going to be breast feeding, we could get away with bottle feeding while driving for some of the feedings just to cut down on the number of stops? I'm sure it would depend on the baby but in my mind I just figured we'd trade off driving and baby duty and it wouldn't be that big of a deal but maybe that's wishful thinking :wink: </p> <p> @LemonLong: This is actually what we keep coming back to in the end just as we think we've decided to just brave the long drive. I do agree that if the baby is kept wrapped up, exposure would be minimal but we have very well-intentioned (and nosy) family who are very adamant we will be putting the baby through unneeded risk and yeah. Difficult to deal with. I am definitely leaning towards flying though just to get it over with, especially since that five hour flight is including a layover. </p> <p>Thanks everyone! I'm feeling a bit more mentally organized about this now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533612 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:01:18 +0000 LemonLong 1533612@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>At 2 weeks old, it's not like the baby would be touching anything herself, so as long as you and your husband keep your hands sanitized it should be a lower risk of germ exposure. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533522 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 07:24:49 +0000 shellio 1533522@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My first instinct was fly but you are so right about the germ exposure... As PPs have said, baby will probably sleep a lot at 2 weeks. Anything older than that will probably be pushing it, I know most babies love their carseats and sleep in the car but both of my DS hated being in the seat even when the car started moving from an early age. It is hard to predict. Honestly though, a big trip with a newborn sounds rough either way. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533508 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 07:09:32 +0000 Greentea 1533508@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I voted to fly initially then realized what @Anagram: said so I changed my mind. I would drive! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533488 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 06:46:02 +0000 bhbee 1533488@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Will you be nursing? Newborns nurse a lot. This is pretty easy on a plane, bring a cover and your husband can help shield too. It will make a car trip a lot longer because it's not safe to nurse while the car is moving - baby needs to be in a seat - so you have to stop every time you nurse. Could make driving hard. </p> <p>I think a 2 week old will be pretty easy but I'd second asking your doctor. I first flew at 2 months but have total sympathy for the timing you will end up with! Can someone come to you and make it fun that way? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533484 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 06:40:09 +0000 looch 1533484@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Are you flying domestically? If you're going to be international, I am not sure you'd even be able to get all your documents together in that time. eta: duh, yeah, if you're driving, it's probably a domestic flight? Unless it's Canada/US?</p> <p>I'd choose flying over driving any day, unless there was another person that could make the trip with you. I'd expect one person to be on baby duty and you'd need at least a relief driver for your husband. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/traveling-with-a-newborn#post-1533448 Mon, 31 Mar 2014 05:40:06 +0000 Trailmix 1533448@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My co-worker flew with her 5-day-old baby that she adopted. Sometimes you have to fly with a young one, I think if you keep them in a wrap, like the Moby or K'Tan or whatever and really minimize exposure so others, it will be fine! </p>