Hello!
Not really a vacation topic, but I don%26#39;t know where else to ask for opinions. I have a 5 month old baby. I am starting a new job in a couple of weeks, where I would have to travel to France for training (nothing major, just staying in the office or visiting plants). The trainig could take up to 2 weeks. I would really hate to be without my baby, and my family would hate to deal with a baby, without me nearby. We%26#39;ve considered buying an extra ticket for my husband to go with me. Does this sound crazy? I know people take babies when they go on vacation and there are two people taking care of one baby, is it feasable with one dad, taking care of one baby during the day? Thanks!
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It will depend on your husband how he feels. I think it%26#39;s best that you discuss this with him.
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Hi Mama
You would go nuts without the little one close to you - he/she is still too biologically close to you to be left behind. What if the family calls you all the way from Michigan to tell you that Precious has got a temperature and that they have called for the doctor ?
If you can afford it - and provided that you are not breastfeeding round the clock any longer - bringing baby%26#39;s daddy with you is of course the only sane choice.
And this may be the once-in-a-lifetime chance for Baby%26#39;s Mother (with a capital M) to show some confidence in her husband%26#39;s skills as to nursing, feeding, washing, dressing, putting to sleep, entertaining and protecting Her Baby.....
Good Luck
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There was a very intersting article in the magazine section of the new york times at least 5 years ago that detailed a trip to europe of one of the writers with three month old twins. it was sort of highlighting the good and the bad. If your husband can watch the baby here he can do it there. I mean there%26#39;s really no difference. I think the biggest setback in a city is the stroller so you might want to bring a pack of sorts. Remember your going to a modern country everything you have at home you will have there. i think food may be tricky that is keeping the baby happy during those long french meals but basically you%26#39;ll be fine.
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OK, I%26#39;m going to chime in with a different opinion, somewhat colored by the fact that my kids are teenagers now...
Let your husband take time off at home with the baby, hire a baby nurse to check in each day if it makes you feel better.
The cost of your husband traveling with you, the trip for 7 hours on the plane (and back) with the baby, lugging paraphernalia with you - or worse, buying paraphernalia when you get to France - it%26#39;s actually cheaper and less stress for everyone, including the baby, if your husband and baby are in a familiar environment.
The person who is going to suffer is you! You%26#39;ll miss the baby. The baby will survive just fine and not grow up to be mentally imbalanced because you took a trip!
When my first was an infant, I forced myself to leave the baby with Dad for a whole entire day, no phone number to reach me at, no estimated time of return - and I would call once to see how things were going and say when I%26#39;d be home. I needed the mental time to relax and shop, meet with friends and eat a simple meal without thinking how it fit in with the baby%26#39;s schedule.
It worked out OK. Had I been required to travel for work, it would have been a much easier transition - for ME - to leave the baby with my husband.
Granted, 2 weeks is a long time. Perhaps you will find that you can make it shorter than that. Given your situation, your employer might cooperate and help find ways to make it a shorter stay. Your commitment to what your job demands will be appreciated.
That was the situation with the first baby - second baby, there were no such issues. I was much more relaxed about being a parent. I worked part-time throughout both children%26#39;s infancies - 4 days a week, full days.
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Thank you, all who replied. Yes, it probably will be the hardest for me. And I do trust that my husband could do it all alone. The trick is I am breastfeeding and my son still wakes up at least 3 times a night. I can not picture my husband (who normally doesn%26#39;t even wake up when I nurse the baby at night) to handle the night time without much anxiety for him or the baby. During the day, I am sure they would do fine without me - I have a great situation, my mom (who lives with us) babysits three days a week and my mother-in-law two days a week.
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For goodness sake bring your MOTHER not your husband. How useful is he if he doesn%26#39;t even wake up when the baby cries.
I have three kids from almost 10 to almost 16. I would rather have left our babies with my mom then my hubby (when they were very young),and it wasn%26#39;t that my hubby was incompetent, he wasn%26#39;t, it just was my mom was better.
Now, on the other hand if you mom is not a good travller, nervous etc, then she won%26#39;t venture out with the baby in the daytime, and will get bored in the hotel all day. So in which case bring hubby, and yes, he will need a %26quot; baby pack %26quot; to lug baby around with, easier then stroller. What does hubby think of all this? I think it would be nice as a family to stroll along the river banks etc. if hubby likes the idea of seeing Paris then a good time could be had by all. At five months your baby DOES NOT CARE WHAT COUNTRY he is in, he only cares that he has YOU!
Two weeks is a long time , and it will end breastfeeding if you leave him that long.
I have to agree that you need to really work on this with your hubby. On one hand the baby will have your mom and mom in law at home, people he is used to, that know his routine. On the other hand this is great free( except for air) trip for hubby, and you will have spare time together to enjoy the city.
The baby will survive regardless.
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Forgot the breastfeeding issue! I breastfed both kids - the first almost a year and the second 6 months. I pumped milk - found a contraption I felt comfortable with - and even left pumped milk in the fridge so the babysitter could feed the baby when we went out for dinner those special nights.
Again, pumping was even better for me than for the baby. Babies do survive on forumla pretty well and if you keep your supply going, you%26#39;ll be able to pick up where you left off when you get back.
One thing I did with the first - gave her water (boiled it first and then cooled it) in a bottle from time to time... I was so afraid she would get dehydrated if she wasn%26#39;t getting enough milk. It served a dual purpose in getting her used to a bottle. She never picked one over the other... bottle over breast, breast over bottle. It gave some flexibility.
You just have to get started with preparing all of you if you want to be able to leave your infant with your husband and the grandmothers.
On my flight home from Paris last month, I listened to a baby scream for about 3 hours. I felt sorry for the mom but sorrier for the baby.
I think if you%26#39;re getting up several times during the night with an infant and training, you%26#39;re going to be really tired, too. And when I got too stressed, it was harder to nurse.
I loved breast-feeding my kids - it was a great thing. You won%26#39;t lose that experience. If your baby is hungry, you will be able to nurse. La Leche probably has loads of information on this. As I recall, they%26#39;ll come to help you if you have any difficulties.
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NOT all babies will go from breast to bottle and back. I had three kids, one did, and two didn%26#39;t.
If you stop breastfeeding a baby for two weeks your milk supply will seriously dwindle,and the likelyhood of re-establishing breastfeeding will be low.Not impossible , but difficult. If you are ready to stop BF then it isn%26#39;t a huge issue. The nice thing about BF is that when travelling you have all you need with you( still bring a bottle for water/juice) .
Not all babies scream on airplanes , it is usaully because of their ears, and nursing on take off and landing can prevent the pressure built up. Also do not fly with baby if he has a cold and is congested as ears will be a problem.
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If you will be there for two weeks, would your work pay for a i bedroom apartment rather than a hotel (even a nice one will be cheaper than a hotel) so you have a fridge and stove etc. Something close to the centre would be best and with an elevator. I wonder if it is possible to hire a pram or stroller in Paris so your husband or mother can get out during the day?
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I just reread your post - how are you going to feed the baby if you are the sole source of nourishment - and you are staying in the office or visiting plants? If a plant is in Lille, for example, would you take the baby with you? Would your husband take the baby to the office during the day while you had to be there? I was given an empty office in which to do my milk-pumping in privacy. I assume you would like some privacy, too, to nurse the baby several times a day if necessary in the office. I don%26#39;t know how you%26#39;re managing now - but then again, you said it%26#39;s a new job.
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