Taking 3 month old to Australia for 2 months

[Megan1969]

Hi, I am pre-empting this problem as I havent even given birth yet.  So would appreciate a head start on some advice.  I live in London and am due to give birth in early september.  Dont have a great deal of friends/family here so looking forward to spending the first 2 months sorting myself (and baby) out/ getting used to things etc.  My mum is coming over from Australia when baby is 2 months old, staying for a month, then we both fly home to Melbourne (husband to follow a week later) where I will bask in the glory of being the mother of the first grand daughter born to both sides of the family.

In order to give everyone their fair share of baby time, and also allow us to see all our friends and have a holiday ourselves, we plan to stay with my mother for a bit, then his mother, then go to the beach for a week or so, then up to sydney for a week, then back to melbourne.  During this time baby will grow from a 3 month old to a 5 month old.

I havent been pushed into doing things/visiting people that i dont want to visit.  I think its only fair that people want to spend time with the baby, and due to distance its not as if people live a quick car trip away from eachother.  Likewise, I miss my home terribly and am determined to catch up with all my friends/family.  I dont plan to spend a day here & there.  Wherever we go we will be staying for a week minimum in order to cause minimal disruption.  We've planned ahead and have borrowed friends baby stuff (cots, baths, & other essential baby stuff) to make things easy for us.  BUT as a first time mum, I would appreciate some advice and some tips and hints about how to make the trip as painless as possible.  Not so much worried about the long haul flight, but rather the endless changes of faces/scenery for the baby.  Although husband and I will be a constant presence.

Sorry, a long one.  Appreciate your advice.

Megan

[Deb_in_oz]

firstly - i did the same deal but in reverse - taking dd1 homem to the states from 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 months by myself (and then we took her to usa and uk and Thailand from 10 1/2 -12 months for 6 weeks).

to deal with the endless changes and the variety of people i woudl make sure that before you leave the UK you have a good routine in place.  i don';t mean that a 3 mo shoudl be on a set schedule but if you are planning to follow EASY from the start then i would 1) have a set wind down routine 2) a good bedtime ritual - like bath and then feed and hen bed with a particular goodnight saying...  This is what will make it easier to move around to different homes etc because there will be a common link that reassures baby that it is bedtime, etcand things are familiar.

we had used a white noise machine from birth so took that as well and that helped.  i also took the sheet off her cot and brought it with is so it smelled familiar straight away.

bring a few toys and books that are favourites - borrow others from friends.

lastly, as much as you will want to let everyone see and interact with the baby i woudl really limit the nu,mber of people at a time.  i had an unwritten rule that no more than 2 people got to hold / play with her iin any awake time.  too much handling is overstimulating and can lead to disturbed napping and hard setling issues.  there are many chances in a day for people to see/play with baby so just reassure them that she only naps for a bit and then will rejoin them and someone else can have a cuddle...

hope that helps and you have a good birth / and then trip 

[Katet]

My sister did almost exactly what you are doing with her lo (3.5 months to 5 months) she went to our parents first  (2 weeks)(Mornington Penisular), as that is the place she knew she can truely relax & get over jet lag.
She then did a few days with our brother in Wagga & then a week with me & then 10 days with the In-laws  North coast NSW  9when dh came out) & then a week Holiday after J's Christening, in Sydney.
She said her big mistake was the 2 nights with our brother... it was too disruptive as she travelled by train there from Melb & then train to Sydney. All the other parts were fine. When she was with me, she caught up with friends & just worked driving times around nap times if she went out & like Debra said, she kept her routine consistent.

In the weeks before she came back to Aus her in- Laws were staying so she got some "practice runs" as they went off to Scotland & across to Italy for a few short trips. So she kind of knew how J reacted to days in the car travelling etc... so it might be an idea to plan a few "big days" out before you leave, so you know how you cope & what works & doesn't work for your lo

[Megan1969]

thanks ladies!