when can new baby fly?

C

catan

Registered User
Hello,

My due date is around mid-June, and my ticket to fly out of HK back to India is in mid-August. I figure the baby would be 6-8 weeks old by then. Would it be okay to travel (assuming no problems present in both of us)? It's a 3 hour + 6 hour flight there with a few hours layover in between.

For mothers who have flew with very young babies, how were your experiences? What are the issues I should be thinking of?
 
i flew with my bub when he was about 3 weeks old and it was a similar distance flight from yours. he slept throughout the flight - just remember to let your baby suck on a dummy/pacifier/binkie or on your breast while take off and landing.

i saw another mum on the flight with a 2 year old and she was having a hard time with him as he didn't want to sit still/screamed loudly when his mum didn't let him off the seat/ran up and down the aisle/disturbed other passengers so i guess you'll be just fine with yours.
 
i flew back from sg when my baby was 2.5 weeks old. it was a 3.5hr flight. no fuss. i nursed her while take off and landing.
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We flew over 20 hours (with at least 8 hours in layovers) to come back to HK when my son was 6-weeks-old. Flying with a newborn is pretty easy. Our biggest problem was having to literally change his diapers on our laps because the airplane didn't have a changing table and I had to pump breast milk in the toilette which wasn't fun because it was so dirty. Definitely have something for you baby to suck on (pacifier, bottle, breast etc.) for takeoff and landing to relieve pressure in the ears and request from your travel agent that you get a seat where you can have the bassinet--if you can't book this with the agent, then try to book it when you checkin at the airport--it's usually on a first-come, first-serve basis. For you, flying for such a short time with a baby who is already a couple of months old probably will be a breeze.
 
when my daughter was 5 weeks (and my son just turned 2), i flew back to canada. it was a trip from hell:

HK-tokyo (5ish hours)
5 hour stop
tokyo-portland, or (13 hours)
3 hour stop
portland-vancouver (1.5 hours)
2 hour stop
vancouver-calgary (2 hours)
3 hour stop
calgary-regina (1 hour....supposedly BUT....

major snow storm hit regina and they could not dig the runways out of the snow, so we circled for an hour, then diverted to saskatoon, where we sat on the tarmac for almost 5 hours waiting for news. we couldn't get off hte plane because they didn't have security, so we couldn't get back on the flight if we disembarked..... so we sat, and sat and sat... they told everyone waiting for us in regina that the flight was cancelled, so everyone went home. then finally 5 hours waiting on the tarmac we were able to fly to regina. it took us 3 more hours to get there....all of this by myself, no nappies (checked them in at calgary, after all, it was just a 1 hour flight!)...after having had a c-section and being in a wheelchair for 4 out of 8 months of my pregnancy.

i think you shouldn't have any problem travelling for 3-4 hours.... sounds like a piece of cake to me.
 
I've actually been reading up about "fit to fly" since my daughter has medical issues that require medical clearance in order to fly. The official guidelines say:

"The aircraft environment is generally not a problem for new-borns and children, with only a few exceptions. However, it would be prudent to wait about 1-2 wk after birth to assure that the child is healthy and free of congenital defects or acute respiratory distress syndromes, and that the alveoli have fully expanded."

I also know a couple who had a premature baby and they were advised by the doctors to wait until a month or two post due date (ie, when the baby was 4-5 months old).
 
Just one thought: you may wish to speak to your baby's paediatrician to check whether your baby requires any special vaccinations over and above the usual ones prior to your trip to India.
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