Resort vacation w/ 6 month old...?

[guitarguy]

Hi all!

So we have our first child due here in a couple weeks ( ) and being pretty frequent travelers, we are already thinking about booking trip (flight) #2 with the little one.

Trip #1 is to visit in-laws...no need to bring big stuff like stroller, pack and play, car seat, etc...all those amenities exist at grandma's house. Haha. Baby will be about 5 months.

A month later, wife and I are thinking about using up a b1g1 free flight coupon on our Delta Amex and flying to FL for a few days to not let this coupon go to waste. We are thinking about staying at the Hyatt (on points)...either the Regency Coconut Point or the Residence Club Coconut Plantation. Either one looks nice...with pools (incl toddler ones), activities, lazy river, The Regency has a ferry over to what looks like a nice beach, etc. I know baby will be a little young to enjoy a full day at the beach or in the pool...but our thought is it'll still be fun to get him splashing and get out of the Midwest winter for a few days.

The flight is only a couple hours. I'm not anticipating a major problem there. Should we decide to bring the car seat and stroller and stuff and rent a car...Delta seems pretty nice for all that stuff. We could maybe consider skipping that stuff...take a shuttle/bus to the hotel and just stay there for the duration...but my thought is a day trip to somewhere nearby might be fun to get away too. I'm assuming Hyatt will have cribs.

That said, will we enjoy this vacation? I realize we may end up spending more time than "usual" in our hotel room, and we may end up watching Netflix for a few hours at some point or whatever...but the rooms have balconies and stuff so I'm sure DW and I will enjoy having some wine and just taking in the warm weather in December. Mix that in with checking out some nice local restaurants, short spurts down to the pool with the baby, etc, and we think it could be fun. But are we missing or not considering anything here?

If a vacation of this type is a bad idea with a 6-month old...would there be any other type of vacation that would be a better choice? We'd be pretty open to just about any destination but would prefer warmer weather and a Hyatt hotel for the point stay.

[lthenderson]

I thought some of the most relaxing trips were when our children were babies. Their needs at that age are pretty simple, eating (especially breast fed) and taking lots of naps. The most difficult parts were always the getting to and from, i.e. strapped down in a car seat or in a loud airplane. Fortunately both of our kids weren't too bad with either of those. Being an international family, both our kids flew 24 hours of flights halfway around the world for a two week vacation at around five or six months. It most certainly can be done.

[guitarguy]

I thought some of the most relaxing trips were when our children were babies. Their needs at that age are pretty simple, eating (especially breast fed) and taking lots of naps. The most difficult parts were always the getting to and from, i.e. strapped down in a car seat or in a loud airplane. Fortunately both of our kids weren't too bad with either of those. Being an international family, both our kids flew 24 hours of flights halfway around the world for a two week vacation at around five or six months. It most certainly can be done.

Thanks for the feedback! We're trying to get used to our baby flying regularly...we'll be visiting in-laws and taking a 2.5 hr flight at least 1-2 times per year most likely.

I guess was just wondering about the *type* of vacation idea we had...can we make a good time of a hotel/pool/beach with a 6 month old? I feel like yes but still wondering if I'm missing anything! haha.

[Nate79]

We did it with a 9 month old, all inclusive resort in Cozumel. Would never do it again. It certainly wasn't as enjoyable as an older child or no kids. Lots of work. Our daughter caught a cold that was also miserable.

It's a crap shoot. You have no clue about how your child will be health wise, behavior wise, etc. Imagine your child is a wonderful sleeper vs a horrible sleeper (and now do it in a strange location, strange bed, new foods, etc).

[lthenderson]

I thought some of the most relaxing trips were when our children were babies. Their needs at that age are pretty simple, eating (especially breast fed) and taking lots of naps. The most difficult parts were always the getting to and from, i.e. strapped down in a car seat or in a loud airplane. Fortunately both of our kids weren't too bad with either of those. Being an international family, both our kids flew 24 hours of flights halfway around the world for a two week vacation at around five or six months. It most certainly can be done.

Thanks for the feedback! We're trying to get used to our baby flying regularly...we'll be visiting in-laws and taking a 2.5 hr flight at least 1-2 times per year most likely.

I guess was just wondering about the *type* of vacation idea we had...can we make a good time of a hotel/pool/beach with a 6 month old? I feel like yes but still wondering if I'm missing anything! haha.

I think it will be very relaxing for you. Vacations with young kids get progressively less relaxing as they start to crawl and then walk. Once they can walk, then one parent pretty much has to take the hit and follow the young one around while the other can relax a few minutes and then switch off. This lasts until their attention span can grow to something significant. We took less vacations between 1 and 3 years of age mostly for that reason.

[Ddd7651]

We did Disney with a one year old and honestly, it was not bad at all. We enjoyed it. He flew as a lap child and we pushed him in his jogging stroller through the airport and they checked it for free and had it waiting for us when we got off the plane. We also carried stuff below it. Of course Disney had shuttle buses to the hotels. They also had Lyft cars with car seats in them to take us to a couple places once we were there. I think that is becoming more common in some places but the drivers that advertise a car seat I have noticed mostly pull out the minimum standard from a trunk and strap it down quickly when they pick you up. I wouldn't call them completely safe. The Disney branded Lyft cars were exceptional, however. Our kid chilled in the stroller on walks, tooks naps in it and we rested a few times in the shade. Very relaxing. I think 6 months won't be too bad all things considered.

Imagining taking my now 3 year old and keeping him calm, Lord help me. I already spend enough time in public getting him to stay still. Half the time I don't remember what my restaurant meal tastes like anymore with the anxiety. I'm waiting for him to be a little older to listen a little better and calm down a little bit with manners. The joys...

Oh, and a couple nights we got a babysitter for the room and enjoyed some time together. Of course this is Disney and kids around are expected. A typical adult resort with a loud kid might affect other adults. If they are super quiet and a good sleeper mostly, I don't think anyone will care. For an occasional outburst, if others see you attempting to comfort them and then it calming down, in my opinion that buys graces. If you act like you don't care, which some parents don't, expect dirty looks.

[mak1277]

I thought some of the most relaxing trips were when our children were babies. Their needs at that age are pretty simple, eating (especially breast fed) and taking lots of naps. The most difficult parts were always the getting to and from, i.e. strapped down in a car seat or in a loud airplane. Fortunately both of our kids weren't too bad with either of those. Being an international family, both our kids flew 24 hours of flights halfway around the world for a two week vacation at around five or six months. It most certainly can be done.

Thanks for the feedback! We're trying to get used to our baby flying regularly...we'll be visiting in-laws and taking a 2.5 hr flight at least 1-2 times per year most likely.

I guess was just wondering about the *type* of vacation idea we had...can we make a good time of a hotel/pool/beach with a 6 month old? I feel like yes but still wondering if I'm missing anything! haha.

I think it will be very relaxing for you. Vacations with young kids get progressively less relaxing as they start to crawl and then walk. Once they can walk, then one parent pretty much has to take the hit and follow the young one around while the other can relax a few minutes and then switch off. This lasts until their attention span can grow to something significant. We took less vacations between 1 and 3 years of age mostly for that reason.

This is absolutely true. Just took a "vacation" with a 16-month old. Lots of work, very little rest. 6 months old would be doable, although you're still beholden to nap/feeding schedules, so your options for activities are limited.

[Watty]

So we have our first child due here in a couple weeks....

One of the things you need to be able to adapt to when you have your first kid is that you can no longer plan things like this well. You may very well be able to do things like this but you will not know until you get settled in with the new baby since even though most babies may be able to do this, doing this with YOUR baby might not work.

A few things to consider;

1) I would highly recommend paying to get an airplane seat for your baby so that you can use a carseat. I am not sure of the current rules but even if you are allowed to have a lap baby there are real safety issues if there is turbulence or the plan is in a crash. You may need to get a special car seat that will fit in the airline seat.

2) A condo or apartment would be a lot better than a typical hotel room. You would have a kitchen and a seperate room so that one of you could sleep if the other had to be up in the middle of the night with the baby.

3) I can remember one time when we were traveling with my son when he was a baby that I ended up taking him out and driving around in the car at three in the morning when he was crying in a hotel room and would not settle down. He settled down in the car but I am sure that his crying in the hotel was disturbing the other guests.

Mix that in with checking out some nice local restaurants

4) That may be wishful thinking. I don't know how you define "nice local restaurants" but if you mean even medium high end places that will not work. When going out to diner with a kid you start thinking of things like how it will work if the kid is fussy and how it will work if you need to get the food wrapped for take if the kid is having a meltdown. More likely you would go to places like Chili's or Olive Garden just because of the logistics.

I'm assuming Hyatt will have cribs.

I would not assume that. My impression is that many hotels have stopped providing cribs because of liability and even when they do you need to be real concerned about how clean they are since the last baby that used it might have been spitting up and had diarrhea with leaky diapers. Even if they look clean there still can be problems. At that age it will work best if you can travel by car and take your own collapsible crib with you.

I would wait until the baby is born and things settle down before making any travel plans.

[EAK]

Sounds like a great vacation and pace with a 6 month old. You should definitely go and continue to take trips in the future as well. I have a 3 year old and we are frequent travelers since he was just a couple months old, he has been to maine 4x, florida 2x, spain, italy, oregon/washington, boston without any issues and we've all had fun. Kids will adjust, they can nap in an afternoon stroller walk. Bring some toys and comfort items, and you'll be good to go. Enjoy all the future trips!

[runner3081]

So we have our first child due here in a couple weeks....

One of the things you need to be able to adapt to when you have your first kid is that you can no longer plan things like this well. You may very well be able to do things like this but you will not know until you get settled in with the new baby since even though most babies may be able to do this, doing this with YOUR baby might not work.

A few things to consider;

1) I would highly recommend paying to get an airplane seat for your baby so that you can use a carseat. I am not sure of the current rules but even if you are allowed to have a lap baby there are real safety issues if there is turbulence or the plan is in a crash. You may need to get a special car seat that will fit in the airline seat.

They can fly in your lap until the age of 2 (at least all US airlines we ran into).

We did that a few times, in the lap is a non-issue. Not sure how there are many safety issues. Sure, maybe turbulence, but otherwise, if the plane goes down, it won't much matter whether they are in a lap or carseat.

[oldcomputerguy]

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[Texanbybirth]

If your baby is a good baby, I'm sure it'd be fine. However, you don't even have the baby yet, so you have no clue. That'd be pause enough for me to wait to book this trip. You have no clue what your little one is going to be like, and if this is your first then you really have no clue how much your life is going to (hopefully) change. A friend of mine just traveled with his wife and (first born) newborn. She was on the brink of tears and cancellation because she didn't want to travel with a 3 month old baby. These are some of most well-traveled (and well-to-do) people I know, mind you. Family members who just had their fourth kid have had a really difficult time with #4 because it was a premie.

We just got back from a beach vacation with a 2-month old. We also have a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old. The hotel was great (Embassy Suites) because they have awesome breakfast and manager's happy hour each night. The baby sleeps with us in bed, and the other kiddos slept on the couch bed in the living room. We really love the 2-room suites @ ES, but with only one kid you don't need two rooms. You're right, most major airlines are great (we've used AA and SWA) about checking car seats, strollers, etc. I'd also skip buying a separate plane seat for the babe. Aside from my major caveat above, I think y'all would easily be able to enjoy the trip. One kiddo is a piece of cake.

(We have to fly regularly to visit my wife's side of the family, 2 hour flight. Our kids have just grown up flying and they're better flyers than a lot of adults I see, who are whiny, entitled, loud, poorly dressed, etc. They have all flown within the first couple months of their lives. For the first 9 months they've mainly chosen to just eat (off of mom) and then sleep. On our recent flight back we weren't all sitting together. My son and I sat in the back of the plane, and my wife (God bless her) and daughter and baby son sat toward the front. My son literally slept the entire flight - such a good kid.)

[Ed_Sandwich]

As a parent of two kids <4 years old I admire your optimism. One of the first things you'll come to realize about young kids is that you can't do things like you did before and expect to enjoy it the same way. Eating at restaurants is one thing you will likely find stressful. Travel is another.

I love the beach, but until the child is steady on its feet, sand does not mix well with crawling babies, nor does wind and direct sunlight. A lot of time may have to be spent indoors. And one parent will always need to be physically carrying the baby at all times on the beach (strollers don't work in sand).

It's only temporary, but we are only now starting to get back into restaurant eating with our oldest child, age 4. The younger one is still a stress-inducing mess at restaurants, especially if there are no big TVs. Travel has been OK since about age 2, at least with our oldest.

This is just our experience, and everyone's different. There will be major lifestyle adjustments though, guaranteed.

[Colorado13]

I just wanted to chime in with congratulations on the upcoming arrival of the little one!

[guitarguy]

We did Disney with a one year old and honestly, it was not bad at all. We enjoyed it. He flew as a lap child and we pushed him in his jogging stroller through the airport and they checked it for free and had it waiting for us when we got off the plane. We also carried stuff below it. .... Our kid chilled in the stroller on walks, took naps in it and we rested a few times in the shade. Very relaxing. I think 6 months won't be too bad all things considered.

Imagining taking my now 3 year old and keeping him calm, Lord help me. I already spend enough time in public getting him to stay still. Half the time I don't remember what my restaurant meal tastes like anymore with the anxiety. I'm waiting for him to be a little older to listen a little better and calm down a little bit with manners. The joys...

This is the same story we got from our other younger / traveling parent friends. "3 or 4 thru 8 or 9 months is the best time to travel" has been pretty consistent when asking around...which is what's making us even consider this. That, plus the free flight going to waste if we don't use it.

A typical adult resort with a loud kid might affect other adults. If they are super quiet and a good sleeper mostly, I don't think anyone will care. For an occasional outburst, if others see you attempting to comfort them and then it calming down, in my opinion that buys graces. If you act like you don't care, which some parents don't, expect dirty looks.

This makes total sense. But both of the resorts we're looking at seem quite family-friendly! So that's good.

They can fly in your lap until the age of 2 (at least all US airlines we ran into).

We did that a few times, in the lap is a non-issue. Not sure how there are many safety issues. Sure, maybe turbulence, but otherwise, if the plane goes down, it won't much matter whether they are in a lap or carseat.

This is also what we've found / been told. As of now for these early flights we are planning - based on advice - to just have the baby in a "wrap" style carrier for the flight. Feed during take off and landing to help with the pressure relief. Aside from that...the flights we'll be going on are only a couple hours so hopefully he just sleeps all cozied up in the carrier. Of course there's no way to know and he could cry. Oh well. That'll suck, but we'll deal with it. We've kind of decided we're not going to avoid flying and living in fear of a crying baby during the flight - especially early - because with out-of-state in laws its GOING to happen pretty regularly. Grandma gon' need her baby time one.

Honestly, I was more curious about the whole beachy/pooly/resorty style vacation with a baby that age. Wife and I kinda both think we should just go for it...so we more than likely will. If he cries in a restaurant...we get the food to go or stop for a sub and eat it in the hotel room quietly while he sleeps. Whatever. We're pretty go with the flow kinda people. I'd say we'll almost definitely get some splash in the toddler pool time. Or enjoy a little trip to the beach, or even a walk through the nearby animal reserve / park with him in the stroller. So there's also potential to have a lot of fun...and what's the fun in staying home afraid?

If your baby is a good baby, I'm sure it'd be fine. However, you don't even have the baby yet, so you have no clue. That'd be pause enough for me to wait to book this trip. You have no clue what your little one is going to be like, and if this is your first then you really have no clue how much your life is going to (hopefully) change. A friend of mine just traveled with his wife and (first born) newborn. She was on the brink of tears and cancellation because she didn't want to travel with a 3 month old baby. These are some of most well-traveled (and well-to-do) people I know, mind you.

Ya...I've thought about this quite a bit actually.

Our Hyatt reservation can be cancelled a day or 2 before and our points will be refunded. All good there, and one reason we're not even considering Airbnb or the like for this particular outing.

The flights...well...we'd be out $312 in total if for some reason something happened and we decided not to go. Sucks...but not the end of the world. We have a free flight cert to burn...so I'll be watching for how far in advance we need to book the flight before the spots are full. Luckily we're at a hub and we have multiple nonstop flights daily...so we should be able to wait another couple months to book (would be after the baby is born more than likely).

[guitarguy]

I just wanted to chime in with congratulations on the upcoming arrival of the little one!

Thank you!

As a side topic, after years of trying, failed fertility treatments, a miscarriage, a stillbirth, around a 0.5% chance for a successful natural pregnancy...which this is...we could not be more thrilled.

[Watty]

It would be good to do your own research on how safe having a lap baby is. Here are a few links to get you started;

https://www.consumerreports.org/airline ... -your-lap/

https://www.faa.gov/travelers/fly_children/

[Thegame14]

I wouldn't do it because too many crazy anti-vaxxers out there and measles is occurring at record rates. I do think you would enjoy it, and especially that age is a lot better than a 2-4 year old would be, but my concern would be that baby not having all its vaccines yet.

[NoVa Lurker]

Our three boys are now 8, 5 and 2. We found 8-9 months to be the end of the "easy" window for travel - they started to eat more solids and become more mobile, and hitting various milestones made them more excited and less able to adjust to sleep changes.

By age 3, short/medium flights and drives became easy again (thanks to being potty-trained, being able to fully communicate, and being able to sit for long periods while mostly playing/watching on devices), and the kids gradually became more "participants" in the family vacation, vs. "extremely photogenic burdens." Our 8 and 5 year olds are just awesome right now on any vacation. I can't imagine doing anything without them - our trips would be half as fun without their enthusiasm. We love their 2-year-old brother so much, but honestly he is a handful even at home, and he is a disaster on any trip.

One question is whether you are planning to have more children. If you already know, especially due to the fertility issues that you mentioned, that you only plan to have one child, then your "rough travel window" will be relatively short - maybe 2-3 years. If you plan to have more kids, spacing them out as we did, then a trip with a 5-month-old will be your easiest in the next 10 years!

A last thought is that we don't travel nearly as much now, and we don't travel in the same way (we stay at resorts now, not holes-in-the-wall, and we accomplish a lot less on any given day), but we are fine with that. With kids' school schedules and tons of sports and other activities, we have very few windows for vacations, but our day-to-day life is busy and pretty fun.

Anyway, congrats and have fun!

[lthenderson]

Mix that in with checking out some nice local restaurants

4) That may be wishful thinking. I don't know how you define "nice local restaurants" but if you mean even medium high end places that will not work. When going out to diner with a kid you start thinking of things like how it will work if the kid is fussy and how it will work if you need to get the food wrapped for take if the kid is having a meltdown. More likely you would go to places like Chili's or Olive Garden just because of the logistics.

One of the things we did early on was time our nice restaurant visits with nap time. We would feed the kid, put them in the car seat and by the time we got to the restaurant, they would be asleep allowing us a couple hours of quiet eating. By the time they woke up again, we would be long gone. However, as they got older, nap times became fewer and shorter which limited our options again.

[epargnant]

We've travelled with babies before, and while yes babies make things more complicated, at least you'll be together and in a warm sunny place! I'd rather change diapers at a resort than at home

With a baby I find we spend more time in the actual hotel room/suite (whereas if we're on our own we spend hardly any time in the room), so if it's a one-room deal and you have to eat all your meals in a restaurant I would be more hesitant. I would recommend a hotel/airbnb/vacation rental with pleasant, sunny rooms that have an actual door to the bedroom with a sitting room and at least a mini kitchen (for ex. Embassy Suites or Marriott vacation resorts). That way you can put baby to bed and then enjoy take-out on the couch or balcony sometimes.

Also there are baby gear rental companies in every touristy place- you can rent anything from a full-size crib to small booster seat and anything in between. Easier than trying to bring some of that stuff on the plane. Every hotel we've stayed at had a pack n play, but they aren't the sturdiest or most comfortable if your baby's not used to them.

[tibbitts]

There's no way I would take a 6mo-old on a flight, but if you can drive to the resort that's fine.

I'm very sick now, almost surely from my flight several days ago. I've flown 1000+ times and never have been on a flight with so many sick people. I'm old and should have more resistance than a 6mo-old, have had the flu vaccine, etc. People coughed directly on me throughout the flight, no attempt to contain the cough. It seemed like every other person had a lap child and the lineup for the restroom went part way up the aisle. Ugh. There was zero turbulence but people were still running for the restrooms, just from being sick.

I've done road trips with an infant, although a few months older than 6mo, and she seemed to enjoy it - but slept most of the time, of course.

[Ybsybs]

For the plan of pool time, you may want to make sure the kid will be a full six months old. Sunscreen is typically not okay for under six months old and babies can sunburn very easily.

[123]

Your primary risk with a very young child on a trip is that they become ill and need the attention of a doctor. Due to an immature immune system they can be very vulnerable. It can be extraordinarily difficult to deal with some childhood illness and symptoms when you are away from home. The main problem that comes to mind is diarrhea which is difficult to manage in a hotel as well as on the flight home. Happy travels.

[Starfish]

We had our first vacation with our kid in a resort in Playa del Carmen when he was 8 months.
It was great.
Next one was Europe an 1 y 4 months and it was a lot harder. Of course trains, subways, and very long walks are harder anyway.
I clearly remember the trip to Europe when he was 2 years and 4 months as being the most exhausting ever. That is the toughest age.
Go when the kid is small. It is much easier.

[fasteddie911]

I'd wait until the baby comes before making any non-refundable plans.

[Ed_Sandwich]

I'd wait until the baby comes before making any non-refundable plans.

+1.

[iasw]

Do it. Echoing others to say book non-refundables after baby is born. While a lap baby is free, if you can afford it, buying a seat can be well worth it for your baby's safety and having a little more space.

A resort with low expectations is perfect and it will probably be a confidence boost.

[GT99]

I have 5 year old and a 16 month old, and I'll echo a lot of what's said. Kids are so different. My 5 year old was a super-easy baby. Slept 8+ hours through the night starting at 7 weeks, good eater, not super active (even after crawling, we could put her down around toys, and she'd be completely happy to stay in the same general area.
Our 16 month old didn't consistently sleep through the night until 11 months. Much pickier eater. She's constantly on the move.

As you'd expect, our 5 year old was super easy to travel with. Not so much the 1 year old.
Either way, I would NOT recommend a beach trip. Beaches and babies are a bad combo. We do a big annual trip with my family and have for ages. The trips that happened when both our kids were in the 3-6 month range were beach trips, and they were probably the 2 least fun trips we've done. Between sunscreen, keeping them out of the sun, lugging around extra stuff for them, sand getting in their diaper...it's tough.

In general, the easiest time of parenthood IMO is from the time a baby starts sleeping through the night until the time they are fully mobile. Odds are good you'll be in that window at 6 months, but you never know. That time didn't exist with my 2nd kid.

[Nutmeg]

I loved taking annual beach trips with my children and in-laws at every age from 6 months onward and never felt the trips were too difficult. We flew some years and drove some years. Going with the in-laws made the trips a lot easier than they would have been otherwise. Going to the beach with my more-challenging, very-high-energy child was particularly good because there was always something interesting for the child to do and sleep came easily at night!

We always stayed in a place with cooking facilities. If that is an option for you, I encourage you to consider it. You can still eat dinners out if you wish.

[Scotttheking]

To belabor the point about flying just a little more, the position of the FAA is that the safest place for a child is in an approved carseat.

The reason lap children are allowed is quite simple: Air travel is safer than car travel. If a family needed to buy a seat for the little one, some percentage would choose to drive instead. Of those that choose to drive instead, some would get hurt / killed in car accidents. The number of kids getting injured/killed being unsecured in a plane is lower than the number of kids getting killed driving instead.

The risk is small, sure, but there is risk.


As to cribs, it is usually a pack and play, and they are not always guaranteed. Make sure the hotel has, and see if they'll assure. For example, one hotel I stayed at had a total of 10 and it was first come first serve.


For eating out, if the kid is asleep in the stroller, great. Parking a stroller in a restaurant, not always so great.


Good luck and have fun!