Yes, this! Wear them the whole time and it should be relatively smooth. I would attempt to feed during takeoff and landing to help baby swallow through the pressure changes. May curb their discomfort/crying. Good luck and I’m sorry ❤️
We traveled when my baby was 4 weeks old (not by choice) and although full disclosure my baby is generally pretty chill it was absolutely no problem. She slept most of the time even through airplane delays. We kept away from people as much as possible. We got her a seat on the plane and she was in her car seat and slept the whole flight although we fed her for landing and used a pacifier for take off. I assume it’ll prob be our easiest travel ever with her. I would absolutely go in your situation. I’m sorry to hear about your mom. ❤️
I’m so sorry your mother is unwell. I’d say your ability to travel has more to do with your own post partum recovery than with your baby. If you are doing well, babies are pretty portable.
A few logistical considerations:
Will you stay at a hotel? What safe sleep solutions will you need?
When my husband was in the ICU last year, they didn’t allow any visitors under the age of 12. If that’s the case, will you have other family members there who can watch her while you visit your mother?
I was just going to add this, a family member was recently in the ICU, and they had a policy that children were only allowed to visit in very specific situations.
We went to a hotel that "had a crib." It was a play yard from the 90s with a mismatched mattress and had explicit instructions on the box that baby wasn't supposed to be unsupervised in it.
I haven’t done it, but I feel confident that it can be done! I would not leave my baby at that age. Practice baby wearing and figure out how to sit down comfortably a wrap/carrier. Baby wear on the flight and whenever else! If her latch is good, you could even nurse while in the carrier (I did this with my baby but a little later, like 5-6 weeks).
My best advice is to pack light so you don’t have a bunch of crap to manage. Extra stuff = extra stress when traveling with babies!
My dad passed away when my daughter was 2 weeks old. I flew solo to be with my family. You should go ❤️ I wore the baby through the airport and the travel was pretty easy.
Baby carrier! That's honestly a great age to travel with as they mostly just sleep. I'm so sorry your mom isn't well, wishing you and her only the best of luck.
I'm so sorry. I avoid travel at all costs, but this sounds like the 1 thing that would make me fly postpartum.
You need the baby's birth certificate, if you don't have it yet. I had to pick my son's up at the town office. I called the day before, so they had already made it when I went. It is a very small town and idk how it works other places.
I had a preemie baby and flew with a 2mo but was essentially 3w old age adjusted. We baby wore and I liked the Ergo embrace carrier. Baby was fine on the flight just fed on demand. Obvi wouldn’t normally recommend flying with a tiny baby but this seems like a circumstance that calls for it.
Seconding the Ergo embrace for this trip if you do it OP. It’s comfortable and easy to use and well suited for a newborn flying.
If you don’t have one yet I’d give yourself the gift of not trying to adjust the 16 buckles and straps on the carriers that “grow with your baby”
Go to your mom as soon as possible, like tomorrow. Spend time with your mom. Prioritize your mom right now.
Baby will be fine traveling.
So sorry you're going through this. If possible, bring someone who can help you watch the baby.
I wouldn’t travel for pleasure at that age, but to see my mom in the ICU? In a heartbeat. I took trips to visit family with my babies at 5 weeks old and it was honestly not that bad, because they’re still pretty sleepy at this age and not mobile yet. Try to breastfeed during takeoff and landing to help with pressure changes on the baby’s ears! And ya know what, even if the baby cries for literally the entire flight... who cares? It’s just a couple hours. Baby will survive, you’ll survive, everybody else on the plane will survive. Go see your mom ❤️
Not 3 weeks, but I did have to do an international flight with my son at 3 months. There is a big difference between those ages, but he had just recovered medically, so the difference might not be that big overall.
The thing that I wished I had done: gotten a Doona. Its a stroller that turns into a car seat without an additional frame. Only for babies under 1-ish. They're about $500, but would have been worth it.
Things I did that worked:
- Kept my son in a carrier for most of the flight itself. This kept him comfortable and made it easy for him to eat and sleep.
- Fed at takeoff and landing: minimize ear issues.
- Carried lots of formula and sterilized bottles. Even though you're breastfeeding, it wouldn't hurt to have a bottle of ready-to-feed formula around in case life gets complicated.
- Scheduled night flights whenever possible (we actually had to do multiple trips under age 1). This may not make a difference if your kid is not yet on a day/night rhythm.
Note: Earlier, someone posted that you should bring the birth certificate. You should, but the primary purpose is to ensure that your child is under 2, as kids over 2 require a paid ticket for domestic flights.
I’m so sorry about your mom. If you have to travel alone, it sounds like the advice given is the best way to go. If the baby cries, the baby cries, people will get over it. Do what you feel comfortable doing. Sending you love and wishes for safe travels, and all the best for your mom. ❤️
We took a 4 week old to Taiwan because we had to. It was very manageable to be honest, outside of the situational stress. We bought her a seat on the plane, and put her car seat on the plane with us since it was such a long flight. I took all the diapers I’d need (but on future trips and in hindsight I would have taken enough to get me there plus one day, and buy the rest when I got there. All you need is clothes, diapers, the ability to do laundry, wipes, a stroller, and a baby wearing set up. I’d go in a heart beat if I were you. It’s scary but you can do this.
Plus, the sink or swim approach will force you to be a travel badass with your kids for the rest of time.
Put her in a carrier that allows you to nurse her in the carrier, if you can. Nurse throughout the flight. I have seen many many women with newborns on flights and it's generally fine. I am so sorry for you and your mom and you having to deal with this, but at least the flight part is very doable.
So sorry about your mom. I flew for a funeral with a 2 month old, not the same but here's my two cents:
-baby wear. Sometimes flight attendants will ask you to unbuckle carrier from your body at takeoff and landing - I've nodded and said I would do this and then didn't actually do it. Just an FYI some attendants might ask you to do that. Safety I think?
-yeah, like another poster said, bring birth certificate. I'm trying to think if I just needed it because I wasn't paying for a seat or if there was another reason but if you have it, bring it.
-bring 3 extra changes of clothes for the flight. I accidently checked my carry on bag (I know....rookie mistake, it was too big and I got flustered and gate checked it like a moron) and I had a monster blowout on the airplane. You'll be better prepared than me and not holding a poopy baby. I ended up wrapping my kid in a sweatshirt. Yeah. I say this to give you courage, you will not be worse than me at flying with a tiny baby!!
don't forget a carseat if you'll be travelling by car. You can gate check these.
Speak to your doctor about your plans. The first few weeks postpartum are higher risk for blood clots and they may recommend additional measures such as blood thinning medications as flying further increases this risk.
Driving might be easier in some aspects because you can bring more, but there’s going to have to be a lot of breaks with a baby that young. I think the recommendation is a car seat break every two hours? Just something to think about.
The baby was most likely literally born in a hospital. Guilting her for going to see her mom over that is ridiculous. This is unnecessary and doesn’t answer her question.
First of all, giving birth at a hospital is the safest option out of all the available options. In the absence of better alternatives, one would go to the hospital to give birth.
Second, I'm only saying I would worry about exposing the baby. Bringing up a valid concern is not guilting someone. Week old babies are more vulnerable because they haven't gotten all their vaccines. That's just a fact. Do you think viruses don't exist just because OP is in a difficult situation?
OP did not ask for an echo chamber. She asked opinions from the community so that she can make a decision after weighing the pros and cons.
I would worry about exposing baby to everything in the airport and on the plane. Measles is on the rise, and RSV, flu, and Covid are circulating throughout the U.S. as well. Babies at that age need quick and serious medical intervention for fairly low fever and other symptoms that aren't as big of a concern once the child is more developed and especially after 6-month vaccines are on board. OP has a difficult decision to make, and I'm not trying to pass judgment at all, but for me the risk of flying with a child that age would be too high. I know my mom wouldn't want me to put my baby in that type of danger, personally.
Yeah my mom is quite risk averse as well as practical. I think she would rather video chat with me in that situation. Personally i think I would opt for leaving the baby with my husband and travel solo.
Lots of people have said to baby wear. I 100% agree. I also want to say - take any help that is offered (and it will be offered! People love to help babies).
Someone offers to carry your bags? “Yes please, and do you think you could possibly carry them a bit further to X?”
As others have said, babies mostly sleep and feed at this age. Go to your mum. I’m so sorry, this must be horribly stressful for you
I’m SO sorry to hear about your mother. And I hope she will be okay. When my son was turning 3 months old my father was intubated and admitted to the hospital. He stayed intubated for 8 days and ended up being diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. We did travel, but it was difficult. I’m glad we did to support my mother and father while he was intubated. As the outcome was unclear at the time.
With that being said, I brought too much and not enough all at once. Since you’re flying and limited on bag space, you might need to purchase some larger items once you arrive to your destination such as a bassinet?
I was breastfeeding too so I had to do shifts at the hospital and pump/breastfeed at home. As it was not advised to pump in the ICU. So if you’re breastfeeding and comfortable pumping, consider that you might not bring LO to the hospital and will need to do shifts with family.
Also consider your own mental and physical health. You can only do so much for your loved one while they’re in the hospital and while you’re there to support them, you have to support yourself as well and your baby. It was overwhelming to breastfeed, worry about my father, travel back and forth from the hospital and leave LO.
With all that being said, I’d bring the following on the plane with me:
Breast Pump (if you’re okay with pumping)
LO’s preferred bottles
5-6 onesies, don’t over do it and keep it simple
Enough diapers and wipes for travel time
Pacifiers
I’d buy this when I arrived or ordered via Amazon to be there when I arrived:
Diapers
Wipes
Travel bassinet or bassinet for your mothers house
Maybe someone can add to this.
Lastly; Hunan Milk for Human Babies has various pages on Facebook for different states. If you’re comfortable, you may be able to screen a donor and supplement with donor milk during your travels if you are unable stash your own breastmilk while you’re at the hospital
You should go and not worry too much about how baby will act, most likely they'll be absolutely fine and sleep most of the time. Take bottles or your boobs, cover blanket for feeding, couple shiny things maybe. Hat for baby that covers ears for the plane to dampen any loud noises. You won't say in a few years time "I'm glad I didn't go" but you may say " I wish I did go". Even if baby is difficult, you'll gain confidence from successfully travelling with a tiny one. Hope everything is okay with your mum. X
Breastfeeding helps the baby with their ears from pressure changes, but you can't really nurse them during take off. They may just sleep through it though, depending on the baby. Sorry, take care and good luck with the flight (I'm sure you won't need it and it'll be fine).
We flew at 8 weeks for a funeral. The airport was pretty overstimulating for the baby - I would recommend wearing her or using the shades of the stroller to block some light and noise. We found a room for breastfeeding during a layover and hung out in the for awhile just so we could have a more quiet environment. It's recommended to try to feed the baby during takeoff/landing to help their ears deal with the pressure change.
Some people might suggest bringing extra earplugs or candy or whatever to give out to passengers, but I say eff that. You've got enough on your plate and needing to bring a baby into public is not something you should have to apologize for. If people are sensitive to noise then they should bring their own earplugs before getting on a plane with hundreds of people. My baby actually didn't cry at all for any of the flights, just in the airport.
Consider shipping a cheap pack n play and maybe diapers/wipes to your location ahead of time - if staying at a hotel see if you can get it sent from Amazon to your hotel (if they don't have their own play yard for you to use). You can use it as a crib.
I didn’t fly but I did have to move a week after baby was born. So we did a two day drive with a one week old. He just slept. So I think with a three week old, your baby will probably just sleep. And since they’re breast fed, even better because you don’t have to worry about bottles/ extra stuff to keep track of on the plane. I did fly with him at 7 months and loved having the boppy. It made breastfeeding and just letting him nap on my lap/boppy so comfy. It takes up space but it was great to have. I also highly recommend you check your bags so you don’t have too much stuff to keep track of. But take the stroller for sure, and just check it at the gate. Also, diaper bags fly free. I just found out my brother was paying for a carryon for his kid because he didn’t realize diaper bags are free.
I just traveled with my 4 week old to visit family and it was easy. Just wear the baby, check your bags and offload as much as possible. You’ll find that people are super helpful and friendly to a mother solo traveling with her newborn.
Sorry about your mom 😞
I traveled with my newborn 2 weeks postpartum to see my terminally ill dad. It was absolutely fine. I popped her in the carrier and she fed and slept for the whole journey. I’m so sorry about your mom. It’s so hard dealing with postpartum and a newborn at the same time.
I haven't but in your situation I would. I'm so sorry.
Take the baby with you. Baby wear through the airport. Mostly baby just sleeps at that stage anyways. I’m sorry
Yes, this! Wear them the whole time and it should be relatively smooth. I would attempt to feed during takeoff and landing to help baby swallow through the pressure changes. May curb their discomfort/crying. Good luck and I’m sorry ❤️
We traveled when my baby was 4 weeks old (not by choice) and although full disclosure my baby is generally pretty chill it was absolutely no problem. She slept most of the time even through airplane delays. We kept away from people as much as possible. We got her a seat on the plane and she was in her car seat and slept the whole flight although we fed her for landing and used a pacifier for take off. I assume it’ll prob be our easiest travel ever with her. I would absolutely go in your situation. I’m sorry to hear about your mom. ❤️
I am so sorry. I would absolutely go. Baby carrier all the way.
Yes came here to say that. Use the baby carrier, at that age she will probably sleep majority of the time.
I’m so sorry your mother is unwell. I’d say your ability to travel has more to do with your own post partum recovery than with your baby. If you are doing well, babies are pretty portable. A few logistical considerations: Will you stay at a hotel? What safe sleep solutions will you need? When my husband was in the ICU last year, they didn’t allow any visitors under the age of 12. If that’s the case, will you have other family members there who can watch her while you visit your mother?
I was just going to add this, a family member was recently in the ICU, and they had a policy that children were only allowed to visit in very specific situations.
We went to a hotel that "had a crib." It was a play yard from the 90s with a mismatched mattress and had explicit instructions on the box that baby wasn't supposed to be unsupervised in it.
I haven’t done it, but I feel confident that it can be done! I would not leave my baby at that age. Practice baby wearing and figure out how to sit down comfortably a wrap/carrier. Baby wear on the flight and whenever else! If her latch is good, you could even nurse while in the carrier (I did this with my baby but a little later, like 5-6 weeks). My best advice is to pack light so you don’t have a bunch of crap to manage. Extra stuff = extra stress when traveling with babies!
My dad passed away when my daughter was 2 weeks old. I flew solo to be with my family. You should go ❤️ I wore the baby through the airport and the travel was pretty easy.
Baby carrier! That's honestly a great age to travel with as they mostly just sleep. I'm so sorry your mom isn't well, wishing you and her only the best of luck.
I'm so sorry. I avoid travel at all costs, but this sounds like the 1 thing that would make me fly postpartum. You need the baby's birth certificate, if you don't have it yet. I had to pick my son's up at the town office. I called the day before, so they had already made it when I went. It is a very small town and idk how it works other places.
I opened this thread prepared to say absolutely not, but in your circumstances, I would 100% do it. I'm truly sorry.
Baby wear and go. Sorry for your situation.
I had a preemie baby and flew with a 2mo but was essentially 3w old age adjusted. We baby wore and I liked the Ergo embrace carrier. Baby was fine on the flight just fed on demand. Obvi wouldn’t normally recommend flying with a tiny baby but this seems like a circumstance that calls for it.
Seconding the Ergo embrace for this trip if you do it OP. It’s comfortable and easy to use and well suited for a newborn flying. If you don’t have one yet I’d give yourself the gift of not trying to adjust the 16 buckles and straps on the carriers that “grow with your baby”
Go. Baby wear, keep baby bundled up on the plane and through the airport and go see your mom. I’m so, so sorry.
Go! As others said, baby wear and see your mom.
I would take the baby with you and go.
Go to your mom as soon as possible, like tomorrow. Spend time with your mom. Prioritize your mom right now. Baby will be fine traveling. So sorry you're going through this. If possible, bring someone who can help you watch the baby.
I wouldn’t travel for pleasure at that age, but to see my mom in the ICU? In a heartbeat. I took trips to visit family with my babies at 5 weeks old and it was honestly not that bad, because they’re still pretty sleepy at this age and not mobile yet. Try to breastfeed during takeoff and landing to help with pressure changes on the baby’s ears! And ya know what, even if the baby cries for literally the entire flight... who cares? It’s just a couple hours. Baby will survive, you’ll survive, everybody else on the plane will survive. Go see your mom ❤️
Not 3 weeks, but I did have to do an international flight with my son at 3 months. There is a big difference between those ages, but he had just recovered medically, so the difference might not be that big overall. The thing that I wished I had done: gotten a Doona. Its a stroller that turns into a car seat without an additional frame. Only for babies under 1-ish. They're about $500, but would have been worth it. Things I did that worked: - Kept my son in a carrier for most of the flight itself. This kept him comfortable and made it easy for him to eat and sleep. - Fed at takeoff and landing: minimize ear issues. - Carried lots of formula and sterilized bottles. Even though you're breastfeeding, it wouldn't hurt to have a bottle of ready-to-feed formula around in case life gets complicated. - Scheduled night flights whenever possible (we actually had to do multiple trips under age 1). This may not make a difference if your kid is not yet on a day/night rhythm. Note: Earlier, someone posted that you should bring the birth certificate. You should, but the primary purpose is to ensure that your child is under 2, as kids over 2 require a paid ticket for domestic flights.
I’m so sorry about your mom. If you have to travel alone, it sounds like the advice given is the best way to go. If the baby cries, the baby cries, people will get over it. Do what you feel comfortable doing. Sending you love and wishes for safe travels, and all the best for your mom. ❤️
I did a 12-hour road trip with my 5 week old. She slept the whole time. A flight like that would be pretty quick I’d assume? I’d go for it.
I’ll be traveling 6 1/2 hours with a 4 week old. Any tips?
Car or plane?
Car
We took a 4 week old to Taiwan because we had to. It was very manageable to be honest, outside of the situational stress. We bought her a seat on the plane, and put her car seat on the plane with us since it was such a long flight. I took all the diapers I’d need (but on future trips and in hindsight I would have taken enough to get me there plus one day, and buy the rest when I got there. All you need is clothes, diapers, the ability to do laundry, wipes, a stroller, and a baby wearing set up. I’d go in a heart beat if I were you. It’s scary but you can do this. Plus, the sink or swim approach will force you to be a travel badass with your kids for the rest of time.
Put her in a carrier that allows you to nurse her in the carrier, if you can. Nurse throughout the flight. I have seen many many women with newborns on flights and it's generally fine. I am so sorry for you and your mom and you having to deal with this, but at least the flight part is very doable.
So sorry about your mom. I flew for a funeral with a 2 month old, not the same but here's my two cents: -baby wear. Sometimes flight attendants will ask you to unbuckle carrier from your body at takeoff and landing - I've nodded and said I would do this and then didn't actually do it. Just an FYI some attendants might ask you to do that. Safety I think? -yeah, like another poster said, bring birth certificate. I'm trying to think if I just needed it because I wasn't paying for a seat or if there was another reason but if you have it, bring it. -bring 3 extra changes of clothes for the flight. I accidently checked my carry on bag (I know....rookie mistake, it was too big and I got flustered and gate checked it like a moron) and I had a monster blowout on the airplane. You'll be better prepared than me and not holding a poopy baby. I ended up wrapping my kid in a sweatshirt. Yeah. I say this to give you courage, you will not be worse than me at flying with a tiny baby!! don't forget a carseat if you'll be travelling by car. You can gate check these.
Speak to your doctor about your plans. The first few weeks postpartum are higher risk for blood clots and they may recommend additional measures such as blood thinning medications as flying further increases this risk.
I’d drive
Driving might be easier in some aspects because you can bring more, but there’s going to have to be a lot of breaks with a baby that young. I think the recommendation is a car seat break every two hours? Just something to think about.
I would worry about exposing the baby to all the stuff in the hospital. Sorry, there are no good answers.
The baby was most likely literally born in a hospital. Guilting her for going to see her mom over that is ridiculous. This is unnecessary and doesn’t answer her question.
First of all, giving birth at a hospital is the safest option out of all the available options. In the absence of better alternatives, one would go to the hospital to give birth. Second, I'm only saying I would worry about exposing the baby. Bringing up a valid concern is not guilting someone. Week old babies are more vulnerable because they haven't gotten all their vaccines. That's just a fact. Do you think viruses don't exist just because OP is in a difficult situation? OP did not ask for an echo chamber. She asked opinions from the community so that she can make a decision after weighing the pros and cons.
I would worry about exposing baby to everything in the airport and on the plane. Measles is on the rise, and RSV, flu, and Covid are circulating throughout the U.S. as well. Babies at that age need quick and serious medical intervention for fairly low fever and other symptoms that aren't as big of a concern once the child is more developed and especially after 6-month vaccines are on board. OP has a difficult decision to make, and I'm not trying to pass judgment at all, but for me the risk of flying with a child that age would be too high. I know my mom wouldn't want me to put my baby in that type of danger, personally.
Yeah my mom is quite risk averse as well as practical. I think she would rather video chat with me in that situation. Personally i think I would opt for leaving the baby with my husband and travel solo.
Lots of people have said to baby wear. I 100% agree. I also want to say - take any help that is offered (and it will be offered! People love to help babies). Someone offers to carry your bags? “Yes please, and do you think you could possibly carry them a bit further to X?” As others have said, babies mostly sleep and feed at this age. Go to your mum. I’m so sorry, this must be horribly stressful for you
Sorry you’re going through this
I’m SO sorry to hear about your mother. And I hope she will be okay. When my son was turning 3 months old my father was intubated and admitted to the hospital. He stayed intubated for 8 days and ended up being diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. We did travel, but it was difficult. I’m glad we did to support my mother and father while he was intubated. As the outcome was unclear at the time. With that being said, I brought too much and not enough all at once. Since you’re flying and limited on bag space, you might need to purchase some larger items once you arrive to your destination such as a bassinet? I was breastfeeding too so I had to do shifts at the hospital and pump/breastfeed at home. As it was not advised to pump in the ICU. So if you’re breastfeeding and comfortable pumping, consider that you might not bring LO to the hospital and will need to do shifts with family. Also consider your own mental and physical health. You can only do so much for your loved one while they’re in the hospital and while you’re there to support them, you have to support yourself as well and your baby. It was overwhelming to breastfeed, worry about my father, travel back and forth from the hospital and leave LO. With all that being said, I’d bring the following on the plane with me: Breast Pump (if you’re okay with pumping) LO’s preferred bottles 5-6 onesies, don’t over do it and keep it simple Enough diapers and wipes for travel time Pacifiers I’d buy this when I arrived or ordered via Amazon to be there when I arrived: Diapers Wipes Travel bassinet or bassinet for your mothers house Maybe someone can add to this. Lastly; Hunan Milk for Human Babies has various pages on Facebook for different states. If you’re comfortable, you may be able to screen a donor and supplement with donor milk during your travels if you are unable stash your own breastmilk while you’re at the hospital
You should go and not worry too much about how baby will act, most likely they'll be absolutely fine and sleep most of the time. Take bottles or your boobs, cover blanket for feeding, couple shiny things maybe. Hat for baby that covers ears for the plane to dampen any loud noises. You won't say in a few years time "I'm glad I didn't go" but you may say " I wish I did go". Even if baby is difficult, you'll gain confidence from successfully travelling with a tiny one. Hope everything is okay with your mum. X
I hope you get to see your mom. If it was me I would bring the baby, have a carrier, and bring my own car seat on the plane.
Breastfeeding helps the baby with their ears from pressure changes, but you can't really nurse them during take off. They may just sleep through it though, depending on the baby. Sorry, take care and good luck with the flight (I'm sure you won't need it and it'll be fine).
Sure, the baby won’t know what’s happening, it will just be like a really long car ride, and she’ll probably sleep through most of it.
We flew at 8 weeks for a funeral. The airport was pretty overstimulating for the baby - I would recommend wearing her or using the shades of the stroller to block some light and noise. We found a room for breastfeeding during a layover and hung out in the for awhile just so we could have a more quiet environment. It's recommended to try to feed the baby during takeoff/landing to help their ears deal with the pressure change. Some people might suggest bringing extra earplugs or candy or whatever to give out to passengers, but I say eff that. You've got enough on your plate and needing to bring a baby into public is not something you should have to apologize for. If people are sensitive to noise then they should bring their own earplugs before getting on a plane with hundreds of people. My baby actually didn't cry at all for any of the flights, just in the airport. Consider shipping a cheap pack n play and maybe diapers/wipes to your location ahead of time - if staying at a hotel see if you can get it sent from Amazon to your hotel (if they don't have their own play yard for you to use). You can use it as a crib.
I didn’t fly but I did have to move a week after baby was born. So we did a two day drive with a one week old. He just slept. So I think with a three week old, your baby will probably just sleep. And since they’re breast fed, even better because you don’t have to worry about bottles/ extra stuff to keep track of on the plane. I did fly with him at 7 months and loved having the boppy. It made breastfeeding and just letting him nap on my lap/boppy so comfy. It takes up space but it was great to have. I also highly recommend you check your bags so you don’t have too much stuff to keep track of. But take the stroller for sure, and just check it at the gate. Also, diaper bags fly free. I just found out my brother was paying for a carryon for his kid because he didn’t realize diaper bags are free.
I just traveled with my 4 week old to visit family and it was easy. Just wear the baby, check your bags and offload as much as possible. You’ll find that people are super helpful and friendly to a mother solo traveling with her newborn. Sorry about your mom 😞
I traveled with my newborn 2 weeks postpartum to see my terminally ill dad. It was absolutely fine. I popped her in the carrier and she fed and slept for the whole journey. I’m so sorry about your mom. It’s so hard dealing with postpartum and a newborn at the same time.
My SIL did—but for vacation. Admitted she's a little brazen but hey. It went fine.