Newborns are one of the more tricky ages for planning travel, mostly because so many families are thinking about all the vaccines and new places you’ll go during a trip. We have a few tips for that, at the stage of 0-3 months.

Talk to your pediatrician

We lucked out that our pediatrician is really chill and relaxed. Every time we’ve told her that we plan to go away, she’d say have a great time, as she knew we’d done all our research for our baby’s safety beforehand.

So if you’re deciding if a place is safe for travel, given any medical circumstances your newborn (or a postpartum mom) is going through, talk to a doctor. A doctor may be a helpful opinion when it comes to more weighing of pros and cons, or risks, of traveling to a new place with a newborn.

Vaccines

Some families will want newborns to have their 2-month vaccinations before travel. Some families will move right past this step: it is up to you and your risk tolerance or personal preferences.

  • If you have no choice but to travel, take some safety precautions (i.e. visiting family) like asking those coming with you on the trip, or those who you are visiting, to get vaccinated for common illnesses.
  • You can always reconsider travel if your newborn has any health complications or concerns.

Baby’s health

If your child has any underlying conditions in the newborn phase, take this into account before committing to be away from home, especially for a longer period of time and especially internationally.

Mother’s postpartum health

Some women have unexpectedly complicated labors and births, or are required to do weeks of bed-rest after giving birth due to strain on the body. This is completely impossible to predict! It’s one of the reasons that most families do not take vacations in the six weeks after a mom has given birth.

Concerned about safety at 0-3 months?

Many parents are worried about their newborn at this age. We certainly were. To calm your hesitations, or to put things in perspective, head to our safety at 0-3 months guide to see some of the practices in action.