Hello there,
I have been off this forum for a while! I took a year off from Asia travel to have a baby. I have not accomplished this feat yet, baby due in November. Decided to bite the bullet and husband and I booked a trip to Bali on FF points for April 09. This unborn child will be about six months old when we go. At least we are flying business, so I hope it will not be too painful. Flying JAL from JFK to Tokyo, staying there few days with friends, then continuing to Bali.
Since airfare was almost free (but have to pay 10% of regular fare for sharing the seat with a baby) we want to splurge on nice hotels - the Amans, Four Seasons, not sure where else yet - but are they baby friendly? I don't want to be that annoying hotel guest with the screaming baby. I have been to several resorts where babies just don't seem to fit in. I have heard that Four Seasons is baby friendly, with good babysitting if I decide to do that during dinner, etc.
Any advice would be appreciated! Don't want to waste all the money on high end hotels if my baby ends up sleeping in a dresser drawer because they don't have a crib
Thanks!

Congratulations!

The hotels you mention can provide cribs if you want one. Bali is very child friendly. You will really enjoy yourselves1

You may seriously want to consider buying a seat for your baby for the flights. I flew with a lap baby exactly once across the Pacific, arrived exhausted and in tears in Boston. As close as mother/father and baby are, 15 hours of non-stop holding frustrates everyone. Our 3 month old was too big for the bassinet provided, and anyway, they are like the dresser drawer you are trying to avoid.

If you have a seat, you can use your rear-facing carseat, which means everyone will be safer.

Having a seat for baby also lets you relax and sleep a bit when the baby sleeps, rather than remain awake to make sure you don't lose hold. And you get to enjoy your meals without holding baby at the same time. And baby gets some time free from you as well. Baby is, by 6 months, accustomed to carseats and will likely sleep well from habit in one (recommend Britax for comfort and ease of use and safety).

http://www.saferidenews.com/html/Airplane_Eng.htm is what the experts say.

Cookie, As Kim says, Balinese, and all Indonesians, are extremely fond of children. They would never dream of complaining about a baby!

It's the other guests who may not appreciate being disturbed by a cranky child. Just ignore them.

Child care is inexpensive and reliable. They will definitely have baby cribs (sometimes called cots) but it would be a good idea to reserve in advance.

Our son was somewhat older, 18 months, the first time we went to Bali. He traveled on my lap, by the way, which even though he was an exceptionally squirmy child, worked out okay. The main difficulty was getting over jet lag as you just can't reason with a baby. You get to see a lot of the world at 2:00 a.m., which in Bali, is not a bad thing. Long afternoon naps are the only solution; again, always a plus in the tropics.

Thanks so much! Regarding the extra seat, we are flying business class which has the full flat beds, so I am hoping we can make do with sharing that with the baby. I do have the bulk head so I can book the bassinet, however I won't assume that it will be big enough.
We plan to make it a relaxing vacation with plenty of time for naps and down time. My only urge I may fight is the desire to move around to several hotels, to get a chance to experience more. With a child, that may be a pain. We shall see - thanks again!

I've flown with lap babies on long-haul, both business class and economy class. I definitely will NOT recommend doing a lap baby on economy (ver uncomfortable, can't use the tray while holding the baby), but I managed perfectly ok on business class, Junior sleeping on top of me. I'm probably a minority opinion here, but I normally do not use car seats on flight. I use an extension belt during the take off/landing.

6mo may still fit into the bassinet, or already may be too big. You/your husband can carry him/her in Baby bjorn (which you can't use during the take-off/landing), but some people find it tough on their sholders/back.

A few other things you might find helpful while travelling with an infant...

- I recommend bringing a light-weight, easy to fold stroller. At 6mo, reclining feature would be good. You can gate check at the airport.

- At 6mo, you won't have to worry much about food. If using formula, powdered ones are much easier to carry around. Cabin crew can help with hot water (for cleaning if not sterlising the bottle), warming the bottle, keeping it chilled etc.

- Make sure you have more nappies than you think you need. Also bring a spare change of clothes.

- 6mo will be still taking naps during the day. So probably less difficulties with jet lag. Make sure he/she is taking enough fluid.

I must say travelling with still stationery 6mo is so much easier than doing a long half with a restless toddler! Enjoy!

I thought needing a car seat - I assume we will be in cars quite a bit so I would need a seat for baby. I thought to get one of those strollers that attach to a carseat. However I don't think it will recline, but many babies can sleep in such a seat. I guess I will have to wait and see!