Jane

I really love the crazy posts on this site. Are people writing joke posts to provoke or are there really people who think that anything at all about London presents a hazard to small babies. This family is planning London on a commercial plane not war torn Kosovo by parachute so get a grip everyone ! <BR> <BR>You can get books on London with kids which list particularly child friendly restaurants, shops with good changing facilites etc. and there is a UK wide Egon Ronay guide called "and bay comes too" which you may be able to track down. Lots of excellent and cheap ethnic restaurants [indian, greek etc. ] think babies are brilliant and really welcome them. <BR> <BR>

Captain

By all means take a 6 week old to London. I would suggest visiting as many pubs as you can as one is never too young to appreciate Guiness. After 4-5 glasses, bathing in a fountain will probably sound pretty good. Don't forget to pack several face flannels.

Mr. Greenjeans

Before bathing in the fountain, be sure baby is fully clothed and not splashing in a suggestive manner, so as not to attract the unwanted attention of any nearby sex-crazed French babies.

dan woodlief

Now we are getting some real humor. It is amazing how that "I was drunk the day my mama got out of prison" thread has corrupted people.

Mr Moose

Yep, the more I think about this, the more I like the idea. Bring a of the diapers you need with you in a carry on bag the size of a trunk, at least when it fails out of the overhead bin it won't give the person brain damage. I think you should spend as much time as you can watching Cricket. Whether an adult or infant, the game will remain inscrutable. I second and third the pints of Guiness.

Valerie

All joking aside, I think the original question was about sightseeing with a baby. This to me sounds like this is a trip of choice not necessity. I think that is why so many people are upset. Sure you might see a baby on the subway once or twice or in a stroller in the middle of a busy city. But aren't most of those situations out of necessity to go somewhere, ie, to the doctor or to the babysitter. People are a bit shock at the prospect of willingly carrying a very young baby all around, exposing them to all the elements when it is not to the baby's advantage but to the parents. By the way, 6 weeks old is very different than a 10 or 14 month old baby healthwise.

Jim

I cannot believe some of the comments I've heard hear - travelling with a six week old baby - great! - ignore all the moralisers - babies should NOT just be at home, they should be integrated into the world from day one. My sister in law & brother took their new born out for a pub meal two weeks after birth - meeting up with friends who also had young babies. I've seen babies quite happy in restaurants in Covent Garden at 1am - fantastic. We in the UK aren't as child friendly as S. Europe where taking your kids with you for the night out is the norm - AND SO IT SHOULD BE.

ilisa

Actually, Valerie, I've taken my baby into Washington, DC - a busy city - for reasons other than necessity. The Mall is a great place to go strolling with a baby on a nice day. By twelve weeks old, my baby had already been to the Air and Space Museum where I am a docent. So far she has not contracted any communicable diseases or had major illnesses. The one cold that she has had in her short life was contracted at day care. I feel she is far more susceptible to germs and illness there than anywhere else. I guess, however, that in the minds of many people on this forum, my reckless behavior makes me a bad parent. How sad.

spence

KC, I'm a veteran Mom traveler and and would like to add my two cents worth. 1. How about taking another person like Grandma or Auntie with you? (definately stay in a self catering apartment!)They can watch the baby while you go out, plus provide company for your husband when YOU are tired. Believe me your energy level will be down. 2. Bring a car seat for the plane and PAY for the extra seat...I would not want to risk my baby's life in turbulance. 3. Remember the old recycled air in planes...I have ALways gotten some sort of cold when I have flown long distances, what does your pediatrician say? <BR>

Gina

Jim, excuse me, but why is it "fantastic" to have a baby out in a restaurant at 1 am?

Dawn

Why is it o.k. to have a baby, child, kid, out at 11:00 at night?

Bart

First off, to the earlier poster, if you “always gotten some sort of cold” when flying, there is likely some problem with your immune system. Now I don’t want to alarm anyone unnecessarily here, but certain people should have a blood test at once! Either that or load up on Vitamin C, Echinacea, zinc, or some other wacko herbal cure. <BR> <BR>Here is the question everyone seems to be missing! What about the rights of other travelers not to be inconvenienced by a baby crying eight hours straight? And I’m not even going to address the breastfeeding issue since the “Nature Mothers” nearly skewered me over that one! Suffice it to say that some of us don’t buy into the whole breastfeeding “thing,” and if you think you can do it discreetly, think again! <BR> <BR>This is just another example of wealth suburbanite parents dragging their clutch around the globe while others scrimp and save to take a leisure trip only to be confronted with inconsideration. <BR> <BR>KC, have you considered France instead? You’d probably fit right in. <BR> <BR>Au revoir <BR>-Bart Savagewood <BR>

anna

Bart, it's fortunate for you that your great-great-grandmothers" bought into the whole breastfeeding 'thing'" or you would not be here. It's not a "thing". It's a loving and natural way of sustaining the life and health of babies, and countries where it is practiced and accepted more often than in the US generally have a lower infant mortality rate. Fortunately for any moms going to Europe, most Europeans are not as put off by it as Bart. It is possible to nurse discreetly, and European women do it everywhere, every day.

Stephen

Hi, and wow to the replys. Most of the above seem to confirm what I found to be the biggest cultural difference between Americans (I know that not all posters are Americans) and the Europeans we met over the last two weeks while traveling in Italy with our 6 month old son. Certainly all kids are different, and our experiences may not have been typical, but we had NO problems traveling with a child. Not all kids cry, not all kids whine, not all kids do well traveling, but ours and many others we saw and met on our trip did great. So I say, if your child is of the temperment to travel, DO IT. Our trip was enriched greatly by having our son with us and although he will not remember it, we will. He will also relive the experience many times over thru family story and myth, thru pictures, and thru the knowledge that his parents bothered to include him. Get a life people, kids are the joy in life and including them is wonderful. Travel with your kids if you want to!