About 20 members of my family are travelling over to Ireland in July. I will be travelling with a nine month old and have many questions and concerns. Any help on the following would be greatly appreciated. Do I need to bring all her food and diapers with us, will the hotels supply cribs, are they safe? Any info would help. Thank you!!

Be advised that you have opened a can of worms with this topic since there are many people on this forum who are vehemently opposed to people travelling with infants. I, having a daughter who turns 1 next week, think it can and should be done. Bring with you enough diapers and food for the flight plus some extra (in case you can't get to a store right away or if there are unexpected delays). I advise purchasing the rest of your supplies when you get there. This worked very well for us on our recent vacation. Ireland is not a third world country and you should be able to find everything you need. Most hotels will be able to supply a crib; smaller inns may not be able to. Bring your own crib sheet because the detergents the hotels use may be too strong for your baby. Is this the baby's first flight? If it isn't disregard the following advice: Purchase a seat on the plane for the baby and use your car seat; most airlines offer them half price for children under two. First and most importantly, it is the safest way to travel and second, you and the baby will be more comfortable. I am convinced this made a world of difference on our recent flight to Florida. There were several young children on the flight, but we were the only ones with a car seat and a quiet sleeping child. Use common sense on your trip: Don't do Ireland commando style so that you have a cranky baby the entire time. If the baby gets cranky, remove him/her from the situation. Try to keep to a normal schedule. Schedule regular nap time if at all possible. I know this isn't always the case, but make the attempt. I will admit, on our trip, we relied much more on the pacifier than we do at home, but we had a very happy, content baby. There is a book you should get called "Have Child, Will Travel" by Claire Tristan (I think that's her name). I ordered it off of Amazaon for around $7.00. Please email me if you have any questions about travelling with baby. And don't let any future negative comments deter you.

I have been to Turkey, Mexico and New York with my little one and all before she was 10 months old. Great advice above! A few other things - if your child has a specific toy she sleeps with or cuddles a lot that will help in new situations. Also, you can take your stroller right to the door of the plane. When checking in tell the airline rep that you will be doing so, they will put a special tag on the stroller. Be careful though, if you are travelling with a "better" airline they will take good care of the stroller and bring it back to the door when you land. If it is not a great one, a discount one, I find they just throw it on the regular luggage belt and it gets dirty. Bring a plastic bag to throw over it and stress to everyone that it must be brought to you at the door of the plane when you land. I find taking a small insulated container to put baby's food & bottle in is handy. Take some of the basic medication, Tempra, etc. so that it there when you need it at 3am. I always bring a small tote bag full of diapers and wipes. If oyu are in a big city it will be easy to pick up what you need, but smallers ones might not have the right size. Have an idea of your route and you will know how prepared you have to be. In Mexico the hotel gave us a crib which was very nice and safe. We bring our playpen and use that as a bed. We put it on special handling, fragile. For the plane I have found her sucking on the bottle helps for the ears, or distracting her by looking out the window. Also, get to the airport early and ask for bulk head - lots of room and a bassinet - if your baby is smaller she might still fit in it (ours did at 9 months). If bassinet / bul head is not available but the flight is not too full try to get three seats across. Our baby doesn't like her car seat, but likes to sit in the plane seat, buckled in. Lastly, bring a light blanket for the plane. If the baby falls asleep you can cover her up and the lights won't bother her. Oh - and a number of airlines now offer baby food if you let them know in advance, I haven't order it so I don't know about the quality. <BR> <BR>You will enjoy it - I love travelling and our baby has fit right in.

One other thing - take advantage of pre-boarding. If your airline no longer offers it (some don't), see if you can get pre-boarding. We were recently on an airline that did not pre-board, but they were more than happy to let us on before the other passengers to install the car seat, once we explained that it may take a few minutes and we would hate to delay the plane. We had no problems with our stroller; it was right at the gate when we landed. If you take an umbrella stroller, you can wheel it right onto the plane. Also, my pediatrician advised giving our baby a decongestant about 1/2 hour prior to takeoff, which we did. We had no problems with her ears. You'll do just fine.

I've only traveled once with an baby (and the only reason it wasn't more is because of a lack of funds at that time!) and I'd definitely do it again. <BR>The greatest thing I brought with me was a baby sling. My daughter could sleep in it without me having to hold her in my arms all the time, and it was a great way to nurse discreetly. On take-offs and landings, I'd definitely nurse the baby so that pressure won't build up in the ears. At nine months, your baby probably isn't eating many solids, so I wouldn't even worry about food -- just feed him bits and pieces of what you have. Really, all you'll need is some clothes, "chew" toys, and some diapers in a diaper bag. If your husband will be sleeping in the same bed with you, just put the baby between you! Babies really don't need many extra "things" at all. The only things I really found is that I needed extra time. But my daughter went to the theatre (wearing the sling was *perfect* -- I'd nurse her before she cried or fussed or dared to bother anyone), fine restaurants, and, well, everywhere! Babies are very totable. It's the parents who try to bring the kitchen sink who make it seem like traveling with babies is a lot of trouble. Good luck!

I highly disagree with the above poster who recommended taking the baby to the theater and fine restaurants. A nine months of age, a baby is very aware, alert and noisy. I am not talking about crying, just general babbling. To take such a child to the theater would be unfair to the audience members who want to enjoy an evening out (and paid for their tickets), the performers, and a baby who cannot be expected to sit still. I know that when my daughter was 9 months old, there was no way we could have taken her to a place such as the theater. She is way too fidgety to sit quietly, nor is she the type to fall asleep in my arms. We dine out all the time with our child, but never at what could be considered "fine" for the same reasons. People who do so give the rest of us travelling parents a very bad name. Take your child, but use common sense. Hotels can provide babysitters; use them if needed. If you cannot modify your itinerary to accomodate the needs of a young child, then you should not go away.

This post sounds suspiciously like the Jeff Court post on the U.S. forum. Large group of family members traveling, bringing a baby and have no idea what to do, etc... <BR> <BR>Just FYI everyone, that post on the U.S. forum was a hoax from a UCLA student who bet $20 with a friend that he could get more responses on this site than the friend. He then posted a controversial question and watched the fur fly, laughing the entire time! He knew full well that any average travel question would get just a few answers, but post a hot topic and get ready for hundreds of responses! <BR> <BR>Personally, I question the validity of all these first-time-traveling-with-an-infant posts.

If you keep scrolling down on the responses on this forum, for earlier in April, you will find at least two recent questions and many answers on traveling with a young one. One was to Rome and one was to Paris, I believe, if you want to do a Search for Paris child or Rome child.

Geez!! Some people take this so seriously. I sincerely appreciate all the responses positive and negative. My question was not a hoax from a college student. I also have no intention of bringing my baby to a theater, she would not sit still or fall asleep in my arms. Our family is simply planning a pre-arranged tour to Ireland. We will be staying at different hotels and hopping on a bus to take us to different areas of interest. Again, I appreciate all of the feedback.