I really appreciate everyones views - thanks so much. We are going to do a lot more thinking on this before deciding anything and also yes, probably waiting to make any really firm arrangements until the new arrival is here.

One thing we have taken away from all the feedback is a more relaxing way to do this may be to forget the use of an RV!! We are going to look more into basing ourselves in perhaps 3 places across the 10-12 weeks and rent an apartment / condo to reduce the moving around. Also, parents would be coming out to visit during the trip so we wouldnt be just on our own so we would have some level of support during the trip. I suppose even the 'living abroad for 3 months' rather than 'traveling abroad for 3 months' is adventurous but I think we could make it work with both my wife and I not working and being fully dedicated to the new arrival each day.

I like the idea of 1 month x 3 places. How about someplace in California, someplace in northeast, and 1 other place - depending on your interests. Maybe southeast US. Or southern Canada.

An example. If you based yourself in Boston area (I live there - so more familiar with options here). You could then do city things, day trips to more rural or scenic areas of Massachusetts, Vermont, NH (renting a car for a day or so as necessary). You could use public transportation, Uber, taxis for most local travel. How much staying at home and how much short-distance travel you do would depend on your preferences and temperament of baby.

Similarly for California. Base yourself someplace and see some of the cities, National Parks - depending on same factors. You will have a completely different experience than a traditional tourist and really get to know that area, probably even meeting other people with babies while on walks.

AirBnB or VRBO (vacation rentals by owner) might have options for 3-4 week rentals. the closer you get to summer tourist season (starting the end of May), the less available and more expensive they are likely to be. Also not sure how long you are allowed to be in US as a tourist, health insurance, etc.

I agree with Brian also. It is IMO a very, very bad idea.

Babies may be portable but their doctors are not. I can't tell you how many times my son and wife called their pediatrician and/or went to her office during their son's first year. They finally had to take him out of daycare and find a nanny because he was always getting sick from the other children. In your case, you are constantly putting a new baby in contact with new germs which could make him/her (and you) quite ill. You could always go to the emergency room, of course, but you might have to wait for several hours before treatment and it would be rare to see a pediatrician--just a GP.

This child also had some eating problems so they had to go to a specialist to figure out how to get him to eat solids. If you're on the road, it will be difficult to find that sort of help without a doctor's recommendation and often referral.

You really have no idea what is going to hit you when the baby is born!

You really have no idea what is going to hit you when the baby is born!
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This.

<<You really have no idea what is going to hit you when the baby is born!>>

For sure. Babies that age require 24/7 attention and, for the parents, there is usually little or no sleep. Some settle down a bit after three months, but many do not until six months or more.

And, they require so much "stuff"! Clothing, "equipment" (car seats, playpen, swing, bathing apparatus...). Not to mention the amount of laundry created.

Everyone will tell you that it's important to do your best to enjoy those months, as they go by so quickly, which they do, but it doesn't seem like that at all during. I cannot imagine doing all that away from home. It's challenging enough in your own home.

It's more than a bit daft to expect to enjoy "hikes" in scenic areas with a baby and also be convenient to hospitals.

I loved traveling with my children when they were infants. We took our first to Japan for a month when she was 4 months old and it was wonderful. We traveled by train, I was nursing her so didn't really have to worry about food safety, and people were so much more welcoming to us with a baby. I recommend doing it before your baby learns to crawl... It get a lot harder after that!

There are quit a few blogs written by parents who are successful ly traveling with infants, some on a quite permanent basis. Check out "Almost Fearless", and read her older stuff. Her first child is about 5 now; he has a younger sister and mom is about to give birth to #3. Google traveling with a baby and you'll find lots. Unless your child has major medical issues, there is no need to stay at home. Actually, you end up holding a baby more when you are on the road, and for a tiny infant, there is nothing better!
I do advise against an RV. They are terribly expensive, and difficult to drive and park. Good luck!

My main question: have you been to the west coast before? It's a lot of driving. A lot of the hiking is further away from medical services (or conveniences) than I would want to be. It might be a better idea to stick with a more population dense area- like the northeast or even the Midwest. You'd still have access to hiking and the outdoors, but you'd be in less remote areas.

I don't necessarily think it's an insane or irresponsible idea, though. My parents and several of their friends were active military. They did travel (obviously to move) but they also went sightseeing a lot because to them traveling with a baby was no different (and a lot more fun) than moving to another continent for work. There are even several pictures of my mom hiking various places with me in a front pack at a few weeks/months old.

I DO think the point about your pediatrician is a good one. Here, unless there's a quick care center, you'll be redirected to the ER. And having to wait in a strange city's ER with your sick baby just sounds awful to me:( not to mention I have no idea what that may cost you or what your travel insurance might cover.

I'd certainly buy refundable plane tickets just in case you have to put the trip off. I agree, the RV is not the route to go. I'd probably travel at a more relaxed pace and stay in condos or studio hotel rooms. I'd get a midsize car or such so you have room for the stroller, crib, etc.

I just want to re emphasize the differences between the US and Canadian health care systems and those you have experienced in the UK and perhaps on the continent.

Since you won't have a regular pediatrician or primary care physician, in case of illness, you will have to start with a [usually private] urgent care center, known here as "doc in a box", perhaps unfairly as the care is likely to be the same as at your regular physician. What they haven't got is any access to your long term medical and prescription records to aid in diagnosis and treatment, and most of them are not 24/7.

Since you won't have health insurance, you will have to pay by credit card and bill your UK insurance for reimbursement when you get home.

Ditto at an emergency room (I think you call these "casualty"). You will be sent there either directly or as a referral from the stand alone care center. In small towns, you may be evacuated by helicopter to a major medical center. Mine charges about $500 for a visit, $2500 or so for a CAT scan. People who haven't got insurance or enough balance on their credit card often/usually have to sign a promissory note. They will not let you or your child suffer nor will any of the medical personnel who deal with you have any idea of whether or not you are insured. But it is a stress you need to prepare for.

Agree that babies of that age are subject to all sorts of illnesses that while actually minor can be incredibly scary for the parents. Since they are so young they have limited immunities and tend to pick up every germ going around - leading to colds, ear infections, etc. Also they have a tendency to have temps that shoot up very quickly - and you may need an MD at a moment's notice. This is available in most places but will not be cheap - and you don;t want to be sitting in an ER or an Urgi center (which may not even have a pediatrician) in the middle of the night in a strange city.

And if you don't have immediate access to a ped who knows your baby this can be very stressful.

Don't want to be a worrywort, but at the moment I have 3 neighbors with infants under 6 months. Very different than your situation since they get only 3 months parental leave plus whatever they can eke out of their vacation time but all are now getting ready to go back to work and 2 are seriously rethinking their decision - and may end up taking lengthy leaves of absence since caring for the baby means they are so sleep deprived and constantly exhausted, esp one whose child has had multiple ear infections.

If it were me I would wait until the baby is somewhat older - at least 6 or 8 months - so the whole family has had time to settle into a pattern (especially sleeping) and the first crises of child care have been coped with along with your prechosen and trusted pediatrician.

Agree to wait a bit for the baby to be bigger.

If you wait until April or May, when weather should be nice in the SE, and for the first month, rent a condo or nice cottage somewhere along the coast from Florida up to the DC area, or on the Gulf Coast, you could have a nice time. You would be near medical facilities and still close to places interesting for day trips.

A city like Washington DC would be really nice at that time of year. Trees in full flower and lots to do if family comes to visit. Perhaps stay in Old Town Alexandria and use metro for a week in the city and rent a car for so many lovely towns and sights in the area.

Charleston, SC would be interesting for a month stay. Beautiful time to be there.

Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg area would work for a month stay.

After doing a Southern area, Boston would be nice.

It is very hard to argue with Sassafrass's advice. In fact, I'm ready to go right now!

Thanks again for the replies. To give a quick update on where we are - we have totally ruled out an RV or car + motels now.

We are leaning towards booking my work sabbatical in advance and then seeing how baby is doing and if it feels like it could work based on health, my wife etc, we will go away for month 4-6 after birth. We won't be travelling round loads and will use a base of probably 3-4 places (near to health care etc) Thanks for the ideas of other places in the US to look into. The idea would be to get flights, a route, places to stay etc lined up before babys arrival and then book only in Feb time when we know whether it is a realistic proposition!

Thanks for the feedback on baby health and US healthcare system, I fully understand the comments. However, just wanted to add, we wouldn't embark on the trip in the first place if 0-3 months had thrown up health concerns, we would of course make sure UK travel insurance gave us the cover we need for the baby and again, we wouldn't go if it didn't. In the UK, we would be going to a A & E (accident and emergency) anyway for anything that serious so little difference there to going to a US emergency room. In the US, we wouldn't have easily available access to a GP though for the smaller issues which we would in the UK.

lcuy - inspiring, Japan trip sounds amazing

Sassafrass, ackinslander, Gail - thanks, very useful

If you have a healthy, full-term baby and if mom isn't having any problems nursing, then I don't think an 8-12 wk vacation is crazy. Long road trips aren't practical if she's nursing as you have to stop the car every time baby feeds (around every 2 hrs) since baby has to come out of the car seat to nurse and will want to stay latched on to sleep (and you can't move the car unless the baby goes back into the car seat). But you could def drive a few hours and then stay put for a few weeks. For drives, I always had pumped breast milk in a bottle which I could pop into his mouth without stopping the car (but this means mom needs to pump in the car if it's a long drive & baby needs to be used to taking a bottle....)

We first "hiked" with our baby when he was 6-7 wks old along the coastal bluffs in Mendocino in late March (3 hrs outside SF and hospital nearby in Fort Bragg). We also did a couple of hikes through the redwoods with him during that same trip. We were only in Mendocino for a week (we were visiting grandparents in the Bay Area) but I would have loved to stay for 3 wks. Wonderful local organic co-op, good restaurants and bakeries, beautiful and gorgeous scenery. We rented a place via AirBNB (or was it VRBO?) and we were walking distance to town and for coastal walks.

We also did some easy hiking in Pt. Reyes (1 hr from San Francisco) and some hiking outside of Portland - all before baby was 4 months old.

I feel that healthy infants get the most sick when they are in daycare or have a sibling who is in daycare. Traveling with a healthy baby prior to 6 months is the easiest time to travel, IMO. If you have the income to rent 3 properties for 3-4 wks at a time and rent a car, I would go for it. Check the schedule for wellness visits (in the U.S., you are expected to bring a newborn in at 12 wks, 16 wks, 24 wks for check-ups and vaccinations but it may be different in the UK)

One logistical challenge will be lining up rental properties with a flexible cancellation policy in case you need to re-schedule. But start searching and you might luck out (you would want to ultimately book units where you don't end up booking through the vrbo or airbnb site and pay a non-refundable service fee in case of cancellation).

I get what other posters are saying -- you don't know exactly what your baby will be like or what you and mom will be like but if you and your wife love traveling now, there's also a good chance you will love it with baby too.