A friend of mine is traveling to Cozumel in February 2014 and will have a 4 year old, 3 year old & a 3 month old. She is worried about traveling with a 3 month old, especially to Mexico. Has anyone been in this situation before and how did it go? Thanks in advance!
Given the current state of things in Mexico, I wouldn't even travel there with only adults right now. If this is a vacation, I suggest she chooses a new destination.
I was never brave enough to do this type of travel with young children. I'd be worried about all the children, not just the 3 month old. One adult and 3 small children is not advisable to a country being known more and more for violence. Young children, especially girls, are taken for the worst types of crimes. Since it sounds like she is going for vacation, since Cozumel is a beautiful place to be, I wouldn't go unless it was required in some way and unavoidable. That's just me though.
If she is breastfeeding, then it shouldn't be a problem. Her milk will always be good for the baby! If she's formula feeding, then it could be more difficult, because I wouldn't trust the water to make the formula from powder. She might have to ship down enough premade formula to get through - expensive.
Otherwise, yes, I agree with others that she should talk to the pediatrican about which vaccines the baby will have by then, and what the risks are.
The difficult part may be getting the passport in time. You have to wait for the birth certificate to come in before you can apply for the passport, and both take time to happen.
The 3 month old will probably be the easiest for her to travel with. We traveled with our son to Costa Rica when he was 6 months old and have taken him every year since then. The toughest age was 18 months and the following year at 2.5 yo because he was mobile but still impulsive and always on the move.
Make sure everyone is up to date on vax. Hopefully she will be breastfeeding because it will help the baby with immunity and she won't have to worry about mixing formula with clean water.
I am assuming she is just going to be hanging out in tourist areas. I would not be overly concerned with any travel warnings. There are no specific travel warnings for the Cozumel area (I read the whole link from below)and tourist/resort areas are as safe or safer than they are here in the US. Just use common sense. I am amazed by the number of people on this forum who say they wouldn't travel with kids to that area of Mexico. I don't get it.
A 3 mos old baby is not a newborn. I suggest that she talk with her pediatrician or perhaps find a doctor specializing in travel to discuss this with.
I would most be concerned with the things a newborn could be exposed to before you are able to vaccinate for them. When we traveled to Bermuda, DD got her MMR. I would discuss any health concerns with the pediatrician, for everybody. The older kids need to be up to date on certain shots, too, and may need more. She may also need vaccinations herself. As far as the particular location, I can't speak for safety or anything, but she should look at http://www.state.gov/travel/ for travel guidelines and warnings.
We took DD to Bermuda on a cruise when she was about a year old and took her to the UK and Ireland when she was not quite 3. The travel itself was fine, but I would be very careful about a newborn. You didn't say why the friend would be traveling or for how long. Frankly, if I had a newborn, I might postpone any international trip, especially with 2 others under 5 in tow.
They will all also need passports and she may need to go to a passport agency in person if the infant doesn't get his/her SSN and birth certificate til it is very close to needing to travel.
Here is the travel warning for Mexico: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5815.html
Giving that a quick looksee, I would not take my 4 yr old to Mexico at this time.
I would never leave the country with children that young, especially to Mexico. But if she is definitely going, best advice is lots of sunscreen and only bottled water!
