Traveling with Newborn

I drove all the time with my newborn. I did about a 7 hour trip 2-3 times a month, since she was 2 weeks old - 8 months old. My mom was ill and I had to constantly drive to my old home town to visit her. Honestly, if I had the money I would have flown with the baby, way easier, was shorter trip.
I had to pull over all the time to get her out of the car seat so she could stretch out, change her, and feed her. It made the trip longer, although with the help of your sister it might be easier for you. I brought my little cousin with me a few times and she was such a help feeding the baby her bottle while I drove. It was one less thing we had to pull over for. I would still go see your sister and your new nephew no matter how you get there. Plus at that age, they sleep a lot in the car. =)
Good Luck!

Fly - and have fun. If you're worried, speak to the pediatrician. But I"m sure he/she will say go and enjoy yourself.

If you can go, go!! I live away from my sisters and I travel at every chance I can get. My youngest is 8 weeks and I wouldn't hesitate going. Your baby probably still sleeps a lot, so that would make the drive easier. You could stop every 3 hours to feed/change diapers, etc. GO:)

My son is in the Navy and drove from NY to California with a 2 month old baby. It is easier than going with an older child because they sleep most of the way. If you arent nursing bring bottled water, since water from another town might not agree with him.

I wouldn't have been able to do it when my son was that age. I was still exhausted and sleep deprived. A total of 18 hrs driving round trip would have wiped me out. Your pregnant sister might want to deal with being a first time Mom by settling in a bit before she has visitors.

If it was me, I would fly. You can put a thin blanket over him and have sanitizer in your pocket. Put him in a sling or Ergo, and you won't even have to take him off through security. He can stay in your lap, and as long as your sister is next to you, germs are at a minimum. For driving, you would have to stop to feed every X hours, and your drive would be extended by quite a lot.

I have done both. It really is not too bad to fly with a two month old especially if you are nursing. I nursed my babies on take off and landing and they pretty much slept the rest of our trips (and we took many). I have also taken a long drive with both of my sons when they were under 2 months (one was 6 weeks old and the other was 2 weeks old -- different trips of course). A lot of extra time was added to the trip because we had to break for nursing and diaper changes but it really wasn't that bad. At this age, they sleep a lot anyway.

My son was born in May and we took him on several 7-8 hour car trips this summer. (We didn't choose to travel so much. My father-in-law was sick and passed away.) The baby did great! Realize that you will have to stop every couple of hours for diaper changes and feedings, so the trip will take longer than it used to. He liked the car's motions and pretty much slept the whole time. As soon as we hit traffic and stopped moving, he would wake up and cry until we started going again. He did fine at the hotel and slept just as if he had been home in his crib. Good luck!

Go. Enjoy.

I traveled with my first son when he was 9 weeks old and we had a great trip. The hardest thing is having any fun with a baby that wants to nurse every 90 minutes! ha!

Actually 2 months is a great time to travel because they will still sleep anywhere anytime. I found as my child got older travel was more difficult because he would be unfamilar with the surroundings or would get off schedule. I think 2 months is way before you get into those issues.

Couple of things - I don't think the flight would be a problem. I flew with my newborn to go home to see family and I wasn't concerned about germs. Some germs are inevitable but please don't get too freaked out about them and don't listen to other people trying to convince you that horrid germs are everywhere. My friend used to ask me why my kids were never sick and hers always were - she worried about germs all the time, she sterilized everything. I believe that's why her kids were always sick.
All that said, if you are still driving, 9 hours is a long time but if you time it right it might not be bad. Can you time it when the baby would sleep for a few hours anyway? Put a playmobile thing on his car seat to entertain him? These days, if flights are delayed, even short flights could take close to 9 hours so it may end up being a wash anyway.
Good luck - either way, you will all make it just fine.

I wouldn't worry about flying with a sleeping baby and think that it will be easier now than it will be in the future when they want to explore. Keep in mind that in the event of an accident, holding a baby in your arms is, depending on the impact, almost physically impossible no matter how strong you are. If at all possible put the baby in their safe car seat. Also remember that flying is safer than driving. One last thing, if you bring a stroller many times you don't get it back the same way that you dropped it off. You can get reimbursed for damage, but that's a real pain in the butt. This comes from many years or working in the airline industry. Good luck I hope you make it.