Shannon, did you have to pay a "surcharge" to fly Carter as an "infant in arms"? And when do you let the airline know you are doing this? I'm curious to know how the logistics change when you are using award tickets. Thanks so much for your informative post.

A great post. I love reading a post like your which doesn't scare off travelers with infants. So many bloggers emphasize the complications of traveling with kids. It does take a bit of planning but the benefits outweigh any hassles. Thanks for all the details and for keeping it positive.

Enjoyed this post as it brought back memories of our trip to the Westin St. John in 2010 with our 22 month old. We had a first floor unit that served its purpose and was probably worth the 10k points and $40 resort charge per night. But, I agree was definitely not worth the regular rate.

We hardly spent very much time at the hotel, and mostly went to the other beaches (loved Trunk Bay) or hikes (using a hiking backpack for the kid).

We flew from CA and had a great time and would love to go back, but the Westin is not so appealing. We have tons of SPG, Hyatt and Hilton points so can't see justifying paying cash to stay anywhere else.

We are dying to go back to the Caribbean (have two kids now — ages 4 and 1), and are very seriously considering the Hyatt in Aruba (same miles needed to get there) or the Westin in Grand Cayman. Have you thought about these destinations or other places in the Caribbean that would be good with kids?

Thanks

I need to be the honest person here who speaks out. People in the South are brought up to be polite. You would never hear me "grumbling." That doesn't mean I think it's right to fly on public transport with a baby. One's first family vacation should ALWAYS be in a vehicle. You had no idea in advance what kind of traveler the infant would be. For that matter, you have no idea what kind of traveler your spouse/partner will be, until you've actually done it. For most people, a FIRST family vacation, by air, would be an unfortunate choice for everyone concerned. For an infant, there is no upside; the benefits do NOT outweigh the hassles. A child this young won't remember the vacation, and he will not be very pleased when he's older to be told about "but you did that and you just can't remember it, but look here's pictures." I used to date a man whose ONLY family vacation was from when he was 18 months old, and he was extremely bitter about it, as you might imagine. If you want to do something special, do it when EVERYONE is the right age to enjoy it. And don't kid yourself that anybody was happy to see an infant coming. They were just too well-brought-up to tell you what they really think.

@ Anonymous, do you really think everyone thinks just like you and the man you use to date? Your post made me laugh.

I loved traveling with my infant. Obviously the infant would not remember it, but I will always and that's what matters (since I'm the one paying). Plenty of people enjoy seeing young families as it reminds them of when they had little kids and if they can't deal with young kids, they should drive or charter their own plane and stay at adult-only hotels (which do exist).

If everyone is paying to be on the plane, one person should never tell another whether they should or shouldn't travel (if the airline allows them to).

Anon, I think you are the 1%. I have traveled often with my kids, as infantin arms. Just because you don't like kids doesn't mean they shouldnt fly. I don't like middle aged DYKWIA's, but I still get stuck next to them on planes. It's really fun when me and my kids get stuck in FC, while the DYKWIA's walk past us to the back.

On our honeymoon, the flight attendant told us about the previous day's flight where they hit a bad batch of turbulence suddenly. Everything not secured slammed into the roof of the plane. A grown man sustained such an impact it broke his femur. After hearing that, I would never consider flying with my children in my arms.