Scuba trip with an infant

[Patience]

We are planning a winter diving trip to Grand Cayman. My daughter will be five months old when we make the trip.

Does anyone have experience travelling with an infant in the Caribbean? Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wendy]

Take me with you and I'll watch your youngin while you are diving.

 

[Rick Murchison]

We have done it three ways. In order of personal preference thay are:
(1) Travel with another couple who has a non-diving child. Swap off diving and watching the kids. This is also the cheapest.
(2) Take a nanny along whose sole job is to watch arfter the children while you dive or shop or eat out or party. I say children because we've always gone in with others to share the cost, giving the nanny up to four kids to care for. This is also the most expensive
(3) Hire local babysitters. The only disadvantage to this is the matter of familiarity and trust. Though unfounded, it always left me a little nervous and anxious to get back to the baby, and so cut into our enjoyment.
Rick

 

[Patience]

We have a nanny lined up down there, courtesy of the resort owner. I'm still nervous about it. . .

I'm getting advice to leave the baby at home, which I'm reluctant to do. I can't imagine being away from her for the entire trip.

I thought I would look to others' experience . . . Oops. There's my summons. Feeding time here at the Zoo.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Don't you leave that baby behind! You're gonna blink and the young 'un'll be off to college! Capture those precious moments now...
Rick

 

[Cave Diver]

You might post an inquiry on the Carribean section of the board. There are several people there that post from Grand Cayman and you might be able to get recommendations from them. Living there, they can probably give you personal references for someone qualified to meet your needs.

 

[herman]

I realize that this is hard to do and I am sure that many people are going to dissagree with me but as someone who has spent several HOURS beside a baby screaming to the top of it's lungs on a crowded airplane, PLEASE leave your baby at home. I understand the child does not understand why his ears hurt and that you can't always keep them quite but is it right to make me suffer for hours? Long flights are not the place for a baby.

 

[scubaleg]

We have used resort-provided nannies on three different Carribean trips -- twice in Jamaica and once in Freeport, Bahamas. In all three cases, our experiences were positive and our children enjoyed the stay as much as we did (but they were older than 5 months!).
My advice: Make sure that you meet with the nanny in advance, see how your child interacts and make sure you are comfortable. It also helps to write out all of your expectations, do's and don'ts, etc. in advance so you cover everything prior to leaving for your first dive. This helped us relax and enjoy our dive.
Scuba Legs

 

[AquaTec]

We have always traveld with our kids, since they where newborns

like the rest of your life there are now little changes in the way you do things, but those changes are replaced with rewards that last a life time.

my girls are now 8 and 11 and they still talk about trips to Mexico
[we usualy go to Mexico]

Rick is so right, it seems like they where babies just yesterday.

we have accomplished traveling and diving with kids in several ways.

1 - We have traveled with one or two other couples with kids, this has led to some great friendships developed with both us and our kids.

2 - We have brought a young girl with us, usualy the same person who would babysit them at home. we make them a deal, we pay for the airfair and room. we often go to an all inclusive so the added cost was minimul. she would be responsable for the children when we where off doing something, and when we werent she could have her own time.
one thing we quickly learend on our holidays is that we had so much fun with our kids, on the beach, in the pool, or snorkling. that we never really made good use of the nanny.

3 - We would leave the kids with one parent while the other went on a dive, then switch roles. we have even taken the kids on dive boats. on a two tank dive we each did one dive.


Take your kids with you, adjust the way you do things and it will be great.

 

[DanBo]

It's difficult to decide on who's right, actually all the answers are correct. Having an only son, I've taken him to trips since he was only 3 months old. You've gotta ask yourself, am I doing this (taking the baby with me for the trip) for my sake or for the baby's sake. Gotta understand, it's a totally new environment for your baby, and little changes in the environment bothers them. You will need to know the nearest hospital, check your medical insurance if they cover outside the country, etc. And, like my, while I was diving I was totally immersed in thoughts about my new baby - so in other words I was not totally enjoying myself diving either. If I were in your shoes, I would leave the baby home where he/she's familiar with the environment and have your mother or in-law watch him/her. The less stress on the baby the better off both the parents and the baby. Call at night if you wish and leave all the emergency numbers with the sitter. My just .02 cents worth.

Dan