Thanks for all the input, and trust me I am taking all that into consideration. At this points, we both are at the 'wait and see' stage because we really have no idea what things will be like. At this point I'm just looking for feedback, ideas, etc and am taking it all in. Once the baby is born and we've had a few months to adjust, then we'll re-evaluate if we really think it's a good idea to go on a long trip.

And we wouldn't plan on taking the child out to nice dinners or quiet places where they would ruin the experience. I'm the type of person who hates that stuff when others do it, so I am very self conscious about it. I'm the type of person who'd jet outside or to another room if the baby started to make a big fuss.

As to the suggestions to wait a couple of years: I have heard from lots of people that travel tends to be much easier with an infant than a 2 year old. However once the child is a little older I think we'd feel comfortable leaving them behind with grandma and grandpa for a week while we head out to travel. All this depends, however, on what the child's temperament is like, so we will play it by ear.