Hey everyone,

Long-time reader, first time-poster.

Background to my question: My wife and I had a healthy baby who turns 3 months today, here in Buenos Aires, Argentina. My wife was invited to give a very prestigious talk (in March, in 2 months) in Singapore, including an all-expenses paid trip for all of us there! We're super excited It seems like, to get from here to there, the trip will be about 25-31 hours, changing in Johannesburg, London or Amsterdam.

Two Questions:

1 - Is there any health risk for a 5-month old baby on such a long journey, of two consecutive long flights? My wife is very concerned about there being health risks that we don't know about (the circulating air from the germs... we won't be in first class, which, I hear, usually has it's own, more powerful air circulation system) and she's now having a serious dilemma: is this wonderful opportunity to give this amazing talk in Singapore worth any potential health risk to the baby? We're going to ask our pediatrician this week, and he's a wonderful guy but not an expert on travel-related issues, much more a local neighborhood type doctor.

2 - This is our first child so we're brand new to traveling with children. Does anyone have any tips about taking young child on a journey like this one? For example, I don't want to be the obnoxious person with the crying baby who everyone on the flight wants to kill.

Thank you everyone, in advance!

PS: I love reading FT but I never post because I know almost nothing useful about these subjects, I'm more a student than a professional on all issues related to these, so I never know what to say to contribute productively!

-morgan