As an update, after lots of back and forth and getting lots of mixed messages with each person I spoke to at Etihad, they agreed to split our reservation to put 1 adult + infant in The Residence and the other adult staying in Apartment. We are flying BKK to AUH to JFK, so cost for The Residence upgrade was 148430 THB ($4,029.04).

Of note, I was told multiple times that The Residence was already booked on this flight, which was just flat out incorrect. I literally had to take and send screen shots of a new booking I could make in which it let me book The Residence. I was also told multiple times that since my flight from BKK to AUH was in Business class (not First), I could not book The Residence since it is not allowed on mixed fare flights. Again, I took and sent screen shots of a new booking I could make allowing me to book The Residence online with this route on a mixed fare booking. All of this finally resulted in them giving me the aforementioned quote for the upgrade and then emailing me a link to submit credit card info to pay for the upgrade. The entire process took about 1 hour and 40 minutes by online chat.

Also of note, they did give me the opportunity to pay for the upgrade with Etihad Guest Miles for 502,877, which I declined.

Here's to now hoping that my wife, daughter, and I are *all* able to use The Residence ground amenities (private room) at AUH and to sit together besides take-off/landing, of course, in The Residence and use its bed/shower.

Any suggestions on which Apartment would best complement also having The Residence in the setting of having a 6 month old lap infant? 1H is, of course, closest, but 5H & 5C have bassinets. Practically speaking though, I think the baby would just sleep in The Residence bed with my wife, so I'm not sure how much added value a bassinet would be in this situation.