Miech wrote:
We're due in June and would like to hear from people who have experience
sailing with a 0-4 month old. Pros, cons, advice and warnings as well as any
product suggestions to purchase are greatly appreciated. We have had
fabulous feedback from our vessel-specific forum and wanted to tap the
veterans here as well.

Our daughter was born in August (9 years ago). She came to the boat
almost every weekend that fall, but we only went out if we had a very
experienced crew - people we could trust the boat with if my wife and
I both got preoccupied with the baby.

During the winter she took an infant swimming class at the Y. This
goes a long way towards "drown proofing" a child. The following
summer, she was with us for a full season. The only concession to our
normal cruising itinerary was that we went to the Vineyard rather than
Maine. Our boat at the time was a Nonsuch, with a large, deep
cockpit and easy to handle rig. We put a gate in the forward cabin,
turning the berth into a crib. Padding all around meant that she
would be comfortable and safe even in nasty weather. In one episode
we were coming out of the Cape Cod Canal into Buzzards Bay, and the
current against a strong SW wind had built up the infamous square
waves. Amelia slept through that, but she "took air" on every wave.

Everyone will tell you the baby must wear a PFD, but no one has made
one that will fit a baby under a year old. Ours spent a lot of
cockpit time strapped into an old car seat, which was lashed to the
bulkhead under the dodger. This brings up an other point - a baby can
only tolerate a tiny bit of Sun - make sure you have good shade for
the cockpit.

One more thing - an infant has a very limited horizon. Not only will
your child not remember anything from this age, he will not really
notice it either. Taking him out a this age will not make him a
better sailor, and will not be any more stimulating than a lot of much
safer experiences. You didn't mention what size or type of boat you
have, but if its small, or tippy, or bouncy, you should be very, very
cautious, at least until the child is a year old.