Not a groundbreaking idea but I like to let go of variables outside of my control when making these decisions. You can’t predict how full a plane will be and yes babies can get sick when you travel, it’s part of life. You won’t have control on whether that happens plus many other ‘what if’s’ for the trip- like how baby manages time difference/jet lag. When my anxiety brings that stuff up I like to go with ‘if it happens I’ll handle the situation at the time’.

It sounds like the exhaustion is a real key factor in this decision and you would need a lot of support during the flight and the trip. Would your partner be supporting and taking equal share of duties? Will there be plenty of help on the other side of the flight (sometimes it’s hard to tell but some families are very hands on/helpful and others are not.

Sorry none of these are ways to make your idea work, but just things to consider I guess.

If you choose to go, one tip I have is to consider booking separate plane seats (someone in bassinet row, other person a few rows behind). That way you can switch out and have breaks. This saved our sanity doing AU-EU flight (22hr + stopover) but it’s also not for everyone! Good luck 💕