We took our daughter to NZ when she was 4 months old, and I would def advise taking the pram. The shortest stopover will be 3 hours and thats a long time to only have a carrier, especially if you are trying to eat, use the bathroom etc. The staff at the airports tend to be really helpful with babies and will help you as much as possible with folding the pram etc, and making sure you can normally pick up from the gate. Hope this helps