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16 January 2013

Guest Post from Meg of Trip Over Joy

While I've never technically met Meg (I don't think) ... we both went to the same college (I'll let you guess which of us is the geriatric ... ) and she grew up in the same neighborhood as Simon in Wichita. So, I hope our paths cross at some point or another because she is the cutest and has the cutest blog and the cutest baby and I won't say she has the cutest husband because a. I don't want to get a Cougar rep and b. I'm a married lady.

She kindly wrote a super helpful post on a topic that I wish I'd read way back when Julia was a baby. Unfortunately, this isn't even a little bit pertinent to my life because to be perfectly honest - I don't envisions us traveling (unless my favorite hospital cafeteria counts!!) with three children ..... ever. (Until May when Simon's sister will get married .... if I haven't been eaten alive by Theo by then.) 

Enjoy ...

Traveling with a baby, it’s a reality most of us have to face at some point or another. Sometimes I find myself wishing I never had to leave the house, ever, so I could have little Miss Rosemary on a perfect schedule... and then I think about how loathsome that life would be.  I mean truly, I would basically be Rapunzel, minus the long pretty hair, the high spirits, and the sweet disposition... so, more along the lines of Mother Gothel.

For me, it’s the prep work, and idea of leaving the house that, 95% of the time, end up being scarier than actually leaving.  All of the ‘what ifs’ float around in my head. ‘What if this throws of her sleep schedule?’ ‘What if she has a major poop explosion?’ And, when we’re finally out of the house.... we’re all much happier.

Because my husband and I live so far away from our families, we’ve spent quite a bit of time on the subway, in the car, and on planes since Rosie was born 4 months ago. This makes me nothing of an expert on traveling with an infant, but I’m always looking for advice, and willing to share what works for us! So here are some things that we’ve learned just by our own troubleshooting.


1. Moby Wrap Forever: If I had an AIM screen name, it would be exactly that, or some semblance of that (mobywrpfrever88?). Especially for boarding a plane, I would dare to say, it’s necessary (or any front pack carrier I suppose). For us, it’s become a routine, it expedites the boarding process, as you now are able to use the 2 hands you couldn’t use prior.

2. Cut the Crap: Travel as lightly as  possible. If you can shove everything from your diaper bag into your purse, or vice versa, you’ll be better off. Juggling 2+ bags and a baby only adds to the frustration. Oh, and that third change of clothes, (just in case!) that you never use, unnecessary.

3. Haters Gonna Hate: There’s no doubt about it, when you walk on a plane with an infant, people are praying you aren’t occupying the seat next to them. It use to drive me crazy how people would stare if Rosie made a single noise. But, I think I’ve finally learned to ignore them. You can’t control how other people are going to react, so don’t waste any time worrying about it, worrying accomplishes nothing.

4. No Expectations: You can spend hours preparing for an outing or trip (I certainly do) but try not to have expectations... especially about sleep. We did all we could to schedule flights around her sleepy time, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. The OCD, over-prepared mother in me died a little when things didn’t go exactly as planned. But I’m learning more and more: less expectations, equals less disappointment.

So what are your tips? Do share!

 Meg and her adorable family ... you can find more of them here.
Go.

And if you have a spare minute (you do! I know it) .... watch this clip that explains a bit about what she and her husband do in Brooklyn. (It really impressed my dad and you know you want to follow suit ... )

11 comments:

  1. Awesome Tips! My In-laws live 600 miles away and I've been DREADING going to visit them with a 14 month old and 11 month old! We usually drive, so I think our biggest issue will be keeping the 14 month old entertained.

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  2. love all of these. Esp the haters gonna hate .... so true.

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  3. A fellow OCD mom-to-be here and these will be very helpful when I have my first baby in a few months!

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  4. No kids yet! But love your advice about less expectations = fewer disappointments. That sounds like some solid general-life advice to me! Thanks and happy travels to you!

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  5. She is so right, Grace!!! Did you get a Moby, because if not...you MUST!

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  6. Totally agree about the 95% comment...that thought keeps me in most days, I admit. Also, carriers are awesome in airports (minus the explosives check they always make me do. It's a baby, not a bomb.). We also like to call ahead to hotels to see if they have pack n' plays. Those things were never meant to travel despite the optimistic name. And yeah, haters gonna hate. I actually had a guy tell me after a flight that he was upset he had to sit next to us, but that our daughter did surprisingly well. Um, thanks?

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  7. We just traveled with 2 kiddos 2.5 yrs and 10 months internationally! It was a job but seriously the roller wheels that we strapped the convertible carseats onto were our lifesavers. I have a few pics on the blog if you want to see how they work but they were AMAZING!!!

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  8. We flew home for Christmas with a six month old, and actually it helped to bring the whole carseat/ stroller contraption through security to the boarding gate because then we got to check both items for free. Also exciting: babies get carryon items too! It was a little tough to juggle all the stuff, but it saved us some major dough.

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  9. I've had my share of long-distance flights. We are stationed in Hawaii right now, my in-laws live on the mainland and my family in Germany. Last summer I flew solo with three kids 4,3, and 1, from Hawaii to Germany and back. I have to admit, it wasn't the most pleasant thing ever, and I may have said something like "I will never, ever do that by myself, EVER!!!", but... we survived. A while back I wrote a blog post with tips for flying with babies and toddlers. You can find it here: http://flowersroundthecross.blogspot.com/2009/11/flying-long-distance-with-small.html

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  10. We just traveled to London, Paris and Seattle with our 3/4 month old. Yep, totally agree with the carrier. We use the Beco and he lived in it throughout Europe. Plastic bags were also key for us. He seemed to poop a lot more and had way more blowouts than we ever have at home. Also, we brought one of his sheets from the pack-n-play. Some of those hotel sheets were really scratchy. Plus, we think the "home" smell may have helped him sleep better.

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  11. My mom and I flew with my then-one month old, VA to OK and I agree with taking the car seat/ stroller system. We needed the car seat once we arrived anyway, and the stroller made it easier to take that. They both check for free, so we had a bonus cart to carry our bags, and we got to pre-board. I didn't even push the baby in it, as I carried him in the Moby!

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