I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about traveling with little ones. And yet one fact escaped me, one very important fact that could change the face of travel with an infant forever. Something that has the potential to make it ENJOYABLE… What is this wonder, you ask? The airplane BASSINET!

A friend of mine just booked a multi-leg, multi-country vacation. And coming along for the ride is his infant son.  In chatting about the trip, he mentioned: “Yeah, I was excited that we were able to secure one of the airplane bassinets”. HOLD ON, I said, Back that up.  Did you you say, “Airplane Bassinets”? What does that even mean?

Apparently- on some long-distance flights, airlines offer bassinets in front of the bulkhead seating. It would have to be a super long distance flight (think international, not domestic), because these bassinets are only offered on certain types of aircraft.  Which, being the domestic travel diva that I am, is probably why this fact escaped me. But this revelation totally blew my mind. And after Googling to find out what these bassinets look like, I’m even more impressed.  They’re pretty sturdy looking! No longer will I feel limited to domestic travel only with baby… with the possibility of a bassinet for international travel, the world is now our playground! (Ok maybe not our playground– but certainly more accessible than before!)

Have you traveled with a baby in an airplane bassinet? Were they as amazing as they appear to be? Please share your experience!

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With this past weekend being a 3-day weekend, I should have known that I’d be in for it if I went out on the roads. Sometimes though, there’s just no getting around it: you have to get from point A to point B, and you have to drive there. When baby is on board for a road trip though, there’s nothing that can throw a parenting curveball better than traffic.

You think you’ve got everything you need: Plenty of snacks. Plenty of drinks. Plenty of diapers (if your baby is still using them). I used to think pulling over to the side of the road to change a wet diaper during traffic was a pain. But what do you do when your potty-training toddler needs to GO and there’s no exit to be found? You’ve got quite a parenting conundrum on your hands at that point, and luckily, I haven’t had to find out the answer. My brief panic at the mere thought of what to do in that situation, has me coming up with a plan of prevention: make stops often and at regular intervals, even if the need isn’t apparent, so that in case of the unexpected, the dreaded potty situation will be less likely to occur. Fingers crossed that my plan works.

But it’s not just potty issues that can have moms stressing when it comes to unexpected traffic. Traffic can also be a concern for nursing moms. Babies have to be in their car seats, in the back seat when the car is moving. That’s just a fact. So it necessarily follows that the car needs to stop in order for mom to nurse. If your baby is sleeping peacefully for the first part of your trip, and then you get stuck on a highway where there’s no movement whatsoever, your options are pretty limited when baby wakes up hungry. This actually DID happen to me when my little one was 5 months old. I was driving with a friend who was visiting the Bay Area for the first time, and what I thought was going to be a quick, 30 minute drive turned into a 2 and a half hour ordeal. I stressed, and cried along with my little one, trying my hardest to get to an exit as fast as I could (it ended up taking a very LONG 20 minutes). Once we made it to the exit, I found a place to safely pull over, got in the backseat and nursed. (Yet another moment where I was grateful that I packed my nursing cover!)

Of course, with proper planning both of these crises can be averted. Regular potty breaks. Plenty of pumped milk on hand (and a travel bottle warmer for babies who are finicky about milk temperature, like mine was). I wish I could say I’m perpetually well-prepared, but even when I think I’m well-prepared, it always seems like there’s something I forget. As a first-time mom, I really am just learning everything as I go (at least I’m a quick-study). I’m just glad that I have a sense of humor for the times that modern life hands me a teachable moment. I’m sure there will be many more.

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It’s amazing to say it, but my husband and I have never actually gone on vacation together. We’ve taken trips– in fact, we’ve crisscrossed the country probably 5 times together, but always to visit family. We’ve gone to other states specifically to go to weddings, etc., but we’ve never actually been on vacation together.

With our five-year wedding anniversary coming up, we decided we were going to finally take our honeymoon. The first question was one of location, which was quickly settled on: Hawaii.  Neither of us has been, and we’ve both always wanted to go, and since its still in the U.S., we wouldn’t necessarily need to file a bunch of paperwork in advance. But then the second question came, and it was more difficult to answer- will we bring the little lady along?

My first answer was absolutely- with visions of our girl playing on a beautiful Hawaiian beach, wearing a flower lei and grass skirt dancing in my head. My husband, on the other hand, voted for her to stay with her grandparents: how could we expect to snorkel, hike, kayak– basically do any of the activities that drew us to choose Kauai in the first place, if we brought her? Good point, I said, but countered with: can we really be away from her for that long (5 days)? And that far away?

And so we debated the family vs. couple vacation conundrum for a couple weeks and finally decided that we would go it alone. We had briefly entertained the idea of scrapping Hawaii all together, and going to Disney World instead, but I guess the selfish parts of us won out. It sounds weird calling the decision selfish, because I know in the back of my mind that it’s perfectly reasonable to want time to ourselves, in this case, a much delayed honeymoon– but I guess the front of my mind always takes the role of my biggest critic when evaluating my parenting decisions.

Have you had to decide whether to make a special trip a family trek or a couples retreat? What did you decide and would you make the same decision again?

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If someone told my 20-year-old self that ten years later I’d be (willingly) driving around listening to Alvin & the Chipmunks and singing “The Wheels on the Bus” and other children’s classics– I would have told them they were crazy. I’ve always said that I would instill a love of great music in my kids, and by great music, I was referring to The Beatles, Mozart, Michael Jackson– and I feel like up until this point, I’ve done so. My daughter has been listening to lullaby renditions of the Beatles every night since the night she was born- and the first song she ever sang was “She Loves You” by the Beatles.  But in addition to those classics, the toddler tunes have crept into our rotation, first slowly and now with full force.

It started with the Wiggles. Not the show— because at that time, we weren’t allowing Harper to watch TV.  But the music. The first song to work it’s way in was “Big Red Car”. Even I thought it was catchy, and found myself singing it even while she wasn’t with me. Then came “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, and “Hot Potato”.  And there we remained for a while, until she became verbal. Then, she started asking for the songs that she was singing at daycare. “Twinkle Twinkle”, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “The Wheels on the Bus”, “Row Row Row Your Boat”, etc. I sang them for her. And yet, it was never enough. At the end of every song I heard “AGAIN?!?!” (which is so sweet, and something I’ve always imagined as a Mom), but it ended up leading me to purchase a compilation of children’s songs to play in the car, because we had a big car trip planned for the holidays, and I wanted to have a voice left before we arrived for our family visit.

And then there was the Christmas music. I grew up with the Alvin & the Chipmunks Christmas record. In fact, I already owned that CD before I had a baby, so I had no problem playing it for her– the first 10 times. But then she wanted to hear it every day, even after Christmas had passed. And she loves Alvin and the Chipmunks so much, that I’ve now bought her a compilation of Alvin & the Chipmunks that includes everyday songs (some of them are covers of Beatles songs, so that counts for something right?)

So it seems I’ve completely given in to the fact that our car rides will be full of children’s music, (with some classics peppered in for good measure of course). I’ve realized that these songs are a part of childhood, and obviously something she really enjoys (and seeing her happy makes me SUPER happy). So now I’m taking recommendations– what are your children’s (and your) favorite traveling tunes?

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Today is December 20th- and now that we’re in the “20′s” of December, that means that holiday travel is kicking into high-gear.

Traveling during the holidays is stressful for ANYONE– think of the lines, the cranky passengers, the potential weather delays making for even CRANKIER passengers.  Add baby (or babies) to that mix, and you’ve got a recipe for chaos–or at the very least, a very tricky parenting challenge.

As a travel-pro (and I make this claim only because I’ve flown almost 40,000 miles with my little girl, starting at 5 months of age -her first flight photo is above), I think I’m in a decent position to give some advice on how to get through those long airport and airplane hours. I’d love to hear tips from others as well- while I’m pretty good at traveling with one, I seriously suspect that traveling with multiple will be an entirely different story!

Tip 1- Book that extra seat.

Babies up to the age of 2 are allowed to fly on their parent’s lap on most airlines, but if at all possible think about booking a seat for your baby.  Not because the baby will actually sit in the seat, because in my experience, your kiddo will almost always end up on your lap, but to at least create what I call a “buffer zone” between you and another passenger.  If you’re traveling with another adult, the extra seat might not be necessary, but if you’re alone, a single-seat-sized space probably isn’t enough room for you, your baby, and your gear. Though– I’ve done it, with some luck and some cooperation of friendly row-mates, of course.

Tip 2- Pack light, but pack smart.

In the early days of traveling with my little one, I packed EVERYTHING I thought she could possibly need- including clothes for every single day we’d be away. But if you’re going somewhere that you’ll have access to a washer/dryer- don’t feel obligated to pack the whole dresser. Bring the essentials for about half the days that you’ll be at your destination and just plan on doing a load of laundry while there (and in my experience, if you’re visiting family, you’re going to get gifts of cute outfits upon arrival anyway!)

The on-the-plane necessities actually add up to quite a bit on their own anyway. In my experience, the following are must-haves:

• a diaper wallet (lugging a giant diaper bag down that narrow airplane aisle and maneuvering it in those tiny bathrooms is just too difficult)
• lots of liquids (one less thing to carry if you’re nursing)
• snacks if the baby is on solid food
• a changing pad
• diapers
• wipes
• a change of clothes (for your baby, and a back-up shirt for you)
• hand sanitizer
• a nursing pillow (totally worth the space it takes up in the seat, because once you’re done nursing, baby can snooze on it and your arms get a rest)
• a nursing cover
• baby’s favorite book
• a blankie (it gets cold on planes!)
• an umbrella stroller if baby is big enough (this will get you all the way to the plane, and then you’re on your own) and, if all else fails-
• your smartphone

Tip 3 – Nurse your baby on the way up and the way down to prevent the “ear pops”. Changes in altitude have been known to affect even adult ears, so there’s potential that those “pops” can make baby very uncomfortable.  If you nurse, or give your baby a bottle on the way up and down, the swallowing motion eases the pressure build-up and can make the altitude change less painful (for both  of you).

Tip 4 – Accept Help When it’s Offered. 75% of the travel that I did with my little one was travel alone. My vacation schedule was different than my husband’s, so I often flew back east on my own to see family while he stayed home and worked. This certainly complicated matters– and for those first couple trips, I tried to do it all by myself. Its not easy once you have to turn over that stroller at gate-check and you’re left with all your bags (purse, diaper bag, carry on) AND little one in your arms. Other passengers had offered to help and at first, my reply was always “oh thanks, I have it though”- after a couple trips, I was more than happy to let a nice co-passenger help me get our bags to where they needed to go, and when other passengers didn’t offer, the flight attendants were always happy to help (though, they often wanted to hold the baby, as opposed to the bags, but help is help!) Take the help when its offered and seek it out even if its not offered– it’s definitely worth it!

Tip 5- When all else fails, it really is ok (at least in my book!) to take the “easy way out”. Yes, I’m going to admit to you here that when I traveled with my toddler, when she was done coloring, when we’d read her books twenty times each, when she was bored and near melt-down, I pulled out my smartphone. Yes, I let her watch a movie. Sometimes, we let her play with baby flash cards on the phone. We had always said we’d stick to the American Academy of Pediatrics advice about no screen time before 2- but on the plane, while surrounded by strangers who just wanted some peace and quiet, and no possibility of escape, and with a solution at my fingertips, I took the easy road. And it worked.

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My husband and I packed up our girls last Friday and headed to the mountains for a Father’s Day weekend camping trip. There were originally going to be three other families along with us but they decided that threatening thunderstorms and a low of 40 degrees at night was reason to stay home cozy in their beds! My husband, however, is from Colorado. He scoffed at 40 degree weather being cold and said that our family was packing up and heading out! I have to say I was a bit reluctant… I am a California girl born and raised – Northern, so I can take a bit of dampness, but definitely not cold and definitely not with a three year old and a 9 month old!

One of the best things about having a Dodge Sprinter (one of those huge cargo vans which my husband has for work) is that you can fit EVERYTHING into it plus the kitchen sink — and trust me we did! Besides all the extra clothes and wipes that you all suggested (thank you very much!), we also brought our full sized barbeque, bike, futon mattress, scooter  plus all the camping gear that is needed.

There was four items that I brought thinking that they might be over the top but I am SO glad that I did. First, the toddler potty for the middle of the night bathroom needs. I put in right next to her makeshift bed and she was able to get up and go – best thing ever! The second essential was the baby tent. We were able to put the baby in it while we were setting up camp, making dinner, etc and she was happy to play in here and I didn’t have to worry about her eating dirt/twigs/etc…  I am just not that relaxed of a mom. Finally, and we probably could have done without this, is the booster seat. We were able to plop the baby in it and get her fed while working on our dinner – awesome! Another item that was totally not necessary but very fun for the three year old? Her Adirondack chair with umbrella that I recently got for her.  The umbrella provided hours of entertainment!

I am sure that you can do this kind of trip without half the stuff we brought, but it sure was nice to have some of the comforts of home in the woods!

Happy summer traveling!

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We are “traveling” back in time today…!

Now that I carry my SLR around me most everywhere I go, my shoulder bags and totes just aren’t cutting it any more. It’s literally a pain in the neck to keep it from sliding off my shoulder while trying to capture THE shot that requires the use of both hands. Thus, I decided a crossbody bag would better serve my purposes of shlepping my possessions around with me — a tan leather crossbody bag to be precise. While I really like this bag, tan leather will better round out my modest handbag collection and I like that it’s a timeless look that spans seasons as well as decades. Proof? I was admiring these at the Coach website

when I recalled that my mom carried something similar around at one time. I rang her up and hey, not only did she have a tan leather bag, she had THE ORIGINAL Original Rambler’s Legacy bag by Coach! In tan! See it up there in the top row? The best part was that she was thrilled to give it to me because it’d been neglected in the back of her closet for the past 20 years. It’d been a gift from my grandma to my mom 40-something years ago and now my mom was handing it down to me.

**Okay, I lied. The best part wasn’t that she was thrilled to pass it along to me and it was mine (for free!) just a week later. The best part is when it arrived… You know how they say scent is a powerful way to trigger memories? After being tucked away in her closet for years, the bag smells just how I remember my mom smelling from my childhood in a really lovely way. It particularly reminds me of all her hugs because I’d literally be enveloped in that scent, in her arms, feeling safe and loved. And that makes me happy to carry this bag around with me wherever I go now

{The author and her mother circa 1986.}

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Sometimes I think that I might have more fun planning our family vacations than I do when we are actually on them! I don’t really mean that but I do have a (very Type A) personality that loves all the coordination and planning that is involved in taking a family trip. Now, if you ask my husband he will probably tell you a different story.

I was doing some research for family trips suggestions and here is a list of places to visit this year (lists courtesy of Travel Channel & Yahoo travel):

Domestic

1.       Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort – Snowbird, Utah
2.       Tanque Verde Ranch – Tucson, Arizona
3.       Hilton Waikoloa Village – Waikoloa, Hawaii
4.       Kingsmill Resort – Williamsburg, Virginia
5.       Beach & Boardwalk – Wildwood Crest, New Jersey
6.       Out ‘n’ About Treesort – Takilma, Oregon
7.       La Costa Resort and Spa – Carlsbad, California
8.       Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – Orlando, Florida
9.       Flight Simulator – Anaheim, California
10.   Bigfoot Zip line – Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

International: Just in case you are feeling a bit more adventurous!

1.       Paradise Island, Bahamas – Atlantis Resort and Casino
2.       Ixtapa, Mexico  – Club Med Ixtapa

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We booked our flights last night for the family reunion back east this summer – I can’t wait! The one thing I can wait for is the 10+ hour drive that we will be doing to get from one family members house to another…with a 3 year old and 9 month old it could be interesting! Not to mention my sister and her 12 year might be joining us. So, I thought that I should research some road trip tips while traveling with kids. Here are some of the suggestions that I found…I will let you know how it goes…we aren’t leaving until July…if you have some ideas in the meantime – let me know! Happy Travels!

1. DVD Player (you decide beforehand if this will be allowed)
2. Snacks (Easy to eat and open if you are traveling by yourself and children)
3. Picture Books & Board Books
4. Lap Tables (definitely worth it for the older kids) – good for snacks, portable DVD players and drawing
5. Play Games
   1. “Family Trivia” – ask questions about the family you are going to be visiting. Even better, bring pictures of all the members you are going to visit and “quiz” the kids on names and relations.
6. Give them a map! (Our big girl loved this when we took a road trip to Canada when she was 2)
7. Colored Pipe cleaners
8. Have you kids pack one of their favorite lovies and a blanket
9. Audiobooks – check them out at your local library before you go
10. Bubbles – babies and toddlers will love this (try the small containers found at party stores)

Practical Tips

1. Plan heavy driving time around normal nap times!
2. Costco Membership? Map out your trip by planning gas stops by the nearest Costco.
3. Stick to the speed limit and watch your miles per gallon climb!
4. If your trip is going to be one overnight, pack every family members needs in one bag.
5. Find rest stops with places for the kids to run around

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I don’t remember when I first heard about a Babymoon but I instantly fell in love with the idea and when I was pregnant with my first daughter explained to my husband that it was an absolute MUST.

A little background, from Wikipedia: A Babymoon is a period of time that parents spend bonding with a recently-born baby. More recently the term has come to be used to describe a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby. Babymoons usually take place at a resort that offers appropriate services like prenatal massage.

I did some research and found a quaint little B&B in the wine country that offered prenatal massages and various treatments – plus a golf course close by that would help entice the husband. We went toward the end of my second trimester (I was about 6 ½ months pregnant) – not feeling sick anymore and not feeling like a hippo yet. We had a fantastic time! It was just for the weekend and we drove up on Friday and had a wonderful dinner. On Saturday I enjoyed treatments while he played a round of golf – best of both worlds for us.  We took a nap and had another amazing dinner. I thought it would be so good for us to just spend some time together, of course all we talked about was the baby that was coming but at least we were together.

There is a website dedicated to helping others plan Babymoons – I thought it might be helpful if you want to plan one also….click here! I don’t know anything about this website but they looked to be the most comprehensive, I didn’t use them when planning ours.

We had our second daughter last year and we just couldn’t find the time to get away with our eldest daughter, work, etc.  I wish we would have taken the time to do it – even a day Babymoon would have been nice. Our five year anniversary is next year; maybe I will start working on a second honeymoon…

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