If you are still in the shopping mode, Amazon still has some New Year's Eve deals available, not to mention if you're looking for some great deals before 2013 draws to a close, check out the year end sale here. As a reminder, when you click on a link and make a purchase at Amazon, you're helping to support this site! Thank you so much for reading and shopping; I appreciate it!
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
So how did that trip turn out anyway?
So a while ago, I blogged about our absolutely nightmarish flight to San Francisco -- the first leg of our 30 hour journey to Singapore. That first flight was an eye opener for us because as I mentioned in that post, my husband and I are seasoned travelers and we had taken Baby on several flights prior to this one and they had all gone swimmingly. And yet on that particular flight, something had gone wrong.
I think it's worthwhile to take a postmortem every now and then and in this particular situation, we really wanted to avoid the hellish situation again. Did I mention we had 27 hours to go? And that at some point in the future, we'd have to return to the States? And that we were planning a trip to India that would be at least 19 hours one way? So yes, a postmortem analysis was absolutely necessary so we didn't repeat the same mistakes we made on that San Francisco flight.
Here's what I came up with:
1. We were tired. We were tired even before we began the journey. Knowing we'd have to leave for the airport before 6 am to catch our flight, we still didn't go to bed before 11 pm. And if you've ever had an early morning flight, you know it's next to impossible to sleep well because you're so worried about oversleeping and missing your flight. The lack of rest ahead of the trip made us cranky and stressed out and I think Baby caught on to our nervousness. On all of our other trips, we were laid back and so was she.
2. We had lots of little bags. We are light packers in general, but when you're heading overseas with a baby for an extended period of time, your bags fill up quickly with things like formula, diapers, and food pouches. That's all fine if you have big enough bags to consolidate the stuff into, but we didn't. My husband and I are business travelers and as such, we had lots of little suitcases. It made for a difficult transportation issue as with the Baby, we just never had enough hands to transport it all and it was just distracting to manage it all.
3. You can never time a bottle on the plane. It's a myth that one can do this, but it's not possible. On our San Francisco flight, we were delayed on the tarmack and so our timing was off. Baby was well done her bottle and agitated by the time we took off. This, however, was a "mistake" we repeated a few months later when we went to India as we were delayed on the ground for nearly 2 hours and as a result, our crabby Baby got her bottle well before take off. We didn't have a back up plan in case of The Delayed Bottle-Take Off Problem and to be honest, we still don't.
4. We were in a rush to get off the plane and didn't take a moment to compose ourselves. We only had a 90 minute or so connection and so we rushed to get off the plane and didn't take the time to double-check our seats and make sure we had everything we needed. The result was we left a piece of our car seat behind and I spent most of my time running between gates trying to locate the piece (which, by the way, I didn't; we ended up ordering a replacement when we returned to the US). We now don't rush off the plane unless we really have to; we take our time and catch our breath and make sure we got everything off the plane.
There is, however, a happy ending to this story. We were so exhausted after our frantic interlude in the San Francisco airport that we settled in nicely on our flight to Tokyo and Baby actually slept a chunk of the time too! We ended up having a nice flight (and a nice time in the Tokyo airport, which has play areas, yo!) and our connecting Tokyo-Singapore flight was also uneventful. I guess when you start from absolute chaos like we did that day, there's really nowhere to go but up (pun unintended).
I think it's worthwhile to take a postmortem every now and then and in this particular situation, we really wanted to avoid the hellish situation again. Did I mention we had 27 hours to go? And that at some point in the future, we'd have to return to the States? And that we were planning a trip to India that would be at least 19 hours one way? So yes, a postmortem analysis was absolutely necessary so we didn't repeat the same mistakes we made on that San Francisco flight.
Here's what I came up with:
1. We were tired. We were tired even before we began the journey. Knowing we'd have to leave for the airport before 6 am to catch our flight, we still didn't go to bed before 11 pm. And if you've ever had an early morning flight, you know it's next to impossible to sleep well because you're so worried about oversleeping and missing your flight. The lack of rest ahead of the trip made us cranky and stressed out and I think Baby caught on to our nervousness. On all of our other trips, we were laid back and so was she.
2. We had lots of little bags. We are light packers in general, but when you're heading overseas with a baby for an extended period of time, your bags fill up quickly with things like formula, diapers, and food pouches. That's all fine if you have big enough bags to consolidate the stuff into, but we didn't. My husband and I are business travelers and as such, we had lots of little suitcases. It made for a difficult transportation issue as with the Baby, we just never had enough hands to transport it all and it was just distracting to manage it all.
3. You can never time a bottle on the plane. It's a myth that one can do this, but it's not possible. On our San Francisco flight, we were delayed on the tarmack and so our timing was off. Baby was well done her bottle and agitated by the time we took off. This, however, was a "mistake" we repeated a few months later when we went to India as we were delayed on the ground for nearly 2 hours and as a result, our crabby Baby got her bottle well before take off. We didn't have a back up plan in case of The Delayed Bottle-Take Off Problem and to be honest, we still don't.
4. We were in a rush to get off the plane and didn't take a moment to compose ourselves. We only had a 90 minute or so connection and so we rushed to get off the plane and didn't take the time to double-check our seats and make sure we had everything we needed. The result was we left a piece of our car seat behind and I spent most of my time running between gates trying to locate the piece (which, by the way, I didn't; we ended up ordering a replacement when we returned to the US). We now don't rush off the plane unless we really have to; we take our time and catch our breath and make sure we got everything off the plane.
There is, however, a happy ending to this story. We were so exhausted after our frantic interlude in the San Francisco airport that we settled in nicely on our flight to Tokyo and Baby actually slept a chunk of the time too! We ended up having a nice flight (and a nice time in the Tokyo airport, which has play areas, yo!) and our connecting Tokyo-Singapore flight was also uneventful. I guess when you start from absolute chaos like we did that day, there's really nowhere to go but up (pun unintended).
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Link of the Day: Scary Mommy Travel Guide
Looking for things to do with kids while you're traveling? The Scary Mommy Travel Guide can help. Check out their tips on what to do in many US cities and a handful of international destinations. I checked out their recommendations for a few cities -- Austin, Baltimore, and San Antonio -- and found them to be a pretty good starting point for creating a kid-friendly itinerary (though I'm wondering about the exclusion of the National Aquarium from the Baltimore guide and the Alamo from San Antonio guide).
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Link of the Day: Take these steps to make your air travel better
CNN has a neat article on how to make your travel experience better. You can read their tips here.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
The Baby Bottle on an Airplane Problem -- Solved!
As a follow up to my post on whether milk is allowed through security, I wanted to address another problem we encountered when we were getting ready to fly to Singapore. At the time of our flight, Baby was 11 months old and still mainly getting nutrition from formula and she was on a three hour schedule with some solids sprinkled in here and there. As I was planning our trip, I realized it would be 30 hours from the time we left our house until we arrived at our hotel at the Singapore Airport (it would be another 12 to 15 hours after arrival in Singapore before we moved to our apartment). Once I realized it would be 30 hours door to door, I did what any good mother would do: I panicked.
After panic set in, I set about thinking through the issue. I need to pack enough food for my 11-month old to be able to eat. I calculated that at most I would need 10 bottles and an equal number of food pouches (we assumed she would eat little to nothing of the kid's meal we had ordered for her on the flight; we were able to order a kid's meal, by the way, because we bought Baby her own seat). Food pouches are easy (you can occasionally score them for 10 for $10 at Babies R Us) but what to do about the formula? As I said in the milk post from earlier, we knew we didn't want to use the ready-made formula even though that would be easier to deal with on the plane, so instead we went with the individual powder packets. So there you have it -- we were good with formula (we bought water inside the terminal) and we were good with food pouches. Here was the problem: how does one carry enough bottles and nipples for a 30 hour journey?
We didn't think we would have enough time during our layovers in San Francisco and Tokyo to wash bottles; we were right about the first (long story that I will blog about one day) and our experience in Tokyo was surprisingly smooth and laid-back. We also knew washing bottles in an airplane bathroom would be ridiculously crazy (not to mention, ugh). I had some Playtex bottles but the drop-ins didn't really solve my problem because I would still have to carry at least 10 nipples since I wouldn't be able to wash them properly. And really, if you've ever smelled formula, you do want to wash the bottles properly because otherwise, the stench is foul and it's like chipping away at chalk to get the stuff off the bottles. The idea of lugging around unwashed formula bottles for 30 hours sounded just nasty and I wanted no part of that.
A friend had seen an advertisement for Steribottle -- a product out of the UK -- that is basically a ready to use disposable bottle that came with a nipple. No sterilization required. You use it once and then you toss it. It sounded great to us, except it was only available via mail order and it was (you guessed it) back-ordered. Luckily, the husband was in the UK at the time and I found out it was carried in a store called Boots -- the US equivalent of Walgreens and CVS (and as ubiquitous as those stores are here!) -- and he went from store to store until he found the bottles. I asked him to buy two packages of 10 bottles each, assuming we would need 10 on the way over and 10 on the way back.
Now, the bottles themselves are a tadbit bulky and are not as elegant as your regular bottles. The lid snaps on tightly and while they say it can't be removed for reuse, my husband managed to get the lid off a bottle to add water to leftover formula (i.e. Baby had finished the bottle and wanted a bit more, so we would add more water to what was left in the bottle). The nipples are also fast and a bit wide at the base, so I think it would be difficult for a very small baby to use. The bottles are disposable but are also recyclable, though recycling isn't always an option on an airplane.
We have gone through about 30 of these bottles (still have about 5-8 of them in my pantry) on our international trips. They are pricey -- $1 a bottle (more when my husband actually purchased them in the UK) -- but they solved a key problem for us: how to safely dispense formula to our baby while traveling. If you are thinking about trying this product, I would recommend giving buying one box and training your baby to drink out of that bottle before you get on the plane. Our Baby is pretty adept at bottles and non-fussy; she doesn't care what temperature the milk is, what the shape of the nipple is, etc. But not all babies are that easy going so it's best to try it ahead of time to see if it will actually work for you. All in all, I recommend these for long journeys. Truth be told, they are a bit too expensive to carry for any other reason.
After panic set in, I set about thinking through the issue. I need to pack enough food for my 11-month old to be able to eat. I calculated that at most I would need 10 bottles and an equal number of food pouches (we assumed she would eat little to nothing of the kid's meal we had ordered for her on the flight; we were able to order a kid's meal, by the way, because we bought Baby her own seat). Food pouches are easy (you can occasionally score them for 10 for $10 at Babies R Us) but what to do about the formula? As I said in the milk post from earlier, we knew we didn't want to use the ready-made formula even though that would be easier to deal with on the plane, so instead we went with the individual powder packets. So there you have it -- we were good with formula (we bought water inside the terminal) and we were good with food pouches. Here was the problem: how does one carry enough bottles and nipples for a 30 hour journey?
We didn't think we would have enough time during our layovers in San Francisco and Tokyo to wash bottles; we were right about the first (long story that I will blog about one day) and our experience in Tokyo was surprisingly smooth and laid-back. We also knew washing bottles in an airplane bathroom would be ridiculously crazy (not to mention, ugh). I had some Playtex bottles but the drop-ins didn't really solve my problem because I would still have to carry at least 10 nipples since I wouldn't be able to wash them properly. And really, if you've ever smelled formula, you do want to wash the bottles properly because otherwise, the stench is foul and it's like chipping away at chalk to get the stuff off the bottles. The idea of lugging around unwashed formula bottles for 30 hours sounded just nasty and I wanted no part of that.
A friend had seen an advertisement for Steribottle -- a product out of the UK -- that is basically a ready to use disposable bottle that came with a nipple. No sterilization required. You use it once and then you toss it. It sounded great to us, except it was only available via mail order and it was (you guessed it) back-ordered. Luckily, the husband was in the UK at the time and I found out it was carried in a store called Boots -- the US equivalent of Walgreens and CVS (and as ubiquitous as those stores are here!) -- and he went from store to store until he found the bottles. I asked him to buy two packages of 10 bottles each, assuming we would need 10 on the way over and 10 on the way back.
Now, the bottles themselves are a tadbit bulky and are not as elegant as your regular bottles. The lid snaps on tightly and while they say it can't be removed for reuse, my husband managed to get the lid off a bottle to add water to leftover formula (i.e. Baby had finished the bottle and wanted a bit more, so we would add more water to what was left in the bottle). The nipples are also fast and a bit wide at the base, so I think it would be difficult for a very small baby to use. The bottles are disposable but are also recyclable, though recycling isn't always an option on an airplane.
We have gone through about 30 of these bottles (still have about 5-8 of them in my pantry) on our international trips. They are pricey -- $1 a bottle (more when my husband actually purchased them in the UK) -- but they solved a key problem for us: how to safely dispense formula to our baby while traveling. If you are thinking about trying this product, I would recommend giving buying one box and training your baby to drink out of that bottle before you get on the plane. Our Baby is pretty adept at bottles and non-fussy; she doesn't care what temperature the milk is, what the shape of the nipple is, etc. But not all babies are that easy going so it's best to try it ahead of time to see if it will actually work for you. All in all, I recommend these for long journeys. Truth be told, they are a bit too expensive to carry for any other reason.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Link of the Day: TSA Pre Check
Here's an amusing take of the new TSA pre-check program. Two CNN reporters pit the pre-check versus the normal security protocol and you can read about their "race" here.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Link of the Day: Where is the best airport in the world?
If you're going to be stranded in an airport, NPR recommends one of these. I have been to a handful of these airports, including Tokyo, Singapore, Berlin, and Amsterdam and the Tokyo and Singapore are by far the most kid-friendly airports I've been to. Both airports have ample and comfortable locations for nursing and changing diapers and play areas for the kids.
Singapore's Changi Airport, in addition to the butterfly garden mentioned in the article, also has an awesome play area in the basement (admission required) as well as other amenities (including foot reflexology, which I recommend whole heartedly but OUCH!). There's also a very nice room for changing diapers with real changing tables and very clean and spacious and with some amenities provided like water and paper towels. You can find out more about this airport here.
Tokyo's airport has "soft" play areas for the kids scattered throughout the terminal as well as nursing stalls with comfy chairs and nice changing areas that are dedicated to changing. None of this absent-minded "Oh let's put a changing table into the handicap toilet stall!" business going on there! I especially appreciated the play areas -- nice areas with soft foam blocks for kids to burn off steam during layovers. You can find out more about Toyko Narita here.
Singapore's Changi Airport, in addition to the butterfly garden mentioned in the article, also has an awesome play area in the basement (admission required) as well as other amenities (including foot reflexology, which I recommend whole heartedly but OUCH!). There's also a very nice room for changing diapers with real changing tables and very clean and spacious and with some amenities provided like water and paper towels. You can find out more about this airport here.
Tokyo's airport has "soft" play areas for the kids scattered throughout the terminal as well as nursing stalls with comfy chairs and nice changing areas that are dedicated to changing. None of this absent-minded "Oh let's put a changing table into the handicap toilet stall!" business going on there! I especially appreciated the play areas -- nice areas with soft foam blocks for kids to burn off steam during layovers. You can find out more about Toyko Narita here.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) Holiday Checklist
If you are traveling during this holiday season, take a look at the TSA's travel tips/checklist. It gives a good rundown on what's allowed, what's expected, and where to get good information. It's especially helpful if you're not a frequent traveler or if you're coming to the United States from another country; we do have some differences in our security procedures such as needing to take off shoes when going through the TSA checkpoint. You can also check the TSA's website here if you need more details.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Can you take milk on an airplane?
A common concern that comes up a lot from parents traveling on airplanes with small children is how TSA deals with milk -- either cow milk, formula or breast milk. The short answer is YES, you can take milk in reasonable quantities through security (note: "reasonable" is obviously a judgement call, but be prepared to explain why you have the amount of food on you that you did; we had 12 food pouches on us when we flew to Singapore and were questioned on the quantity. Once we explained where we were going and that we expected our 11 month old to need one packet every 3 hours, TSA told us we were fine) . However, some things to make taking milk through security easier:
You'll also find that strictness varies airport by airport and also day by day. When we flew to India, TSA in Newark scanned every single one of our formula packets (and we had 16!) and I noticed they were scanning another woman's baby bottles -- she had 5-6 of them. Our home airport, however, just ran 2-3 of our formula packets through their scanner, visually checked our food pouches, and called it a day. Expect the type of screening we encountered in Newark to be the norm though and plan accordingly.
As always, I recommend carrying copies of TSA guidelines on you just in case you run into someone who says you cannot bring milk for your baby through security.
- Carry your baby's food in a separate carry-on and declare ahead of time -- BEFORE you start putting your things in the x-ray machine -- to the TSA that you are carrying baby food. Carrying it in a separate bag will make it easier for you to take it out when TSA asks.
- If your child is old enough, you could consider using milk boxes, like the Horizon Organic ones. Unfortunately, they do not have whole milk options, but for a short trip, it might be a good and convenient option (and less messy too!).
- If you are taking formula, I recommend taking powdered, not ready-to-feed formulations; I did hear one horror story from a mom who had to cancel her trip after TSA made her open every single one of her ready-to-feed formula bottles and as a result, she had to throw them out as she didn't have enough for the trip. When we traveled with formula, we always took the individual Enfamil formula packets as well the tub as a back-up. We never had a problem.
- You can also ask the flight attendants for milk. We have started to take this approach because it's the easiest option.
- Buy milk/water once you have passed through security. Items purchased after you go through security are perfectly acceptable to bring on the airplane.
You'll also find that strictness varies airport by airport and also day by day. When we flew to India, TSA in Newark scanned every single one of our formula packets (and we had 16!) and I noticed they were scanning another woman's baby bottles -- she had 5-6 of them. Our home airport, however, just ran 2-3 of our formula packets through their scanner, visually checked our food pouches, and called it a day. Expect the type of screening we encountered in Newark to be the norm though and plan accordingly.
As always, I recommend carrying copies of TSA guidelines on you just in case you run into someone who says you cannot bring milk for your baby through security.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Black Friday 2013: Canon EOS Rebel T3
One thing about travel and kids -- you want a good camera, one that can capture fast action and low light situations. I use the Canon EOS Rebel T3 with a variety of lenses, including my favorite: the Nifty Fifty. I really like this camera as it gives the user a lot of creative range in setting up the picture. For example, you can go the total automated route if you like as the camera includes your typical presets -- Landscape, Action, etc -- and a pop-up flash, but also allows for more manual settings such as setting aperture or shutter speed for more advanced usage. You can also have an auto white balance or you can set it yourself. It also has a broad set of ISO settings from 100 to 6400 so you can capture those sunset pictures on the beach!
One downside: this camera is more bulky than my point & shoot and so it is sometimes annoying to haul around a camera bag (I have this one) and depending on the types of pictures you want to take, you may find the 18-55 mm kit lens a bit lacking; I find the 18-55mm adequate for "walk around" -- when I don't know what I'm going to stumble upon and I need a good all purpose lens. However, I have supplemented the kit lens with the above mentioned Nifty Fifty and a zoom lens, the Canon 55-250 mm. That being said, I've taken this camera around the world with me and I've been very pleased with the quality of pictures I've gotten and I love having the presets at my fingers for pictures I don't want to "miss".
I'll be honest -- I don't know whether one should choose Nikon over Canon, but this camera is a good entry-level workhorse at a very reasonable price (currently $420 at Amazon with the kit lens). Nikon -- which I have NO experience with -- also has a reasonable entry level DSLR: the Nikon D3100 at a similar price price point.
I'm specifically pointing out the Canon EOS Rebel T3 because thisBlack Friday Cyber Monday, Amazon is allegedly offering the camera at a price "under $400". That's a fantastic value for this quality camera and the cheapest I've seen it new (I purchased mine in July of 2012 used for $420 and *that* was a good price then!). So if you've been thinking about buying a DSLR, I recommend this one, especially at the Black Friday deal price!
One downside: this camera is more bulky than my point & shoot and so it is sometimes annoying to haul around a camera bag (I have this one) and depending on the types of pictures you want to take, you may find the 18-55 mm kit lens a bit lacking; I find the 18-55mm adequate for "walk around" -- when I don't know what I'm going to stumble upon and I need a good all purpose lens. However, I have supplemented the kit lens with the above mentioned Nifty Fifty and a zoom lens, the Canon 55-250 mm. That being said, I've taken this camera around the world with me and I've been very pleased with the quality of pictures I've gotten and I love having the presets at my fingers for pictures I don't want to "miss".
I'll be honest -- I don't know whether one should choose Nikon over Canon, but this camera is a good entry-level workhorse at a very reasonable price (currently $420 at Amazon with the kit lens). Nikon -- which I have NO experience with -- also has a reasonable entry level DSLR: the Nikon D3100 at a similar price price point.
I'm specifically pointing out the Canon EOS Rebel T3 because this
Monday, September 30, 2013
More airline fees, but they say you'll like these (really?)
Came across this article today: Airlines promise return to civility, for a fee. The article covers a variety of new pay-for-service options airlines are offering such as bypassing the baggage carousel or renting iPads or extra legroom (which on most airlines these days is already an additional cost). It appears most of these new services are aimed at the business traveler but the skipping the baggage carousel and having the bags delivered to your final destination seems to be a good option for parents who are already traveling with strollers, car seats, etc.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
The Disney Experience app
If you are heading to Disney World, the article referenced in this post recommended using the My Disney Experience app. I've linked to the Android version but I'm sure you can find the app in the iTunes store as well. Note that it's absolutely free and provides lots of useful information for your visit including maps and more importantly, wait times and FASTPASS information.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
LotD
An interesting perspective:
Why Lines for Disney Rides are Magic (an op-ed)
My last trip to Disney, I admit, I didn't notice anything but the crowds and the lines. The Fast Pass made things more bearable, but in general, things moved slowly, but we were also there during Spring Break and Easter weekend -- a typically busy time for the park.
Why Lines for Disney Rides are Magic (an op-ed)
My last trip to Disney, I admit, I didn't notice anything but the crowds and the lines. The Fast Pass made things more bearable, but in general, things moved slowly, but we were also there during Spring Break and Easter weekend -- a typically busy time for the park.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Recommendation for travel activity
If you're looking for something to occupy your child on that long road trip or plane ride, I highly recommend Roger Priddy's 1000 Sticker book. We're actually on our second copy of the book for my 22-month old. The stickers *are* somewhat small, but there are a lot of them and there are color-coded pages and numbers "cut outs" so the kids can match the stickers to the "cut outs". I also like that the sticker pages are coded by category, for example, the alphabet, numbers, colors, different kinds of animals, etc. The price -- around $8.50 -- is also great considering the entertainment value. The first time I gave the book to my kid, she spent a good 45 minutes sticking stickers all over herself. It's only with this second time around that she realizes there are additional activity pages and with my help, she's able to place the stickers in the right place.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Link of the Day
A sober reminder to check your vaccinations to make sure they are up to date when traveling overseas; particularly sobering is the infection of a 4-month old infant who is clearly too young to receive a vaccination for measles:
More information here: Measles outbreak tied to megachurch.
An outbreak of measles tied to a Texas megachurch where ministers have questioned vaccination has sickened at least 21 people, including a 4-month-old infant -- and it’s expected to grow, state and federal health officials said.
[...]
All of the cases are linked to the Eagle Mountain International Church in Newark, Texas, where a visitor who’d traveled to Indonesia became infected with measles – and then returned to the U.S., spreading it to the largely unvaccinated church community, said Russell Jones, the Texas state epidemiologist.
More information here: Measles outbreak tied to megachurch.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Travel is like a box of chocolates
I think one of the reasons why travel with children can be stressful is you never, ever know what version of your child is going to show up. When we embarked on our first international trip, the husband and I were a bit nervous because it was, after all, a 30-hour trip from start to finish (one way!), but we felt comfortable that we had the domestic leg of the trip down. After all, before making this trip, we'd already made multiple trips across the country with baby and they had all gone swimmingly. So as we arrived at the airport on the morning of our big adventure, we told ourselves the trouble would start over the Pacific; the three and a half hour leg to California would be cake.
I still remember how frazzled we were the morning of our departure. Our flight left fairly early, before 8 am, and we were all cranky from not getting enough sleep and baby didn't like having been woken up well before her usual 7:30 am wake-up. On top of that, we had a lot of stuff. A LOT OF STUFF. After all, we were heading halfway around the world to Singapore and then after that to Japan and we would be gone for nearly two months. I thought we had packed relatively light, but I quickly reconsidered that as I watched the husband load suitcase after suitcase into the taxi cab. Five suitcases, one diaper bag, one backpack, a carseat, a stroller, a purse, camera bag and Go-Go Babyz Kidz Travelmate later, we looked at each other, kind of in shock: How the heck were we going to maneuver all this stuff AND a baby? We were both super relieved we had decided to call our trusty cab driver Louis to take us to the airport because there was no way we would have been able to fit everything into the long-term parking shuttle bus.
We made it to the terminal and lucky us, found a cart that someone had neglected to return to the rental station. We took this as a good sign and loaded all of our stuff onto the cart and headed over to the United counter to check-in. Since we have elite status on United, our bags didn't cost us anything extra, thank goodness. At that point, I was well ready to leave something (all of it?) behind. We made it through security fairly easily though TSA did give us some issues with the amount of baby food and formula we were carrying onboard the flight. We pointed out we were traveling 30 hours from here to Singapore and after some additional security procedures, we were allowed to pass.
We breathed a sigh of relief once we got on the plane and made ourselves as comfortable as possible. This was, after all, going to be the easiest part of the trip, right? RIGHT? Wrong. Things started going south almost immediately. The plane's departure was delayed and we had timed our fussy baby's bottle wrong. In our previous trial runs domestically (the most recent being just 3 weeks before to Myrtle Beach), we had done beautifully timing the bottle to coincide with the roar of the jet engines and the combination always made baby fall asleep. Not this time. Baby drank all of her formula and then refused -- REFUSED! -- to sleep. None of this would have been an issue if our sweet wonderful baby hadn't suddenly evolved into a banshee. Yes, we were THOSE people on the airplane, the ones every other passenger alternately feels furious at and then sorry for.
We figured baby was hungry so we gave her a food pouch which she promptly squirted all over herself and then over the seat and a bit on us, her completely perplexed parents. We changed her clothes and I was mentally congratulating myself for packing two outfits in her diaper bag so we had this. A few minutes later, we smelled the tell-tale stink of a poopy diaper. More screaming. I couldn't get down the aisle because the beverage service was in progress and so I started setting up on the floor of the airplane only to be reprimanded by the flight attendant (more on changing diapers on a plane here and here). So we sat there with our miserable stinky baby (but hey, at least her clothes were clean!) until I could make my way down to the bathroom to change the diaper.
By the time we made it to San Francisco, we'd been asked by half a dozen people what our final destination was and we could see palpable relief when they realized they wouldn't be traveling any further with us. A couple of people sympathized with us but yeah, it was mostly relief. We were among the last to drag our miserable selves off the plane and in our frazzled tired state, we didn't realize we had left part of our carseat on the plane. That led to whole 'nother "adventure" that involved running through multiple terminals and trying to get back onto our original aircraft, only to be told too bad, so sad; the plane had already been cleaned and our carseat attachment was on the other side of security. We looked at each other, hot and sweaty, still weighed down by all our stuff, and tried not to dwell too much on the fact that we still had two planes and 27 hours more to go.
I still remember how frazzled we were the morning of our departure. Our flight left fairly early, before 8 am, and we were all cranky from not getting enough sleep and baby didn't like having been woken up well before her usual 7:30 am wake-up. On top of that, we had a lot of stuff. A LOT OF STUFF. After all, we were heading halfway around the world to Singapore and then after that to Japan and we would be gone for nearly two months. I thought we had packed relatively light, but I quickly reconsidered that as I watched the husband load suitcase after suitcase into the taxi cab. Five suitcases, one diaper bag, one backpack, a carseat, a stroller, a purse, camera bag and Go-Go Babyz Kidz Travelmate later, we looked at each other, kind of in shock: How the heck were we going to maneuver all this stuff AND a baby? We were both super relieved we had decided to call our trusty cab driver Louis to take us to the airport because there was no way we would have been able to fit everything into the long-term parking shuttle bus.
We made it to the terminal and lucky us, found a cart that someone had neglected to return to the rental station. We took this as a good sign and loaded all of our stuff onto the cart and headed over to the United counter to check-in. Since we have elite status on United, our bags didn't cost us anything extra, thank goodness. At that point, I was well ready to leave something (all of it?) behind. We made it through security fairly easily though TSA did give us some issues with the amount of baby food and formula we were carrying onboard the flight. We pointed out we were traveling 30 hours from here to Singapore and after some additional security procedures, we were allowed to pass.
We breathed a sigh of relief once we got on the plane and made ourselves as comfortable as possible. This was, after all, going to be the easiest part of the trip, right? RIGHT? Wrong. Things started going south almost immediately. The plane's departure was delayed and we had timed our fussy baby's bottle wrong. In our previous trial runs domestically (the most recent being just 3 weeks before to Myrtle Beach), we had done beautifully timing the bottle to coincide with the roar of the jet engines and the combination always made baby fall asleep. Not this time. Baby drank all of her formula and then refused -- REFUSED! -- to sleep. None of this would have been an issue if our sweet wonderful baby hadn't suddenly evolved into a banshee. Yes, we were THOSE people on the airplane, the ones every other passenger alternately feels furious at and then sorry for.
We figured baby was hungry so we gave her a food pouch which she promptly squirted all over herself and then over the seat and a bit on us, her completely perplexed parents. We changed her clothes and I was mentally congratulating myself for packing two outfits in her diaper bag so we had this. A few minutes later, we smelled the tell-tale stink of a poopy diaper. More screaming. I couldn't get down the aisle because the beverage service was in progress and so I started setting up on the floor of the airplane only to be reprimanded by the flight attendant (more on changing diapers on a plane here and here). So we sat there with our miserable stinky baby (but hey, at least her clothes were clean!) until I could make my way down to the bathroom to change the diaper.
By the time we made it to San Francisco, we'd been asked by half a dozen people what our final destination was and we could see palpable relief when they realized they wouldn't be traveling any further with us. A couple of people sympathized with us but yeah, it was mostly relief. We were among the last to drag our miserable selves off the plane and in our frazzled tired state, we didn't realize we had left part of our carseat on the plane. That led to whole 'nother "adventure" that involved running through multiple terminals and trying to get back onto our original aircraft, only to be told too bad, so sad; the plane had already been cleaned and our carseat attachment was on the other side of security. We looked at each other, hot and sweaty, still weighed down by all our stuff, and tried not to dwell too much on the fact that we still had two planes and 27 hours more to go.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Special offer from Amazon Mom!
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Thursday, August 1, 2013
Happy August 1st!
I know it's been a while since my last post, but I had a good reason, honest! My in-laws were in town for a week so we spent the week prior to their visit getting the house in ship-shape and then after they left, we were still motivated by the projects we'd begun before they came and it just slipped my mind to come and update the blog.
That being said, I want to talk about visiting grandparents and the impact on kids. Not so much a travel story, but I've noticed since my kid has gotten older, she has become much, much more aware of the people around her and she develops deep and strong attachments to certain people. She is very interested and attached to both sets of grandparents and so when they leave after visiting, she's definitely a sad little cookie.
Since both sets of grandparents live out of town and don't visit frequently, we've taken to Skyping them quite frequently. At my daughter's age, she just wants to see their faces, maybe say a few words. Her attention span is quite literally 30 seconds for nearly any activity, even for beloved grandparents! However, I've noticed once she sees their faces on the computer screen, she's a much happier kid. It's almost like she needs to be reassured that they are still out there and not gone forever. It also helps to show her pictures of the visit so she can remember some of the happy times they spent together.
As she gets older, I'm sure the Skype conversations will get more involved and she will be more participatory. I'm just glad she'll be able to maintain relationships with out-of-town relatives so easily and fluidly. Isn't technology grand?
That being said, I want to talk about visiting grandparents and the impact on kids. Not so much a travel story, but I've noticed since my kid has gotten older, she has become much, much more aware of the people around her and she develops deep and strong attachments to certain people. She is very interested and attached to both sets of grandparents and so when they leave after visiting, she's definitely a sad little cookie.
Since both sets of grandparents live out of town and don't visit frequently, we've taken to Skyping them quite frequently. At my daughter's age, she just wants to see their faces, maybe say a few words. Her attention span is quite literally 30 seconds for nearly any activity, even for beloved grandparents! However, I've noticed once she sees their faces on the computer screen, she's a much happier kid. It's almost like she needs to be reassured that they are still out there and not gone forever. It also helps to show her pictures of the visit so she can remember some of the happy times they spent together.
As she gets older, I'm sure the Skype conversations will get more involved and she will be more participatory. I'm just glad she'll be able to maintain relationships with out-of-town relatives so easily and fluidly. Isn't technology grand?
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Tip for Hawaii
We were in Hawaii last month and wow oh wow, things are expensive there! Friends and family had forewarned us, but I kind of laughed off the warnings. How much more expensive -- 25% -- I wondered? Well, the first night we were there, we went grocery shopping and half a loaf of bread -- HALF A LOAF!!! -- cost $6. Whole organic milk -- 96 ounces, so not even a full gallon -- was knocking on the door of $8. We honestly couldn't believe the prices.
Going with my philosophy of packing light, I had checked ahead of time to find out if there was a Target on the island we were visiting (Kauai). There wasn't and I didn't bother looking for any other stores. We had already located a bunch of grocery stores so I figured anything we really needed like diapers or wipes could be found there easily. Once we got to Kauai, we did find out that there was a Wal-Mart and a chain of drug stores called Long's. We mentally made a note and went on our merry way.
On our second day on the island, we were listening to the radio and heard that there was a restaurant opposite the Costco -- wait, hold the horses, COSTCO? It had never occurred to me to investigate whether a Costco was in the area. After all, it's a big warehouse store and Kauai is not a big place. We ended up locating the Costco and lo and behold, it had a gas station. At this point, I probably sound like a crazy person who has never seen a store before, but gasoline prices on the island were running around $4.50 to $4.60/gallon at the end of May 2013. Costco's gas station was $4.17/gallon. A pretty substantial savings, especially since we filled up a couple of times, including just before returning the car to the rental agency.
Inside the store, we found another surprise. All the same "tourist" products were available but at much less cost. For instance, we found a package of 12 Mauna Loa chocolate covered macadamia nuts for $25, compared to an average price of $3 to $4/box at the grocery store. Kauai coffee was $15 for a 24 ounce bag of beans compared to the same price at the actual coffee plantation for a 14 ounce bag. We didn't check the price of produce there, but for dry goods, we found the prices were pretty comparable to the mainland. Of course, I think you'd have to spend A LOT of time in Hawaii to make it worth purchasing the 8-pound pack of pasta, but for certain products, it might very well be worth it.
So, that's the frugal tip of the day -- if you're going to Hawaii (or heck, any expensive place), check to see if there's a Costco or Sam's Club or BJ's available to save some bucks. Do note that you must be a member of those stores to shop there.
Going with my philosophy of packing light, I had checked ahead of time to find out if there was a Target on the island we were visiting (Kauai). There wasn't and I didn't bother looking for any other stores. We had already located a bunch of grocery stores so I figured anything we really needed like diapers or wipes could be found there easily. Once we got to Kauai, we did find out that there was a Wal-Mart and a chain of drug stores called Long's. We mentally made a note and went on our merry way.
On our second day on the island, we were listening to the radio and heard that there was a restaurant opposite the Costco -- wait, hold the horses, COSTCO? It had never occurred to me to investigate whether a Costco was in the area. After all, it's a big warehouse store and Kauai is not a big place. We ended up locating the Costco and lo and behold, it had a gas station. At this point, I probably sound like a crazy person who has never seen a store before, but gasoline prices on the island were running around $4.50 to $4.60/gallon at the end of May 2013. Costco's gas station was $4.17/gallon. A pretty substantial savings, especially since we filled up a couple of times, including just before returning the car to the rental agency.
Inside the store, we found another surprise. All the same "tourist" products were available but at much less cost. For instance, we found a package of 12 Mauna Loa chocolate covered macadamia nuts for $25, compared to an average price of $3 to $4/box at the grocery store. Kauai coffee was $15 for a 24 ounce bag of beans compared to the same price at the actual coffee plantation for a 14 ounce bag. We didn't check the price of produce there, but for dry goods, we found the prices were pretty comparable to the mainland. Of course, I think you'd have to spend A LOT of time in Hawaii to make it worth purchasing the 8-pound pack of pasta, but for certain products, it might very well be worth it.
So, that's the frugal tip of the day -- if you're going to Hawaii (or heck, any expensive place), check to see if there's a Costco or Sam's Club or BJ's available to save some bucks. Do note that you must be a member of those stores to shop there.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Another changing diapers on an airplane tip
We recently took another long airplane trip, this time to Hawaii. We knew ahead of time by checking the airplane configuration it was unlikely the aircraft would have NOT have changing tables available. Baby is now too big and squiggly to do the whole "changing on the toilet seat" (and ewwww, by the way) or on my lap and my husband and I don't like to change diapers on tray tables/seat cushions. We'd change baby on the floor of the aircraft but the last time we tried, the flight attendant told us we needed to use the restroom. Plus, unless you're in first class or economy plus, you're not going to have a lot of room to change the diaper on the floor.
Cue our solution: Huggies Little Movers Slip-On Diapers.
We had originally bought these diapers because Baby is in the process of being potty trained and we thought it would be easier to use these diapers. How that worked out is another story entirely (hint: it didn't), but for plane travel? Perfect. I love these diapers because you can quickly remove them (the tabs are removable), clean baby up, and then slip on a clean diaper just like a pair of underwear. Once we got the clean diaper on, we usually just took Baby back to the seat and made the proper adjustments and put her clothes back.
Speaking of clothes... we usually go for one piece outfits with snaps at the crotch to make it easier to actually change the baby. A onesie and a pair of pants works too if you take the pants off at the seat and put them back on when you get back. My preference is always to take as little as possible into that airplane bathroom simply because it's so cramped in there and did I mention the ick factor?
You might also be interested in: Changing diapers on an airplane
Cue our solution: Huggies Little Movers Slip-On Diapers.
We had originally bought these diapers because Baby is in the process of being potty trained and we thought it would be easier to use these diapers. How that worked out is another story entirely (hint: it didn't), but for plane travel? Perfect. I love these diapers because you can quickly remove them (the tabs are removable), clean baby up, and then slip on a clean diaper just like a pair of underwear. Once we got the clean diaper on, we usually just took Baby back to the seat and made the proper adjustments and put her clothes back.Speaking of clothes... we usually go for one piece outfits with snaps at the crotch to make it easier to actually change the baby. A onesie and a pair of pants works too if you take the pants off at the seat and put them back on when you get back. My preference is always to take as little as possible into that airplane bathroom simply because it's so cramped in there and did I mention the ick factor?
You might also be interested in: Changing diapers on an airplane
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Link of the Day
I thought this article was great: How to survive plane travel with toddlers.
What I like about it is that the author is completely realistic about what it's like to travel with a toddler and how difficult it is and no two situations are alike. Well put.
What I like about it is that the author is completely realistic about what it's like to travel with a toddler and how difficult it is and no two situations are alike. Well put.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Independence Day
Wishing all my fellow Americans a happy Fourth of July! Whatever you do, please be safe!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Link of the Day: Price of Travel
While doing some research for a friend on her upcoming vacation, I came across this site, Price of Travel. It's chock full of great information about travel and budgeting and tips on how to get the most out of your buck while traveling. Check it out if you're planning a big trip in the near future to get an idea of what it costs to spend time in certain cities and other travel tips.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Link of the Day
It seems like I've been posting a lot of travel-related stories lately but I hope you find the information useful! Here's another story: New trick to get the best seat in coach. Not exactly kid-related but could have some information and product recommendations that you find useful.
One little point I will quibble with -- don't think you actually get noise cancelling headphones in first class, though for the amount of money airlines charge for first class, you certainly should! If you are looking for noise cancelling headphones that work great but don't cost an arm and a leg, check out Able Planet Clear Harmony Active Noise Cancelling headphones. I got these for my husband for a Father's Day gift last year and he loves them. Right now, they are priced at $129 but I've seen them as low as $89.
One little point I will quibble with -- don't think you actually get noise cancelling headphones in first class, though for the amount of money airlines charge for first class, you certainly should! If you are looking for noise cancelling headphones that work great but don't cost an arm and a leg, check out Able Planet Clear Harmony Active Noise Cancelling headphones. I got these for my husband for a Father's Day gift last year and he loves them. Right now, they are priced at $129 but I've seen them as low as $89.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
Looking for input
Have you ever used a breast pump on an airplane? In a car? Please share your experiences here in the comments! Please include any details you think would be helpful to other parents. Thank you!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Link of the Day
Most people don't like being stuck in airports but it's a bit more difficult to keep the kiddos corralled for long periods of time while waiting for a flight. The Consumerist shares 5 Airports Where Being Stuck with Your Kids May Not Be An Absolute Nightmare.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Passports for Minors (under age 16)
When traveling outside of the United States, all persons must have a passport; a birth certificate is no longer acceptable as a travel document. This includes countries like Canada or some Caribbean nations where the birth certificate was once accepted as an appropriate document.
You can find instructions and forms for applying for a passport for your minor child at the State Department's website. The government is also helpful enough to post current processing times for a passport here. In general, plan on at least 6 weeks processing time to get the passport after submitting the application if you don't want to pay the extra feeds for expedited service. Also take into consideration any time for applying for a visa for the country you're visiting; entry/exit requirements for countries can be found here.
For passport pictures, there are specialty places where you can get them, but it might be cheaper and more convenient to stop in to your local Walgreens or Costco to get them. The passport processing facility might also do a passport picture for you for an additional fee. Expect to pay about $10, give or take, for the passport pictures. If you're looking for a more frugal method, I used a free software called Cam to Print* for my daughter's recent visa application pictures. The software produced a 4 x 6 photo with 6 passport pictures on it; I had the photo printed at my nearby Walgreens for a total cost of 19 cents (including tax) for the six pictures. However, using this software is at your own risk; please evaluate your risk level before using.
* This software puts a lot of 'extra' software on your computer. Please be aware when adding it and use your Control Panel to remove if desired.
You can find instructions and forms for applying for a passport for your minor child at the State Department's website. The government is also helpful enough to post current processing times for a passport here. In general, plan on at least 6 weeks processing time to get the passport after submitting the application if you don't want to pay the extra feeds for expedited service. Also take into consideration any time for applying for a visa for the country you're visiting; entry/exit requirements for countries can be found here.
For passport pictures, there are specialty places where you can get them, but it might be cheaper and more convenient to stop in to your local Walgreens or Costco to get them. The passport processing facility might also do a passport picture for you for an additional fee. Expect to pay about $10, give or take, for the passport pictures. If you're looking for a more frugal method, I used a free software called Cam to Print* for my daughter's recent visa application pictures. The software produced a 4 x 6 photo with 6 passport pictures on it; I had the photo printed at my nearby Walgreens for a total cost of 19 cents (including tax) for the six pictures. However, using this software is at your own risk; please evaluate your risk level before using.
* This software puts a lot of 'extra' software on your computer. Please be aware when adding it and use your Control Panel to remove if desired.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Kidco Peapod bed recall
I want to alert you to the recall of the Kidco Peapod travel beds due to suffocation risk (and at least one infant death). I actually purchased this bed for my child on a friend's recommendation but discontinued use after a couple of tries as my child rolled into the wall of the tent enclosure and couldn't get herself free; luckily, I was still awake and could hear her struggling and rescued her promptly. It was a scary moment and while I discussed my concerns with Kidco, I didn't necessarily feel they understood the sides of the walls were non-breathable and that advertising the beds for ages 0+ and up was probably not a good idea.
You can read more about the recall here and if you already own the Kidco Peapod bed, you can get the recall kit here. I've ordered and received the kit but have yet to use it. I'm not sure I could ever trust this bed again and plan to use the tent enclosure only outside as a playarea for my child when I'm supervising her.
I'm at a loss to recommend a good travel bed that isn't bulky at this point. We took our Pack 'n Play with us when we went overseas simply because we trusted it more than any other solution that we knew about at the time. A friend of mine recommends the Go Crib wholeheartedly as it folds nicely into a backpack; I have no personal experience with this crib, just passing on the recommendation since I know that finding a place for baby to sleep can be stressful when traveling!
You can read more about the recall here and if you already own the Kidco Peapod bed, you can get the recall kit here. I've ordered and received the kit but have yet to use it. I'm not sure I could ever trust this bed again and plan to use the tent enclosure only outside as a playarea for my child when I'm supervising her.
I'm at a loss to recommend a good travel bed that isn't bulky at this point. We took our Pack 'n Play with us when we went overseas simply because we trusted it more than any other solution that we knew about at the time. A friend of mine recommends the Go Crib wholeheartedly as it folds nicely into a backpack; I have no personal experience with this crib, just passing on the recommendation since I know that finding a place for baby to sleep can be stressful when traveling!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Link of the Day
Are you thinking of taking a cruise? Here's a story on how often cruise mishaps actually happen.
Have you encountered an incident while at sea? Report it at CruiseJunkie.com.
Have you encountered an incident while at sea? Report it at CruiseJunkie.com.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
If you're gate-checking a stroller or carseat...
Gate checking baby gear (i.e. carseats, strollers) on most airlines at the time of this writing is still free as long as the gear meets the airline's requirements for a gate check (for example, American Airlines requires any stroller over 20 pounds to be checked as regular baggage; check with your airline to make sure your gear meets their requirements so there are no surprises at the gate!). However, to save time, when you get to the gate area, talk to the gate attendant immediately about needing a gate check. They'll tag your item and will answer any questions you might have right there and then so you don't have to worry about the process while trying to board the aircraft.
When boarding the aircraft, step to the side of the ramp (just before the aircraft door) to fold your stroller or any other preparations you need to to do prior to leaving the gear, so other passengers can pass you easily. Make sure the gate check tag is clearly visible on your gear so the crew know it needs to be loaded on the aircraft.
When deplaning the aircraft, you'll need to stand on the ramp to wait for the gate check items to be returned to you. Most of the time, gate checked items are not returned to passengers with other baggage items, but at the aircraft door. Again, it's helpful and considerate to stand to the side so other deplaning passengers can move past easily while you're waiting for your checked items to appear.
If you have any questions about any airline's policy, do check with the gate attendant prior to departure or with the flight crew before you deplane.
When boarding the aircraft, step to the side of the ramp (just before the aircraft door) to fold your stroller or any other preparations you need to to do prior to leaving the gear, so other passengers can pass you easily. Make sure the gate check tag is clearly visible on your gear so the crew know it needs to be loaded on the aircraft.
When deplaning the aircraft, you'll need to stand on the ramp to wait for the gate check items to be returned to you. Most of the time, gate checked items are not returned to passengers with other baggage items, but at the aircraft door. Again, it's helpful and considerate to stand to the side so other deplaning passengers can move past easily while you're waiting for your checked items to appear.
If you have any questions about any airline's policy, do check with the gate attendant prior to departure or with the flight crew before you deplane.
Disney raises admission prices
Disney has raised the price of one day admission prices in both Florida and California. You can read more about this development here. If you are looking for discount tickets from an authorized reseller, I recommend Undercover Tourist. There are other legitimate sites out there but I'm citing Undercover Tourist simply because we used them when we went to the Orlando park in April of 2011 and were very pleased. Discounts vary based on the type of ticket you purchase and it looks like the deal we purchased in April 2011 is no longer available (buy 5 days, get the 6th day free). As of June 4th (when Disney announced their price increase), it looks like Undercover Tourist is honoring the older pricing until inventory runs out. If you're thinking about a trip to Disney in the near future, this might be the time to buy!
Friday, May 31, 2013
A tip from a friend
A friend the other day shared her best air travel tip and it's so simple but so very awesome. I'm jealous I didn't think of it myself!
My friend advises families traveling together to split up before boarding the flight with Mom and kids (or Dad and kids or whatever permutation your family may be!) being the absolute last to board. Have another family member board on time with their boarding group to secure overhead baggage space and then speak to the gate attendant about being notified at the absolute last minute to board the aircraft. This way one member of the family gets the overhead space needed and the kids aren't on a plane waiting and waiting for everyone else to board.
My husband is always in the first boarding group so we always board together and the result is we sit on the plane for at least 30 minutes waiting for the entire aircraft to be boarded and baby is always antsy during this time as we can't pull anything down from the overheard bin for her to play with and she's pretty much exhausted all other options such as the flight magazine while we're waiting for boarding to finish. Following this tip means my husband is the only one who sits on the aircraft waiting while baby gets an extra 15-20 minutes to run around in the gate area before we board.
If you try this, let me know how it works for you! And remember, key to this plan is to let the gate attendant know what you're up to, so they know to tell you when the aircraft doors are about to close.
My friend advises families traveling together to split up before boarding the flight with Mom and kids (or Dad and kids or whatever permutation your family may be!) being the absolute last to board. Have another family member board on time with their boarding group to secure overhead baggage space and then speak to the gate attendant about being notified at the absolute last minute to board the aircraft. This way one member of the family gets the overhead space needed and the kids aren't on a plane waiting and waiting for everyone else to board.
My husband is always in the first boarding group so we always board together and the result is we sit on the plane for at least 30 minutes waiting for the entire aircraft to be boarded and baby is always antsy during this time as we can't pull anything down from the overheard bin for her to play with and she's pretty much exhausted all other options such as the flight magazine while we're waiting for boarding to finish. Following this tip means my husband is the only one who sits on the aircraft waiting while baby gets an extra 15-20 minutes to run around in the gate area before we board.
If you try this, let me know how it works for you! And remember, key to this plan is to let the gate attendant know what you're up to, so they know to tell you when the aircraft doors are about to close.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Other traveling with children blogs
Circle of Moms has a list of the Top 25 Blogs by Parents here. There are some really, really talented writers in that list! Check them out (and of course, come back and see me!).
Friday, May 24, 2013
Going to the bathroom while traveling alone with baby
Safaa raised the question of how to handle the call of nature while traveling alone with baby? Depending on the mode of travel, the question of bathroom usage can be very tricky. I've had experiences traveling alone with baby by air and also by car so hopefully my hints can be helpful to you. I will say that it's not easy and can be stressful.
First, traveling by air, I found a friendly flight attendant to hold baby while I went to the bathroom. I wasn't terribly concerned about asking someone on the flight to hold baby for me, but I definitely preferred a flight attendant and luckily, found one who was willing! Just be advised that you'll need to wait at least until all flight attendant duties are over -- i.e. meals and beverage -- before asking and when the seat-belt sign is off. If no flight attendant is available when you need to go, consider asking a fellow passenger who looks friendly and responsible; there is always a grandmother or a mom who wouldn't mind a few minutes of baby time on board. Finally, as a last resort, you can take baby into the restroom with you and seat baby on your lap while going. This last bit is awkward and clumsy but if you're concerned about leaving your child with a stranger, this is probably your best bet. If you baby-wear, that's another option as well.
Traveling by road is a little easier, but I would never ask a person I find in the bathroom at a rest stop to hold/watch baby. Too many escape routes. At least on an aircraft, you know it's very unlikely for the person you ask to watch baby to take off with said baby.
When traveling by myself on the road, I usually put baby in a stroller and then wait for the handicap stall to be available and then wheel baby in and then use the bathroom myself. In many cases, the handicap stall is the one that has the changing table in it so I can take care of baby at the same time. If you baby-wear, that's another option as well. And if you're really, really lucky, some bathrooms have stalls that are equipped with a child seat attached to the wall that you can strap baby into while answering the call of nature. IKEA stores, by the way, have this nifty seat as do some airports.
Above all, when you are traveling by yourself with baby, be hyper aware of your surroundings, especially on the road. Know the route well, travel in broad daylight, and carry a cell phone to let your loved ones know where you are. If something doesn't feel right to you, don't take a chance and keep going until you feel comfortable and safe.
First, traveling by air, I found a friendly flight attendant to hold baby while I went to the bathroom. I wasn't terribly concerned about asking someone on the flight to hold baby for me, but I definitely preferred a flight attendant and luckily, found one who was willing! Just be advised that you'll need to wait at least until all flight attendant duties are over -- i.e. meals and beverage -- before asking and when the seat-belt sign is off. If no flight attendant is available when you need to go, consider asking a fellow passenger who looks friendly and responsible; there is always a grandmother or a mom who wouldn't mind a few minutes of baby time on board. Finally, as a last resort, you can take baby into the restroom with you and seat baby on your lap while going. This last bit is awkward and clumsy but if you're concerned about leaving your child with a stranger, this is probably your best bet. If you baby-wear, that's another option as well.
Traveling by road is a little easier, but I would never ask a person I find in the bathroom at a rest stop to hold/watch baby. Too many escape routes. At least on an aircraft, you know it's very unlikely for the person you ask to watch baby to take off with said baby.
When traveling by myself on the road, I usually put baby in a stroller and then wait for the handicap stall to be available and then wheel baby in and then use the bathroom myself. In many cases, the handicap stall is the one that has the changing table in it so I can take care of baby at the same time. If you baby-wear, that's another option as well. And if you're really, really lucky, some bathrooms have stalls that are equipped with a child seat attached to the wall that you can strap baby into while answering the call of nature. IKEA stores, by the way, have this nifty seat as do some airports.
Above all, when you are traveling by yourself with baby, be hyper aware of your surroundings, especially on the road. Know the route well, travel in broad daylight, and carry a cell phone to let your loved ones know where you are. If something doesn't feel right to you, don't take a chance and keep going until you feel comfortable and safe.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Travel booster seat recommendation
One of the interesting things about traveling abroad is how different baby equipment can be and that included availability. While in Japan, we found that a 'baby chair' was simply a tall bar-stool type thing with no straps -- not a great option for our wiggly 12 month old. We made do with that chair by wedging it up against a table leg, but poor girl was constantly slipping and sliding down and generally looking uncomfortable.
When we decided to travel to India, I talked to a friend who told me that high chairs were few and far between and also (and by the way, this is not country-specific) not always clean. With the memory of Japan still fresh in our minds, I went searching online for a solution and after some research, decided to purchase the Munchkin travel booster seat. We used the seat extensively in India and also at the grandparents', making it possible to avoid buying a high chair for their place as we only visit a couple times a year
I chose the Munchkin seat because of a) the price, b) I liked the look of it, the c) the sturdy legs, d) the ease of folding it up into a carry case, and e) the extra storage for placemats, food, etc. The seat fits nicely into a suitcase and isn't very heavy, maybe less than a couple pounds. The one downside is that it doesn't have arm straps, only straps for the lap, but we saw that as an improvement over nothing at all! Another issue with this travel seat is that the chair you install it in needs to have a high back otherwise it will not work properly as the back of the booster is not particularly sturdy or supportive.
When we decided to travel to India, I talked to a friend who told me that high chairs were few and far between and also (and by the way, this is not country-specific) not always clean. With the memory of Japan still fresh in our minds, I went searching online for a solution and after some research, decided to purchase the Munchkin travel booster seat. We used the seat extensively in India and also at the grandparents', making it possible to avoid buying a high chair for their place as we only visit a couple times a year
I chose the Munchkin seat because of a) the price, b) I liked the look of it, the c) the sturdy legs, d) the ease of folding it up into a carry case, and e) the extra storage for placemats, food, etc. The seat fits nicely into a suitcase and isn't very heavy, maybe less than a couple pounds. The one downside is that it doesn't have arm straps, only straps for the lap, but we saw that as an improvement over nothing at all! Another issue with this travel seat is that the chair you install it in needs to have a high back otherwise it will not work properly as the back of the booster is not particularly sturdy or supportive.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Link of the Day
Head's up -- airlines are charging even more money to change your ticket! United, for example, will relieve you of an additional $200/ticket for a change (not to mention, you may also have to pay any difference in airfare between your original ticket and the new one; for example, if your old ticket was $200 and the new ticket is $300, you'll be paying an additional $300 per ticket to change on top of the $200 you already paid, for a total of $500).
And check out the news about Frontier charging $100 for certain carry-on bags. Since traveling with kids necessitates traveling with a lot of stuff, this new move to start charging for carry-on bags is a bit disturbing.
More details are available in this WaPo story: Fee-happy airlines raise the bar again
And check out the news about Frontier charging $100 for certain carry-on bags. Since traveling with kids necessitates traveling with a lot of stuff, this new move to start charging for carry-on bags is a bit disturbing.
More details are available in this WaPo story: Fee-happy airlines raise the bar again
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Link of the Day
A CNN travel writer answers the question: Can taking your child abroad actually be fun?
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Measles and traveling abroad
I want to give you a head's up regarding a major measles epidemic in the UK, and more specifically, in the greater Swansea area in southern Wales. As the UK is a very popular summer vacation destination, please do your research ahead of time, especially if you're traveling with an un-vaccinated child. This is not an insignificant epidemic; as of April 29, 2013, the number of cases reported in Wales has approached 1,000 and as of April 19, 2013, the the first measles-related death may have occurred. The BBC has some maps showing current measles cases in the UK here. You can read more about measles and vaccinations at the CDC's page here. Note that measles is highly infectious and can cause death. The World Health Organization has some sobering statistics on measles here.
If your child is under the age of 12 months and has not yet received a measles vaccine (commonly known as the MMR), talk to your pediatrician about it, especially if you are traveling to a part of the world where a measles outbreak exists. I got the MMR for baby at age 11 months as I was traveling to a part of the world where 50 percent of the cases originate; she had absolutely no reactions. The downside, however, is that baby did need to get another MMR at 15 months as any MMR prior to 12 months won't count for official vaccine paperwork.
Please take the appropriate precautions when traveling overseas after speaking to your trained health provider. Measles is a highly infectious disease that has the potential to cause serious complications in small children, including death.
If your child is under the age of 12 months and has not yet received a measles vaccine (commonly known as the MMR), talk to your pediatrician about it, especially if you are traveling to a part of the world where a measles outbreak exists. I got the MMR for baby at age 11 months as I was traveling to a part of the world where 50 percent of the cases originate; she had absolutely no reactions. The downside, however, is that baby did need to get another MMR at 15 months as any MMR prior to 12 months won't count for official vaccine paperwork.
Please take the appropriate precautions when traveling overseas after speaking to your trained health provider. Measles is a highly infectious disease that has the potential to cause serious complications in small children, including death.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Need a vacation idea?
Not 100 percent kid-related, but if you were looking for travel ideas, CNN published a list of the 20 most beautiful World Heritage sites. I've only been to a few of the of the sites -- Mont St. Michel (easy trip from Paris!), Venice, and the Acropolis. Clearly there's a whole lot more world out there for baby and me to see!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Talk back to me
Do you have any tips or questions about traveling with a baby? Share them with me! I can be reached at seemag1@yahoo.com.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Mom humiliated on American Airlines flight
American Airlines apparently stopped a woman from using her Medela pump during a flight. I'm posting this story here in the interest of sharing, but keep in mind that some of these experiences reported in the media are not typical. Complete story: Breast pumping mom humiliated on flight.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Rules & Regulations for Children on Airplanes
Here is a good summary of traveling on airplanes with children. Additional information provided by TSA can be found here. I know a lot of parents will print out the page on carrying food for children to show TSA "just in case" there are any problems at security, especially those carrying a breast pump and breast milk; personally speaking, we've had ZERO problems with TSA when carrying formula powder and food pouches through security. They just require us to remove them ahead of time for some additional scanning. Still, if it's a concern, it's worth having a copy of the regulation on you.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Car Seats
Car seats are obviously required for car travel but can also used in airplanes if purchasing a seat for an infant (child under age 2; after age 2, child must travel in their own seat). I recommend the following when researching a car seat purchase. Check out Car-Safety.org and also The Car Seat Lady and also NHTSA for tips and recommendations on what seat to buy. The Car Seat Lady has a huge section on using carseats on airplanes here and it's well worth checking out.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Kindle Fire at Amazon
I've mentioned in a previous post that the Kindle Fire has been an invaluable "toy" for both Mommy and baby when traveling. I have the original Kindle Fire, not the HD version, that goes for about $159 right now. It's a great buy, mho, for the tablet, especially if you plan to let your child use it for any length of time. I've learned that no matter how much I try to teach my child that a tablet is not for throwing, somehow, it always ends up on the floor!
There are lots of apps available for kids at the App store, though rumor has it, the app selection is not as extensive as what Apple offers for the iPad. For my child, at 17 months old, Picasso - Draw! Paint! Doodle! is a great free app. I've downloaded a bunch of the free puzzle apps, but they are a bit complicated for the child right now and I end up having to fill in the puzzles for her. Another app I like is also free: iStoryBooks
.
Another thing to keep in mind is that 
Amazon also has promotions every now and then for an app, for example, buy this app and get $1 mp3 credit at the music store. Some of the apps that qualify for this promotion are free to begin with so it's win/win!
And oh! The best part? All the music and video you purchase on Amazon is put in the Cloud so it's accessible on your Kindle anywhere you have an internet connection. I bought my child 50 Nursery Rhyme SongsThere are lots of apps available for kids at the App store, though rumor has it, the app selection is not as extensive as what Apple offers for the iPad. For my child, at 17 months old, Picasso - Draw! Paint! Doodle! is a great free app. I've downloaded a bunch of the free puzzle apps, but they are a bit complicated for the child right now and I end up having to fill in the puzzles for her. Another app I like is also free: iStoryBooks
.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Amazon also has promotions every now and then for an app, for example, buy this app and get $1 mp3 credit at the music store. Some of the apps that qualify for this promotion are free to begin with so it's win/win!
, which she adores, and it's awesome that I can play it for her on the Kindle anytime she wants to hear her favorite songs.If you're interested in finding out more about the Kindle, go here to shop Amazon's New Kindle Fire
.
All sales made through this page directly support this blogger. Thank you!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Breastfeeding and car trips
I've talked a lot about airline travel just because we have so much experience with it and tend to travel that way a lot, but car trips with a baby can be equally stressful!
When Baby was between 4 to 8 months old, I traveled about 3 hours one way by car by myself and it was definitely stressful since I couldn't really check on Baby unless I stopped the car and if she was upset, I had to stop wherever I was to console her or feed her. Luckily, I knew the route I was traveling like the back of my hand so I knew of good and safe places to stop. However, a few times, I was caught unaware with a hungry baby who was rejecting her bottle and I had to pull over on shoulders to breastfeed. One time, I pulled in the parking lot of an abandoned and dilapidated restaurant and another time, it was just a 'park area' in a wood area. Scary. I sat in the back of the car with Baby hoping for a fast feed so I could get the heck out of dodge!
My biggest tips to breastfeeding moms whose babies won't take a bottle during the drive is to carefully study the route ahead of time (if you don't already know it well) and pick out good places to stop along the way. Always try for a populated area but as my experience has shown, it's not always possible! Ask friends/family for recommendations and perhaps check out the route on Google maps to identify large population areas where there could be a convenient area to pull off.
I don't have any experience, by the way, of pumping while in the car (I'm assuming the pumping is not happening while driving!), so if anyone has any thoughts to share on the subject, please do so!
When Baby was between 4 to 8 months old, I traveled about 3 hours one way by car by myself and it was definitely stressful since I couldn't really check on Baby unless I stopped the car and if she was upset, I had to stop wherever I was to console her or feed her. Luckily, I knew the route I was traveling like the back of my hand so I knew of good and safe places to stop. However, a few times, I was caught unaware with a hungry baby who was rejecting her bottle and I had to pull over on shoulders to breastfeed. One time, I pulled in the parking lot of an abandoned and dilapidated restaurant and another time, it was just a 'park area' in a wood area. Scary. I sat in the back of the car with Baby hoping for a fast feed so I could get the heck out of dodge!
My biggest tips to breastfeeding moms whose babies won't take a bottle during the drive is to carefully study the route ahead of time (if you don't already know it well) and pick out good places to stop along the way. Always try for a populated area but as my experience has shown, it's not always possible! Ask friends/family for recommendations and perhaps check out the route on Google maps to identify large population areas where there could be a convenient area to pull off.
I don't have any experience, by the way, of pumping while in the car (I'm assuming the pumping is not happening while driving!), so if anyone has any thoughts to share on the subject, please do so!
Friday, April 12, 2013
Travel toys!
We just returned from a 10-hour round trip transatlantic flight. We weren't concerned about going over to Europe as our flight left at bedtime and sure enough, a few hours after we took off, baby fell asleep and promptly slept most of the flight. Coming back though, we knew would be a completely different story as it would be broad daylight and our baby isn't the greatest of sleeper when removed from the 'comforts' of home.
When looking for entertainment for an airplane ride, here are some of the things we are looking for:
as a diversionary tactic, but while overseas, our child become unbelievably fascinated with the Kindle and constantly wanted to watch 'Elmo'. I was able to stream short bits of Sesame Street on the Kindle, but I knew that would be an issue while flying home. So while I was able to download Elmo Loves 123s (Kindle Tablet Edition)
"just in case" and many other apps, I knew Elmo and the Kindle wouldn't last the full 10 hours home!
We also knew Baby had pretty much outgrown the toys I mentioned above and so I wanted to get her something new for the trip. Before we left, a friend recommended stickers as a good toy for an airplane. We loved the idea and set about searching for an appropriate book. The friend had suggested a Melissa & Doug sticker pad set and we liked that idea because right now we're trying to keep Baby as free from 'commercial influences' as possible (a losing battle as all parents know!). Because I didn't have enough time to get the set from Amazon and couldn't find a similar Melissa & Doug in stores, I ended up getting a gigantic -- and I mean, gigantic! -- activity book with 1000+ stickers, sketch pad and 'scene pages' from Costco for $12.99. It was Disney-themed, but we decided to let it go for now given the shortness of time.Best $12.99 we've ever spent as Baby spent much of the flight pointing to stickers, sticking them on the 'scene pages', resticking them and occasionally decorating us and the seats around us with the stickers.
Since a sketch pad was included, we also picked up triangle crayons from Crayola; they don't roll AND they are washable! The latter became especially important when Baby decided all she wanted to do was color on the tray table! It didn't take more than a single swipe of a baby wipe to clean up the mess and baby was completely happy. Also, whenever she dropped the crayon, no matter where, it stayed put. Love, love, love. We will definitely be using these again.
The items kept her occupied enough that I didn't have to break out the Kindle for entertainment purposes. This was definitely a concern as I wasn't able to fully charge the Kindle before leaving the hotel and also because I knew Baby would protest mightily when we had to take it away during take-off/landing. I'm still glad we had the Kindle and the apps/videos on it as back-up, but am really glad we didn't have to use it at all for this particular flight.
When looking for entertainment for an airplane ride, here are some of the things we are looking for:
- We want a quiet toy so we don't bother other passengers. To be honest, more and more people are using noise cancelling earphones (my husband uses Able Planet noise cancelling headphones
- We want a toy that doesn't roll away when dropped. The last thing we want to do is chase a toy all the way down the aisle, especially if the flight attendants are in the aisle with beverage/food service.
- We want a toy that doesn't have a lot of pieces that can get dropped/lost/render the toy inoperable for the duration of the flight.
- In the past, we wanted a toy we could use with a lanyard (we used Baby Buddy Secure-A-Toy for this purpose; worked great with pacifiers, but not so great with the type of sippy cup we used -- handles left a gap for the lanyard to slip out!).
as a diversionary tactic, but while overseas, our child become unbelievably fascinated with the Kindle and constantly wanted to watch 'Elmo'. I was able to stream short bits of Sesame Street on the Kindle, but I knew that would be an issue while flying home. So while I was able to download Elmo Loves 123s (Kindle Tablet Edition) "just in case" and many other apps, I knew Elmo and the Kindle wouldn't last the full 10 hours home!We also knew Baby had pretty much outgrown the toys I mentioned above and so I wanted to get her something new for the trip. Before we left, a friend recommended stickers as a good toy for an airplane. We loved the idea and set about searching for an appropriate book. The friend had suggested a Melissa & Doug sticker pad set and we liked that idea because right now we're trying to keep Baby as free from 'commercial influences' as possible (a losing battle as all parents know!). Because I didn't have enough time to get the set from Amazon and couldn't find a similar Melissa & Doug in stores, I ended up getting a gigantic -- and I mean, gigantic! -- activity book with 1000+ stickers, sketch pad and 'scene pages' from Costco for $12.99. It was Disney-themed, but we decided to let it go for now given the shortness of time.Best $12.99 we've ever spent as Baby spent much of the flight pointing to stickers, sticking them on the 'scene pages', resticking them and occasionally decorating us and the seats around us with the stickers.
Since a sketch pad was included, we also picked up triangle crayons from Crayola; they don't roll AND they are washable! The latter became especially important when Baby decided all she wanted to do was color on the tray table! It didn't take more than a single swipe of a baby wipe to clean up the mess and baby was completely happy. Also, whenever she dropped the crayon, no matter where, it stayed put. Love, love, love. We will definitely be using these again.
The items kept her occupied enough that I didn't have to break out the Kindle for entertainment purposes. This was definitely a concern as I wasn't able to fully charge the Kindle before leaving the hotel and also because I knew Baby would protest mightily when we had to take it away during take-off/landing. I'm still glad we had the Kindle and the apps/videos on it as back-up, but am really glad we didn't have to use it at all for this particular flight.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Strollers and American Airlines
When flying with children and the 'special equipment' that comes with them, ie the car-seat and/or stroller, it's always a good idea to check the baggage allowance requirement first. Airlines have been really cracking down lately so it's best to be prepared. I'm bringing this up because of an American Airlines' policy that recently came to my attention (as a note, I do not typically fly American Airlines so I have no direct experience with this policy or how it would affect travel).
According to American Airlines' policy, which can be found here, strollers that are large, non-collapsible or over 20 lbs. must be checked at the ticket counter. There is more detail here and the good news is that it looks like checking a heavier stroller won't incur baggage fees, but you have to check it at the counter. This means if you were counting on using a jogging stroller or a double stroller through the airport, you'll have to come up with a Plan B.
According to American Airlines' policy, which can be found here, strollers that are large, non-collapsible or over 20 lbs. must be checked at the ticket counter. There is more detail here and the good news is that it looks like checking a heavier stroller won't incur baggage fees, but you have to check it at the counter. This means if you were counting on using a jogging stroller or a double stroller through the airport, you'll have to come up with a Plan B.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Movie Complaints Leads to Flight Diversion
Parents complained about the movie showing on a United Airlines flight on the overhead screens; plane was eventually diverted and the family removed from the plane. Complete story here.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Changing diapers on an airplane
If you're on an airplane for any length of time, you know you're
going to have to change a diaper. Our standard operating procedure is to
change baby a few minutes before boarding and then hopefully she can
hold out until we land (provided the flight is 3 hours or less).
However, we all know this isn't always possible.
I've heard different schools of thoughts on changing diapers on planes and there is a certain segment that advocates changing the baby right on the airplane seat. Let me stop you right there. Don't do it. The flight attendants won't like it (and one actually stopped me the first and only time I attempted it with a stern "No"), the other passengers will not like it, and finally, it's simply not sanitary. Remember, those planes are only cleaned in the most cursory manner between flights so any bacteria etc left behind from the diaper change will be traveling along with others long after you're gone.
The best place to change the baby is in the airplane restroom and most airlines do have changing tables. Trust me, I know it's not easy to move in one of those bathrooms, I know you have to wait in long lines sometimes because not all of the stalls on an airplane have changing tables, and I know those bathrooms are not always clean and sanitary. Still it's the most considerate and hygienic thing you can do for your fellow passengers and the best part is, you have no issues actually disposing of the diaper and wipes as the trash can is right there.
Here are some tips to make the diaper change on an airplane easier:
1. Undress baby as much as possible at your seat.
2. Take only what you need into the bathroom. Leave the diaper bag behind and carry a changing mat, a small pack of wipes, diaper rash cream, and a diaper into the bathroom. On one super long flight, we made individual baggies holding supplies for the diaper change, including disposable changing pads, and when it was time for the change, that's all we took into the bathroom. We then put the wipes, dirty diaper, and changing pad into the baggie and disposed of the whole thing right there.
3. If the wait is really long for the stall with the changing table, do ask the flight attendant if they can help you. We once waited 15 minutes and finally asked the flight attendant for help.They called up to First Class, found out the bathroom was empty, and promptly escorted us there for the diaper change.
4. Handle any change in wardrobe at your seat. It's easier and most people aren't going to get bent out of shape by seeing a baby receiving a wardrobe change.
While most airplanes do have a changing table that folds out from the wall just behind the toilet, there are a few models of aircraft that don't. United Airlines' 757-200 series of aircraft do NOT have changing tables in any of their bathrooms and it makes for a very, very uncomfortable diaper change. I put the cover down on the toilet and changed baby there. I hated every minute of it and so did she. I've flown that particular model of aircraft twice in the last two months and every time, I've dreaded the diaper change. In the most recent flight, a flight attendant offered me a blanket to lay over the toilet and while I didn't take her offer, in retrospect, I should have. I'm still looking for good ways around this situation, so if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them!
I've heard different schools of thoughts on changing diapers on planes and there is a certain segment that advocates changing the baby right on the airplane seat. Let me stop you right there. Don't do it. The flight attendants won't like it (and one actually stopped me the first and only time I attempted it with a stern "No"), the other passengers will not like it, and finally, it's simply not sanitary. Remember, those planes are only cleaned in the most cursory manner between flights so any bacteria etc left behind from the diaper change will be traveling along with others long after you're gone.
The best place to change the baby is in the airplane restroom and most airlines do have changing tables. Trust me, I know it's not easy to move in one of those bathrooms, I know you have to wait in long lines sometimes because not all of the stalls on an airplane have changing tables, and I know those bathrooms are not always clean and sanitary. Still it's the most considerate and hygienic thing you can do for your fellow passengers and the best part is, you have no issues actually disposing of the diaper and wipes as the trash can is right there.
Here are some tips to make the diaper change on an airplane easier:
1. Undress baby as much as possible at your seat.
2. Take only what you need into the bathroom. Leave the diaper bag behind and carry a changing mat, a small pack of wipes, diaper rash cream, and a diaper into the bathroom. On one super long flight, we made individual baggies holding supplies for the diaper change, including disposable changing pads, and when it was time for the change, that's all we took into the bathroom. We then put the wipes, dirty diaper, and changing pad into the baggie and disposed of the whole thing right there.
3. If the wait is really long for the stall with the changing table, do ask the flight attendant if they can help you. We once waited 15 minutes and finally asked the flight attendant for help.They called up to First Class, found out the bathroom was empty, and promptly escorted us there for the diaper change.
4. Handle any change in wardrobe at your seat. It's easier and most people aren't going to get bent out of shape by seeing a baby receiving a wardrobe change.
While most airplanes do have a changing table that folds out from the wall just behind the toilet, there are a few models of aircraft that don't. United Airlines' 757-200 series of aircraft do NOT have changing tables in any of their bathrooms and it makes for a very, very uncomfortable diaper change. I put the cover down on the toilet and changed baby there. I hated every minute of it and so did she. I've flown that particular model of aircraft twice in the last two months and every time, I've dreaded the diaper change. In the most recent flight, a flight attendant offered me a blanket to lay over the toilet and while I didn't take her offer, in retrospect, I should have. I'm still looking for good ways around this situation, so if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Link of the Day
Apologies for the hiatus; I was actually traveling overseas for the last 3 weeks with the little one and of course I have gathered up plenty of information to share here. Still, as we're recovering from severe jet-lag, here's a story on absurd airline fees.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Link of the Day
If you have children (or even if you don't), at some point you'll be considering a trip to Orlando to visit Disney World. But what if Disney isn't your cup of tea? There are other things to do in Orlando as the article Going Beyond Disney in Orlando shows.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Link of the Day
The NY Times has some neat tips on how to save money on travel in 2013 and they aren't necessarily what you would expect. I especially like the tip on picking up the phone and talking to people. Recently, my husband and I booked a hotel overseas through a national travel website, but then learned we could get a cheaper rate by booking directly through the hotel. The cheaper rate even included breakfast! For other savings, check out For Traveling Savings in 2013, Go Retro.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
To grandmother's house we go
We took our first car trip to see the grandparents when baby was just shy of 8 weeks. Under normal circumstances, the drive takes about 3 hours, depending on whether we stop. We decided to take the 'usual' route as we are very aware of all the 'good' places to stop (i.e., clean bathrooms!). Traveling with a baby, however, introduced a new kink to the plan. Would the normally reliable clean bathroom stops also have changing tables? And while we're at it, how does one change a baby's diaper on one of those fold-out changing tables?
The question seems silly now in retrospect; we've changed diapers all over the world and in so many different conditions that our initial worry about how/where to change diapers on a fairly straightforward car trip seems almost nonsensical. It's just as the time we were first time parents with this teeny tiny baby and the logistics of moving from point A to point B were daunting. How do you feed a baby in a moving car if you're breast feeding? Do you stop? Do you take baby out of carseat and keep driving? Do you give a bottle even though most breastfeeding advice at that age say no, no, no?
Packing for this three hour trip took us two days. TWO DAYS. I admit to over-packing on baby's clothes (seriously, at this age the clothes are SO cute and you just want to take EVERYTHING), but everything else seems (even today) to have been reasonable for that age. Among other things, we took my Medela Pump in Style, a sound machine, and the Graco SnugRider Elite. Now these things might not seem like big items, but little things like this quickly add up and we were trying to fit all of it into the back seat of a Prius. Back before baby, the Prius seemed like an enormous upgrade from my Corolla, but we were starting to realize very quickly that babies travel with a lot of stuff and there was a reason why people upsized their vehicles big time once the kids came along.
Our trip went smoothly, almost too smoothly. We left around naptime and ignored the breastfeeding advice and gave the baby a bottle in the car and she felt promptly asleep and then proceeded to sleep all the way to the grandparents' place. The issue of diaper changes on the road was pushed to a future road trip as seriously, who wants to wake a sleeping baby? If only future trips turned out to be as easy and peaceful as this one was.
The good news is that a year after we made that trip, we've got our packing down from two days to two hours. Travel enough and you develop a rhythm or as the tired adage goes, practice makes perfect. You figure out what you really need and what you can do without and what you can improvise on the road; honestly, the lighter you can travel, the easier and better it is. The good news is babies do need less stuff to travel with as they get older; it's just that the stuff they need gets bigger (making the Prius seem even smaller!). Also, as my husband is fond of pointing out, most places we go to have stores and we can always buy the thing we forgot. Because of these factors, we've managed to whittle down on the amount of stuff we need to take. I'll talk about some of our makeshift solutions in another post, but there's one problem we haven't solved: I still overpack when it comes to baby's wardrobe.
The question seems silly now in retrospect; we've changed diapers all over the world and in so many different conditions that our initial worry about how/where to change diapers on a fairly straightforward car trip seems almost nonsensical. It's just as the time we were first time parents with this teeny tiny baby and the logistics of moving from point A to point B were daunting. How do you feed a baby in a moving car if you're breast feeding? Do you stop? Do you take baby out of carseat and keep driving? Do you give a bottle even though most breastfeeding advice at that age say no, no, no?
Packing for this three hour trip took us two days. TWO DAYS. I admit to over-packing on baby's clothes (seriously, at this age the clothes are SO cute and you just want to take EVERYTHING), but everything else seems (even today) to have been reasonable for that age. Among other things, we took my Medela Pump in Style, a sound machine, and the Graco SnugRider Elite. Now these things might not seem like big items, but little things like this quickly add up and we were trying to fit all of it into the back seat of a Prius. Back before baby, the Prius seemed like an enormous upgrade from my Corolla, but we were starting to realize very quickly that babies travel with a lot of stuff and there was a reason why people upsized their vehicles big time once the kids came along.
Our trip went smoothly, almost too smoothly. We left around naptime and ignored the breastfeeding advice and gave the baby a bottle in the car and she felt promptly asleep and then proceeded to sleep all the way to the grandparents' place. The issue of diaper changes on the road was pushed to a future road trip as seriously, who wants to wake a sleeping baby? If only future trips turned out to be as easy and peaceful as this one was.
The good news is that a year after we made that trip, we've got our packing down from two days to two hours. Travel enough and you develop a rhythm or as the tired adage goes, practice makes perfect. You figure out what you really need and what you can do without and what you can improvise on the road; honestly, the lighter you can travel, the easier and better it is. The good news is babies do need less stuff to travel with as they get older; it's just that the stuff they need gets bigger (making the Prius seem even smaller!). Also, as my husband is fond of pointing out, most places we go to have stores and we can always buy the thing we forgot. Because of these factors, we've managed to whittle down on the amount of stuff we need to take. I'll talk about some of our makeshift solutions in another post, but there's one problem we haven't solved: I still overpack when it comes to baby's wardrobe.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Traveling tips for an easier flight
This article offers 35 tips for travelers to make taking to the friendly skies a bit more friendly and easy. Only the first few tips apply to traveling with children, but there are some super good and creative ideas, submitted by 'real' travelers. I especially like the 'airline tent' idea. I'm going to have to try that one out next time we fly!
Read 35 Tips for a Successful Flight.
Read 35 Tips for a Successful Flight.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Airline Luggage Policy for Children
Every airline has a different policy for luggage for both adults and children. It's worth checking ahead of time to make sure you don't get stuck with any unintended baggage fees. Most airlines will, however, check at least one infant item -- a stroller or carseat -- for no fees, and some may even check both for no fees. You might also want to check if what the airlines' policy for gatecheck is; if you do plan to gatecheck, you might want to get to the gate counter a few minutes prior to boarding to get the special tags for your items. It will save you and everyone else time for boarding.
In addition, if you have frequent flyer benefits with an airline, you might find that you get more than your regular baggage allowance and you can check additional items like carseats and strollers for no additional fee.
Note that baggage allowances vary by international and domestic flights and that if you are flying internationally and are planning to take a regional flight in-country, you might find the regional airline will have a different fee structure, especially if it's a discount airline like Spirit Air.
In addition, if you have frequent flyer benefits with an airline, you might find that you get more than your regular baggage allowance and you can check additional items like carseats and strollers for no additional fee.
Note that baggage allowances vary by international and domestic flights and that if you are flying internationally and are planning to take a regional flight in-country, you might find the regional airline will have a different fee structure, especially if it's a discount airline like Spirit Air.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
About me
I'm a stay-at-home mom of a lively toddler who, to date, has three stamps in her passport and has flown on 19 different flight segments, not to mention has also traveled by taxi, bus, boat, and car. I started this blog because traveling with a baby was daunting to me, even though I had been a frequent traveler prior to baby. Still, traveling has been such a huge part of our life that we didn't necessarily feel like we could slow down. So we made some adjustments, experimented here and there, hit friends up for advice, and now we have circled the globe with baby and have learned a lot from our experiences. We learned what techniques work for us, what doesn't, what products are worthwhile and which ones aren't, and more importantly, we learned that becoming parents doesn't mean staying home. There's a whole lot of world out there and we can't wait to share it with our baby.
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