Our little babe has been on 5 flights and has endured several long-distance drives in her short, 7-month life. She's also the champion of long, long car rides that should have been short car rides but weren't due to the heinous traffic conditions on the roads of greater Los Angeles. I would say we have managed to get her from Point A to Point B rather successfully every time we've taken her anywhere. Based on the number of times we failed to get ourselves from Point A to B as a childless couple, this was an exciting and somewhat shocking development for my husband and me.
Before I dive into a bunch of unsolicited advice, I should remind you that I typically act like an insane person when I'm under any stress at all. Travel in any form is stressful for me. I love being in new places, but I hate the process of going anywhere. I have spent a lot of time being miserable in airports, train stations and the like.
Even traveling with my husband has been a huge challenge for us throughout our 10-year relationship. He completely lacks any urgency when it comes to packing, leaving the house on time, parking or anything else travel-related that requires a sense of urgency. I, on the other hand, am far too nervous about everything that can wrong. Because anything that can go wrong will go wrong... We have missed many flights and have dealt with the misery of the missing very differently. We actually reached a point where we would plan to not speak to each other from the time we checked in to our flight to the time we boarded the plane - no communication while we passed through security whatsoever. This seemed to work fairly well most of the time in that it spared us some arguing.
The few times I've traveled alone with the baby and something went wrong, I wished my husband was with me. I thought that being stuck on the East LA interchange, unable to get over to an exit with a screaming baby would somehow be easier if we were to endure it together... Ha!
The other day, my husband and I took the baby to a baby shower 45 miles away. We wound up spending about 4.5 hours in the car for a 2-hour visit with the expecting couple and other friends and family. Baby girl was screaming bloody murder during one of the worst bouts of traffic on our way home (we later discovered this was simply because she had dropped bombs in her diaper!). As her screaming grew louder and more desperate, Siri informed me that a new accident had occurred up ahead. And I lost my cool completely.
I looked at my husband and really meant it when I said: "I guess we have to tell all of our family and friends that we can never, ever visit them again. I cannot survive this again and I will not subject our daughter to it."
A few minutes later I said: "We have to move. We live in the wrong place. Everything about our neighborhood is wrong anyway. And it's impossible to get there."
Finally, I added: "Every single other person driving on this road is stupid. They don't know what they're doing. No one anywhere knows anything about anything!"
I tend to spoil in transit.
But, alas, our daughter does not! So here are some tidbits that my husband and I have picked up along our merry way.
Obsessively & Forgivingly Packing Is Necessary
Be overprepared for blow-outs and barf, no matter where you're going, and whether you're taking a car, train, boat or plane. And don't be mad at yourself or each other when you inevitably forget this or that. You will, he will too. And you'll all live.
- Pack enough diapers and wipes to account for a diaper change each hour of the day.
- Bring a change of clothes for every 2-3 hours of travel in a given day.
- Bring twice as much formula, milk or food than you think you'll need.
- Bring at least 3 changing pads/mat - anything you can place over a gross surface and still feel comfortable placing your baby there for a change!
- Always bring a towel or 2, and extra blankets.
- You will forget something.
- It's okay.
Airport Baggage: Checking Strollers & Car Seats
We've now flown Delta, Southwest and Spirit airlines with the baby. All 3 airlines allowed us to take the stroller and car seat through and check it at the gate. If you bought a separate ticket for a baby, I'd suggest you keep the car seat with you for a long flight!
The Carpool Lane
Especially for those of you traveling around Los Angeles with a baby, it's critical you know that you can legally drive in the carpool lane with your baby. You don't have to have an adult passenger in the car. It's not always a life-saver, but there have been times I believe that using carpool saved the lives of everyone in my car. On a recent trip home from San Clemente, I was able to take the carpool lane from the I-5 north to the 57 north without exiting the carpool lane. I thought I might climax as my little Carolla went up and over lanes of stalled traffic and we soared!
The Padded, Water-Resistant Picnic Blanket
We always have this padded picnic blanket in the car with us. And I always throw it in her diaper bag before we head into an airport. You never know when you might need more space to deal with an outfit change or diaper disaster (or to let the baby move around not on an airport carpet), and having this blanket ensures we have a somewhat comfortable and clean spot to spread out.
The Cupholder Bottle Warmer
I think this baby speaks for herself:
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