How To Prepare Yourself For Parenthood In 138 Easy Steps

April 26, 2013Leave a comment

I have about a dozen friends who are currently pregnant with their first babies. That’s a lot of new babies, and a lot of people who are about to enter the hallowed role of “Parent”. There are many things that run through your mind when you’re about to become a mom or a dad: What are babies like? How do I know what the baby wants? What do I do with a baby?

Well I’m glad you were wondering, soon-to-be-parents, because I have all the answers (get used to that one, because soon enough you’ll realize that everyone else seems to think they have all the answers for how to raise your child). So, in no particular order, here are a few things you can do ahead of time to prepare yourself for parenthood.

Preparation For Labor And Delivery:

Run a marathon. Backwards. Or on your hands, for all I care. Do this while getting jabbed in the gut by a UFC cage fighter every 2-5 minutes. Repeat for 12-48 hours.
Don’t let your husband sleep for 2 or 3 days. Then, at the peak of rush hour, insist that he drive you across town in 1/4 the time that it usually takes during no-traffic. Turn up the heat in the car to 90 degrees. Yell at him the whole time he’s driving, and continuously insist that he drive faster.
Forget holding an ice cube in your hand–go to Alaska and jump into the frozen ocean. Stay in the water until you don’t think you’re going to die, and then stay in the water because you know that it’s what is best for your unborn child.
Have a sumo wrestler sit on your stomach while someone reminds you to breathe calmly.
Take off your clothes–all of them–and invite your closest family and friends over to witness you walk naked through the house while shouting obscenities.
Pee or throw-up on the floor and expect your husband to clean it up with a smile on his face while he says, “You’re doing GREAT, Honey! Keep it up!”.
Pull down your pants and sit in a pile of poison ivy or stinging nettles. Have fun trying to pee for the next couple of weeks.
Roll around on shards of broken glass while practicing your hypno-birthing mantras.

Preparation For A Newborn:

9. Set your alarm clock to go off every 2 hours around the clock. Every time the alarm goes off, get out of bed and repeatedly pinch the most tender part of your body for 30 minutes.
10. Put a cat in a paper bag. Blindfold yourself. Gently and swiftly wrap the “happy” cat in a tight swaddle.
11. Find some moldy food in the back of your fridge and smear it on your shirt. Don’t change, because you know that a clean shirt will just get dirty again.
12. Turn on your kitchen faucet to a low stream. Wrap the faucet in a towel. When that towel gets soaked in a few minutes, take it off and wrap on a new towel. Continue doing this, night and day, until you run out of towels. Then wash the towels and keep doing it.
13. Hold a 10 pound sack of flour while you do everything: get dressed, go to the bathroom, cook dinner, eat.
14. Squirt mustard on all of your favorite clothes, your carpet, and your furniture. Have fun trying to get the stains out.
15. Search iTunes for an annoying sound: nails on a chalkboard, screeching animals, or grinding metal would all work. Have your husband play the sounds any time you start to doze off to sleep.
16. Read “Goodnight Moon”. 5,468 times.
17. Forget to eat breakfast, be too busy to eat lunch, and be too tired to eat dinner.
18. Take all of your showers at 5 AM or midnight because they’re the only times that you’re free.
19. Buy an entire wardrobe of adorable clothes that are 3 sizes too small. Get frustrated that you can’t wear any of them.

Preparation For A Toddler:

20. Take all of your favorite possessions and either lock them away or break them.
21. Take a pick-up truck to Goodwill and buy out their toy section. Back the truck up to your front door and dump the toys into your living room. Don’t ever pick them up.
22. Make a big batch of spaghetti. Throw all of it onto your walls, ceiling, floors, and furniture.
23. Gather all of the items you think you would need if the world was ending and you needed to get out of town. It will be a lot of stuff. Load those items into your car every time you leave the house, and unload them every time you get back home.
24. Cover every outlet in your house with duct tape. Get annoyed every time you try to plug something in.
25. Make an important phone call with a boombox playing heavy metal music at max volume in the background.
26. Do a load of laundry. Take your clean laundry directly outside and dump it into a mud puddle. Wash it all again. Repeat 7 days a week.
27. Go to the grocery store with a pair of fighting dogs. Tie them up inside your shopping cart and calmly complete your shopping trip while ignoring the evil stares of the other shoppers.
28. Go to Costco and buy a box of Goldfish crackers, a box of Cheerios, and a bag of raisins. Dump them all out in your car, smash them into the seats, and stomp them into the carpet.
29. Wake up at 6 AM every. Single. Day.
30. Spend time away from your home exactly 1 evening per month. Return home by 9 PM because you know that you’ll have to wake up at 6 AM tomorrow.
31. Put honey on your hands and smear them over all of your windows.
32. Withdraw $400 from your bank account each month. Burn it.
33. Start drinking massive quantities of coffee each day to kick-start your caffeine-dependency.
34. Repeat the following words to yourself until they don’t phase you anymore: poop, pee, booger, snot, puke. Take it one step further by posting about these topics on Facebook.

OK, so it’s not exactly 138 steps–but it sure feels like it. Hey, nobody ever said that parenting was easy!

My California Adventure

April 12, 2013April 24, 20132 Comments

Last week I had an incredible adventure: my first solo-trip with both boys. We flew down to California for a week to visit family and some dear friends. It was both challenging (Just try spending a week sharing a tiny bedroom with a teething 8-month old and a rambunctious 2 year old. I dare you.) and incredibly touching. I got to see two friends with whom I’ve shared some of the biggest milestones in my life (even though we now live in 3 separate states), and I got to spend a whole week with my lovely sister and her family. In the middle of our trip we got word that we will officially be moving half-way around the world to Ireland in the next month or two. It was a beautiful, crazy week. Here are some of the highlights:

We got to fly on an airplane. Both boys have been on planes before, but this was their first time flying together (and my first time flying alone with both of them). God must have heard my prayers because I was able to get a whole row to myself on both of our flights–even though the plane was supposed to be completely full. It was great to have an extra seat for Jacob so I could bring on his carseat and allow him to snooze a bit. David had fun eating sugary snacks that he doesn’t usually get to have (including a giant ring pop that took him almost an hour to consume), watching videos on my iPhone, throwing stickers at other passengers, and smiling at the cute flight attendant who brought him apple juice. Overall, the flights went really well and I think I could totally do it again.

We went directly from the airport in Burbank to Ventura so we could meet up with my friends, Tammy and Krista, and their families. We all met a few years ago at our church and coincidentally all had our first sons within a few weeks of each other. Then, two years later, we all had our second sons within a couple of months of each other. Tammy now lives in Fargo, Krista now lives in Central California, and I live in Seattle. This was the first time that we all got to see each other with our youngest babies–it really was a dream come true for me!

We spent the afternoon in Ventura picnicking, playing on the beach, and catching up.

Even the babies had fun playing in the sun!

After our beach time in Ventrua we headed back to my sister Erin’s house to unpack and get settled. That night we got a really special treat: my nephew Noah was having an art show at his preschool and we were invited! Here’s Noah showing us snail art in his classroom–the teacher put drops of food coloring on paper, then put snails on top of the paper. As they slid around the paper, they dragged the food coloring around to make a beautiful picture. I can see practical applications for this technique in Washington using slugs from my garden.

The next day we met up with Tammy and Krista again, this time in Santa Barbara. We went to the Santa Barbara Mission and spent the morning exploring their beautiful gardens.

David learned not to hug a cactus.

He also learned that good friends can help you feel better.

After we exhausted the boys’ patience looking at beautiful gardens and fascinating old relics at the mission, we went into town for some lunch and exploring. We ate lunch at Taqueria Super Rica (be sure to check it out if you’re ever in Santa Barbara) and walked around State Street looking at the shops. We also visited the courthouse (the rooftop has a wonderful observation deck) and found a fun park for the kids to burn off some energy in.

Jacob and Calvin got to play in the swings. They both loved it! David spent about an hour (really) putting wood chips into a life-size plastic shark’s mouth. Then we snapped one last photo of us with our “6-pack” of boys:

It was a magical two days with dear friends, a time I will treasure forever!

The rest of our week was spent with my sister, Erin, her husband, Toph (OK, his name is really Christopher, but we all call him Toph because my other sister–Erin’s twin–married another Christopher and it just all gets too confusing), and her 3 1/2 year old son Noah.

David and Noah are buddies, and they got along great all week (despite a few spats over balls that David was, unexpectedly, quite possessive over). Here they are walking to “Bucky Park”, a neighborhood park down the street from Noah’s house.

On Saturday we went to Leo Carillo Beach. It’s a quiet little beach near Malibu with private coves that you can set up your “camp” in, tide pools for exploring, and gentle surf for playing. It’s the same beach where Erin and Toph got married 4 years ago, so it was fun for me to go back there and re-live that beautiful day.

Jacob had fun playing in the sand and watching the “big boys” run around like wild banshees.

David and Noah (with a little help from Uncle Toph) built a “big hole”. This hole kept David occupied for two hours. He jumped in the hole, sat in the hole, put balls in the hole, buried his feet in the hole–he really would have stayed there for the rest of his life if I would have let him.

Unfortunately, Erin had to work on Saturday so she didn’t get to come to the beach with us. But that afternoon she got some snuggle time with her youngest nephew, and I think that helped make up for it a bit.

On Sunday we went to Griffith Park in Los Angeles. I’d never been there before but, man, that place is HUGE! We started the morning at the Griffith Park Observatory. If you look very closely at the hill behind me you can see the white “Hollywood” sign in the distance.

We thought it would be fun to take the boys to the planetarium show at the observatory.

Don’t let this photo fool you. The planetarium show was NOT fun. The show was great. I would have loved it. But the experience was….well, just look at who we brought with us. Not the crowd who enjoys sitting through long scientific talks in the dark. It was stressful, aggravating and, at times, physically painful. We’ll just leave it at that. Lesson learned: don’t bring 3 kids under the age of 4 to a planetarium show.

After the planetarium experience we decided we needed to go somewhere a bit more low key. We ate a picnic lunch then drove around to the other side of Griffith Park to a place called Transportation Town. It’s set up like a big train yard, complete with train tracks and lots of old trains for the kids to climb around in.

David and Noah got to “drive” a train (although, David’s favorite part was throwing pebbles into the coal chute: “Goal!”).

And I just love this picture because it looks like our children are about to get run over by trains. (Don’t worry, Grandma Doreen, none of the trains can actually move).

The next day, Monday, was Erin’s day off work. We decided to take the boys to one of my favorite places, the Santa Barbara Zoo. This zoo is great for young kids: it’s easily walk-able, you get really close to the animals, and they have a great play area for the little ones. Plus, the giraffes have a view of the Pacific Ocean. I would love to be a giraffe at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Here we are by the elephants (you can barely see one to the left of David).

And here are David and Noah “sledding” down an astro-turf hill on sheets of cardboard. It’s actually a LOT of fun!

We saw some interesting creatures at the zoo, including this tiny hatchling.

On Tuesday we went to one of my other favorite California attractions, Noah’s farm (really, it’s called Underwood Farms and it’s just about the most amazing place ever. I would perhaps move to California just so I could live next to this farm).

We got to feed the animals. These are chickens and ROOSTERS!!! (David’s favorite), but they also had pigs, goats, Emu, cows, and horses that you could feed.

We took a wagon ride out to the fields where we had…

SNACK TIME! We helped ourselves to the farm’s bounty (I mean, we were U-picking produce to purchase when we exited the farm). There were so many wonderful fruits and veggies ready for the picking: strawberries, oranges, sugar snap peas, carrots, heads of lettuce bigger than David. After we all had our fill, we headed back to the animals for a little while.

David and Noah got to ride ponies. You may be able to tell by his expression: David was in heaven.

After a busy day at the farm we drove into town for some nourishment. And, when you’re in California, that means In-N-Out. When we lived in Palo Alto I used to go to In-N-Out about once a week (terrible, I know, but if you’ve ever had it then you know why). David actually ate a whole cheeseburger–I think all that rooster-feeding and pony-riding worked up quite the appetite.

And, just like that, our trip was over. We had an uneventful flight back home and then we all crashed for a 4-hour nap as soon as we got back to our house. Thank you to Erin and Toph for putting up with my crazy lot for a whole week, and thank you, California, for never disappointing.

What’s In My Diaper Bag?

April 1, 2013Leave a comment

I’m getting ready to go on vacation this week, so you know what that means: I’ll have to buy one of those celebrity gossip magazines to “read” on the plane. One of my favorite “articles” (notice my use of quotes when referring to anything even slightly intellectual in regard to this type of literature) has to do with looking in celebrities’ purses. Basically they dump out their purses and you get to oggle what they tote around with them. It’s really quite interesting–I’m not exactly sure why, but it is. Bravo, world-class journalism. You’ve won me over.

Today I will perform my own version of the celebrity purse dump. Only, this time, you get a little peek into my diaper bag. Before I had kids I always wondered what moms carried around with them in those elusive bags. Well, my friends, here’s your answer:

Diapering supplies: I have a potty-training 2-year old and a fully-diapered 8 month old. I use disposable diapers, so I usually carry 2-4 diapers for the baby and a spare pull-up for my toddler for “just in case” scenarios. I have a wipes case that I keep full at all times (trust me, you do NOT want to run out of wipes at a critical moment…like a poopy diaper change in an airplane restroom.). I also have a changing pad that folds out from my diaper bag so I can do a diaper change anywhere with a flat-ish surface to lay baby down on. I keep a couple of plastic grocery bags with me in case I need to dispose of a poopy diaper or stash soiled clothes. There’s also a tube of diaper cream (I like “Butt Paste”, and not just for its name) and a small container of hand sanitizer. Before I leave the house I usually do a quick check to make sure I have enough diapers, wipes, and bags for whatever outing we’re going on.

Spare clothes: Things happen. Babies poop up their backs (Yuck! But true.). Little boys run through mud puddles on your way in to church. It’s a good idea to have at least one spare pair of clothing for your child. Some people keep spare clothes in their cars, but I like to keep mine in the diaper bag itself because you never know where you’ll be when disaster strikes! I have an outfit for each boy, and I keep them in a plastic bag so they’re easy to find in the bottom of my diaper bag.

Nursing supplies: I’m still breastfeeding my baby, so I keep a nursing cover and a burp cloth in my diaper bag for on-the-go feedings.

Snacks: A little secret of motherhood: snacks cure all things. Fussy toddler in the car? Give him some crackers. Impatient baby at a restaurant? Give him some Cheerios. Cranky mommy who’s 2 hours late for her meal? Give her a granola bar. I keep snacks for all of us in my diaper bag and I replenish my supply every time I leave the house. I also have a reusable plastic bib that I use when we go out to eat.

Health: I keep a small first aid kit with Bandaids and sterile wipes in my diaper bag. I also carry a water bottle with me so I can stay hydrated.

Entertainment: I keep a couple of small toys in my bag for those times that baby needs a little pick-me-up.

My essentials: I keep my wallet, cell phone, chapstick and a pen in a zippered pocket in my diaper bag. I find that it’s easier for me to keep all of my things in the diaper bag instead of in a purse–one less thing for me to carry around that way!

This is what my bag looks like all packed up. Amazingly, everything fits inside and I know that I’ll have everything I need within reach. There we go! Now, don’t you feel better now that you know what’s inside my bag?

10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Had My First Baby

March 15, 2013March 15, 20133 Comments

I have a lot of friends who have either recently had their first baby or are pregnant right now. When I was pregnant with my first baby, I read every pregnancy and newborn book I could get my hands on. I wanted to know what this whole baby thing would be like when it actually happened. Now, 2 babies later, I am still learning about motherhood. Every. Single. Day. Only now it’s not from a book: it’s from the trenches.

Despite my best intentions to learn all that I could before I had my babies, there’s just so much more that I’ve learned from my on-the-job training than I ever could have gotten out of a book or a manual (if there were such a thing). I’ve learned a few valuable lessons along the way–tricks of the trade, if you will. Here are a few things I wish I would have known about before I had my first baby.

1. Let go of your plans/hopes/desires/dreams for your baby’s birth.

This photo is from my first son’s birth. You may notice that I’m lying on an operating table. That was so not the plan. I went into both of my births planning on having natural childbirth experiences with no drugs and minimal interventions. For our first child, I planned an out-of-hospital birth with midwives–I didn’t even want a doctor in the room! Long story short, I’ve had two emergency C-Sections. I’m 0-for-2 in the “having birth go your way” department. But here’s the thing: it’s OK. I had a really hard time dealing with my first C-Section–I felt like my body had failed me in this most basic function. Then I realized that my baby’s birth was not in my control. I did everything I could to get him out safely and, in the end, that meant we had to cut him out at a moment’s notice. And he was perfect and healthy and wonderful. Even though things didn’t go how I would have liked them to go, they went how they needed to go. With our second birth I let go of a lot of my expectations and, even though the outcome ended up being the same (BUMMER!) I was fine with it. Even though the birth itself wasn’t all that different, my attitude about it was–and that made a world of difference! When it comes to babies being born, expect the unexpected. Hold your plans in an open hand, not a closed fist, and be willing to go with the flow.

2. Having a baby doesn’t have to break the bank.
It’s true: having a baby is expensive. Really expensive. But there is hope! There are lots of great ways to save money on baby expenses.

The first thing I would suggest all moms do is sign up for Amazon Mom. It’s a great program run through Amazon.com that gives you free 2-day shipping on everything you buy on Amazon, plus it gives you discounts on baby essentials. It’s free to sign up and it saves you trips to the store (which, for a new mom, is as good as money in her pocket!).
You can also try your hand at couponing to save money on diapers and wipes. I was pretty diligent about couponing with my first baby and we saved about 50% on diapers that way. If you want to learn the ropes, there are some great tutorials online that can show you how to get the most bang for your buck (or clip?).
Take advantage of free/cheap resources and activities in your community–library story times, parks, community play areas (I love the Shoreline “indoor playground” for all of you Seattleites), beaches, hikes, farms, public swimming pools, and outdoor concerts to name a few.
Make your own baby food (see my post for making your own baby rice cereal here).
Only buy what you need. You could spend a LOT of money on baby gear, but you really don’t need all of it. See my list of the essentials and my favorite products for more details.

3. “You can do anything, but you shouldn’t do everything”.
I saw this quote recently, and it rang really true with me. Choose what you want to focus on, and go for it–but don’t expect that you’ll be able to do everything that you want to do. In fact, you probably won’t even be able to do everything that you need to do once your baby arrives! Don’t try to be Super-Mom who does everything has it all together all the time–even moms who look like they have it all together really don’t. And that’s fine. That’s called being a mom. If you have piles of dirty laundry, a dish full of sinks, and a child crying at your feet as you’re making dinner, that’s normal. Do the best you can with each day, and call it good.

Along with this, know that it’s OK (no, necessary) to have help sometimes. Allow your friends, family, and community to help with meals, cleaning, babysitting–whatever you need that will free you up to focus on adjusting to life with your new baby. Once you have a baby, you’ll know where that phrase “it takes a village…” came from!

4. It’s OK to put a crying baby down.

Whenever my first baby would cry, I did whatever I could to make him happy–right away. I had this weird feeling of abandonment if I heard him crying and wasn’t instantly there to soothe him. But then, one day, I couldn’t get to him right away–and he was fine! In fact, he calmed down on his own, went back to sleep, and didn’t seem bothered in the least. Then I realized, it’s OK to let baby be on his own a bit. Now, with 2 little ones, I’ve learned that it’s actually necessary to put down a crying baby sometimes–and he’s always just fine. An added perk: baby will learn how to calm down and entertain himself if you aren’t doting on him every moment of every day–a valuable life lesson, indeed! If you need to put down your baby so you can go to the bathroom or even take a quick shower, he’ll survive the 5 minute interlude. You both might even enjoy it!

5. Choose the advice you’ll take
It never ceases to amaze me how every living, breathing person has advice on child-rearing. People with babies, people without babies, old people, young people, you name it–they all seem to know the only right way to do things with a baby. And they’ll tell you. Especially if you’re doing it wrong. I have found that the best response is usually just to smile, say “Thank you”, and then keep doing what you were doing.
As this baby’s parent, you know them better than anyone else. You know what they like, what drives them crazy, how they respond to different situations, even what bodily functions they’ve performed in the last 24 hours. You are your own baby’s expert. So, even when you get good advice from someone else, check it against what you–your baby’s expert–knows about your baby. What’s worked for someone else and their baby may not work for you.

6. Laugh at yourself
You will have days as a parent that just make you want to cry. Or scream. Or throw a good old-fashioned temper tantrum. And, sometimes, that’s OK. We all need to cry and scream and throw a fit every now and then. But you can also choose to just laugh at the situation and say “oh well, these crazy kids have done it again!”.

For instance: The other day I was trying to cook dinner and my boys both decided this would be a great time to test Mom. With a pot boiling over on the stove, the baby started screaming. When I picked him up, I noticed that he had poop squishing all the way up his back and out the neck of his onesie. I ran upstairs to change him and when I came back downstairs, my 2 year old had flung half of the contents of his rice box (a sensory activity) across the floor. I could have cried or yelled or run away to a nice quiet closet, but I just had to laugh at myself and the “situation” that is my life. This is my lot now, and it’s actually kinda funny. Three years ago, I never would have imagined that this is how a typical Thursday afternoon would look for me. But it is, and I embrace it! If I don’t laugh at myself every so often I could end up resenting the way things are, and I never want that to happen. So bring on the messy, the loud, the annoying, the embarrassing: I will just laugh at you!

7. Sleep. And don’t expect to feel rested for the next 20 years.

You’ve heard it before: sleep when the baby sleeps. That worked for the first few weeks for me, but then I realized that “when the baby sleeps” happened to be the only time I could take a shower or eat a meal or pay the bills. Rest is still really important, though. I’m not good at taking naps during the day, but I can usually fall asleep pretty quickly at night time. As a result, I have to be pretty diligent about setting a bedtime for myself each night and sticking to it–even if I really want to stay up late doing important things like watching TV or checking my friends’ status updates on Facebook. But the sad reality is that even if you do go to bed on time and try to take naps when the baby’s sleeping, you’ll probably never really feel rested as long as there are people who call you “Mom” or “Dad” living under your roof. Kids are exhausting and you’ll probably never get enough rest to make up for the energy output they require. Oh well, can’t blame a girl for trying!

8. Document important information and events.
When your baby rolls over for the first time, or gets her first tooth, or says his first word, it feels like the most earth-shattering event. You know that you’ll remember it forever! But you won’t. My oldest son is only 2 1/2, and I already can’t remember a single stat or milestone from his babyhood. Maybe I just have a terrible memory, or maybe my brain is just a pile of mush after chasing two little boys around every day, but the fact remains that I just don’t remember those all-important details.
Do whatever works for you to record your child’s life. Some people like hanging a calendar by baby’s changing table so they can write interesting little facts about baby for each day of their first year. You could buy a baby memory book from the store, jot notes down in a notebook, or even pull out your smart phone (yes, there’s an app for that).

9. Avoid burn out: take time for yourself.

It’s easy for a mom to get sucked in to the 24/7 nature of parenting. But if you don’t take a little break every now and then, you might just break! Exercise. Get Grandma and Grandpa to come over and watch the baby so you can go out on a date with your husband. Grab some girlfriends and get a pedicure on the weekend while Daddy is playing with Baby. Hire a babysitter and go to a coffee shop so you can lose yourself in a good book for an hour. Maybe even train for a half-marathon on the weekends (see photo above. Bonus: you get an extra member of the cheering section when baby comes to watch your race!). If you need to, schedule these “breaks” into your schedule (and make sure your husband has them in his calendar, too!). I have found that when I take good care of myself, I’m able to take better care of everyone else.

10. Be present and enjoy the ride.
Parenting can be very challenging, demanding, draining. It’s tempting to check out with a smartphone or your laptop while the kids run around at your feet. But blink, and you’ll wonder where the time has gone. Trust me, you won’t want to miss those moments–no matter how mundane or trying they seem in the moment.

Most days I go to bed and think, “What did I do today?”. When I see the list of things that didn’t get done and the piles of things that need to be dealt with it can be a bit disheartening. But the reality is, I did a lot today. I snuggled my babies, I kissed a boo-boo, I cleaned up poo-poo (I cleaned up lots of poo-poo). I read some stories, I played make-believe, I disciplined, I prayed, I disciplined some more. I ran through a park, I bathed tiny bodies, I sang lullabies, I said “I love you!”. I did a lot today–and I want to savor every moment of it.

Our Trip To Ireland

February 21, 2013April 24, 2013Leave a comment

We just got back from an AMAZING week in Ireland! I seriously feel like I spent the whole week walking around with my jaw hanging open–I was just in such awe of the beauty and the history surrounding me in that magical place. And, lucky for you, dear reader, this blog is about to get a whole lot better. You see, while we were there we made a trek to the Blarney Stone–the fabled stone that gives the “gift of gab” to whoever kisses it. I managed to kiss the dang thing (see Day 6, below, for more details), so we’ll see how witty and wry my writing has become since that fateful day.

If you’ve been to Ireland before, you know what an incredible place it is. If you haven’t been, I’m sure you’ll be booking your flight by the time you’re done reading this post. I hope I can do it justice here!

Day 1: Traveling To Ireland With A Baby
Jacob did amazingly well traveling. We were fortunate to get a row with an extra seat for the long flight across the Atlantic, so we were able to bring his car seat on the plane with us. He fell asleep during take-off and took enough naps during the flight that I was able to watch a couple of movies and read my “airplane magazines” (the high-caliber celebrity magazines that I really only ever read above 10,000 feet). Our route to Ireland was a bit of the hop-hop-hop variety: we went from Seattle to Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Cork, Ireland. Our 2 hour layover in Amsterdam turned into 5 hours because they had just gotten some unexpected snow and had to clear the runways. While we were waiting, I treated myself to healthy breakfast at the airport Starbucks (those Dutch sure know how to properly use whipped cream!).

Jacob had fun looking out the windows with me. We watched huge snow plows blow past us clearing the way for all of the pretty blue Dutch airplanes.

After about 22 hours of travel we made it to our hotel room. It was a nice, spacious room in a 250 year old hotel. They had even set up a “by cot” (a crib) for us before we arrived.

After a quick nap we went out to get some dinner. We found a great pub with delicious steaks and boisterous “trad” music (traditional Irish music). Then it was time for bed. Jacob was a thoughtful baby and let me sleep for almost 13 hours (with a few wake-ups for feedings, of course).

Day 2: The Cliffs of Moher
Every person we know who’s been to Ireland and every guidebook that’s ever been written insisted that we visit the Cliffs of Moher on the western coast of Ireland. We decided to take a clue and used our first full day there to drive out and see what all the fuss was about. The cliffs are–well–cliffs. Really big, tall, intimidating cliffs that jut right out of the ocean. They really are incredible.

We spent a few hours walking the paths that line the cliffs so we could see every incredible angle.

From what I hear, the weather at the Cliffs of Moher can be pretty treacherous, even in the middle of the summer. We lucked out with a relatively mild day, rolling fog, and even a few sunbreaks. The cliffs truly were as beautiful as all the hype made them out to be.

After our glorious afternoon at the cliffs, we were feeling adventurous. Perhaps a bit too adventurous for sleep-deprived, jet-lagged, over-zealous tourists. We decided that we weren’t done exploring yet and wanted to take a scenic route home. So, instead of driving straight back to our hotel (which was still two and a half hours away by the most direct route, mind you) we hopped on a ferry.

By the time we had crossed the water and started looking for our scenic drive home, the sun was setting. We decided to ditch our plans for the 4 hour scenic drive along the water (what WERE we thinking?!) and find a quick route back to the city. This is when we learned that there are no quick drives back to the city when you are in the middle of the Irish countryside. It’s also when we learned that Irish country roads are actually small dirt paths that were built for horses, not Toyotas, and that on-coming traffic will barrel you off the path-road if you don’t scoot yourself out of the way quick enough. We also learned that it gets very, very dark in the middle of nowhere with no streetlights, stars, or settlements to help guide you. Did I mention that you also drive on the left in Ireland and that none of the street signs actually match up with the road names on a map? Let’s just leave this story here: it was a long drive, a terrifying drive, and one that we will never, ever do again. Lesson learned.

Day 3: Exploring City Cork
Jon was in Ireland for work, so he had to spend the next several days in meetings. I decided to spend my first solo-day exploring the city we were in. Cork is the second largest city in Ireland, but that’s a bit deceiving. It’s only 1/10th the size of the largest city, Dublin, and has a population of roughly 100,000 Corkians (Corkites? Corkies?). Jacob was my little travel buddy, and he was a great little companion to take along on all of my adventures. We started by walking through downtown to look at all of the cute shops.

While we were walking around we found the English Market, an indoor public market that began in 1788. They had lots of traditional Irish foods, including the largest selection of butchers that I’ve ever seen in one spot.

Next, we crossed the river and climbed a hill to St. Anne’s Cathedral. You can see St. Anne’s Cathedral from anywhere in the city, and she is famous for her bells and her clocks. There are four clocks on the top of the cathedral, one pointing in each direction. The clocks have the nickname of the “Four-Faced Liar” because each clock tells a different time, all the time, except on the hour when they somehow sync up to tell the correct time.

You’re able to climb to the top of the cathedral’s bell tower and they actually let you ring the huge church bells (called The Bells of Shandon). They even have music sheets so you can play your favorite song for the whole city to hear.

After Jacob and I perfected “Happy Birthday” (I’m sure to the great annoyance of the church’s neighbors), we donned these fancy headphones for our climb to the top of the tower. You literally climb on top of the bells to get to the top of the tower, so ear protection was necessary (the bells ring every 15 minutes on their own, plus any obnoxious tourist can start ringing “Happy Birthday” whenever they feel like it).

Once we got to the top, though, the view was totally worth it. Cork really is a beautiful city!

The next part of our adventure involved walking back across the river to the other side of the city.

We went to a massive old church (and by old, I mean that there’s been a church here since the early 7th century) called St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral. It was a beautiful building with a lot of history.

After St. Fin Barre’s we hopped in the car and drove about about a mile outside of the city center to the Cork City Gaol (Jail). It was the city’s jail from 1823-1924 and held all of the most notorious crooks and criminals from those days. Plus, it was another impressive structure.

They had jail cells open that you could go inside and see what it would have been like to be a prisoner in those days: cold, cramped, and quiet–they didn’t allow any talking or noise whatsoever. The guards even wore special pads on their shoes so thew wouldn’t make any sound as they walked the hallways. It was a beautiful, disturbing place (or maybe just beautifully disturbing).

Day 4: The Rock of Cashel
After another good night’s sleep we woke up and hit the road for a little town an hour north of Cork called Cashel. Our destination was the Rock of Cashel: an ancient castle on the top of a massive stone extrusion. Wikipedia explains “The Rock” pretty well: “According to local mythology, the Rock of Cashel originated in the Devil’s Bit, a mountain 20 miles (30 km) north of Cashel when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave, resulting in the Rock’s landing inCashel.^[1] Cashel is reputed to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century.” How cool is that?!

We drove about an hour and a half north of Cork to get to The Rock. It was fascinating to see such a piece of history firsthand.

We spent some time walking around the grounds and exploring until our fingers and toes were about to fall off due to the frigid winds that were blowing through the area. Honestly, I don’t know how we managed to walk into Siberia. Siberia or not, though, it was really, REALLY cool to see it (no pun intended).

Upon returning to our car I realized that our parking was good all day, so we decided to stay in Cashel town to explore some more. I’m so glad we decided to stay because the town itself was one of the most charming places I’ve ever been. We’d be walking down the road and all of a sudden I’d look up to see…a castle.

This castle was called Kearney Castle and now it’s a hotel and restaurant on Main Street. How crazy is that?!

We also found this little museum that explored the history of Cashel and the surrounding areas. It was technically closed for the winter, but the curator happened to be there doing some spring cleaning. He decided to let me in–for free–and spent the next 2 hours showing me every artifact in the museum and telling me fascinating stories about his precious collection. It was an incredible museum and I am so grateful to this man for taking time out of his day to show me so much.

Day 5: Titanic Museum in Cobh
For my final solo day I decided to drive to a little town called Cobh that is about 15 minutes outside of the city. Years ago Cobh was called Queenstown, and it was the final port of call for the most-infamous of all ships: Titanic.

I have always been fascinated by all things “Titanic” so I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to see this piece of the ship’s history first-hand. There is a great little museum in Cobh called the Experience Titanic Museum. The museum itself is housed in the old White Star Lines ticket office where the passengers would have actually boarded the ship. When you get to the museum you are given a boarding ticket with the name of an actual passenger who boarded Titanic in Queenstown (Cobh). At the end of the museum they have kiosks where you can learn more about your passenger and whether the survived or perished on that fatal night (I’m pleased to report that my passenger did survive. Unfortunately, Jacob’s passenger–a 15 year old boy–died). It was moving to learn more about the ship from a more personal perspective.

After the museum we walked around the town of Cobh. As with all towns in Ireland, Cobh has a rich history. This is the town where they brought the survivors of the Lusitania–the British ocean liner that was torpedoed by a German U-Boat in 1915 thus beginning the world’s involvement in World War I. Cobh is a beautiful little fishing town with pristine waterfront parks and lots of cute shops lining main street. I would love to come back here on a warm summer day and just spend all day exploring.

On our way back to the hotel I had to stop in a park to nurse Jacob. While we were sitting there in our car I got a wonderful surprise–a huge double rainbow that stretched across the horizon. I looked for leprechauns and even poked around the car to see if anyone forgot their pot of gold, but to no avail.

Day 6: Blarney Castle and kissing the Blarney Stone
Jon got the afternoon off this day so we wanted to do something special together after his busy week of work. Blarney Castle (which houses the infamous Blarney Stone) is just outside of Cork City. We decided to spend our day exploring the castle and its grounds (which are beautiful, it turns out). The castle originally dates from around the year 1200.

As you walk up the narrow spiral staircase to the top of the castle you can poke into all of the rooms and imagine what it would have been like to live in such a formidable place. It was quite impressive to see all that they were able to build into a massive stone structure.

When you finally reach the top of the castle, you are rewarded with breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside.

You are also greeted with the opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone. The Blarney Stone is said to give the “gift of gab” to anyone who kisses it. Basically, kissing this rock is supposed to give you eloquent speech, wit, and wisdom (which is probably why it’s been a favorite destination for politicians and world leaders for centuries). This is what the rock looks like (it’s the long gray stone at the bottom of the black bars):

And this is how you kiss it:

You have to grip the black support bars and lean over backward over the battlements to get to the rock that’s underneath the ledge. Oh, and you’re about 100 feet in the air. It’s a bit exhilarating to hang upside down from such a height!

After exploring the castle we spent a good amount of time exploring the gardens, stables, towers, and trails that encompass the grounds. I have to say, Blarney Castle was probably my favorite excursion of the whole trip!

Day 7: Kinsale and the Jameson Whiskey Distillery
We began our final day in Ireland in a little waterfront town called Kinsale.

Kinsale is known as a foodie capital with great restaurants on every corner. Unfortunately, we got there pretty early before things were really up and going. Double-unfortnuately, we were there in the middle of February–the non-tourist season–so a lot of things were simply shut down for the winter. We did enjoy walking around the town to see all of the brightly colored buildings, and we had a delicious lunch of crepes before we headed out.

On our way out of town we stopped at an old military fort called Charles Fort. It was a key player in the Spanish War of the early 1600’s. We decided not to go inside the fort for the tour, but it was really neat to see the structure (and the view, oh the view from up there!).

We drove from Kinsale straight up to Middleton, home of the Jameson Whiskey Distillery.

We went on a tour of the old distillery (the new, more modern production happens next door). We learned a lot about the whiskey-making process and even got to sample the finished product.

We called it quits early on our last day because we needed to get back to our hotel and pack so we’d be ready for our 3 AM wake-up call the next morning.

The next day was travel day again. We were sad to leave, but also excited to get back home and see our little David who didn’t get to accompany us on this trip. We ended up having a very smooth, uneventful trip back to the states. Jacob was a trooper (as always) and slept for about 7 hours on the plane. I think traveling with a peaceful 6-month old is about as good as it gets!

We had an incredible time in Ireland and truly loved every bit of it that we saw. The country was beautiful, the people were friendly (seriously, some of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life), the food was good, and the sights were amazing. I can’t wait to go back and see all of the places we missed on this trip!

Traveling With Bebe, Part 4: How To Get Through Your Flight (Plus 40 Activities To Entertain Your Baby or Toddler During The Flight!)

February 8, 2013March 25, 20161 Comment

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Boarding and Take Off
They will usually invite families traveling with young children to board the plane first. Use your best judgment on this one. If you have a content little baby and think you’ll need some extra time to jockey you and your belongings into position, then go ahead and board early. But beware. If you have a crawler or a toddler who doesn’t like to sit still for more than two micro-seconds, stay in the comfort–and space–of the airport for as long as possible before boarding the plane.

If you are lucky enough to be bringing your car seat onto the plane with you, try to set it up in the window seat so you’re not blocked in. If you’re bringing baby on your lap, most airlines will allow you to keep him strapped into an infant carrier during the flight (with the exception of takeoff and landing times).

During takeoff, try to have your baby sucking or chewing on something. This will help their tiny ears adjust to the air pressure changes. You can nurse your baby, give baby a bottle or a pacifier, or have your toddler chomp on chewy snacks. An added benefit to nursing during takeoff: baby may actually fall asleep. Hello, peaceful flight!

If your little one still gets plugged ears during the flight, try the “cups method” for popping their ears:
-Get two plastic cups (one for each ear), some boiling water and a few paper towels. Just ask your flight attendant for these supplies–they’ll hook you up!
-Dampen the paper towels in the boiling water and place one inside each cup
-Hold the cups containing the dampened towels over the ears for a few minutes.
The steam from the boiling water will generate a small pressure vacuum that will unblock the ears and help relieve pain.

During The Flight
Your baby’s age and mobility-level will determine a lot of what will make your flight time go smoothly. If you have an infant (under 5 months old) who can’t really move yet, your flight should be pretty easy. He’ll probably fall asleep during takeoff or at some point early in your flight with all of that lovely white noise that goes on in an airplane.

If you have a baby who is able to roll over and/or sit (approximately 5-7 months), he’ll probably be content sitting on your lap for a good chunk of time. You can entertain him with songs, books, ripping pages out of those magazines that are in the seatback in front of you. You can nurse him (or give him a bottle) and he may even doze off. If he starts to get fussy, you can bounce with him in the aisles or walk back to the galley with him (usually the flight attendants will take pity on you and let you hang out in their space).

If you have a crawler–or, God forbid, a walker–good luck. That’s all I have to say, because it’s probably going to be a rough flight. Babies who are mobile but have not yet attained an attention span of more than 1 minute are very difficult travel companions. They want to move, and being strapped in to a car seat or a baby carrier for hours on end is not their idea of a happy day. Bring lots of yummy snacks, new books and toys that they haven’t seen before, and a lot of patience. Be prepared to spend a good portion of your flight walking up and down the aisles and/or sitting cross-legged in your seat so your baby can play in the 4 square inches of floor space at your feet. And, if all else fails, just remind yourself that it will all be over soon and you’ll be enjoying that special place that you’re traveling to!

Here are some of my favorite activities to entertain a baby or toddler while on the plane:

Read books
Sing songs and lap bounces
Recite Nursery Rhymes (brush up on these ahead of time)
Do finger plays with the accompanying hand motions
Eat special snacks (I’ve heard that a ring pop can entertain a 2 year old for hours)
Play with window decals on the window (find them on clearance after holidays)
Color with crayons
Magna Doodle
Paint with “Magic Paper” that turns colors when you paint with water (Crayola Color Wonder and Color Magic)
Play with wiki stix
Play with clay or play dough
Play with sticker activity books
Do a lacing project
Play with apps on your iPhone or iPad (I hear the “Duck Duck Moose” and “Peekaboo Wild/Farm/Forest” ones are great)
Watch movies or TV shows on your iPhone or iPad
Go to the bathroom and make silly faces in the mirror
Make a shaker out of two plastic cups taped together at the “mouths” and filled with airplane peanuts (your flight attendant will probably have all of the necessary supplies)
Play with magnet sets
Sort snacks or toys into piles (based on color, size, shape, type, etc.)
Let them braid my hair
Before you leave for your trip, make an “I Spy Bottle” to play with
Draw pictures for your little one and make up stories to go with them
Crumple up and tear paper
Draw letters, shapes, etc. and have your little one trace them
Play with toy cars and airplanes
Do a puzzle
Read the airplane safety pamphlet together and locate all of the exits on your plane, practice buckling seat belts, etc.
Play with Legos
Play Peek-A-Boo
Count things
Visit with other passengers (only the ones who invite you…some people on planes really don’t appreciate happy visits)
Play with ice cubes in an empty cup
Make origami or paper fans with pages from a magazine
Do seat exercises with your baby
Use pipe cleaners to create models of shapes, animals, etc.
Play with a flashlight (yes, there’s an app for that)
Use your camera (or the camera on your phone) to take silly photos of yourselves
(Before or after your flight) Visit the captain in the cockpit (you may even get one of those cool “wings” pins)
Crinkle water bottles
Play “guess which hand it’s in” (“It” can be a snack–if they guess correctly, they get to eat it)

One other little note here. Most people on the plane will be compassionate to your cause and they’ll be willing to help you out if needed. The flight attendants are usually very helpful and will bring your baby juice or water for her bottle, and some will even stop to play with her or hold her so you can go to the bathroom. So, when your baby starts fussing and you start to stress out, just relax. You’re not the only one who’s ever brought a crying baby on a plane and most of the other people remember the days when THEY were the ones holding the crying baby (or are thanking their stars that they are not yet the one who has to hold a crying baby).

Well, that’s it for my tips on flying. Tomorrow we leave for Ireland with baby J, so hopefully I can take my own advice and have a smooth flight! I’ll do another post after we get back from Ireland to let you know how all of this played out on an international flight. I may be MIA on the blog for the next week or so while we’re traveling, but I’ll be sure to update with lots of photos and fun stories when we return. Until then, Bon Voyage!

Traveling With Bebe, Part 3: Getting Through The Airport

February 7, 2013March 25, 20162 Comments

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Yesterday I showed you how I pack for a trip. Today, we get to go on the trip–hooray! I love traveling, but I have to admit it–traveling with kids can be a bit challenging. I used to look forward to the plane ride when I’d get 3 hours all to myself to catch up on reading all of those celebrity magazines that I only read when I’m at an airport. Now, I get to spend travel time anxiously anticipating my child’s every potential need and/or desire before they realize it and throw a temper tantrum at 30,000 feet. Or, I get to spend 3 hours bouncing a baby up and down the aisles as I get nasty stares from that old man who wants to leave his foot dangling out in the walkway right where I can trip over it. Yes, traveling with kids is exhausting and it tests your will as a parent, but in the end it’s always worth the effort. And, there are things you can do to make things go more smoothly for everyone. Today we’ll focus on getting through the airport so you can actually make your flight!

Arriving At The Airport
Always allow a bit of extra time when you’re traveling with kids. It will take you longer to physically move through the airport with little ones and all of their accompanying “stuff”. Plus, you’ll want some extra time to feed, do diaper changes, and run off some energy before your flight. I always bring a small stroller with me, even for my toddler who can walk, because sometimes it’s just easier (or necessary) to strap a kid in and run to your gate. I also try to check in for my flight and print our boarding passes before I arrive at the airport. As long as we’re not checking any bags, this allows us to go straight to security when we arrive–this gives us one less line to wait in and a few more minutes to get where we need to be by the time we need to be there.

Getting Through Security
Getting through airport security with a baby is a bit like competing in a triathlon: it requires training, endurance, speed, and the ability to perform a number of ridiculous tasks. I’ve got this down to a bit of a science now. I always bring baby’s car seat and stroller with me to the gate because you can check them there for free. Plus, if there happens to be an empty seat on your flight, they’ll let you bring the car seat ON the plane so you can let baby have his own seat next to you for free (this will give you empty arms and your baby will have a chance to take a nap in his own space. Glorious.).

The trickiest part of going through the airport with little ones is security because you have to put EVERYTHING through the metal detector (including strollers and car seats, baby not included). Here’s what I do for the baby: I bring a snap-and-go stroller with my “personal item” (a diaper bag) stored underneath it and the car seat snapped on top. When I flew by myself, I decided not to check a bag so I brought a nice rolling suitcase that I could drag behind me. I put the baby in the Ergo carrier as soon as I got out of the car so I could walk through security and not have to jostle him out of the car seat there (I have never had a problem leaving him in the Ergo through the security section, but maybe some airports will make you take baby out for further inspection. Perhaps junior is carrying a samurai sword under his onesie–you just never know).

Once at the security checkpoint, look for a family line. Some airports take pity on parents lugging children through the airport and they give you a little star treatment with a special, shorter line. Kind of like a fast pass at Disney–but instead of flying on Dumbo at the end, you get to walk through the magical metal detector.

Now, get a whole stack of those bins that you’re supposed to empty your pockets into. Excuse yourself to the impatient lady standing behind you, and take over the floor. If you plan on carrying baby through the metal detector in your arms, lay down a blanket or your jacket and set her down in one of the bins so she doesn’t roll away as you’re getting everything ready. Put the diaper bag in one bin. Put your liquids and any other questionable materials in another bin (by the way, if you’re traveling with a baby you are allowed a certain amount of liquid formula or breast milk through security, and I think even some water for you to drink as a mom. Check with your airline or the TSA website for more details). Put your shoes (I hope you’re wearing slip-ons or flip-flops, because good luck untying your shoes with a baby already strapped to your chest!), jacket, loose change, watch, etc. in another bin. Fold up the stroller and put it upside down on the conveyor belt. Make sure the handle is all the way down on your car seat (it won’t fit through the “security tunnel” if it’s not just right) and put it on the conveyor belt. Put your suitcase and all of your bins on the conveyor belt. *Make sure you got your baby out of that bin if you haven’t already!* Run back and forth like a mad-man trying to push all 30 of your items through the conveyor belt so you don’t cause a back-up. Hold baby, and walk calmly through the metal detector–no need to alarm anyone at this point. Yay, you did it! Now, go retrieve your pile of items that have already started spilling onto the floor on the other side of the conveyor belt and start putting everything back together again. Whew!

At The Gate
After you get through security, the rest is pretty easy. Get to your gate a bit early and check to see if they have any empty seats so you can bring your car seat on with you. This will make a world of difference, so it’s always worth checking once you’re there.

If you have a crawler or a toddler, encourage him to run/jump/climb/dance down the hallways–whatever it takes to burn some energy before the long flight ahead. Get a snack or a meal. Change diapers and use the potty yourself–bathroom runs and diaper changes mid-flight are difficult at best. Basically, do anything now that you’re not going to be able to do once you’re on the plane.

We’re almost to the good part now: actually flying to your destination. Check back tomorrow for my tips on flying with your little one!

Traveling With Bebe, Part 2: Pre-Travel Arrangements and Packing

February 6, 2013March 25, 20162 Comments

Booking Your Flight
Try to schedule your flight for a good time of day for you and your baby. I have found that it’s best to assume the baby will not nap on the plane, so plan accordingly (nap time + no nap = fussy baby, so try to avoid in-flight nap times). Try to schedule your flight for the morning so you can arrive in your destination before baby’s usual nap time. Or, if you still get 2 solid naps out of your little one, you can try the evening after nap #2, but still try to arrive before baby’s usual bed time. Obviously if you have a really long flight this logic won’t work, so just try to travel at the time of day when your baby is usually happiest (for us, that’s the morning).

If you can choose your seats ahead of time and will be traveling with a “helper”, choose two seats together (the best scenario is to find a row with only 2 seats so you don’t have to split the row with a helpless stranger). I like to sit on the aisle so I can get out easily to tend to baby’s needs, but some people prefer the window seat so they can entertain baby with the view. Also, the back of the plane is usually more kid-friendly–fewer passengers choose the back of the plane so there are usually more empty seats and you’re closer to the bathroom (for diaper changes) and the galley (if you need to stand up and bounce baby around for awhile).

If you will be having a layover, always opt for the longer time over the shorter time (i.e. take the 90 minute layover instead of the 60 minute). It takes longer to get from point A to point B when you’re carting along a stroller, car seat, diaper bag, carry-on, and an infant. Plus, you’ll want some extra time to do diaper changes, use the bathroom, get snacks, and get some wiggles out before the next leg of your journey. Short layovers always induce panic, so just don’t do it.

If you are traveling with a baby under age 2, It’s also a good idea to call your airline the week before you travel to confirm that you will be traveling with a lap infant. That way they can ensure there will be an extra oxygen mask at your seat and that you are seated in an appropriate spot (babies aren’t allowed in exit rows).

Packing
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare–you travel to some far-flung destination with your child, everyone arrives safe and sound, and then you realize that you forgot IT. You know, that one thing that your child NEEDS to survive, that thing that you NEED for your sanity, that very important thing that unless we find it NOW our entire trip will be RUINED!!!! So packing is very important. There are a lot of little things to bring with you when you’re traveling with young ones, and if you don’t pack them, nobody else will.

I have learned that I need to organize my packing well in advance of our travel. Otherwise, that shirt that I needed will be in the dirty laundry hamper or that baby food I needed will already have been eaten. I usually start packing bags about 3 days before we leave. This allows me to have everything I need in one spot, clean and organized. It also allows me a day or two to remember that thing that I forgot.

I keep a packing list stored as a document on my computer, then I print it off before I pack for a trip. Our list is broken down into what each member of our family (including the dog) needs for travel–whether we’re going for an over-nighter or a week-long vacation, we still need to bring most of the same things. If there is something on my list that I don’t need for this particular trip, I just cross it off my list before I start packing. If there is something additional I’ll need for this trip that is not on my usual list, I add it to the list before I start packing. As I’m packing, if I think of something else I might need, I also add it to the list. Then, after each item has been packed, I cross it off the list. Since I pack a few days ahead of time, there are usually a few items that have to be packed last minute (like our toothbrushes and my son’s “lovey” Mimi). I highlight those last minute items on my list and keep it with the bags. Then, at “the last minute”, I grab all of the highlighted items and toss them in the bags as we’re loading up the car. Yes, I realize that I sound really anal about all of this. But it works and I’ve never forgotten Mimi or my underwear.

And now, dear reader, you will get a glimpse into my wonderful world of packing. I don’t include our everyday clothes on this list because I pretty much know that we’ll all need pants and shirts while we’re traveling. Here is my essential packing list, well-refined from years of implementation:

Mom and Dad:

Camera
Meds and vitamins
Cell phone and charger
Laptop and charger
iPod and charger
Sunglasses
Hats
Running gear: shoes, pants, shirt, socks, bra
Swimsuit and flip flops
Nursing pads
Breastpump and bottles
Coats
Hair straightener and makeup
Sunscreen
Entertainment: books, load apps and music
Passports

Dog:

Food
Food bowls
Treats
Leash
Toys
Dog bed
Pills

Boys:

Diapers and wipes
Mimi and Gigi
Swaddling blanket
Extra baby blanket
Spit up rags
Baby monitor
Pac ‘N Play
Toys and books
Booster seat
Bibs
Baby food and spoon
Sippy cups
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
Tylenol
Snot Sucker
Pacifier
Snacks
Diaper bag
Stroller
Ergo
Coats and hats
Copies of birth certificates
Passports

Before we leave:

Take out garbage
Empty diaper pails
Turn off heat
Check mail
Run dishwasher
Lights off
Doors locked
Garage closed

Prepping For Travel Day
Time is of the essence when you’re traveling with young children. You get about 1 minute per year of their age before some earth-shattering disaster erupts in their world. I try to make our time in the airport go as quickly–and as smoothly–as I possibly can.This means calling the airline a few days ahead of time to notify them that I’ll be traveling with a lap infant (and making photo copies of his birth certificate in case anybody actually questions that my 6-month old is actually older than 2).

This means checking into my flight and printing our boarding passes at home before we leave for the airport. This means practicing how I will carry all of our stuff through the airport (yes, I’ve actually been known to do a trial run in our house with the luggage before the big travel day). This means loading our car as much as possible the night before we leave and keeping good notes on what still needs to be packed so we don’t have any last-minute forgettings of vitally important equipment (like the time I had to wake two sleeping babies at 5 AM to rush a laptop to the airport). Anything you can do ahead of time to minimize time and stress on your travel day is time well spent!

Think ahead to what will *potentially* entertain your baby or toddler on the plane, and make sure you’ve packed it. Snacks are usually the best bet–especially if it’s a special treat that they don’t get to enjoy very often. Also pack a few novel toys that he’s not already bored with. And, if you have a 2-year old boy, maybe even stash some earplugs for you and your fellow passengers. Just sayin’.

Travel Apparel
What you wear on the plane will make a big difference in your comfort on travel day. Here is, in my opinion, the perfect outfit for flying with a baby:

A long-sleeved v-neck that is easy to pull down for nursing. Sleeves can be rolled up if it gets hot or pulled down if I’m feeling cold (temperature regulation on planes is always pretty wonky, so I like to dress in layers)
A nursing tank (underneath the t-shirt)
An extra-large scarf: it can keep me warm, I can pull it off and use it as a lap blanket if my legs get cold, it works as an on-the-go nursing cover, and it makes for a quick game of peek-a-boo if baby gets fussy. And it’s kinda cute.
Stretchy leggings that I can pull down easily to pee if I need to carry the baby in the Ergo with me into the cramped little airplane bathroom. Plus they’re oh-so-comfy.
Shoes that I can easily slip on with one hand during the security check. No laces, buttons, snaps, etc.
I’d probably also bring a light jacket with me in case things get really chilly.

For baby: Dress him in something comfy that is easy to take on and off (if you need to do an in-flight diaper change you’ll be glad you choose a no-fuss outfit). Think: elastic waistbands or zippered pajamas–leave the cute outfit with a thousand buttons in your suitcase.*Note* Not all airplanes have changing tables, so you may be doing mid-flight changes on your lap!

Now that you have your bags packed and your clothes laid out, you’re ready for travel! Check back tomorrow for my tips on getting through the airport with little ones.

Taveling With Bebe, Part 1: We’re Going To Ireland!

February 4, 2013March 25, 20166 Comments

Ireland Jons Camera - 0121

I thought this title of “Traveling With Bebe” would be quite fitting for our newest adventure. Next week, we’ll be traveling with our “bebe” (6 month old Jacob) to Ireland! Jon has to travel to Cork in southern Ireland for work and Jacob and I are going to tag along with him on his trip. There are actually some practical reasons why I’m going with him on this trip (more on that later), but it’s also pretty awesome that I’ll get a little mid-winter vacation and that we’ll be there for Valentine’s Day! We’ll just be there for a week, so it will be a quick trip.

Luckily for baby Jacob, he’s still nursing–and we don’t have to buy him his own plane ticket–so he gets to come along with us. Unfortunately for 2-year old David (and fortunately for us–can you imagine flying for 16 hours with a TWO year old?!), he’ll be staying state-side with his grandparents.

We’ve already done quite a bit of traveling with the boys. David rode on his first plane when he was about 9 months old, and I’ve already flown solo with Jacob down to Phoenix. Of the times that we’ve taken the boys on planes, about half of those times have been me by myself, and the other half I’ve had at least one helper. Even though we do have lots of travel experience, we’ve never done a trip quite like this. It will be a very long day of travel (especially by baby standards) and will involve a time change of 8 hours (hello, jet lag!). Plus, we’ll be traveling internationally so there are a few extra precautions that need to be made on that front. Overall, though, it should be a fun little experience for all of us.

There’s a lot to think about when you’re traveling with little people, so I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learned along the way to make things run a bit smoother. First and foremost, just acknowledge that you’re not the one running the show–so don’t get too upset when things don’t work out perfectly. Kids will scream, babies will cry, and things will likely get a bit messy. Just go with the flow, have an adult beverage on the plane, and know that it will all be over in a matter of hours 🙂

This week I’ll get into the nitty-gritty of traveling with the under-two set. Check back tomorrow for my tips on organizing and packing, then later in the week for how we actually get through the airport and our flight.

I’m actually a bit nervous about taking baby on such a long flight, so I’d love to hear about your travel experiences. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any proven travel tips or great stories from your travels with kids!

*Author’s Note* Click here to read about what we did while we were in Cork, Ireland!

DIY Apple Stamp Valentines

February 1, 2013May 3, 20132 Comments

Today is February 1st and, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to make some cards for our loved ones. I much prefer home-made cards to store-bought because they’re more meaningful, they’re fun to make, and they cost less than the off-the-shelf variety. I got my idea for this year’s apple stamp Valentines out of a magazine. For the life of me, I can’t remember which magazine it was and, since I just purged and recycled all of my back-issues a few weeks ago, the world may never know. So, to whichever magazine I borrowed this idea from, thank you!

Apple Stamp Valentines

First, cut an apple in half and trim the bottom to a point so that it looks like a heart. Put some red paint on a plate (we used finger paint because I already had it and it doesn’t stain clothes).

Dip your apple into the paint and stamp it onto paper (I had pre-folded cardstock into small cards for our project). You don’t need a lot of paint on your apple in order for it to stamp properly. Pull the apple stamp straight up off the paper so you don’t smudge your heart shape.

Let your stamped paper dry completely.

After the paint is dry, you can use makers to add a stem, leaves and seeds to your apple hearts. I also added some little sayings to my cards. The sentiments I used were: “You’re the apple of my eye!”, “Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand. -Mother Teresa”, and “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. -Galatians 5:22-23″.

I have several blank envelopes from a stationery set that I’ll use to mail out our cards. Happy Valentine’s Day!

We Love, Teach, Grow

My journey through motherhood

Tag: Baby