“Tiny Traveler – Part Two”

 

Dear Readers,

So there’s traveling & then there’s traveling with a baby. Don’t get me wrong, I still love traveling, but I’d be a liar if I told you that traveling with a baby is a piece of cake. I’m sure there may be some parents out there who are total pros at traveling with a little one, but as for now, my husband & I are total “noobs” at it.

 

If you’ve been keeping up with my blogs you know that I was on a 7 plus hour road trip to San Diego with my husband, brother & 2 month-old daughter. We drove my parent’s car down & spent a week with them. It was exciting getting to introduce our daughter to friends & family for the first time. It was a like a second Christmas. Not by way of gifts (although baby girl did receive many gifts again,) but by way of the cheerful spirit we all had in just spending quality time together.

 

We arrived on Monday (January 2) in the early evening, got settled in and were amazed at how well baby girl did on the road trip. She absolutely loves car rides so we weren’t too concerned. We did notice that her head & back were damp from sweat. Yup, we were definitely not in Norcal’s chilly weather anymore, but were now basking in the sunny San Diego weather. It was still chilly, but 60 degrees compared to 40 degrees can make a big difference.

 

Throughout our week well spent, we celebrated my mom’s birthday, met up with friends & family, & attended my highschool’s alumni games where I played volleyball against a group of some vigorous teenage girls (yeah, I am definitely not 16 anymore!) Gone are those days of being young & fit… (By the way… how are those New Year’s resolutions coming along?) Our week went by so fast; too fast.

 

Going to San Diego we drove (since we still had my parent’s car with us.) But coming back home we were to fly. Fly?! With a 3 month-old (She was only 2 months before our trip?!) Call us crazy! Call us insane! But yeah, that’s what we did. It wasn’t a nightmare, but it wasn’t easy either. We were driven to the San Diego Airport & said our “good-byes” to my side of the family & headed towards our gate. Baby girl was doing so well without any fussiness or whining. Going through security was a piece of cake. Our flight was scheduled for 7:30pm then changed to 8:00pm by the time we reached our gate. “No biggie”, we thought. Suddenly my quiet, mellow baby started to fuss a bit. I started dancing with her & walking around our gate area talking to her about our surroundings. She was fine… (for about 10 minutes.) Then my bouncing skills were no longer amusing my little girl. I quickly checked my baby-feeding app & saw it was time to feed baby girl again. Yup! She was hungry. The thing is I was planning on feeding her on the plane in a comfortable & somewhat private area. So much for that plan. It was time for “Plan B.” I asked my husband what I should do. He quickly responded by saying, “Try the women’s restroom.” First of all, how? Second of all, um… no way! I looked around & spotted a secluded corner facing the wall; which was clear of people for about 6 feet of its radius. It was perfect! I grabbed a couple of essentials & headed over. 15 minutes into the feeding session I heard a woman’s voice on the intercom above stating that our flight would now be at 8:30pm or possibly later due to the rainy weather at our destination. To make this part of my story short, we ended up boarding at 8:50pm & our flight didn’t take off until about 9:15pm. We were blessed to be able to take baby girl’s carrier on our flight for FREE & it certainly was a blessing. She started off in the carrier until I hear some loud toots. My husband & I looked at each & we just knew she was making a poopie! We were still preparing for takeoff so this gave me the opportunity to change her. I walked towards the back with her in my arms. Passengers smiled at her as I passed & I thought to myself “You’re smiling now, but you just wait!” The flight attendant kindly showed me that there was a changing table in the rear restroom. Who knew those were in there?! I sure didn’t. It’s pretty neat what parent-y things have existed all around you even before you become a parent. Anyways, halfway through our diaper change, the light went on signaling me to return to my seat. I quickly wrapped things up then headed over to my seat. The same passengers who smiled at her on our way to the restroom also smiled on our way back to our seat. I placed my daughter back in her carrier & she started wailing. And I mean WAILING! She’s never cried like that before. At this point I started wondering if those passengers still had smiles on their faces. I felt everyone’s eyes on me as I tried to soothe my crying baby. After what seemed like eternity, I picked up my daughter & placed her on my lap. She immediately stopped crying & began to look around. Then she started to smile & giggle. My husband & I looked at each other with a sigh of relief. Our flight lasted for about 50 minutes so by the time our daughter fell asleep, we were already descending into our destination. Praise the Lord for a safe trip & flight. We landed safely & as we were taxiing, the lady in the row across from us whispered over to us ”She did very well.” We apologized to her for the crying. “Oh! Don’t worry. If that were my daughter, she’d be crying the entire time.” That statement put us “noob” parents at ease. Not sure where & when we’ll be traveling to next, but we’ll let you in on how our tiny traveler handles each trip we take.

 

Sincerely,

Abi

 

P.S. Stay tuned for my “First-time Parent Tips for Traveling with a Baby.”