We flew ALL carryon. If I had to do it again, I would still fly ALL carryon, but I would re-evaluate what I was taking with me and how I was carrying it. We had:
1. The stroller, which I think I could have done with out (I HATE strollers, so it could just be my bias)
2. A giant 2200 cubic inch backpack which housed toys for the plane ride and my pump
3. My messenger bag which had the Baby B'air (LOVED IT!) and the diaper wallet along with my phone, wallet, camera and GPS
4. Giant duffel bag which had all clothes, shoes and toiletries.
Flying from DFW to NY was not bad. We woke up early and drove to the airport while Em would have been asleep. After I declared both, security @ DFW wanted my pump and EBM out, and the security guard held Em while I worked on unpacking and repacking the bags. They didn't even ask about my liquids, because they saw that I was just a mom traveling with her baby with no help.
At the gate, I let Em cruise around and a group of high school girls were apparently riding with us to NY for a choir competition. They not only kept her entertained, but watched my bags while I went to change her as she had pooped 10 minutes before boarding. By letting her get her energy out, she fell asleep before we even took off and slept for 2 of the 3 hours on the plane.
The last hour, I fed her cheerios one by one, and attempted to entertain her with a toy. It was thrown to the floor three times, and I realized the "wisdom" of bringing her a toy for every half hour was the stupidest thing ever. At least for her.
She started crying before the descent was announced, and I popped in the paci. Worked like a charm.
Being around 3 year olds for a week improved Em's walking (and trotting!) skills considerably, so I worried about my gameplan for the trip back. At NY's La Guardia, I did NOT have to take my pump and milk out even after I declared it, nor did I have to take out my liquids. Again, I think it was seeing me struggling with all the stuff that I had (it wasn't bad, but it sure looked it!) kept the security guards from going crazy with the screening.
I got to the gates, and saw that another flight to DFW was taking off in a few minutes, so I asked about any extra seats. Not only were there seats, but we got a whole row to ourselves.
Thank goodness that we did. Because we didn't get a chance to burn off energy at the gate waiting, the novelty of being on the plane wore off in about 30 minutes. The takeoff was fine. The snack was fine. And then she started crying for about an hour. I can't even imagine trying to deal with her with somebody next to me. Nothing worked - paci, toys, food.
She'd been fed EBM before we left for the airport, but I went ahead and gave her the bottle that I was saving for the landing. Even with that, she kept popping off to cry. I finally gave her a dose of tylenol, and rubbed her gums with a good helping of baby orajel, and after a while she finally fell asleep for the rest of the flight. She was so out that I was able to lay her down on the seats while I gathered all of our stuff.
SO to recap:
1. Let them burn off energy for the flight.
2. Keep food, and drugs on hand just in case.
3. Don't be afraid to ask for help from anyone around you.
Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Road Trip Tips + Baby Update
Road Trip Tips and Upcoming Flight Plans (with links)
1. Don't bring the stroller unless you're sure you're going to use it. We used it once, and we didn't really even need to use it then. It took up a lot of room that we could have used to...you know, see through the back window.
2. Stop to eat/feed at least an hour before your child's upper limit of going without eating. Ember can go up to 5 hours during the day without eating, if she's sleeping. She slept once the car hit 50 mph, and would wake up if the car slowed down only if she was hungry. We had a bad bout outside Chicago in traffic that we couldn't do anything about. It was like Speed. So we tried to not go more than 4 hours before we stopped to feed her. We took her out of her seat when we took her to eat so that she could stretch her legs as well. Last but not least, we fed her before we went anywhere, and as soon as we got to our destinations.
3. Don't try to save expressed milk unless you're staying with people the whole time. I pump. I have an overage of about 10oz a day. It KILLS me to think about dumping the overage ever. But, after a week on the road and stressing about freezers, the cooler and the icepacks, we hit a hotel without a fridge. Even though the description said that it could be requested for the room, we weren't going to be able to get one until the next day and the milk would be bad. So I dumped 50oz on the spot, and dropped the number of pumps a day to reduce the waste, and still dumped about 5-6oz a day. A week after our return, I've almost returned to my normal production.
4. Bring double of what you need for the baby unless you have access to a washing machine, and skip bringing a load of toys. Also, a small baby does not need a pack and play to go anywhere - the Eddie Bauer Travel Bed was just fine. Pack light. Nuff said.
5. As for changing, she isn't too fussy about having a full diaper, so we changed her every time we fed her. Always before, and sometimes after if we were reasonably sure she'd filled her diaper during the stop, and made liberal use of diaper rash cream to curb any rashes if we saw them beginning. I brought along a pack of diapers for the trip going, and my friend in CT had another pack on hand, so we had enough for the journey home. DO pack a changing pad. I'm not comfortable (yet) changing in a parked car, so it was invaluable for changing in places with iffy cleanliness or no changing table at all.
I'm planning on flying back to NY for a week with just myself and Miss Em next spring. I've already purchased (at a STEAL!), the Kelty Kids Kangaroo Child Carrier on Ebay. I'm planning on purchasing the Sunshine Kids Travel Bag to carry her carseat, as I'll be renting a car, but will be traveling with her in my lap on the plane. Add to that the Eagle Creek Pack Folder and the MSR Pack Towel which my very thoughtful husband purchased for me after reading about how much I coveted them on my blog, and all I'll need to pack is a small duffel bag for the two of us. I'm pretty excited. I'll of course let folks know how well that went, along with product reviews.
Baby Updates: Growth, Milestones & Shots
Miss Em is now 9 weeks old today. I can NOT believe it. She now weighs 11 lbs and is almost 2 feet tall. She loves to sit and stand (with assistance) and grins a whole lot. She LOVES her Bumbo. Those things are hit or miss according to the reviews. In this house, its a hit. My parents are both waiting to see when she'll walk, as according to them, I REALLY walked (instead of scooting, etc.) when I was 8 months old. She tries to laugh, and her baby talk is now multi-syllabic.
She had her first shots ever yesterday. I was pretty sad about that, but I know she needs them. We're staggering some, and delaying others, and her pediatrician's office is cool with that. Sure, we'll be paying more for co-pays, but I would much rather pay more money and not pay with her health. She was pretty good about the shots. A few shouts of protest, and it was all over and forgotten. The nurse was surprised at how quickly she quieted. Her only reactions to her shots were a very low fever (it got as high as 99.2) and she's a little sleepier than usual.
As most of you know, I'm normally a platelet donor. Since I found out I was pregnant, and am now exclusively pumping, I have not been able to donate. But, as I mentioned earlier, I have about a 10oz overage of milk a day. Em takes in about 20-22oz a day, and I produce ~32oz and even had a day when I had 40oz. Today, I donated 250oz to Mother's Milk Bank of North Texas. That's over two gallons. I still have about 30oz in the freezer, and 10oz in the fridge. I love being able to help other moms, I really feel good that its not going to waste, and I will continue to donate as long as I can.
1. Don't bring the stroller unless you're sure you're going to use it. We used it once, and we didn't really even need to use it then. It took up a lot of room that we could have used to...you know, see through the back window.
2. Stop to eat/feed at least an hour before your child's upper limit of going without eating. Ember can go up to 5 hours during the day without eating, if she's sleeping. She slept once the car hit 50 mph, and would wake up if the car slowed down only if she was hungry. We had a bad bout outside Chicago in traffic that we couldn't do anything about. It was like Speed. So we tried to not go more than 4 hours before we stopped to feed her. We took her out of her seat when we took her to eat so that she could stretch her legs as well. Last but not least, we fed her before we went anywhere, and as soon as we got to our destinations.
3. Don't try to save expressed milk unless you're staying with people the whole time. I pump. I have an overage of about 10oz a day. It KILLS me to think about dumping the overage ever. But, after a week on the road and stressing about freezers, the cooler and the icepacks, we hit a hotel without a fridge. Even though the description said that it could be requested for the room, we weren't going to be able to get one until the next day and the milk would be bad. So I dumped 50oz on the spot, and dropped the number of pumps a day to reduce the waste, and still dumped about 5-6oz a day. A week after our return, I've almost returned to my normal production.
4. Bring double of what you need for the baby unless you have access to a washing machine, and skip bringing a load of toys. Also, a small baby does not need a pack and play to go anywhere - the Eddie Bauer Travel Bed was just fine. Pack light. Nuff said.
5. As for changing, she isn't too fussy about having a full diaper, so we changed her every time we fed her. Always before, and sometimes after if we were reasonably sure she'd filled her diaper during the stop, and made liberal use of diaper rash cream to curb any rashes if we saw them beginning. I brought along a pack of diapers for the trip going, and my friend in CT had another pack on hand, so we had enough for the journey home. DO pack a changing pad. I'm not comfortable (yet) changing in a parked car, so it was invaluable for changing in places with iffy cleanliness or no changing table at all.
I'm planning on flying back to NY for a week with just myself and Miss Em next spring. I've already purchased (at a STEAL!), the Kelty Kids Kangaroo Child Carrier on Ebay. I'm planning on purchasing the Sunshine Kids Travel Bag to carry her carseat, as I'll be renting a car, but will be traveling with her in my lap on the plane. Add to that the Eagle Creek Pack Folder and the MSR Pack Towel which my very thoughtful husband purchased for me after reading about how much I coveted them on my blog, and all I'll need to pack is a small duffel bag for the two of us. I'm pretty excited. I'll of course let folks know how well that went, along with product reviews.
Baby Updates: Growth, Milestones & Shots
Miss Em is now 9 weeks old today. I can NOT believe it. She now weighs 11 lbs and is almost 2 feet tall. She loves to sit and stand (with assistance) and grins a whole lot. She LOVES her Bumbo. Those things are hit or miss according to the reviews. In this house, its a hit. My parents are both waiting to see when she'll walk, as according to them, I REALLY walked (instead of scooting, etc.) when I was 8 months old. She tries to laugh, and her baby talk is now multi-syllabic.
She had her first shots ever yesterday. I was pretty sad about that, but I know she needs them. We're staggering some, and delaying others, and her pediatrician's office is cool with that. Sure, we'll be paying more for co-pays, but I would much rather pay more money and not pay with her health. She was pretty good about the shots. A few shouts of protest, and it was all over and forgotten. The nurse was surprised at how quickly she quieted. Her only reactions to her shots were a very low fever (it got as high as 99.2) and she's a little sleepier than usual.
As most of you know, I'm normally a platelet donor. Since I found out I was pregnant, and am now exclusively pumping, I have not been able to donate. But, as I mentioned earlier, I have about a 10oz overage of milk a day. Em takes in about 20-22oz a day, and I produce ~32oz and even had a day when I had 40oz. Today, I donated 250oz to Mother's Milk Bank of North Texas. That's over two gallons. I still have about 30oz in the freezer, and 10oz in the fridge. I love being able to help other moms, I really feel good that its not going to waste, and I will continue to donate as long as I can.
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