Happy New Year

Submitted by HighMaintenanceMom on January 2, 2006 - 23:14.

We returned from our adventure back east just in time to put the children into bed before the west coast welcomed 2006. Since then we've been unpacking and readjusting to life at home. We were glad we returned a few days before going back to work/school so the kids could play with their toys and get a little bored. The highlights of our trip, other than seeing our families, included sledding/playing in the snow, seeing lots of fossils, going to the beach, and visiting children's museums.

Traveling with kids provides certain known challenges such as finding food they will eat, adjusting to a new environment, and not having the same schedule. It's the unknown challenges, however, that add to the fun, depending on each child's personality. Take baby proofing -- at your own home you continually adjust to what your kids do to make the environment as safe as possible. Some kids do not require a lot of baby proofing as they don't open every cabinet, pull on everything they can reach, or view the furniture as climbing walls. Others, like Baby Entropy, point out why the baby proofing industry seems so out of hand. The most painful example for me this trip was his constant desire to pour water into an outlet in the floor and then stick things into it. It amazed me that of all the things to do, the one outlet in the floor without the cover interested him most.

On a slightly different note, we did manage to drive about 13 hours without having a DVD player in the rental minivan. I was very impressed with how the kids slept and entertained themselves. I hope we have similar experiences in the future. The plane rides, however, were more difficult. Baby E hates being restrained and fought the seat belts on all three flights (on the first 5+ hour flight the person in front of us actually turned around and said, "his screaming causes us pain", [at that point he wasn't screaming, he was just practicing talking] to which I thought, "just wait until he starts to kick your seat..."). Although we did not watch movies in the minivan, we were relying on satellite TV for B on Jet Blue. Unfortunately there was a satellite TV issue on our 6+ hour flight back from JFK and none of the kids channels were available. I still recommend Jet Blue as a great airline for families.

We hope you had Happy Holidays and best wishes for a wonderful year.

( categories: Travel )
Holiday Travel
Submitted by beantownmom on January 4, 2006 - 10:03.

This being our first holiday season with our new baby girl (I call her, among other things, trumpet because of the funny noises she makes while feeding) who is 2 months old today, I can relate to your travel excitement. We drove 2 hours to Grammy's house and she slept the entire way there but on the way back, she demanded a feeding. I never pictured myself sitting in the back seat of our car at a rest stop breast feeding our baby....but, there we were. My husband sat up front listening to his new CD from my brother and wasnt the least bit phased. He was, however, phased by the amount of "stuff" we needed to lug to Grammy's house. I took it all in stride knowing it would make our little one comfortable...she did well in the new environment. I can only imagine what our first plane trip will bring us but that will have to wait until Trumpet is older....

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All the extra stuff
Submitted by HighMaintenanceMom on January 4, 2006 - 22:45.

So happy to hear about the drive to see Grammy and Trumpet is such a great name! I traveled with so much stuff during B's first year. When he was five months old we went on a several day drive that involved one night in a hotel, one in a cabin, and one camping. Our car was packed with stuff for B. When we got home I separated his clothes into a pile to wash and a pile to put away because he didn't wear them and the unworn pile was bigger than the dirty pile. On our holiday trip this year, the Pocket Physicist had a plan where each kid would get three outfits for 13 days. We stopped at a Gap Outlet on the first day of our trip so I could add another outfit or two. Even when they're in their second and third years, they can still go through several outfits a day. Congrats on breastfeeding at the rest stop. It's pretty amazing to be able to pull over and feed. Did anyone park next to you? I have memories of feeding Baby E in empty parts of parking lots and having people pull in right next to me. As if there weren't fifty spaces closer to the entrance...

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Ahh, it's always the parents
Submitted by stewiegriffin on January 6, 2006 - 16:14.

Ahh, it's always the parents who are really busy when the whole famlily returns back from a trip, especially mums. I'm glad that you guys came back home a few days before work/ school to get yourself recharged. Sounds like you really had a nice trip along with the kids. I'll go check about jet Blue, they sure sounds like some great airlines. ANyway, Happy New Year!

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Happy New Year
Submitted by tld on January 8, 2006 - 20:31.

Overall the travel went well for us. We have 1 son (18 months) - I can't quite yet imagine traveling with 2 or more kids! J doesn't sleep in planes, or cars. No matter how tired, no matter what I try. He did when he was very young, but not since. We had a 3.5 hour plane ride - we did take the portable DVD player and played it here and there. And I took various new toys etc. - magnets, coloring items, slinky, books, food of course, small toys etc. I read about some little ones his age who will just sit there, or will look at a magazine for most of the flight. Not J. I have to keep him interacting with things and if I do he forgets he's in a seat and can't move around. If he realizes it - then he's not happy and very squirmy and vocal about it. Luckily I brought enough things to keep him occupied (and putting the window shade up and down was a fun game quite a few times). And I tried to remember some good advice my best friend gave me (she has a 4 year old, 3 year old and 1 year old) - "You will never see these people again" (referring to the people on the plane).

Oh - but first we had to work on the seat assignments. For some reason (even though I travel a good bit and would have normally caught something like this!) we didn't have seats together. My 18 month old son in an infant seat, my husband and I were in completely different parts of the plane (all 3 middle seats). I realized this the night before the flight. Tried to adjust the night before (on line, via phone) - no luck. Tried to adjust the day of (on line, in person etc.). They basically said that I just had to work it out on the plane - Oh great. What was I suppose to say "Hello Mr. Smith in row 8A, meet J my 18 month old son. See you in Chicago! Have a good flight. I'll be back in row 21 sleeping and reading People". Luckily it did work out by switching with some people, but added a little stress to the boarding process. Why would they book an infant seat sitting by itself (and in a middle row!).

He slept pretty well at night, not so great with naps. I try to do what I can to create a similar environment and schedule as to what he has at home. Crazy first time mom brings same blanket, sound machine etc. to re-create his room. Similar food to re-create his meals. It is a little neurotic some of the things that I do but I think it does make a difference because he did stay on a pretty good schedule, mood etc. And people commented how well he seemed to be doing with all the travel, new people, holiday chaos etc.

The 3 hour drive (twice) was a little harder, but still manageable. Since I was up front driving (rather than next to him on a plane) it was harder to keep him occupied. And he wasn't doing a good job of entertaining himself. Wouldn't sleep etc. He'd get real fussy once he'd realize he was just sitting there and couldn't get out. So he watched a little more dvd than we like but it helped get us all through the trip. And I've gone back to the very limited tv now that we are back home.

I was exhausted the whole trip from getting up early, and from having to be "on" 24/7 for a week. I was in constant motion for a week - either with him, visiting with family / friends, preparing for the next hour, baby proofing etc. Glad to be home. Took about a week to get re-situated.

P.S. HMM - have you been to Kohls Children's Museum in Glenview? It's GREAT! We took J there and also to Lakeview Museum in Peoria!

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Happy New Year!
Submitted by dogbert on January 9, 2006 - 08:28.

Hello everyone!

hmm you guys havin a great New year night, seemingly! Even without a city celebration nearby, on the other hand, it's possible 2 turn 1st Night in2 a time 4 family n especially with mother. The holiday's themes -- reflections on the past n hopes 4 the future, with a bit of mischief thrown in -- can b played out through the simplest of activities. I enjoyed marking the year's passing with ma mum. She is so lovin n carin.

By-the-way, wish you all the happiest new year ahead!

Chao

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