Mom Posts: 3 Lessons Learned from Traveling with an Infant

Yesterday we returned from our first travel adventure with an infant, and I must day, it was highly successful! I caveat this blog by stating that we truly do have an easy baby, and are forever grateful and do not take that for granted!!!! That said, there were still things I learned for next time that I thought I'd share. This is what worked for us, but every infant - and family - is different, so do what works.

Everyone on the first flight was incredibly nice and complimentary! The gate agent took us to the "special assistance" area and we were able to take a shuttle to the plane well before other passengers. The pilot (while waiting for the delayed shuttle of passengers!) came out and said hi, and turns out he has a baby the same age!! Then there was a pilot sitting next to us heading home who said "I've been there" very reassuringly. A lady passed by while boarding and said "I'm sure she'll do great!" and many complimented us on how adorable she was. After a stressful day getting everything ready and navigating the ticketing, security, and gate....it was reassuring and calming to hear everyone's comments!

Here are my three lessons learned:

1. When to Nurse: I knew to nurse her during take-off and landing, but didn't think about how they pressurize the cabin when they shut the door. Our super happy and sleepy baby started screaming for what I thought was no reason, then my husband figured it out. I quickly nursed her and she was fine. I put this lesson into action for the return flight with no issues. 
2. Changing Diapers: I changed a wet diaper on the plane at our seats, but since small planes do not have changing tables, I also learned that I have no idea what I would have done with a dirty diaper situation! No advice here, but a definite realization!!
3. Car Seats: Infant car seats can be installed without a base, which we knew, and even practiced before we left. However, it does not seem to be sucre in the slightest because the seat angle, and the angle of the straps just cannot physically stay where they're supposed to be. The foot end of the seat constantly wants to push down and the head end constantly wants to push up, so I readjusted it EVERY time we got in the car. It was also nearly impossible to get an infant into the seat once installed because the lap belt goes across the whole car seat. Lesson learned: I can't wait till we just need a booster or none at all. 

And we did use the advice from Lindsay's Pursuit of Pink blog, and made cute notes from our daughter and included a pair of ear plugs and a chocolate treat. Everyone thought it was cute!

What lessons did you learn after traveling that you'd wished you'd known before?

Mom Posts: Traveling WITH My Little One

In May, my husband and I will be traveling with our almost-4-month-old to Long Island for a family wedding. Originally, we were planning on having my mother-in-law babysit, but my trip without her plus the fact that it's my first ever Mother's Day solidified that we will be taking her with us. Here are a few tips we've accumulated thus far:

TSA/Security and the Airport:

• Infants do not need photo ID unless you're traveling abroad, but always check current policies to be certain
• Know the TSA security screening procedures for children, which can be found here. I would print a copy to be safe
• Know the TSA policies on traveling with formula, breastmilk and juice, found here, and definitely print a copy if you may be traveling with any of those items
• Plan for tons of extra time (in case you haven't figured that out by now!)
• Scope out the family restrooms before you need them!
• Use the pre-boarding option if you happen to fly an airline that still allows early boarding with children

On the Plane:

• Call the airline to notify them you will have an infant with you on your lap
• Plan to nurse or feed your little one during take-off and landing; but know that some airlines do have specific policies and you may want to do your research
• Check out my friend Lindsey's blog, the Pursuit of Pink, on traveling with an infant to see the cute packets she made nearby passengers so they were a bit more forgiving if the baby starts to cry; the packets had a note from her daughter, a pack of oreos, and a pair of ear plugs. The items were cute but her note is even cuter so you must check it out!

Hotels:

• Call the hotel (in our case, hotels) to request a crib. Ask if there's a charge so you're aware. In our case, we had to get a larger room to fit the pack'n'play they're supplying us because the room we'd booked only had room for 2 people
• Also ask if you can get a fridge in the room, if it doesn't come with one. If you have a medical need, it's usually free of charge (breastmilk counts, and you can research if formula does)

Rental Car:

• If renting a car, decide what you'll do about car seats; we plan to bring a spare we happen to have so that our good one isn't accidentally damaged; many companies now rent car seats but be aware that you may not know how to install it if it's a different brand from your own

Packing:

• A few days before traveling, start taking note of:
• how many diapers you go through in a day and multiply by the number of days traveling (remember you can always buy more though!)
• what toys/books you use; I only bring one book and one toy since she's so little
• any special items you need for the bedtime routine (e.g., we used a giraffe that makes white noise for a while, though she no longer needs it)
• Gear:
• We plan to gate check a stroller, check a car seat (under the plane) and I'll use the Ergo carrier while walking around most of the time. Check out these cases I bought at Babies'R'Us to protect them from getting dirty
• Feeding:
• We plan to bring one bottle, a hand pump, and some sanitizing wipes just in case, but I plan to nurse exclusively
• A nursing cover if you wish to have one
• Burp cloths and bibs (our baby spits up... sometimes not at all, sometimes literally ALL she eats)
• Other items to think about:
• Swaddle if your baby uses one at night (our's does!)
• Pacifiers if your baby uses them (our's does not...she can't figure them out)
• A blanket for the plane and car
• Medicine (if you need Tylenol, vitamin D, any other medicine they regularly take)

What are your tips? I'd also love to hear success stories or mishaps!

Mom Posts: Traveling WITHOUT My Little One

This week, I had to travel to TX for work without my 3 month old baby girl. I'm not going to lie...it sucked. To those who don't yet have kids, this may be TMI, so....fair warning!

Luckily, I love the work I do and while I was meeting with and interviewing the clients for the project, I was fully distracted. However, in addition to missing her little face every day, since I am nursing exclusively, that meant every 2 hours I had to find a place to pump. That was not easy!

The worst part was that every time I would get close to the two hour mark (or sometimes 3-4 hours!!!), I would start to feel a strong sense of panic. It was worst when we landed at 11:30, had to get bags, rent a car, grab lunch at a deli, and race to the client for a 1:30 meeting. I was lucky that the 1:30 meeting ran a bit late and that my boss was willing to start the meeting without me if need be, but I went for almost 4 hours without pumping and I was freaking out.

All that aside, as I left for the airport at home I told my husband that as long as I had to go, I was going to enjoy myself as best I could. I was going to "rock this" and not dwell on the fact that I was sad to leave my little one (and by sad I mean I couldn't stop crying the day before!).

Before the trip I did a ton of research and here are all of the tidbits I compiled:

• First and foremost, just accept that you may have to pump rather than eat or use the restroom. While it sucks, you don't want to risk a blocked duct or worse. I brought granola and Lara bars with me just for that reason!
• TSA / Airport:
• Read and print the TSA policy (here) - know they cannot open it, make you taste it, etc - and know that you can travel with as much as you need even if you do not have your infant with you
• Before you go through airport security, notify the TSA agent that you have ice packs for medical reasons; if you have milk, notify them of that as well (it's required)
• You can choose not to have the milk go through the x-ray and they will conduct other tests. Have the policy with you so you can politely point to it if need be
• Have your cooler ice packs frozen solid before you leave
• Scope out the family restrooms; all four airports I was in had them and each had outlets and a large enough countertop to lay everything out
• Flying home, I brought a soft sided cooler and three larger ice packs (not dinky ones for your lunch size). I put all the chilled milk in bags like these, put those into a double layer of gallon freezer bags, wrapped it one more time in a grocery bag and then into the cooler. That cooler went in my CHECKED luggage, because I already had two carry-ons (laptop bag and pump bag). Make sure you have two coolers if you do this because you need a small cooler with the pump for while you travel
• Try to book a non-stop flight. This wasn't in the cards for me since our flight was booked 6 days before leaving!
• Hotel:
• Call the hotel in advance to request a refrigerator for medical reasons - make sure they know that the mini bar fridge may not work because sometimes they don't get cold enough
• My fridge had to cool down because it was just plugged in when I arrived. My husband had the brilliant idea to get ice from the ice machine to chill the milk while it cooled, AND I filled my larger cooler with ice and stuck it in the fridge to cool the fridge down faster.
• The hotel will usually allow you to freeze your ice packs in their fridge. Mine asked me to fill out a form so they don't lose anything. I had a cooler with a bag tag that had my name on them
• I pumped into bottles but every night put the milk into bags like these, so I could label them and I would have the bottles cleaned and ready for the next day
• Timing:
• Think in advance about what times you'll need to pump. It's different for every mom because every baby eats on their own schedule. Try to stick to that schedule so your body doesn't get confused
• Be flexible when you can. As my lactation consultant said, as long as you keep up your supply, everything else is okay. If you have to throw milk away, don't stress about it! Just keep it coming
• Don't forget that if you have night time feedings, you need to do night time pumping. My husband said before I left "at least you'll get more sleep" and I reminded him that I still needed to get up every night. That said, I didn't have to set an alarm...my body told me to get up!
• Cleaning:
• Buy Medela Quick Cleaning Wipes; you should assume you won't always be able to clean everything
• You can also use Medela Quick Clean Microsteam Bags (thanks Jenn Whitaker and others for the recommendation)
• Bring a small container of soap (I used a free trial of Honest Company soap - it was all natural) because you'll want to rinse/wash everything thoroughly every night with steaming hot water
• If you can, refrigerate your pump accessories/parts in between sessions (I didn't have the luxury)
• One friend suggested bringing a microwaveable container to heat water in for sanitizing, but I didn't have the room (I used the wipes instead)
• General:
• Make sure the pump has batteries and pack an extra set of batteries
• Always have the hand pump with you, just in case
• Remember that if you're away from your little one, you may want to have a drink; for information on nursing + alcohol, check out this link from my friend Jenn Whitaker (a Doula) from a post by KellyMom.com
• Use FaceTime or Skype when you can!
• Bring pictures and videos. I had them on my phone but couldn't bring my phone into the client's location, so it would have been nice to have a hard copy photo with me

Do you have any other helpful hints for traveling without your little one?

I'll have a new post in May about traveling WITH your little one! After this trip we've decided to bring her with us on our trip to a family member's wedding.