hurdles [travel tips]

we did it.

after many a heads turned and questions were asked why in the world i would travel alone with a 9 month old, let alone travel to new york city with a 9 month old...

we just did it. and honestly that was my whole mindset when i booked it. 

i know i can do it so i will just do it.
(can't wait to post on the trip itself later!)

i also, of course like a nice challenge.
i think the travel gods were on my side, but i wanted to share some tips from my experience on the road/fly/walk with a babe.

baby travel:

most people don't understand how i travel with a baby bc they NEED so much stuff.

FALSE.

it is the parents that think they need all that crap. to some degree, i consider myself a minimalist.

(i said, to some degree ok?)

packing:

• i packed everything for the both of us in 1 large suitcase. (45 lbs, but i made it fee-free. i could have even packed less, but did it a little overboard due to fear of stella pees, sweats and stains something on her clothes or mine. i now know better.
• i packed books and some small toys for stella. again, probably could have packed less since she was more interested in spoons, straws, celery and hair brushes...
• i packed a baby carrier (mei tei) that can be folded up nicely in my suitcase. although i didn't use it, i liked the option in case my collapsible stroller was destroyed.
• on that note: i packed (and wheeled to the gate, onto the train, all around the upper west side) a collapsible stroller. 
• i still primarily breastfeed so there was easy, ready-made, convenient and free food. i did pack some itty bitty snacks for her and was able to mash some things up depending where we were eating at the time.
• i used a camel back medium sized backpack for my purse on the plane. it's nice to have something on my back and secure. it fit the essentials for changing, clean up, grown up things like money, locations, phone, moma snacks, water and sunglasses and a few small books. i used this upon entering Connecticut and entering new york. 

logistics:

• i was lucky enough to have a friend pick me up at the airport with my other friends extra car seat waiting. you need a car seat in Connecticut, but not in Manhattan. or at least you can get by without one. both friends were god-sends. otherwise this would have been the biggest hurdle, but manageable. (see below bullet)
• my other option would have been to bring an old car seat and leave it (old meaning i paid $15 for it at a garage sale for purposes like this) and use it for the CT portion of the trip.
• while at my friends house stella slept with me at night in a big bed with a pillow brigade on one side and me on the other. i purposely only booked a hotel that provided porta-cribs. it also gave me a safe place to put her when i showered besides buckling her into her stroller for the umpteenth time. 
• again at my friends house i buckled stella into her car seat while i packed. i knew she was tired and sometimes she has a tendency to fall asleep on her own if i am in the same room, but quietly doing something else. success... 2 hours later she safely woke from a nap while moma was able to get ready for a wedding.
• with one suitcase pulled behind me, a pack on my back and stella strollering in front i was able to push and pull when necessary: onto the train, hailing a cab, and at the airport. not.that.hard.

general travel:

• maybe i am just blessed with a good child, but she made friends with people left and right and smiled more every day at strangers (as long as she doesn't let them take her home...).
• people are so very helpful. i actually think traveling with her went quicker because i got to go in all the smaller lines.
• i was lucky enough to have no delays and was able to keep her occupied one whole way and get her to sleep the route home. *if there were delays... my trip may have been more skewed.
• the hardest part was changing stella in airport bathrooms. not due to what they provide, but it's one more thing to do in and out of the stroller and she happens to be very wiggly and not like being changed. i tried to do it as quick as possible cries or no cries. 
• everyone around me seemed to entertain my daughter without asking - i'd be holding stella and she'd look at the people behind us and they'd smile or play peek-a-boo. whenever she was bored she'd just resort to finding a "friend" to entertain her again. it worked quite nicely.

nyc:

• whoever says new york city is not a place to take kids a) is a liar or b) hasn't taken their kids there.
• there are more strollers around than i can remember. the park is filled with kids. 
• stella did great bopping around in the stroller taking it all in and we had a breakfast diner date just the two of us.

would i do it again?

absolutely.

would i do it with two?

nope.

outnumbered.
that would be more appropriate for a hurdle post.

the woman next to me on the way home asked if it was hard to travel with a baby. i honestly said no.

people seemed nicer and more willing to help and i believe it's a mind over matter too. if you are nervous, your baby will feel you are nervous. if you go with the flow, your baby is more apt to do so.

i kept that in mind every time stella would start to fuss the littlest bit. 

all kids/babies are different, but i'm happy i took the plunge. it was good for me and for bird.

i'm sure this can change over time - interested in other folks travel tips with littles?