Tiny Iron Fists

Eye Spy 2010

Even with the loss of Silvio's grandfather Marco Rea, my father Lieutenant Colonel Chuong G. Hong and our beloved cat-dog Godzuki, 2010 was the year of love. So many people surrounded us. And so many people openly loved Lulu.

THANK YOU to our extended family (born-into and adopted) for your friendship. 2011's going to be the best yet!

Tips For Traveling With a Tot

At some point after the baby's born, you're going to get a bit of cabin fever and you're going to want to travel. Although a trip might seem daunting, having recently taken a short holiday, I'm a firm believer that it is what you make of it. If you want to make Travel Day a big deal, it's going to be a big deal. But if you are well prepared, it can be a surprisingly low-drama event. 

As with anything we do with Lulu for the first time, we poked at our parent-friends for advice. They gave us some valuable information. Whatever wasn't intuitive, we learned on the fly. I hope the following tips are useful to you someday soon:

1. During take off and landing, give your baby a pacifier to help ease the change in cabin pressure. If your baby doesn't take a pacifier, you can try nursing or bottle feeding your baby during the same time. Every single parent questioned gave me this bit of advice. They swear the sucking motion takes the edge off babies' ears during the pressure change. 

2. Plan your flight so that you are sticking as close to your child's schedule as possible. Feed and rest your baby at the right times too. 

We did great leaving home, passing through security, and hanging out at the gate with Lulu. Wide-eyed and really digging her new shiny environments, we let her explore her surroundings and skipped her afternoon nap. Then we boarded the plane where she continued to explore the cabin. At take off, the kid went wild. No pacifier was going to console our crying baby and even though she cried for about five solid minutes, it felt like an eternity. Lulu finally succumbed to sleep and remained knocked out for the rest of the short flight. We actually let everyone deplane before us so that she could continue to sleep well after we'd reached our final destination. In hindsight, Lulu was over-stimulated and over-tired. Had we just stuck to her schedule (and had her nap when she was due) everything would have been okay. We proved this theory on the way home, during which Lulu traveled perfectly.

3. Pack a spare change of clothes for your baby, yourself, and your travel partner (if there is one). Why? Because babies always seem to blow out their diapers when you forgot to pack spare clothes! And Murphy's Law dictates that if you pack this extra stuff, you won't need it. My friend Wendy says to pack not just pants and a shirt for yourself, but to pack extra underwear too. Don't forget a few spare plastic bags for soiled stuff too.

4. You can take a stroller all the way to the plane. Whatever you bring with you has to go through the security machines and is no more a pain in the ass to deal with than a laptop computer. During the plane boarding process, take the stroller down the gangway. Gate check your stroller and remember to hold onto your claims ticket. Remember to tag your stroller with your contact information and don't forget to pick it up at the landing gate! 

Side note: think about what kind of a trip you are taking and consider packing a baby carrier or sling instead of a stroller. For our long weekend trip to San Francisco, we didn't use Lulu's stroller at all. Instead we carried her everywhere in the Ergo.

5. If your child is traveling on your lap but you are bringing a car seat, check in the car seat with your baggage. Otherwise, if you purchased a seat for your baby, bring your car seat with your stroller to the gate and on the plane.

6. Kids under two years of age can travel for free with most airlines. That said, some parents insist that traveling is better for everyone if everyone has a paid seat. I'm pretty small, so it wasn't such a big deal for me to travel with Lulu on my lap with Silvio next to me. We haven't done the 12-hour non stop LA to Paris flight yet, but I can imagine we might want our own seats for that long haul.

7. For nursing moms, pack your portable breast pump and recharger in your carry-on in case of unforeseen delays. Make sure your pump is fully charged. Nothing sucks more than having electrified nipples from not being able to release your milk. Pun intended!

8. If there is a time zone change, try to do things in the same order as you would at home, from when you wake up. Even if you're jetlagged, your child isn't going to know that you're 3, 9, or 14 hours off schedule. Transitioning is easier so long as your routine stays pretty much intact. 

While traveling, we packed Lulu's potty so that she could continue to use it as she would at home. Your kid isn't going to care where they are. But they're going to need you to help them adjust from Los Angeles to New York City.

9. Pack a few toys, books, and a familiar blanket for the airplane ride in your carry-on. These same toys and blanket will make your temporary digs feel more like home and the books will help with your sleep routine. 

10. At night, carry on with your normal sleep routine. Try to keep as much of the process intact as possible. We did this for Lulu and she slept solidly in our hotel without much fussing. She even took her naps at the same times.

11. Make sure to allow yourself enough time to lug all your shit around. Believe me, you're going to be traveling with more stuff than usual and in case you might have to do a diaper change, you won't want to feel rushed. It's better to have time to kill then to want to kill someone for the stress you are feeling.

12. Try not to overpack. It's easy to overpack diapers, food, clothes, etc. but the truth is, if you run out, chances are you can probably pick up some more. You really don't need everything you think you need. So try to pack reasonably.

I hope these tips help and that you have a pleasant experience on the road. Let me know if you've got a travel secret to share and do your kid a favor and travel lots! Bon voyage!