Bag it

How are you all managing your baby bag these days?

I never really got into the 'formal diaper bag' idea ... it didn't fit our lifestyle very well. We are kind of homebodies on our home days, or our girl already has everything she needs at daycare.

My approach thus far has been to have a 'baby station' in our living room, located in a large Lands End canvas bag. (I think I've previously mentioned my love affair with these things). We have diapers, wipes, a few spare outfits, burp cloths, plastic bags - you know, all that miscellaneous crap.
It also includes our Skip Hop Pronto changer, which I just LOVE and couldn't live without.

When we are headed out of the house, I just grab our medium Lands End bag (see - told you - obsessed) and transfer whatever we need - pronto changer, spare outfit, add a sippy cup or snacks and go. This bag also serves as the daycare bag, hence the frequent packing and unpacking.

This has worked pretty well for us, but now that Girly is older and more mobile, I am finding the need for a change. I have several friends who use backpacks for their baby/diapering needs, and I've finally stolen their idea.

I just ordered the Lands End diaper bag backpack upon the recommendation of a friend.
Truly, I don't have stock in this company, but I probably should. I just love to monogram things, you know.

I need to be more hands-free these days ... chasing Girly at the zoo, or farm, or just down the driveway, doesn't work with an open-topped bag in one of my hands. Or, I hang the tote bag on the stroller, chase her, and then watch the stroller fall over.

If a second child joins our family someday, I suppose this plan will need a revision - seems you need a lot more stuff for 2 kids, and not just twice the stuff - more like 10 times the stuff.

Also, are any of you organized enough to have a 'car kit' of sorts? Kind of an emergency stash for the things you forgot or didn't think you would need? I haven't been able to get my act together enough in 19 months to accomplish that, but maybe you have some tips ...

Have Baby, Will Travel

We did it.

Survived the first plane trip with the Girl.

I know a lot of people do this sooner, or with more frequency, but it is an accomplishment none the less.

It really wasn't too bad. The Huz gave the trip down a 7.5 on a scale of 10, which I will say is optimistic. The trip home was much better (primarily due to less crying and no rental car seat).

Some tips/thoughts, in no particular order ....

- I typed up a list before I went of what needed to be packed. A) because I'm a list-maker, and 2) because packing a baby is a last-minute ordeal and I couldn't be racing around the house checking things for the third time.

- For the 3 of us, we packed two carry-ons and two checked bags. I am a notorious over-packer and it hard for me to balance all the baby contingencies without packing her whole room. Also, gotta love Southwest for no checked bag fee!

- One carry-on was solely for baby flight essentials: blanket, burp cloths, bottles, pacifiers, book, toy, diapers, wipes. Our other carry on was for items that could go overhead, but we couldn't risk losing in lost luggage (meds, BREAST PUMP, etc.)

- I gave her a half-dose of Tylenol a little before take-off. Not so much for a sleepy effect, but just in case her ears hurt.

- Pack one more bottle than you think you will need, just in case of delays. If you are breastfeeding you have a back-up, but I'm not really a public nurser and Girly is so distractible that the airport was like Disneyland.

- We didn't have any issues with airport security and bottles. I just told them I had milk and it went right through the x-ray - no questions. On that note; beware when you open your bottles in the plane. Your bag gets jostled so much that milk can spill into the cap of your bottles, and/or the milk can expand due to the pressurized cabin. Either way - we had major spillage on landing which resulted in a wet, crying mess. (Me and her).

- Use a bottle / pacifier / boob on take-off and landing to help with the ears. I'm not sure that it makes a difference which one - just sucking is good. Huz thought a bottle would be better because Girly would have a motivation to suck (FOOD), but she generally takes her pacifier, too. Our rookie mistake was giving her the bottle as we taxied out to the runway. It was half a bottle and she usually doesn't eat that fast, but she sucked it down and then we just SAT THERE. Don't give them the bottle until you are going.

- Also, warming the bottle can be a bit of an issue. Breastmilk, at least, needs to be packed in a cooler bag. Girly won't take a cold bottle, but lukewarm is OK. The first flight attendant was nasty and told us they didn't have any way to warm a bottle, so Huz stood in the airplane lav trying to warm it in the sink until the second nice flight attendant offered to get him some hot water from the instant hot tap in the back. Thanks. On the way home, Huz stopped at an airport restaurant and got hot water to-go in a styrofoam coffee cup with a lid. That worked great (be sure to pour half out before you get on). Plus, then we already had the cup to warm the other half-bottle on the plane.

- Car seat debacle! We debated what to do about the car seat ... we didn't buy Girly a seat on the plane and knew there would be almost no chance of an open seat on a Southwest flight. We had a rental car waiting for us on the other end and needed a car seat. We thought it would be a nightmare to deal with checking the car seat and picking it up on the other end and getting it installed in the rental car, so we elected to rent a car seat and Bjorn/carry her through the airports. The carrying worked fine, but the rental seat? Not so much. The manager at the car rental place was nice and helped to install the seat, but it took FOREVER and they really are not experts at car seat installation (and neither are we). It was an older model seat and we just could not get it as tight as I thought it should be. We had no choice but to go with it, but I won't do it again. For an older child with a forward-facing seat it might be ok, but I won't do it with an infant.

- The better solution would have been to buy a car seat bag and to have checked the car seat right away at the curb or airline desk (not gate check). You aren't charged to check a car seat and if you bring your own fabric bag, you can stuff a bunch of other things in there, as well.

- My last tip is to travel to a place where there are babies, because that cuts down on what you need to bring!

7 month itch

Not much to report these days ... life has settled into a rather predictable schedule. (Which will certainly change now that I've typed those words out loud).

Feeding time is much better and not so irritating. It does mess with our schedule some, but in truth, we are homebodies most of the time.

I wonder if the Girl's non-interest in eating had something to do with me. She ate great at daycare from the start, and even ate very well for her Aunt. She has never been one to be finicky about eating - she nurses and takes a bottle from me equally well. Perhaps the fact that the colored food didn't come from a boob bothered her. Who knows?

I am loving the Baby Cubes. It is perfect to pop a container out of the freezer the night before, put it in her cooler bag with bottles and send it all off to school. I am finding, though, that just one batch of food can fill up most of your cubes. I'm currently using a combo-approach of Baby Cubes and ice cube trays. One smallish butternut squash or about 3 sweet potatoes will fill up an entire ice cube tray. I pop the cubes out into plastic bags in the freezer and I can still put the cube of food into the Baby Cube container for school.

My immersion blender works best for anything I cook on the stove top, like apples or pears, or something I baked in the oven, like squash or potatoes. The Magic Bullet worked great for mangoes. (Buy frozen chopped mangoes in the freezer section instead of fresh - thaw them in the fridge and they are a much better consistency for blending). I really like to cook and all of this has been super easy and convenient thus far.

Our doorway jumper (similar to this) is proving to be nice. Girly shouts when we leave the room, especially during cranky evening time, so it is nice for her to hang out in the doorway to the kitchen while we are getting things done. She also really likes to sit in her hook on high chair and watch us - I'm loving that, too.

The next task to obsess over: Traveling With Baby. I know we are very lucky that this will be our first trip with baby in tow - many people don't have family close by and do this earlier or much more frequently. Still, lots of details to ponder ... advice???

Labor (?) and Delivery

I had planned (ha!) to go into labor at home in the evening or on a weekend so I could be certain to get everything we needed. It would be a nice, orderly procession to the hospital. It would surely be after my due date, but definitely before Christmas - it was my first, you know. I would be in charge.

In reality, our girly arrived via an un-planned, semi-emergent cesarean section at 38 weeks. In the middle of the work day. On a Wednesday!

I had hemmed and hawed for weeks about what to pack for the hospital - Googling for THE PERFECT list. In the end, it was all for not as our bag laid empty on the floor of our bedroom when the call came. My husband, bless his heart, was able to follow my chicken scratch notes from the described Googling and gathered most everything we needed in record time.

While all you really NEED is yourself and your significant other, there are quite a few things that make the experience a little nicer. I started with this and this and added or subtracted as I saw fit.

Some highlights:
- Your own pjs - pants and a top for breastfeeding
- Your own underwear and pads - the ones they give you at the hospital seem like ones from the 1950's and you probably will want something different
- Nursing bra or tank top (I like these the best)
- A robe for walking the halls
- Bring chapstick - you will need it
- A camera, of course, and our laptop was nice to have. We brought our iPod, but didn't really listen to it as I didn't spend a lot (or any) time in labor.
-Some lists say to bring snacks, but our hospital had a room full of all kinds of snacks and drinks for new parents
- Going home clothes for baby (newborn size unless you are having a giant)
- Pillows for you and Dad
- Comfy clothes (and a change of clothes) for Dad
- Good smelling shampoo and soap
- Warm socks with anti-slip bottoms
- Going home clothes for Mom - try to buy something new that is stretchy and will accommodate your post-delivery belly, but at the same time is not the dreaded maternity clothes

Also, my two cents on delivering a baby: There is no trophy at the end. Whichever way that baby gets out, you have a BABY at the end and that is what is important. Everyone is certainly entitled to their own wishes about having that baby. While my mother and I may have had a tiny disagreement about epidurals, I will say that my nurse in L&D asked about my thoughts on pain management and I told her I wanted an epidural and she said "Good for you - it is the only civilized way!"

Further, regarding birth plans, BAH! As my doctor eloquently stated, "The plan is to have a healthy baby and a healthy mother". I agreed. Surprisingly, being one who loves lists and planning, I never saw the need for a birth plan. Good thing, as it would have been a waste of my time.