We're Car Schleppers Now

Taking a baby on vacation ain’t for sissies.  It is seriously a huge challenge my people.  (I’m laughing at myself here in case you can’t tell.) I was getting all misty this morning thinking about my awesome Diamond Status with Hilton – and even that silly Silver status with US Air had its benefits.  All of that is long gone…sniff…sniff.  These days, we’re car schleppers.    I can’t even think about an airplane with a car seat, Baby Bjorn travel crib, diapers and food – and that’s just the carry-ons! 

The days of just heading into NYC for the weekend are long gone but gosh they were great while they lasted.  The idea of going to NY now makes me shudder not to mention what would happen if we walked into Tiffany’s with a stroller!  EEK!

So, heavy sigh, it’s a car or nada.  Since we haven’t been on vacation in “I don’t know how long” except for a long weekend, it is now time to get away and truly relax.  Not that it’s the same definition of relax that it used to be – relax now means Blake is fed, cleanly diapered, and chilling out on his activity mat for a few minutes.  It means you have time to clean the bottles without holding a baby or singing silly French songs.   

It used to mean, reading a book and falling asleep with a toasty afghan on a Sunday afternoon or driving aimlessly around the Cape going where the whim took us.  Now, we have to plan; probably one activity per day; at least for now.  And odds are we won’t even get that in.  Blake will set the tone.

All I’m hoping for is that he actually sleeps.  I don’t care where.  The car ride up to the Cape (15 hours!) in itself could be a total nightmare as he is not a huge fan of his car seat, is too young to be occupied by videos and lastly, very rarely sleeps in the car.  I am afraid Mommy’s singing voice will be taxed before we even get out of the state of NC!   Good times.  So, instead of stopping for Mommy’s bio breaks, now we will be stopping to get Blake out of his seat, feed him, change him and just find a bit of sanity.

Any tips from you experienced traveling Moms and Dad would be greatly appreciated!  For now I will try not to over pack and remember there are stores on Cape Cod.  We will try to get him used to his travel ‘bed’ and continue to pray a whole lot that we get to the Cape in one happy, cohesive family unit! J

Happy Monday Ya’ll!