Adventures in Baby-Traveling

We're back in Sacramento after our week-long trip to Chicagoland. Let me start right off the bat by saying that we had a great time and for the most part, the trip went off without a hitch. However, we discovered many things about traveling with an infant that would have never crossed our minds before and definitely are worthy of a rant.

Airlines - how much worse can they treat a family traveling with an infant?

Our flight to Chicago last Thursday was an extremely early one -- 6AM. We had packed almost everything the night before so we could just get up, feed the baby, and hit the road. I woke up at 3AM, got dressed, and woke up Charlotte. She was completely dead to the world, so it was hard to wake her up enough to be interested in eating, but I managed to get her to eat a little bit before she passed out again.

We got to the airport with no trouble, even managed to shove two suitcases, the car seat, the car seat base, the stroller, the Boppy pillow, the diaper bag, the bag with my breast pump and bottles in it, the backpack, and Chris' work laptop all onto the parking lot shuttle in one try. Checking in was no problem and security was fine, although I had to pull a sleeping Charlotte out of the car seat in order to carry her through security and she didn't like that very much. The lady at the United check-in desk even changed our seats so we would have a center and aisle instead of a center and window.

It was when boarding was about to start that we discovered something new. We watched an old lady with a portable oxygen machine pre-board and then a middle-aged man in a wheelchair. So Chris and I went over to the lady at the gate and asked when they were pre-boarding families with infants. The lady curtly replied that United no longer pre-boards families with children and that we would have to get in line with everyone else. My jaw just about dropped to the floor. I mean, I can understand a family with a four year old, but here's my clearly infant daughter, sleeping in her car seat. How could we would not qualify for pre-boarding? So of course, by this point, we weren't even in line to board, so we had to sort of shove our way in once they called our boarding group. Chris, who was pushing the stroller, was practically run over once they called our group number by the masses of people trying to board the plane, which I don't understand since we all have reserved seating. At the plane door, Chris hurriedly unstrapped Charlotte, handed her to me, while he pulled the car seat off the stroller frame and attempted to collapse the stroller. Meanwhile, the people behind us were simply going around us and boarding the plane, which was fine. Once we were almost ready to board the plane, a nice lady told us to go in front of her, but I waved her forward since Chris was still busy collapsing the stroller. The next lady, however, gave me the nastiest, most exasperated look I've ever seen, as if we were purposely holding up the line. I was appalled - what on earth had we done to deserve that nasty scoff? I actually shouted to her as she walked in front of us: "I hope we sit right next to you, and I hope the baby cries the entire time!" Fortunately for this lady, we didn't sit next to her, and Charlotte didn't make a peep the entire time. But this all goes to show the entire point of pre-boarding! If we had been given the opportunity to pre-board, we could have had a few extra minutes to get situated without holding up the line or feeling stressed out.

Once on board, things went fine. Charlotte mostly slept, and I fed her about halfway through the 3 1/2 hour flight. The real problem happened when Charlotte had her usual post-feeding poop explosion. This one was a blowout, shooting up her back and getting everywhere. Luckily, it was at a point when we could actually get out of the seat and go to the lavatory. Now, I've been on planes several times since I got pregnant and noticed that most of the them have changing tables above the toilet. This plane, however, did not because, in the words of the flight attendant, it's an older plane (which is a ridiculous excuse, we're not the first people to have traveled with a baby before). Chris and I were forced to change her (outfit, diaper and all) on the floor at the rear of the plane. The flight attendants were actually somewhat helpful in that one of them held Charlotte briefly while I went to wash my hands and attempt to wash out her soiled clothes.

On the subject of changing tables.

You just don't think about things like that until you have a baby. And it's bizarre the places they show up or fail to show up. For example, when we went to Mammoth a few weeks ago and stopped in Gardnerville to feed and change her, neither the Starbucks nor the Burger King had a changing table. You'd think that at the very least Burger King, with it's marketing to children, would have one. Then, about two weeks ago, we went to Total Wine, which is a huge store with, you guessed it, wine, and lots of it. Charlotte had another explosion while we were there, and that place, which clearly does not count children as its customers, had a changing table! So it's completely random. However, you'd expect them to be in at least one of the lavatories on a plane. I mean, come on!

Why I Now Have Fully Come to Appreciate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The rest of the flight went really smoothly. I'm super grateful that I brought the Boppy pillow with me as it was a great way to hold the baby without feeling like your arm would fall off after a four hour flight. When we got off the plane in Chicago, changed the baby again (this time in a convenient and private "family restroom"), we followed the signs for the baggage claims area and came straight up to down escalators, no elevators in sight. After walking one hundred yards in each direction, and still not finding the elevator, we gave up and pulled the car seat off the stroller base and go down the escalator. I'm sure the elevator was somewhere (by law they have to have one), but don't you think it would make sense to put it near the escalator? Oy.

The Spoiled White Gold
One of the main reasons for our trip to Chicago was so I could go to the committee meetings at our national association's conference. In order to be in meetings all day, I brought along my breastpump and several ounces of frozen expressed milk in a small cooler so that Chris could feed Charlotte in my absence. When we checked in at the hotel last Thursday, I asked for a crib and a refrigerator. We received both within minutes of getting to our room, and the gentleman who brought them plugged the mini-fridge into an outlet and went on his way. It wasn't until 1PM the next day that Chris called me out of a meeting to tell me that the outlet didn't work and, consequently, the refrigerator had not been on the entire time we were there! The milk, which we have dubbed white gold, was completely spoiled. I was so mad. You're never as effective at pumping milk as your baby is, so those ounces represented a lot of time and effort. Luckily, I was mostly able to leave meetings early in order to feed Charlotte, but I still had to pump to build up enough supply so that Chris' mom could watch her while Chris, his dad, and I went to a White Sox game. So another lesson learned -- make sure the fridge is up and running. Don't count on it being plugged in to work. Needless to say, I called the front desk and complained and got them to comp the fridge rental.

All these annoyances aside, Charlotte was amazingly well behaved the entire time we were traveling. So many people on the plane from the flight to and from Chicago remarked about how good she was and how, if they hadn't physically seen her, they wouldn't have known she was there. Charlotte also learned some new skills on her vacation. She is cooing a lot more and has discovered her hands. She interlaces them constantly now, which we've learned is a precursor to grasping things. In addition, she managed to roll over from belly to back for the first time, albeit, she did use the back of the couch as leverage for her feet.

We did a lot of fun things, and Charlotte was with us for the entirety (except for the White Sox game). It's so great that we can take her everywhere. I just wish that other people and corporations would be more baby-friendly. On the way back to Sacramento, a number of people who were in the line with us to board the plane were astounded by the fact that United doesn't pre-board infants. I hope they'll write a letter. I know I'm inclined to. I just can't see how spending five extra minutes to help families board safely could so severely impact their bottom line. Oh well.

Two Month Stats

Today was supposed to be Charlotte's two month well child visit, which was to include several immunizations. Unfortunately, I was woken up at 6:45AM to a call from Kaiser that Charlotte's doctor had called in sick, and consequently, her appointment was canceled. It's now been rescheduled for September 1st.

Chris and I decided to do our own measurements of Charlotte. I stepped on the scale with and then without Charlotte. According to this very exact science, Charlotte weighs 13.2 pounds! And then Chris used his measuring tape while Charlotte was lying on the changing table and she's 25 inches long. According to a growth chart online, Charlotte is still above the 95th percentile in length and between the 75th and 90th percentile in weight. Right now, I have her strapped to me in the Baby Bjorn, and my back can certainly attest to how heavy she is! This past week, we've had to retire some of her 0-3 month clothes, including her adorable sleeping gowns, as she's gotten too long for them. Sniff.

And now, I must get back to packing for our one week trip to Chicago. The flight leaves super early, at 6AM, which means that we really have to get everything ready tonight so that the only thing I do tomorrow before we leave for the airport is feed her. Obviously, I've seen the early hours of 3 and 4AM many times in the past two months (last night was one of them), but I haven't had to stay awake afterwards. Oy. Not looking forward to that. And I doubt Chris and I will get much sleep on the plane as we take turns holding Charlotte for four hours.

I've also bought ear plugs to put in since we'll be sharing a hotel room with our precious daughter. She thrashes and makes so many noises in her sleep, as I found out in Mammoth when I was waking up multiple times a night only to find that she was still asleep, that ear plugs are an absolute necessity for me. Putting her in her crib has been amazing because I wake up only when she actually cries and not when she's scooted her way down the entire length of the crib (how she does that when she's in her little straitjacket swaddle blanket, I'll never know...).

A report on Charlotte's first plane ride and hotel stay to follow next week!

Busy Busy Bee

Hi Everyone,


Thanks for the messages about Marzi. We really miss her, but we know it was the best decision for everyone. When I was choosing pictures of her to post last week, I realized just how different Marzipan looked, even from just a year ago. She'd lost so much weight and her coat wasn't shiny anymore. Tandy seems to be okay, but has definitely become more affectionate and attention-hungry. We're keeping a close eye on her just to be sure.


Anyway, a lot has been happening in the past couple of weeks. Chris' work had a product celebration at the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom last Thursday, and since we had free tickets, we thought it would be no big deal to bring Charlotte along. Obviously, we couldn't go on any rides, but it was a nice break from the Sacramento heat, and we took turns watching her while the other went on a rollercoaster. It went great except that Charlotte got a little too much sun and got her first sunburn.


The next day, my parents and grandparents came into town. My grandparents, Charlotte's only great-grandparents, live in South Carolina and were so anxious to meet the first member of the next generation. Of course, everyone loved Charlotte.


On Sunday, my parents, Charlotte and I drove to our condo in Mammoth. I've loved being off of work and being with Charlotte, but I was having a bit of house-fever, since I've been home every day since mid-May. Unfortunately, Mammoth is at a very high altitude and Charlotte just wasn't sleeping very well (so consequently I was not sleeping very well), so my mom and I drove back to Sacramento on Tuesday instead of today as planned. While at Mammoth, I did manage to take Charlotte in the pool for the first time -- the water was really warm, but the air was not, so let's just say that this experiment was very short lived. We've had a lot of fun since then -- going to the Farmers Market downtown, playing tennis while Charlotte rested in the stroller (we had to stop every so often and put in her "plug" as Chris calls the pacifier), and even going to Charlotte's first movie in the theater (Julie and Julia - very cute). Charlotte did fantastically in the theater and never made a noise the entire time.


And my mom was also nice enough to watch Charlotte on Wednesday night so Chris and I could go out for our third anniversary! I can't believe it's been three years since we got married. We had a great meal and then went and saw a movie.

Next week, we head to Chicago for a work conference (read: free trip to Chicago for me, frequent flier miles for Chris) and then staying at Chris' parents for a few days so that everyone can meet her. Traveling on a plane with her will certainly be an adventure, not only because she's a baby, but because you have to bring so much darned stuff with you when you're traveling with an infant. I found this out last weekend when we went to Mammoth.


Oh and next week, Charlotte will be two months old! I can't wait to find out how long she is and how much weight she's gained. I know for a fact she's gotten much longer because we no longer can swaddle her in the receiving blanket we brought home from the hospital, and there is only about an inch or two max of room lengthwise in her travel crib.


Have a great weekend!! And here's one of the 75 pictures I finally got around to posting on our photo site... :)

A Tribute to Marzipan

Today, Chris and I had to do the hardest thing we've ever had to do since we've been together. We had to say goodbye to our sweet cat Marzipan. She's was only 4 1/2 years old, but she was not a well kitty. A year and a half ago, we discovered that her mouth was bothering her, only to find out that she had stomatitis, a severe form of gingivitis that causes horrible inflammation of her gums to the point that eating is extremely painful. With the help of our vet, we were mostly able to keep her happy, having her eat wet food and giving her medicine. After a while, we realized that the meds weren't doing their job and the vet recommended having all her teeth extracted. We wondered what kind of quality of life this would have for Marzi, but we thought that it would make things better. So we scheduled the extraction for last Tuesday. Unfortunately, about two weeks ago, we noticed that Marzi was having trouble urinating to the point that she was straining all the time. We rushed her to the vet and after a urinalysis, bloodwork and ultrasound, found out that she not only had a severe urinary tract infection but also a severe kidney disease. She had also lost more weight. After three days of hospitalization, she came home feeling better but not cured. And things just deteriorated after that point. Marzipan simply wasn't the same, happy cat. She was hungry all the time, but when we tried to feed her, she would only eat a little bit before refusing any more. We had simply reached the limits of the care we could provide for her at home.



Marzipan was such a sweet cat. She loved to cuddle on just about anyone's lap, and she really made a cat lover out of Chris. We both came home from the vet today, after saying our goodbyes, feeling lost without our sweet "Gray Bear." Our house just won't be the same without her. She was our first baby, the first creature we were responsible for after Chris and I started living together. So here are some pictures that we've taken over the years...

Marzi the day we brought her home from the pound - ~ 3 months old
In her favorite spot on my lap.

Giving an itty bitty Tandy some love, albeit begrudgingly. This was Marzi before she got sick, when the vet told me she should lose some weight.

We love you Marzipan, and we'll miss you.