"High Maintenance" Baby

So our little Sunshine does not like to sleep flat. 

She loathes it. 

Red faced, screaming, pounding hands and feet - the whole shebang - hates it. (I hope this isn't a preview to her toddler years...)

So going to Dublin meant we were faced with the problem of "how are we going to get Sunshine to sleep so we don't die of exhaustion holding her every night."

We brought the bouncer. She doesn't REALLLY like it, but will tolerate it. 

Turned out to be the best decision ever

Husband was able to take it apart enough to fit it into our checked luggage. Now he's full of ideas of how to make a baby travel cot that will fit in people's luggage. I hope he figures it out!

She still wasn't thrilled but let us get 4-5 hour stretches. HA! We also had to bring the yoga ball to bounce her to sleep with. I swear, half my baby weight is gone from bouncing her alone. She always did go to sleep when I ran while pregnant. :-)

 

I made the choice to bring the Ergo and left the K'tan. I really regretted that. Sunshine and I seem to be hot blooded. Even with 40 degree temperatures, we were boiling and I was walking around with my coat off. Got some funny looks for that one.... 

 

So now I'm researching wraps and wrap conversions made with breathable fabric to keep us cooler and more comfortable. Seriously, I had to take two showers a day I was so sweaty. 

I have one on loan from a wonderful lady and we'll see how it works while we head to the Midwest on Monday! 9.5 hour flight... ugh.... We are going to be so.stinkin.smelly.

Dublin - Please ignore the crying baby

We *just* got back from Dublin.

We all had fun. Learned a few lessons... but over all it went well. There's so much I learned in this trip that I might have to break it down a bit more.

Of course I was terrified about flying with Sunshine so we did a few things to help with that. Yes it cost us some extra money, but the peace of mind was totally worth it in my book.

We knew we were flying through Ryanair. They are notorious for charging for every.little.thing. They are also super sticky on carry on luggage sizing. (I saw it happen on my previous trip to Ireland. It cost the poor guy 150€. And he didn't understand English well. I felt bad.)

They also assign seats randomly. Normally thing wouldn't bother me, but I was hoping to score a row with an empty middle seat so we could spread out a bit.

So this is what we did to make it work for us:

• Paid for a checked bag. We had 20kg and we REALLY made it work. 
• We were allowed one bag per person (INCLUDING the baby)... so we stuffed those suckers right up with everything we might need/want. 
• Paid to choose our seats. The added bonus with this was that we were near the front of the plane. (This made husband very happy!)
• We also got the middle seat free while the rest of the flight was packed in like sardines.
  
  Spreading out like a champ in the middle

• Apparently you're also allowed a carrier which doesn't count towards your final carry on count. Huh. This was awesome since Sunshine traveled in the Ergo.  

They let me carry her to the plane and hang out for a bit while keeping her in the carrier. This was great since we had to go outside to board the plane AND she was sound asleep. She got to catch a few extra snoozes while the crew did their thing and people got settled. 

Then I had to take her out. I almost cried, but rules are rules. Ryanair gives you an infant seat belt which attaches to your seat belt. Thankfully Husband was able to help me finagle this while she was sleeping on the way out. On the way back, she was wide awake. 

Taking it all in - notice her red infant belt

When the seat belt sign goes off, so did hers. And she spread back out nice and comfy like.

The trip back was much worse than the trip out. Hearing her cry is like electricity straight to my brain, so I can't imagine what it's like to others. Luckily we were able to contain her crying spells to no more than 3-4 minutes and they only happened about 3 times. Thankfully they were quick fixes; she was hungry, wanted mom or just needed a diaper change. She settled pretty well after that. 

When it came to her ears popping, I couldn't really get a good sense of if it bothered her or not. On the flight out, she slept almost the entire time. I kept tapping her paci to make sure she would suck. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure I irritated the daylights out of her. I fed her immediately when she woke up and she fell back asleep for landing. There was no crying at all for this leg of the trip. 

On the way back, she cried a lot more but my gut feeling is that it was due to having a nap interrupted, wet diaper and being hungry. Once these needs were met, there was no crying. Maybe I can get a better sense in a week.

All in all, I'd say it went well. We just needed to be prepared to essentially entertain her the entire time. It was the Sunshine show during the entire flight. More than normal. Plenty of toys, singing (oh my gosh... lots of singing) and just generally being goofy. 

We even made friends! 

Now I get to do an international flight solo in a week. Ugh....

Baby Bassinet

So after several calls to Lufthansa and United, I have the long haul flight info mostly figured out. I feel like I'm so worried about the 9.5 hours on a plane that I'm completely overlooking the should 1.5 hour flight to Dublin. Hmm.

It seems that even though I booked through Lufthansa, the flight is operated through United which means that I need to call United to make/reserve/double check anything. 

That's a lot of long distance calls. Thanks, Skype, for free calls to the US (1-800 numbers). 

So after speaking with several people from United, here's what I know/was told:

• You'll need to call ahead to reserve a bassinet seat. It's in the bulkhead and you are not guaranteed UNLESS YOU CALL TO ASK! So save yourself a headache and call. They'll put you, your infant and one other person in those seats with you. 
• Bassinets can not be used during take off, touch down, taxiing and turbulence.
• Sunshine gets her own checked luggage. 
• We also can apparently gate check a stroller free of charge. (I'm still undecided if I want to handle all that by myself. I know Sunshine will want to be held almost the entire time and not sure if a stroller will help or hurt in the airport.)

Now onto to the other thing I'm worried about. 

Breastfeeding. 

Sunshine does not like bottles. She'll take one under extreme hunger and protest. It's much easier to just let her latch and be happy. 

I've gotten a bit spoiled in Europe where breastfeeding isn't just common, but it's almost expected. And that's in public. I'm not so sure this is the case in the States and it makes me nervous. We've worked hard to get where we are with breastfeeding. 

Apparently United is alright with breastfeeding on the flights. But the kicker is, if someone else on the flight is uncomfortable, then you will be asked to cover up. 

Umm... I'm uncomfortable YOU'RE uncomfortable. 

We don't cover up -- and have never been asked. So I'm curious to see how this goes. 

I should note though, that we are very discreet. I don't think most people would know she's feeding unless she has her cranky pants on and is on and off for some reason. 

We'll see how Ryanair goes this week!

Start your engines!

Here's to new beginnings!

I feel like I should give some kind of introduction... instead of just jumping in to traveling with an infant. 

So I guess a bit of background is in order!

My husband is US military and is currently stationed overseas. I love the experience of living abroad and visiting new places, trying new foods and just seeing what the world has to offer. 

We were always planning on having kids. One of the questions I got most often was "How are you going to travel with a baby?" My response was usually a blank look followed by "I don't know, a plane? or a car? It depends on where we're going."

I didn't realize that you're not supposed to keep traveling with a baby/infant. 

Hmmm.... 

I don't like that. 

Cue Google search for tips and tricks for traveling with babies. Ok, ok, I get it. If we're flying, give a pacifier/bottle/boob or whatever helps the baby suck to relieve pressure. Then what? What's good on the plane? Should I spring for the babies own seat? Bring a carrier? Does she get her own checked luggage AND a carry on? What about where to change diapers? How do I get the seat with the baby bassinet for longer flights?

The questions go on and on... and I'm still trying to find some answers. 

Sunshine is now 3 months and 12 days. We're going to be visiting Dublin (through Ryanair) next week and flying back to the States (through Lufthansa by United) two weeks after that.

We'll see how this adventure goes!