Aloha Baby!

I wish I was writing about this Hawaiian family vacation from personal experience... I have been to Hawaii twice in my life, but it will be a long time before we take baby C this many time zones away... but my friend Emily, whose blog Eating, Running, and Loving Life in CBus chronicles her eating, running, and being a great mom to 6 month old K (in Columbus, Ohio) agreed to guest blog for Baby To Go. Here is what she has to say about a recent Hawaii vacation. Check out her blog and try not to be too jealous of her Hawaiian adventures!

So harm has asked me to blog about my recent trip to Hawaii.  My daughter was not quite five months old on this trip so in choosing a location for our annual family get together, I wanted a place that was safe both health wise and security wise.  Two years ago we had been to the town of Kailua on the island of Oahu- yes Hawaii, and when looking for a home for the week for my family (we rent a house with my parents, my sister, her husband and their two kids – ages 7 & 9), it was the most affordable.  We chose Hawaii because although Mexico is more affordable, I just wasn’t sold on the safety of the place for many reasons!

This was not my baby girl’s first plane ride but certainly her longest.  Like harm I have learned never to leave home without my carrier (although I use a Beco Butterfly II not a BabyBjorn).  During our three hour layover in Houston the carrier was indispensable as I was able to walk the terminals and talk on the phone to my family who were stuck in NY, as they had closed the Atlanta airport due to weather. I also have a “crap and go” which is great for travelling but this trip I knew I would be walking more so I brought my Bob Revolution.  I will never travel with this stroller when travelling by myself as it is just too heavy, but with my husband with me, it is a great stroller.  It is my go-to stroller here in Columbus since it maneuvers easier on the poor sidewalks here in the city and is great on the trails throughout the area.  I have the infant seat attachment so it’s like a snap n’ go and a regular stroller in one – very handy!

Just like harm, I do not get my baby girl her own seat.  She likes to nurse so she is just as content being attached to me the whole time.  When she gets fussy I quietly sing her songs, read her books or walk the aisles.  One thing that I have to say, for this trip I was spoiled by my husband who treated us via miles by upgrading our tickets to first class so we had plenty of room.

I did not cloth diaper (as I do at home – more on that in a different guest post if harm ever asks me to post again) while travelling because of the space.  The diapers just take up too much room.  I didn’t want to fuss with the washing, bringing the detergent, and frankly carrying that many dirty diapers, so while travelling – any travelling, we go with disposables.

I am too cheap to pay to check a bag on any flight and my trusted Samsonite rolling bag is too tough to wheel behind the stroller, so I have opted for the backpack.  At times I feel like I should be backpacking through Europe like a college student again, but most of those girls don’t have kids on the front of them.  I prefer this way so much that I just ordered a new backpack from Land’s End (it was on sale – 50% off and free shipping) for a recent trip to San Francisco. 

Finally, what I learned about travelling to Hawaii was a good sleep routine works.  We landed in Hawaii at 5pm at night and thanks to naps on the plane, we were able to get our little one down around 7:30pm. This is close to when she would normally go to bed at home.  She isn’t a great sleeper, so it was a bit difficult for us to manage her night waking so as not to disturb everyone in the house. 

During the days, she was just a happy camper – going to the beach or lounging by the pool.  She got her first feel of grass under her toes and lounging outside diaperless or without a full bundle of clothes.  It was a great reprieve from a long, cold Ohio winter.  Now we just have to decide where to go next year.  Hopefully someplace that isn’t so hard to get to.