simpletruths

Have toddler, will travel

 

 

We learned quite a few things on our first excursion to NY with a toddler. Although this wasn't the first time Little Mr. has traveled afar, this is the first time he hasn't been portable (i.e. strap him in the Ergo and go).

 trying on hats in Soho
 
 

The 5 hour flight

• toddler headphones (they're smaller and don't get as loud as regular ones)
• portable DVD player and fun shows he likes but has never seen (Curious George, Thomas the train).  We actually didn't use this nearly as much as I thought we would; just a couple of 15 min episodes during his groggy after nap period.
• stickers! (my favorite)
• color wonder coloring book (this didn't work, maybe when he's a little older)
• a few favorite books (Right now we can't go far without bringing If You Give a Pig a Pancake)
• lots of snacks (fruit bars, cheesy rabbits - the whole foods version of goldfish) 

That's it. Some things worked better than others, most notably snacks and stickers.  The coloring was a nonstarter. One thing we were quite excited to discover was that the pressure change didn't seem to bother him.  I was a serious water pusher the entire flight especially takeoff and landing, but on the flight back he wasn't interested in anything  that would encourage swallowing and didn't seem any worse for wear.

Out and About in the City

We didn't bring a car seat and I'm sooooo glad! To and from the airport we reserved a car through a service that provides car seats and once we were safely at our destination, we were all subway, all the time. 

We brought the cheapest umbrella stroller we could find - and it worked great.  It cost about $20 at Babies r Us, folds up in a flash (which was important given the subway travel), was extremely lightweight and we didn't worry about whether or not it got messed up (which it didn't).

Naps happened whenever and where ever although he never really slept enough during the day...but does anyone sleep enough when they go to NY? 

We'd hoped to keep him on his 'regular' schedule just 3 hours ahead - no such luck. The sun was shining bright and he was up at 7am that first morning and his regular 6am every morning thereafter.

 tunnel of Indian food goodness.

Grownup Vacation

HA!

We didn't get to see Fela! like we'd hoped - I'll just have to wait until they go on tour. And most evening dining consisted of take out, but we had some great brunch  and amazing lunches thanks to my sister's appreciation of delicious food!

 mmmm crazy creamy cheese grits with crispy bacon crumbled on top. again mmmmmm

All in all it was a great trip, with great people and good weather.  We even got to take a requisite Central Park picture during a marathon walk through the park after which we rewarded ourselves with cookies from Levain.

 

Happy Travels!

Next posts: 

 

• Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas with tomatillo salsa 
  
• Bagels 
  
• Fall Projects

 

 

This is how we do New York

We've been on vacation :)

We spent 5 days in NY visiting my amazing sister who just graduated from Parson's New School with a Masters Fine Arts; her art was also recently featured on Oprah - more on that later.

Here's a few pictures from our trip.

A few of my favorites from the Hells Kitchen Flea Market

seltzer bottles so awesome they deserve two pictures

More to come.     

"I can crochet while he's asleep."

...And other lies I tell myself about being on a plane with a 9-month old.

This trip was completely different from any I've ever taken before.  It used to be that a cross-country flight was an opportunity to catch up on reading - both gossip magazines and 'serious' books alike. I could crochet or knit while watching whatever romantic comedy was showing; to be honest, I'm not sure if I'd know who Hugh Grant is where it not for the in-flight movie. All-in-all the flyng BC (Before Child) was a bit of forced (albeit cramped) relaxation.

But a flight with a 9-month old, even an amazingly well-mannered, and happy one, leaves barely enough time for a bathroom break let alone "craft time." The best I was able to do was play Mahjong on the little seat monitor in front of me, with my one free hand, during his occasional naps.

Am I complaining? of course not. The little guy was a dream on the plane - and we're talking about confined space with a baby who generally wants nothing more than to crawl around and explore - so a trek from San Francisco to New York is no small feat.