US Trip: The Plane & Travel Tips

We just got back from our first family trip to America last Sunday! The picture above was us about halfway through the flight. I was pretty nervous about our first flight with Amélie. Though I know she's usually a very chilled out baby, I just wasn't sure what to expect of being up in the air in a confined space for more than 7 hours. I have to report, she was the best little flier ever. In fact, A and I thought it was even easier flying with her because 1.) people are extra nice to you when you have a little baby 2.) we were able to sit in the economy plus seats = tons of extra legroom for us plus a bassinet for the baby to sleep 3.) keeping a baby entertained makes a long flight go by faster.

First off, we gave ourselves plenty of time to get to the airport. I also like to round down the time of the flight, so even if it's at 10:45am, I'll tell A the flight is at 10:00, but I think he's now caught on to my little trick :) We used a valet service to park our car rather than hauling all of our luggage + stroller + baby on the long term parking shuttle, which was less expensive plus so convenient. I put Amélie in her Baby K'tan (best decision ever over checking the stroller at the gate) and had the Baby Bjorn on hand in case A needed to carry her. Amazingly we only brought my diaper bag plus a tote bag as our carry ons. I love the large tote we used as a carry on, it has a great zipper compartment on the bottom, which fit all of Amélie's stuff within easy reach.

After security, we found a restaurant where we could all eat comfortably before the flight. When I am travelling by myself, I usually rush to the gate to find a seat and stay there, but finding a comfortable place to relax and walking to the gate right before boarding was definitely the way to go this time around. We did a quick diaper change and before we knew it, we were already in line to board the plane. By the way, did you know they stopped boarding families with young children first? Not a big deal, but I do like getting on the plane first for overhead compartment space. 

For more than half of the trip, Amélie was awake. Keeping her entertained wasn't so bad because there were so many new things to look at plus a new toy to play with. As you can see from above, the bassinet was also used as extra storage space for our stuff. Bringing the nursing pillow was a great decision. I thought it would be too bulky to fit around me in the tiny airplane seat, but it was just right and made nursing Amélie more comfortable for both of us. 

Above is little Amélie's second nap on the flight. I was even able to watch a movie since she was napping in the bassinet. She was great throughout the whole flight to America and back to the UK. The flight back was a little bit easier since we left around her bedtime. She slept most of the way and only cried for literally a few seconds two times. Though I tried to nurse her during take off and landing, she only takes about 10 minutes to eat and the whole take off/landing process can be much more than that so for the remainder of the time, she was Mrs. Chattypants - like SO loud, but I'll take that over crying any day. 

We were so happy to finally land and arrive in America (top left) and have Amélie meet her grandparents (and Ginger the dog!) for the first time. The next part of travelling I was worried about was jetlag. Amélie adjusted as I thought she would (though it took a week and were ready to go back home). The first couple of nights she was up at 3:00/4:00 in the morning, but so were we so that was ok. Towards the end of the week she was sleeping about 7 to 7 instead. We are still adjusting now back at home, but are just about back on schedule. With that said, more posts to come about the rest of our trip in the following week, I've just been so busy to getting us all situated/preparing for our move later this month. 

Travel Tips

1. Reserve a bulkhead seat with a bassinet if you can 
2. Use a baby carrier in the airport, check your stroller with your bags
3. Do a quick diaper change right before you get on the plane 
4. Baby + PJs on the plane = comfy, warm and easy to change 
5. Try to time feeding with take off and landing to help with ear pressure
6. Bring a nursing pillow if you are breastfeeding (this doubled up also as a comfy place for Amélie to hang out), I used this travel roll bag so compress the pillow and save some space
7. Bring one new toy to surprise your baby during the flight, this Lamaze one is great
8. Pack an extra outfit for yourself and baby in an ziploc bag in case of any accidents 
9. Pack snacks for yourself (I brought chocolate covered pretzels & kale chips and bought a bottle of water after security because breastfeeding makes me so thirsty!) 
10. Prepare yourself for a total crying session and try not to worry about everyone around you. A and I talked about this before hand and were ready to take turns calming Amélie down if necessary. 

Amélie Four Months

Our baby girl turned four months old on Tuesday. I meant to go get her weighed, but never got around to it due to coming down with a cold/preparing for our America trip, but I bet she's more than 14 pounds now. She has been quite the chatterbox and loves babbling. She had a lot to say for herself for a few days in the middle of the night last week (which was not so great when mom and dad were trying to sleep). The greatest difference this past month has been how interactive she has become. She is so much more aware of her surroundings, grabs her toys and actually seems interested in them. Plus she has learned how to pull the music bar on her bouncy chair, which is what I now listen to nonstop while showering :)

She still rolls from her tummy to her back, but not very often - just when she's in the right mood. In the past couple of days, she's been very close to rolling from her back to tummy, but doesn't quite make it. Peek a boo is also starting to interest her a little bit. I played "where's mommy?' peek a boo for the first time with her last week and she was full of laughs. Though she still can't sit up on her own, we bought her a Bumbo and likes to sit in that with a tray full of toys, which of course end up on the ground after a minute. Standing up with a little support from us is her other favorite, but she still hasn't quite figured out taking steps yet.

Sleep-wise, she typically wakes up once, sometimes twice to eat then falls right back asleep. We've also been giving her a bath every night followed by a massage by mom and book read by dad. Speaking of which, we are going to baby massage classes, plus swimming and baby sensory. All are great and I think she really enjoys them all. My favorite is preparing her to go underwater for swim class so during bath time we say, Amélie - ready - go!, and then dump water all over her head/face. She takes it pretty well, but it's kind of funny and a little mean, but we want her to be ready when she goes underwater for the first time. Babies have a reflex to hold their breath until about 6 months when they are put underwater, but this exercise just emphasizes it a bit more and really prepares them.

Lastly, we cannot wait for our trip to America on Saturday. I can't say I'm not a little worried about the flight, but I'm just hoping there won't be any major meltdowns. I'm sure there will be a food and baby filled post about our trip when we are back.

^^Such a snugglemuffin

 ^^A gets to do the swimming lessons with Amélie and I get to stay dry poolside. 

 ^^Flyingggg.

^^"Mommy, why am I in this huge bath with daddy?" And love that there is a whale on her wetsuit.

Happy four months little miss! 

Amélie Three Months

Little Miss Amélie turned 3 months old today! She weighs 12 pounds and 13 ounces (5.7 kilos) and can roll over from her tummy to her back (see pic above!). She really is growing up so fast and little personality is coming out more and more each day. 

She's still all smiles in the morning especially and in the past week has only been waking up once per a night. She went through a couple week run of sleeping through the night and once gave me a record of 10 hours sleep straight! This was right before her 12 week growth spurt, which was a few days of major crankiness, poo explosions and constant milk drinking, but that's all done now (phew). I'm already excited about starting with solids though it's still a couple of months away. I've been starting to read about making my own baby food and how to store it, etc. I cannot wait! I've taken out the next size of clothing for her as she's is just about growing out of her 0-3 month clothes plus she's almost gone up to size 3 diapers.

We're enjoying the last couple of weeks of summer, though it's already starting to feel like fall here. A has a few week long business trips coming up until the end of the year so we are not looking forward to the time he'll be gone, but the good news is we booked a trip to America in September! Amélie is now officially a dual citizen and has both her Italian and US passports. We are going during my favorite time of year and I'm excited to take Amélie apple picking, having end of the season barbecues and having her meet American family and friends. 

She's fast asleep now, which means I should go to bed too! Here are a few pictures from this month:

^^Hi Miss Puppy, can I have your attention pleeeasee? 

^^Ok, that's better. 

^^To the left is right before the first time she rolled over! Next is having fun with hats :)

^^Can't wait for her first trip to America!

^^After bath time cuddles. 

We love you Amélie. Happy three months.