traveling with a "toddler"

Ahh, the joys of traveling. Prior to having baby, we enjoyed many little vacays and trips. Our love for travel started with our honeymoon to Ireland. Since then, Shannon and I were constantly going somewhere.  Sure, our vacays weren't sunning in Monte Carlo or traveling all over France, but we had so much fun. We built a lot of memories in our 5 years of just us. We vowed that once we became parents, our little travels would continue. Rowan went on her first trip when she was 3 months old. Honestly, I think we would have gone earlier except I was so paranoid about her getting sick!




Rowan was a champ that trip, and from then on we went on various road trips with her. Each time she did great and adjusted well to her surroundings. Sure it wasn't all sunshine all the time, but I felt mighty proud I had what I called "an easy traveler". I felt like we had it down and I was quite smug.


 I'm sure the good Lord got sick of my cocky attitude, because that all changed once she turned one.


This past summer, we had 3 trips planned, 2 of those trips would be with my awesome family. Our first trip was to Angel's Camp. Rowan once again did decent on the drive, enjoyed discovering our cabin that we were in. However, the night was crazy. Usually on trips she would settle to sleep. Her first few nights she would scream off and on throughout the entire night. She wouldn't settle down, would wake up ready to go at 4:30 am, etc. It was  crazy. I had no idea what the heck she was doing, lol. Naps were even harder. We tried to respect her schedule, but she would take horrible naps those first few days. Thanks to that she would be an ABSOLUTE pill, rightfully so thanks to her lack of sleep. I felt frustrated and I wanted her to enjoy her trip.


After awhile, it got better and she was able to enjoy her vacation. Next trip was to Santa Cruz, and we would be gone a little over a week. I felt a little wiser and made sure to pack a little differently to help her transition better. Sure enough, the first two nights were rough. Her naps got completely messed up, despite our best efforts. However, the trip overall was great, and we created some incredible memories! I have to say a major shout out to my family, who were beyond amazing, flexible and helpful with the baby!


So, what did I learn, as a newbie mama?


1. The first few nights might be rough- In general, when I travel, I often don't sleep great the first night or two. That's the same way with Rowan. These surroundings are so different to her, and she needs time to adjust.


2. Be flexible-I am a stickler to her routine, mainly because she does so well with it. During these trips I have learned that she may not always take a great nap, and every little snooze counts. Sometimes even a half an hour would be enough to perk her right up. With that being said...


3. Sometimes a stroller nap isn't an option-I learned my child WILL NOT sleep in the stroller. Good grief we tried every trick in the book, she wouldn't cave! I did learn that she doesn't mind conking out in the moby wrap. She would sometimes sleep almost an hour in it! Despite that I have a chubby baby, the moby actually provided a lot of support and it wasn't so bad on my body! I love my moby wrap!


4. Keep your expectations low- I have a tendency to build things WAY up in my head. I tried as much as I could to keep an open mind and just simply go with the flow. Things would always end up better that way!


5. If you are traveling with family, consider it a blessing!- We did Angels and Santa Cruz with my family, and they were BEYOND helpful with Rowan! I know it may not always be like that with every family, but I felt so supported on these trips. I was so thankful for their help! Also, we got to have a date night on both of those trips, which is a MAJOR bonus!


So, what's next? Only a 6 hour drive to Southern California, and a trip to Disneyland! This time, there is no family, just us! Precious Lord help us, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!