Mila's First Vacation

For New Year's Eve this year Robert, Mila and I went up to Granite Bay (near Sacramento) to see our best friends Bryan and Shawna and their brand new baby, Johnny.  In the past we had driven the 6-7 hours but that was NOT going to work with a new baby so we decided to try flying, especially since we are traveling to Kansas City in March and this could be our trial run.

I started thinking about what I would need to pack like two weeks before we left; babies have a lot of stuff.  Let me say that again, BABIES HAVE A LOT OF STUFF!  Thank goodness that Shawna had practically everything I needed because of Johnny so I didn't have to pack much besides clothes and items to get us up and back on the plane.  Shawna was a life saver with her bottles, diapers, formula (that she bought specifically for Mila, what a friend!), numerous toys/cribs/playmats/sleepers, towels, etc. that we honestly didn't need to bring much, yet somehow I still managed to pack a bag full.  I'm pretty much need to limit my trips for these first two years to only people that have babies.

I did a little research before flying and knew that I needed to give Mila a bottle on takeoff and landing to help reduce the pressure in her ears; therefore, I scheduled our flight times around when she would normally eat so she would take the bottle.

I had read on Southwest's website that you needed to take a copy of the baby's birth certificate with you to the airport to prove that she was under two; I didn't think this was necessary as you can look at Mila and clearly see she's under two. However, just to be safe I took a picture of her birth certificate with my iPad just in case. It's a good thing I did because they needed it to print her Boarding Verification Document (like a boarding pass) at the check in counter. Score a point for my excessive worrying and over planning.

On our way home I asked if they could print me an extra copy to keep for her baby book

We had no problem getting through security and I "wore" Mila in my Moby wrap right through security so that way I had my hands free. There was no extra scanning, other than they had to swab my hands and test it in a machine (perhaps there's a problem with mom's having explosives on their palms?!).  After we got through security we went straight to the gate and she stayed in the wrap checking everything out around her.

One of the weird things about having her in the Moby was that you have to take them out on take off and landing, which doesn't really make any sense to me because they are safest right there, nestled on your chest.  It didn't matter much to me, though, because I had to take her out anyways to feed her and then just ended up holding her the rest of the flight.  She took the bottle both times when we were leaving and then fell right asleep, sucking on her pacifier the whole way and only waking once we had landed and I needed to put her back in the wrap.  She didn't make a peep either way, talk about an expert traveler!

Bryan picked us up from the airport while Shawna stayed home with Johnny because we didn't know if all of our luggage would fit.  This way Mila could use Johnny's carrier so we didn't have to sit at the airport and take the time to install our carseat right away.

Johnny and Mila were BEYOND EXCITED to see each other.  I'm pretty sure they have been waiting for this moment for weeks.

Johnny is already trying to put his arm around her

This New Year's Eve was much different than year's past.  It was touch and go there for awhile if we were actually going to make it up until midnight, but we did and toasted a bottle of champagne and then were in bed by 12:30am.  Actually, I was in Shawna and Bryan's bed with Mila while Shawna was in their rocker with Johnny from about 10pm until we went to sleep!

Mila gave me the best New Year's present of them all...she laughed for me!!!!!  And not only that, but she's been doing it much more since then. It's the cutest sound ever (although it kind of sounds like a cough!)

Happy New Year!

love.

Uncle Rob and Johnny

When I was pregnant Robert heard a song by Dashboard Confessional called Belle of the Boulevard and he said that, for some reason, it reminded him of Mila.  Here's a video of the two of them watching the music video.  **heart explosion**

Johnny flexing to impress Mila but she is more interested in her hands apparently

While we were there Shawna's sister, Nellie, brought over an Exersaucer that her son was too big for. Mila's still a little small for it but she was having fun in it for about five minutes. Guess it's almost time to get ours set up at home!

Auntie Shawn and Mila

Uncle Bry and Mila

before the flight going home, all tuckered out 

Sadly we didn't do much while we were up there, it was just too hard with the babies.  We left the house on Wednesday night and went to dinner at an Italian restaurant down the street from their house. We figured Wednesday night around 7pm would be safe as the place probably wouldn't be that busy. It was pretty successful except that Johnny cried for about 10min when we first got there and the table behind us got up and left (losers) and Mila thought it would be a perfect time to take a massive dump since we weren't home in an easy place to clean it up. Other than that everyone was really nice and understanding that the babies fussed a little and we had a great time. Then on Friday we got out and went to lunch and shopping at the Folsom Outlets to get some fresh air and exercise. Saturday we went to Shawna's sister's son's baptism and then over to her parents house before we flew back to Orange County.

Mila did really good overall. Unfortunately after the first night she had some trouble sleeping; I'm not sure why, it could've been a variety of factors such as her sleeping arrangement (up there she slept in a bassinet but she's never slept overnight flat on her back before as her cradle here is at an incline), a late growth spurt (she ate so much while we were up there!), a 4mo sleep regression (I read online this will be happening soon...), or who knows what else.  After the first night she was up at least 3-4 times every night, sometimes up every hour. I am not used to that anymore! We ended up co-sleeping with her (in our bed) for part of the night every night because that's the only way she would sleep (but then I didn't sleep much because I was scared I would roll over on her!).  Other than her sleep problems, Mila was a little doll and loved all the attention she received up there. She "talked" and laugh/coughed more than she ever has and I'm pretty sure she fell in actual love with Johnny.

It made me a little sad to see Johnny because, what a difference six weeks makes! When you're older 6 weeks is nothing but for these babies it makes all the difference.  Johnny still makes faces that Mila no longer makes and he's still looking a little like a newborn, while Mila reminds me more of an actual baby.  Seeing the two of them together makes you stop and appreciate all the little things that are happening because it changes SO fast.  

Megan's Tips for Traveling

• Definitely need recovery day before going back to work - we came back on Saturday, rather than Sunday, and that was the best decision I have ever made
• Take all liquids out of bag when going thru security - normally I don't do this (even though they tell you to) because I "forget" but they never have to rescan my bag. This does not work when you have formula, they find all those little bottles in your bag and make you re-scan a million times.
• Take infant carrier not carseat - I bought a convertible carseat to travel with because I didn't want to risk the airline breaking my travel system carrier.  However, this was not a smart decision.  With the carseat there are no handles so you can't carry it in places (like restaurants) so I would have to hold Mila if we went anywhere.  Going forward we will just check our carrier at the gate (hoping to get to take it on the plane for free) and keep our fingers crossed they don't break it
• Give bottle during takeoff - this definitely worked for us and it put her right to sleep 
• Leggings and onesie for travel for easy diaper changes - I also read online that it's great to dress babies in a onesie and leggings when traveling because then you don't have to worry about getting their pants on and off during a diaper change. This was a great piece of advice and made changing Mila a piece of cake
• Consider no carry on or purse just backpack - I carried on a bag with all of Mila's items and then had my purse that acted as a diaper bag with her bottle, diapers, etc.  I think on our next flight it would be easier to have a backpack (dork city) instead of a purse and even her packed bag because the less things to worry about the better.

And don't you worry, Roscoe was in great hands while we were gone and probably was a little sad when we got back.  Uncle Garret came over and hung out with him for hours every day, took him on walks and gave him 100% of his attention.

just watching a bowl game

I know the boys were chomping at the bit and were going a bit stir crazy from being inside all week but (as lame as this may sound to some of you!) this is probably one of my most favorite vacations yet: all I did was snuggle my baby all day and hang out with two of our best friends and my husband, it really doesn't get any better than that.  We are already looking forward to the next time and I can't even imagine how much bigger our little babies will be then.