Traveling with an infant, Part 1

Traveling with an infant is not for the faint of heart. Well, actually, I guess I’ve yet to experience the actual travel part. I suppose I should say, planning for travel with an infant isn’t for the faint of heart.
A few months ago when we received the save the date for my husband’s cousin’s wedding in Estes Park, we immediately knew we had to go. We had planned a trip to Colorado last year, but the wildfires changed our itinerary, and we’ve been itching to make it to the mountains since. At first, we planned to drive, but the idea of 14 hours in the car with a 10 month old was enough to scare us away from that idea. Cheap flights made the decision even easier.
That’s when the planning began. Since we’re flying, we cannot take everything we own with us. However, I’ve learned there’s quite a lot we can take. For instance, we are gate checking the car seat and stroller. We went ahead and bought a bag for the car seat, despite everyone I know telling me not to bother and to just put it in a trash bag. I just couldn’t get past the idea of my poor husband trying to lug the car seat through the airport with no handles. In my mind it involved a lot of complaining and frustration (from us both) and I just thought something with handles and wheels sounded so much nicer. We’ll see if it’s worth it.
I spent today packing. I repacked our diaper bag for carrying onto the plane. I have all the necessities, as well as some new toys and new snacks to pull out if little man gets antsy. I’ve tried to put some tricks up my sleeve just in case.
We’re taking enough diapers, food, and formula for the day, and planning to hit up a store when we get there.
I really, really tried not to over pack, but it seems darn near impossible not to when you’re traveling with a baby. You know, some days he wears one outfit, some days it’s three. Plus, the weather in Colorado this time of year swings from about 82 during the day to 50 at night, so I packed for both.
I’m praying that the poor person who gets stuck in the row with us likes babies. Better yet, maybe by some miracle we will have a row to ourselves. Wouldn’t that be nice?
I will make sure I report back on the experience. Hopefully it will be a really boring post about how everything went swimmingly and how Isaac was so well behaved and even took a nap. Most of all, I’m really looking forward to our first family vacation, and to having my husband all to ourselves for a whole week!