It is done.
I am scared.
6 Likes
Shocking no one, I’m being super neurotic about this. Should I have gotten safety plates instead of just using outlet covers? He hasn’t ever removed one… And I have a hard time removing them…
Also there’s like no way to toddler proof a mobile AC unit so we are just gonna have to cool off his room.and then roll it back into the friggin closet -_-
2 Likes
What’s the concern with the AC unit? You can get a plug cover box so stuff stays plugged in. Are you guys worried about him messing with controls?
2 Likes
I don’t have an outlet cover for it yet, it’s just hanging out in the wall, albeit in a hard to reach place, I suppose of he wanted to he might be able to pull it out. He could technically tip the AC I guess but that seems silly.
2 Likes
We were worried about Duckling touching or tipping his heater, so we put it between a dresser (attached to the wall) and a corner, and then put a baby gate across the gap in front of the heater.
1 Like
We might be considering a flying trip (!!) this summer to attend an outdoor wedding. I think we will plan the trip and then assess covid conditions 2 weeks before — right now, with masks and filtering on airplanes, it seems okay for us. Baby Spore will be 10 months old. How do we do this?
- Should we bring the entire stroller and car seat? The stroller is the Colugo complete and is pretty heavy — 25 lbs. There’s an optional car seat adapter we could buy so we’d be lugging one contraption through the airport, not two.
- Should we get him his own seat? Any other airline seat tricks?
- Should we bring his travel crib (or even just the mattress) or…?
- The wedding will have on-site babysitters during the ceremony and reception. We’ll probably use them through the ceremony, have him with us for the in-between cocktail/mingling time, and then alternate bedtime/reception time?
We’ll probably stay in the area for a week (which is also our wedding anniversary and husband’s birthday) and rent a camper van to explore some of the nearby parks.
Huh, even if we pull the plug on this trip I’m very excited to even be planning one! Hooray for vaccines.
3 Likes
Call the hotel, they probably have pack and plays, or ask friends local to the wedding!
2 Likes
How wiggly is he? If he’s normally content to cuddle/sleep on your lap, then I’d say he doesn’t need his own seat. I love the stroller for navigating the airport and I always gate check it right before getting on the plane, but I know some people are more comfortable baby wearing instead. What do you tend to do more? If you have a soft carrier, I like that for being hands free on the actual plane seat, but they don’t allow you to have them in it for the takeoff and landing, so maybe not worth it to you.
Can you borrow a pack and play from someone? Or have a friend/relative buy one for you on FB marketplace before you get there? There are usually tons of them on my local buy nothing group too. You could either resell or just donate it once the week is up. It would be much easier than hauling it through the airport.
4 Likes
Thanks, these are helpful ways to think about it! Now that he’s close to 20 pounds, we use the stroller a lot more so will probably stick with that.
At 7 months he’s pretty wiggly, but content to just wave his limbs around like a deranged octopus. Hard to predict how mobile he’ll be in 3 months but if I were taking him on a flight today, I think lap child would work.
4 Likes
4 Likes
Buy a cheap umbrella stroller and get a crib from the hotel or AirBnB.
I have no idea what I’m doing - is a cheap umbrella stroller better for flying? Is it that it fits in a rental car (moot, we are renting a camper van for 5 days) or less likely to get damaged in gate check etc.? Or you can stick it in the overhead?
I live in a small house with minimal storage, and maaaaay overly scrutinize any equipment purchases.
It’s because it’s more likely that when the airplane company inevitably breaks it a bit, you won’t swear at them so much. I think. I don’t travel.
2 Likes
They are small and lightweight. They fold up small so you can shove them into whatever space is available. If you lose it, no big deal.
I always had a Good Stroller and a Travel Stroller.
OTOH, if you can afford it, I’d buy an extra seat. It’s just safer to be in a car seat.
1 Like
You can check baby stuff for free usually, but it’s still a lot to carry into the airport. I’ve never brought a stroller with me when traveling with a baby, I have always worn them in a carrier and done lap baby. Technically having them in their own seat in a car seat is safer. But my kids wouldn’t have stayed that way for a whole flight, so I always figured even if I bought them a seat they would have been in my lap a lot of the time anyway. Dealing with a car seat through the airport also sounds pretty miserable. Those things are so heavy! I guess if you intend to do that you should do the stroller. My kids at 10 months old were not fun to fly with. Too young to watch TV. Too mobile to be happy in my lap for hours. It’s a hard age to travel with but you can do it!
1 Like
Trying to plan some summer vacations and wondering if people have recommendations. I’m thinking of a several days in a cabin in the mountains and a separate several days at an Airbnb near a beach. Pipsqueak is currently 7 months. She’s army crawling and thinking about pulling to a stand but not there yet. We’ll probably do one trip in early July (8.5 months) and another at the end of August (10 months). Ant tips for what order to plan things?
3 Likes
Same age here so still figuring it out, but some thoughts…
- I think it will depend more on the layout of each place you’re staying than beach or woods per se. Baby Spore can creep at 7.5mos but he’s still very slow. This past weekend I was able to put him in the middle of the 12’ wide deck (at a fancy tent rental) and walk away for a minute to make coffee, etc. Also, the deck was only 10” off the ground so WORST case he would have a soft and short landing. I would also scour photos to see if the hangout spaces have steep dropoffs, etc. Loft spaces with open railings will probably be less relaxing.
- I brought a big blanket (actually a large fabric shower curtain
) which was great for setting on the ground, darkening his travel crib, etc. Normally I would set him on the ground but (1) ticks and (2) the ground was soaked from a lot of rain. - How does Pipsqueak nap on the go? It took some trial & error to realize that if we are away from a house/crib but not in motion (like a picnic rather than a drive/walk), Baby Spore easily falls asleep being rocked in his car seat with the shade down.
- Sometimes rentals include a pack-n-play which is awesome. We also have the Lotus Guava crib which packs down very small - although this weekend was a bust, maybe it was too chilly (45F!) or we need to get him used to it at home.
- Do you plan to hike etc. in the mountains? Maybe sort out your carrier situation a month ahead of time (not too far ahead since their size & preferences keep changing). We’re sort of in between the front and back carriers right now.
2 Likes
Thanks! All good points. We tried out the hiking carrier for the first time this weekend and it went really well!
She doesn’t nap well in the go but I’m hoping with some practice at daycare that will improve.
1 Like
Anybody use the stokke flexibath?
Or - alternatively, have a recommendation for toddler bathtub? We’ve outgrown the infant tub, but it feels like a huge waste of water to fill up the full bathtub (and we’d want to keep the bathtub cleaner than we currently do).
We use the munchkin duck tub which is inflatable and much cheaper than the stokke bath. It’s been working well for a couple months and comes with some patches in case it ever springs a leak.
1 Like