Have baby, will travel...Days 1-3

Or as I'd like to call it: "Don't fly first class with an infant and other lessons learned from a week-long trip to the Big Apple."

I toyed with the idea of putting this on my review blog, but this isn't as much a review of things as a reflection.

A reflection that is best told day by day as the trip progresses...

Day 1: Fly time...

Due to an interesting combination of circumstances, it worked out to cost the same for us to fly First Class (FC) on Alaska Air (purchasing a full fare and using a $99 companion ticket AND taking advantage of baby as a lap infant) as would to buy three coach tickets.

And for those of you who say "Hey, you're baby is under two, why buy a ticket." Yeah, go on ONE flight with a mobile child over 6 mos and you'll find out.

That said we figured the extra space, perks, whatever, would make SO MUCH sense especially with a baby.

WRONG.

First: Baby likes his own seat to stand in. Two extra wide seats doesn't = standing room for baby. Also, when baby stands, he likes to look at the people on the plane. Because FC is partitioned off, baby can only see a fancy piece of material. Not for the making of a happy, distracted baby.

Second: Babies wear diapers right up till two and beyond (well most here in the States) so you may want a changing surface. Guess where the one changing table is on the plane? Oh, if you have a baby you don't have to guess. It's not in the FC bathroom.

Now that was interesting adventure. Baby and I trekked back for the change and while in the lavatory I heard a thump against the door and an exclamation of "Oh!"...then something that sounded like a lock. I tried the door. Sure enough, we were locked in.

If you're trapped in an airplane bathroom with a 14mo old while someone is passed out in the aisle on the other side of the door, here are some activity options:

a) Water play: The sink is perfect for little hands. Don't let it fill up too much or you'll find the splashing mess is too 'exciting'. Go ahead and through a little foaming hand soap in for bubbles fun.

b) Magic toilet: since baby will rip seat covers from the holder anyway, let him toss them into the toilet, close the lid, hit the button and then...viola!...magic, the cover is gone.

c) Practice cleaning up: baby will love shredding paper towels and throwing them in the trash bin...just watch out that he doesn't pull them right out again.

Third: Free DigiPlayers...no big extra because 14mo olds generally don't watch TV and even if they do it's only for a very short time and ONLY shows they know.

Fourth: NICE food...this only matters if you aren't in the last row to have your order taken or the bakery basket offered to. Literally they need to have two food items available for 16 people who paid at least TRIPLE price for these seats. I'm not into wasting food, but if everyone wants cinnamon French toast, then you better have 16 servings to offer.

Oh, and if the woman with a 14mo old wants the French toast and you have to come back later and tell her that, oops, you're out of it, don't, for the love of God, say, "I bet you wanted that too, didn't you?" even as an after thought.

Bottom line: I'd rather pay for the extra seat for baby, rent the DigiPlayer, and buy all my food a la carte as I know I'll save a considerable sum of money YET have all my airplane travel with baby desires met.

Day 1 (con't): Hotel check-in.

Oh lordy. Spending a week in a hotel with a little one who is potentially teething and has a very specific set of loved foods that one can't easily find at any fast food (or regular food) dive makes one desire a kitchenette. Okay, and a suite with one door, but there's a sanity price point.

We're working the Starwood program these days and I was finally going to get it to pay off buy cashing in some points.

When prepping the reservation online, I ran into limitations, so I contacted a call-center person. They said that the hotel I was looking at was O-K, but a better one had recently opened and all the rooms had kitchenettes. DING, DING, DING!

I booked a 'studio', though there's some lingering debate as to whether the word 'suite' was attached to the original description. Regardless, I at least expected a room that was large enough to accommodate a crib. And why would I expect that? Because the call-center person said it would. Then I called the hotel itself and the front-desk staff also said it would. AND, hubby stayed at this hotel for work (in a standard room) and he said that one would barely fit, so the studio had to be big enough.

WRONG.

An hour of wrangling once we checked in and SAW the room landed us up five more stories to an 'accessible' room which, by law, has to be bigger.

Okay, the room was bigger and we're still in it as I write this, but I have to say I don't know who this is exactly accessible for since nearly all the kitchen items, the thermostat, the ironing board and more are all out of reaching of even the tallest wheel-chaired bound person.

This point doesn't affect us, but I understand a little more the basis for the complaints lodged by those seeking accessible accommodations and finding details like these so grossly ignored.

Day 2

 

Out and about in the City...

I've lived in the New York before...three years in Westchester as a nanny (one of those boys is the reason why we're here actually) and many, many weekends in NYC itself.

There were lots of things I randomly thought then and haven't thought about much since then, but those thoughts started coming back yesterday.

Spitting: babies in strollers are at the perfect height for spittle trajectory. Made me want to bust out with weather shield early.

Cigarettes: babies in strollers are at the perfect height for being ashed on. A kindly soul who was raspily asking my baby if he had a license to drive his stroller ashed moments later and I'll be darned if it wasn't too close for comfort.

Strollers: I'm soooooooo glad I didn't cave to the travel ease of an umbrella stroller. Sure our City Mini (okay, maybe I should put this on the review blog too) is a tad wide and kind of a tank, but it's providing great peace of mind.

Misc gear issues: mittens on strings that run through coat sleeves get caught in the slats of park benches...hats should not be easily removable if the weather is cold...and neither should shoes...having the stroller and the Ergo AND the monkey leash is NOT overkill...leg warmers are a great shoe alternative while baby is in stroller.

On a final note for that day: we had our first ever female cabbie. She was old and Caucasian and she said we'd always remember her because no matter how good or bad "You always remember your first!"

Day 3

Hotel room entertainment: with a 14mo old, it's not the TV, but rather it's the window that overlooks the street and cars (aka "Gah-Gah"). It's also the digital hotel safe that baby can't open, but routinely beeps at him for his failed efforts. It's also the open bathroom door, which opens into a world of mischief that begins with a roll of toilet paper and may end with an overturned trashcan of diapers.

BTW, when traveling with baby, always have a safety/JIC pack which includes plug covers and Post-its (to cover bright digital displays).

FAO Schwartz: for any child visiting NYC, this seems like a no-brainer. As in every child will love a visit. True, but be prepared when things you're not expecting to entertain your toddler, well, do. And for the living love of all things, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT go into this store if you're in a rush. Go in to waste time and waste time you happily will.

Mashed sweet potatoes: for you, the reader, it's likely some other food, but for me it's the sweet potatoes.  My little guy is a good eater of a variety of foods, but he has comfort staples when he's out of sorts...like when he's teething or traveling...or both.

These foods include spiced yogurt, veggie booty, grapes or blueberries, Earth's Best cereal bars AND mashed sweet potatoes.

When we arrived, I made a point of trekking nearly 20 blocks south to a Whole Foods KNOWING it would have all that I was seeking.

It did...except for sweet potatoes. I usually get the frozen cubed kind to make life easier, but the only frozen kind they had was french-fried. I was seriously shocked.

Okay, no biggie,  I could be flexible. I figured he would be fine with the other foods and some Mac 'n Cheese and turkey dogs.

WRONG.

After eating modestly for the first 48hours here and refusing M'nC at lunch AND later dinner, I knew it was time to take drastic measures.

At first I typed in 'Gourmet' hoping one of the nearby delis might have mashed sweet potatoes. We started walking north and one place after the other had NOTHING.

In a desperate moment I simply typed into my phone's Google maps "Sweet Potatoes". The nearest listing was B. Smith's restaurant 1.5 blocks away from our standing place, so we went.

"Do you have mashed sweet potatoes?" I asked upon walking into this fine-dining establishment. 

The host kindly took out the menu and glanced down it. "Yep." He pointed. "Sweet potato mash."

"Thank god! I'll take two. It's the only thing my baby will eat right now."

And that's how I ended up with two quart-sized containers of sweet potato mash, which is VERY good by the way.

Baby ate that and yogurt (and part of a later dumped-out bag of veggie booty) and is now happily sleeping for his 4th straight hour of the night.

So, as this trip continues, so will the baby travel lessons.

I'm sure I had some other things cross my mind over the last 60hours, but it's all kind of clouding over now.

Peace

A Pink American