Fly Away

We’re taking our first family vacation to Reno/Lake Tahoe/Sanger (i.e., Fresno area) next week. We’re excited to introduce Charlotte to the joys of swimming pools, beaches, and cousins, not to mention show off how big (and oh so stinkin’ cute) our girl has gotten to her Omi, Grandpa Bill, Auntie Erin, and Uncle Jason in Reno, and her Nana, Grandpa Dale, Great-Grandma Belle, Great-Auntie Cheryl, and Great-Uncle Brent in Sanger. However, all this family togetherness requires a lot of travel. I’m trying to give Charlotte the benefit of the doubt—after all, she handled the DC to Seattle flight like a champ when I traveled solo with her at 5 weeks old—but a few travel concerns have Chris and me terrified. • Summer = thunderstorm season. Thunderstorms = flight delays. Flight delays with baby = I don’t even what to think about it. • Our flight leaves at 6:00 a.m. from DC, which means we have to leave the house at 3:15 a.m. and travel all day with a potentially crabby baby on very little sleep ourselves. • Charlotte is a wiggly, wiggly little tyke. She is most definitely NOT a lap-sitter. If confined to a lap, she starts to cry. See how that might be a problem? • Time zone changes. Charlotte has a very strict sleeping schedule at night, and of all the things I’m a stickler for, sleep is my #1 concern. I’m very worried about a) waking her up so early and b) getting her acclimated to a new time zone in a different setting. • Six-hour drive from Reno to Sanger. Solo. That’s right, after a couple days in Reno and Tahoe, Charlotte and I are heading over, up, or down (I should really look at a map before leaving) to Sanger to my Grandma Belle’s house. My dad is going to come down from Atascadero (where he’s doing a renovation for my aunt and uncle), my aunt and uncle are coming up from L.A., and my mom is flying in from Seattle. Six hours is a long time for her to be in a car seat. We have a couple plans to try to make sure Charlotte is as well-rested as possible to reduce crabbiness. On Saturday morning, we’re going to load up the car and have absolutely everything ready to go. Then we’ll turn off all the lights, bring the car seat upstairs to the nursery, and without saying a word or turning on a light, we’ll gently transfer Charlotte from crib to car seat. (Yes, this means she’ll be traveling in her jammies.) Strapping her in without waking her up will be tricky, and then we’ll as quietly as possible put her into the car and head to the airport. Once there, I’ll take Charlotte and a suitcase while Chris parks and makes his way back to the terminal. Hopefully she can go down for a good solid nap when we reach Reno. (Come to think of it, hopefully Chris and I can, too.) Also, beginning next week, I’m going to do another step of weaning Charlotte, fading out the evening nursing. The idea of it is simultaneously sad and freeing for me, but doing so next week rather than a couple weeks later as originally planned will allow other people to have the fun of feeding her a little more. Charlotte’s Omi tells me it’s been insanely hot in Reno, so I’ve packed lots of cute little summer outfits, sunhats, and swimsuits for my chubby little girl. She’ll probably outgrow all of it during the course of the week. We’re looking forward to getting out of dodge and having a break in our daily routine for a week. Although it’s a much bigger hassle to travel with a little one, I’m so excited to watch Charlotte play with sand for the first time, watch her grandmas feed her solids (the cutest thing EVER, I swear), see her cousins interact with her, splash in the pool with her, and see my aunt, uncle, and grandma meet her for the first time. So off we go!