Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Traveling with a Baby

Today I confirmed our tickets to the States for Pessach, as well as confirming that the bassinet will come along with the bassinet seat on British Airways. On the one hand, I can't wait to see Raphaela interacting with her cousins, she reveled in the company of other children on our first weekend away. On the other hand, I now have a whole new list of concerns regarding traveling with a six-month old infant, as I have never done it before.

In addition, it appears that between the two of us, we only get two pieces of luggage, and I was so hoping to shop at Childrens Place and buy the store out...

Onto my list of premature worries:
1. How will I get myself, a baby and her stroller, and two pieces of luggage out of my house and to Ben Gurion Airport?
2. How will I get myself, a baby and her stroller and two pieces of luggage to the check in area?
3. Will Raphaela melt down while we are waiting to board the plane?
4. Will she melt down at any part of the flight, or during the three hour layover in Heathrow?
5. How will I get my tired self, a tired baby and her stroller and two pieces of luggage out of the airport and through customs in Boston?
6. How much a disruption will occur in Raphaela's sleeping and eating patterns, while we are in America for two weeks, and how long will the effect last once we return to Israel?
7. How will I get my tired self, a baby and her stroller and two much heavier pieces of luggage out of customs once we return to Israel?
8. How will I drag myself and my child home after that long trip?
9. How can I afford to take off two and a half weeks of work, in addition to all the shopping that is bound to take place?

On the up side, as an Israeli I will only be doing one Seder.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

When my daughter was nine months old, I traveled with her to Israel for 2 weeks. Luckily, I was traveling with my family so I had help. Still, traveling with a baby can be difficult. Try to get someone to escort you to the airport so you can have help juggling luggage, passports, and baby. Be nice to the flight attendants so they will be nice to you. Make sure you have a lightweight stroller. You don't want to be lugging something heavy around the whole time. If you stop nursing by then, make sure you have a lot of pre-measured formula and bottles.

koshergourmetmart said...

don't worry so much (not too minimize your fears but it always works out). you worried about the weekend away and it worked out great (based on this post). to address your concerns:

1) have a friend go to the airport with you or at least help you get out of your house. Get a baby backpack-put her on your back so you can wheel luggage or at least put the luggage in the carriage

2) perhaps there is curb side check-in?

3-4) if she has a melt down so be it Have on you diapers, a book, a favorite toy Or just walk around with her. If you have a 3 hour layover explore the airport. she may take a nap.

5) have people meet you at the airport.


6) Babies adjust fairly easily-she will probably settle into a routine here. A friend of mine trained her baby to know it was nap time by giving her a bottle in the same place before napping so she could recognize the cues. and people will help you in the airport.


7) have people meet you at the airport.

8) you'll manage-you probably will be less tired than usual b/c you will have many extra hands.

9) Can you pay for an extra bag on british airways? Can you see patients in the US while you are here? You will have built in babysitters. I am sure grandma will shop with you for raphaela and probably all the uncles and aunts will gift you too. Don't buy too much in advance (I made that mistake and we have a ton of clothes that were not worn)

The positives of introducing raphaela to her extended family should outweight all your worries. Just look forward to the trip and don't sweat it.

koshergourmetmart said...

rapahela is probably going to be doing a lot of moving by then-crawling, standing and the airport is a great place-lots of seats to pull herself up by and also lots of interesting things to see and explore

Amy Charles said...

You know what we have in the US, which is terrific? Stores. Do not bring more than a few things. It's going to be your family's job to hang onto some things for you to wear & use while you visit. If you want, you can order things online and have them delivered to your parents' house, but surely people can lend you some things to use and/or you can go shopping while you're here.

I travelled cross-country with a 5-year-old last summer, and after doing the kind of thing you're describing when she was younger, I learned. I shipped my luggage as boxes via UPS. That's probably too expensive from Israel, but the same idea applies.

anonymous said...

My sister uses this Israeli company when she travels with children - they provide all sorts of services - and can get expensive - but it is worth it. They will meet you at the plane with a golf cart and drive you to a special waiting area and bring Israeli customs and pickup and bring all of your luggage to you and then drive you home and you do not have to deal with anything. It may be money well spent for peace of mind.

VIP Club Laufer Aviation

vipclub@lauferghi.com