cheekyb's Profile

Amen mlissa! Buying two is very smart. We weren't sure which one my daughter would cling to and of course she chose the one toy that is now discontinued. Of course, I could get one on ebay for a cool $50. ugh. If you do buy two, then switch them out from time to time so they gain the same wear. My nephew refused the clean one right away.

We used one for my first daughter, but got tired of paying for refill bags after the first year. We haven't used it since. I now have a 4 month old along with the 2 year old still in diapers. I don't miss it at all.

Love the playhouse under the stairs!

Hmmm...too bad I don't speak French. I love this!

We suggested our family make a donation to our, or their, favorite charities instead of material gifts. Most of the time they'll end up giving our children something small in addition to the donation. It's worked out well and we all feel good about helping others.

We traveled from GA to Honolulu (9 hour flight, 6 hour time difference) with our 14 month old and I must say she adjusted even better than we did. We brought plenty of snacks for the flight for take offs and landings and tried to promote lots of napping if we weren't walking the aisles or coloring. Basically, just made her as comfortable as possible in order to make us, and the other passengers, comfortable. We arrived at our destination around 3pm which fell right at her bedtime if we had been at home (9pm). We were all exhausted, but depended on the sunlight to trick her into thinking it was still time to be awake and kept her awake as long as possible before retiring for the night. She woke up a little early the next morning, but fell into a routine rather quickly with the sunlight.
During our visit we let her catnap in a stroller or carrier or beach chair, or on a towel at the pool whenever she wanted throughout the day and that worked for us. We ate meals at local time, but kept in mind that her schedule was off and that she may only snack. We also kept plenty of water to drink and snack foods for those cranky times.
She slept the entire flight home since it was at night and bounced back pretty quickly into her old routine when we returned home.
My best advice is to not hold on to too much of a rigid routine unless your travel plans allow for it. Ours did not. We had lots of things we wanted to see and do and the inside of our hotel room was not one of them. You'll be in a different place so just do your best to keep her happy. Read their cues. Since you're away from home it probably won't affect the daily schedule when you return.
If you are traveling with a very young infant, then good for you for taking that plunge because chances are the baby will nap wherever she falls just like if she were at home. Newborns are usually great travelers. And, of course, every child is different so just do what works for you. Good luck and safe travels!

I have a contact for shoe bronzing in GA. I'll post if someone is interested. But, I can't wait to see and hear other ideas folks come up with. I like the ornament idea!