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One thing that was really important to me when becoming a momma was to not let motherhood define all that I am or keep me from dreaming and doing. It’s one of the reasons why I continue to work and create. Granted, my dreams certainly look different than they used to, but that’s completely fine with me as long as I’m still doing it. Now, though, I just get to bring along a little pint-sized little guy too.
I’ve always loved to travel. Long road trips, planes, you name it, I’m there if it involves a chance to explore someplace new or revisit some of my favorite spots. Last month I had to go to Nashville for a couple of days for work. I’d been dying to fly solo with Liam anyway (J thought I was nuts), so I took it as an opportunity to try it out. It went great! Liam has always been an excellent traveler with several road trips and a previous flight under his belt, but this was the first trip traveling alone with mama.
So what did we carry on with us?
Our amazing lightweight diaper bag from Boken Essentials. When I first got this bag, I realized just how much the diaper bag I had been using was weighing me down (and giving me some shoulder pain). I really love how the bag can be worn comfortably as a backpack or hung on the back of the stroller, no special hooks required. And the bad is HUGE. I fit everything in the photo in the bag and there was still room to spare. This included diapers and wipes, of course, as well as a blanket for Liam, a sweatshirt in case it was chilly, our all-important teddy bear, books, crayons and other activities, a sippy cup for Liam and a Nalgene for me (I go through security with an empty Nalgene and then purchase a bottle of water from one of the stores), mommy and me sunglasses, my wallet, NeatCheeks for clean hands and faces and, of course, lots and lots of snacks. Liam’s favorites are applesauce pouches, YumEarth gummy bears and Zbars.
An umbrella stroller. This one from Summer Infant has become our go-to travel stroller. It’s much smaller and lighter than our BOB, but it still has a seat that reclines and a few other nice features. While I probably could have gotten by without a stroller altogether on this trip, Liam is a super active toddler and it was nice knowing that I had a safe place to contain him when I was busy getting us through all the checkpoints in the airport.
Carseat. Liam actually turn two the weekend we were traveling, but since Southwest was running such a great deal on tickets, I went ahead and bought him a seat both ways. I know not everyone chooses to lug around a carseat at the airport, but it’s the safer seating choice and I knew I had a better chance of him falling asleep (or at least staying in his seat) if he had a carseat. Plus, we needed it for the rental car anyway so it worked out well. We bought this one to use for travel only. I carried the carseat on my back using this travel bag.
Baby carrier. I’ve amassed quite a collation of baby wearing gear over the last two years, but my favorite for traveling is definitely the Ergo. It’s not as pretty as my wraps or Tulas, but it’s comfortable, unassuming and it’s easily replaceable if it accidentally got damaged, lost or stolen. Truthfully, though, we didn’t use it at all on this trip. Liam was pretty content in the stroller and I was already carrying a lot of weight with the carseat. That, and I’m pretty sure our baby wearing days are numbered. He’s so independent and loves to run around that we usually only baby wear when he’s tired or not feeling very well. At any other age prior to this, though, we would have used the Ergo on a trip like this. However, it did fold up nicely below the stroller so it wasn’t inconvenient to cart it around just in case.
My camera. I don’t check my camera. Ever. Period. And I didn’t want to leave it behind either. I ended up packing the camera in my laptop bag, which I then stuck inside the carseat bag. This probably tripled the weight on my back – I don’t recommend it. I think the next time around, I’d plan to not work at all, leave the laptop at home, and pack the camera into a much smaller bag. This way, it would probably fit under the stroller or someplace a little more convenient.
I’m sure I’ll perfect this list in trips to come. I really enjoyed the special mommy-Liam time, so we’ll have to do it again at some point.
Have you traveled alone with your kids? What do you like to bring along?
** We were given the diaper bag, NeatCheeks and sweatshirt for free or at a discount during our brand rep terms with these companies, but any opinions about these products are completely my own. This is not a sponsored post.
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