Have Baby, Will Travel: The First Trip “Home”

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BabysFirstTripHeader                 Like many Arizonans, my husband and I are not from here. We’re Bostonians through and through, and we knew at some point after we had our little man (I’ll call him LM from here on out) we’d make the journey “home” to Massachusetts. Last month, we took our first trip to celebrate my brother-in-law’s wedding. July is the perfect time to visit Boston, if you ever have the chance. Not only do you get out of the Arizona summer heat, you can hit the beach and enjoy all the fun things summer in New England has to offer.

The first trip with LM was sure to be momentous. He’s only six months old and most of our family members had yet to meet him. We planned a tight schedule to try to show him off to as many people as possible. While he wasn’t going to attend the actual wedding, we figured between the rehearsal dinner and a cookout my parents organized for our side of the family, he’d see as many people as we could fit in. The tough thing about trips home is that everyone wants to see us, especially now that we have the baby. No matter how much time we spend with a certain person, they’re never satisfied and they lay on the guilt. We try our best to be fair and get around to see everyone, but we always end up leaving more tired than when we arrived.

All in all, the trip was very busy, but it was great to catch up with all our family and friends. Now that we know what traveling is like with the Little Man, we’ve already started planning for a Christmas trip.

Wednesday:

  • 6am –  We roll out of the house with three suitcases, two dogs, one baby and a variety of other carry-on items. Dogs bounce all over the car. They know something is up.
  • 6:30am – Dogs are dropped at the doggie day care. The car is silent except for coos from LM.
  • 7:20am – After lugging all the stuff from the parking garage like camels, we drop the checked bags and head for security. LM is snuggled tight in the Ergo, which I’m finding super convenient for the purposes of traveling. We’re ushered into a short line where they’re swiping everyone’s hands for explosives. No problem, I think. If I wanted to leave LM in the carrier while going through the metal detector, I’d have to have my hands swiped anyways. Hubby goes first. Explosives detected. Awesome.
 TSA doesn’t swipe my hands, but lets me go through the metal detector while they search my husband further. I take off the carrier and send it through the x-ray machine while holding LM to simplify the process. Obviously the machine is acting up and we don’t need any more delays. I forget to take my shoes off. No one says anything. If we were a husband and wife crime team, TSA wouldn’t have caught us. Should I be concerned? I’m too tired to care. Must. Get. Coffee.
  • 7:30am – I wait while TSA goes through all of the items my husband is carrying, which is a car seat and all the baby’s clothes. When the agent is done he tells Hubby he has to be personally screened in the “back room”. I roll my eyes. “I’m going to Starbucks,” I announce. TSA lets me just walk off. Again, should I be concerned?
  • 7:50am – Coffee in hand, I meet the husband back at security. He’s been cleared. Time to board.
  • 8:30am – I take LM out of the Ergo. For whatever reason, babies can’t be strapped into the carrier during take off and landing. The flight attendant says its something about safety, but I figure it has more to do with airline liability. Regardless, I pop him out in preparation and nurse him while the plane climbs, just as everyone recommended. He falls asleep without a peep. The lady next to me remarks how much she loves babies and tells me about her nephew. I smile thinking I lucked out on being seated next to her. The flight continues for 4.5 hours and is unremarkable. I hear a baby crying in the back of the plane and think, “Keep going kid, you’re making LM look good.”
  • 5:30pm EST – Land in Boston. If Sky Harbor is “America’s Friendliest Airport” then Logan is “America’s Surliest Airport”. We struggle to load all the gear onto the rental car bus. No one helps. People behind us grumble impatiently. Yup, we’re “home”.
  • 7pm – Beg hubby to stop at Boloco on the way to my Mother-in-Laws (MIL) house. I’ve been talking about it for weeks. It’s my favorite food, like Chipolte but way better. It sustained me through college. He obliges. I eat my buffalo chicken burrito over the paper bag in the car like an animal. It’s so messy and so delicious.
  • 8pm – Reach MILs house exhausted from a day of travel.
  • 8:07pm – MILs friends show up to meet the baby. Is this happening? I make polite conversation.
  • 8:45pm – Ask MIL if she’d watch the baby while we have a little impromptu date night. She’s thrilled. So are we.
  • 9pm – Local bar in Marblehead. We sit on their deck overlooking the harbor. Salty humid air, sound of the waves. I remember how much I miss this. My Sam Summer never tasted so good.

Thursday

  • 6am – Sun is up, baby is up. It’s 3am in my mind. Nurse baby back to sleep.
  • 8am – I work part time from home for an organization in Mass. so I turn on my computer and do some work.   Later in the day we stop by the office to say “hi” and everyone meet the baby in person.
  • Toesinthewater2pm – Takeout salads in hand, we head to the beach. My aunt and uncle live right on the water, so we park at their house, then plot down to the ocean. There’s more gear than there used to be, but going to the beach is still as glorious as I remember it. The hubby and I grew up going to the beach, but this is the first time LM has seen the ocean. We put his suit on him and head down to the water’s edge. Hubby sticks LM’s toes in the freezing cold ocean. He yelps. It’s a lot different than our 90 degree pool in Arizona. I take him back up to the blanket while hubby takes a dip. I sit him on a blanket while I get my camera to take a picture. Just as I set myself up for the shot, LM faceplants into the sand. Oy. I roll him over to discover sand covering one whole side of his face. “Help!” I call to the hubby who is now walking up the beach. I carefully wipe it off his face, trying not to get sand in his eyes, nose and mouth. The sand never bothered me before, but now I find myself being annoyed that there is sand all over our blankets, bags, clothes and baby. How did this happen?
  • 4:30pm – Uncle joins us on the beach, followed by sister and then aunt with wine and snacks in tow. Spontaneous beach picnic begins. This is more like it.
  • 6:30pm – Meet the “guncles” for dinner at a restaurant that’s a shade too nice to have a baby at, but we ignore the glares from fellow patrons. I wear LM in the Ergo and he falls asleep. Couldn’t ask for a better baby.
  • 9:30pm – Leave restaurant exhausted, ready for bed. Check phone. Sister texted, “Mom and Dad are sad that you haven’t stopped by yet. Can you stop by their house after your dinner.” No. I am tired and we had a busy day. This kid has barely napped and I want to go to bed.
  • 9:45pm – Stop by my parents house. Damn you, Catholic guilt. Stay only for 45 minutes, but this seems to satisfy them.

Friday

  • 6am – Baby is awake with the sun. This kid is like a rooster.
  • KinsByTheSea10am – Starbucks and then a walk through downtown. We show LM the harbor and the island summer camp where hubby and I met when we worked as camp counselors. We explain to LM that he’ll be going to camp there someday when he’s older.
  • 3pm – Pick up LM’s great grandparents to take them to the rehearsal dinner. They are delighted to meet him. It’s amazing to see 4 generations together. This is also the first time many of my in-laws have met the baby. He squeals with delight for all of them and we take a million pictures.

Saturday

  • 10am – Hubby drops LM and I off at my parents, then heads up to the wedding venue. He’s a groomsman, but I don’t have to be there until 2pm. I hang out with my family and the babe until then. Parents, sister, two aunts and my Nana are watching him for the day. They assure me he’ll be fine and I know he will. Until they put him on the couch with the dog and walk away in conversation. I remind them not to leave the baby alone on the couch. He rolls. They assure me again he’ll be fine.
  • 4pm – Enjoying cocktails at the wedding and get a photo text from my sister. Baby’s sitting on my Nana’s lap at the table, with a whole carrot in his mouth and a cutting board with knives on it in front of him. They’re making crudités for the cookout tomorrow! I remind her not to let the baby play with knives.
  • 10pm- Pick up baby from sister’s house. He’s alive. Only one small scratch on his cheek, probably from his jagged baby fingernails that are so hard to cut. I consider this a success.

Sunday

  • 9:10am – Baby sleeps until 9am! Glorious. I guess the whole “not napping” thing is finally catching up with him.
  • 1:30pm – Head to parent’s house for a whole family cookout. Pick up beer, wine and other drinks I promised my Mom I would buy.
  • 2pm – Arrive at parent’s house to discover Dad has already bought eight! cases of beer on top of the three we bought. Wonder if he forgot that this is a Sunday family BBQ, not a frat party.
  • 2:30pm – Family and friends start rolling in. I pass off Baby to an aunt. Being a work-at-home mom with no family in the area, I’m with LM 24/7. I take advantage of the extra hands. Aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and grandparents gladly pitch in and I am thankful.
  • 2:45pm – Best friend and her three-year-old daughter show up. I present the three-year-old with a monogrammed mermaid towel I got her for her birthday and say its from LM. She announces she has a braid in her hair “just like Elsa.” I finally got around to watching Frozen, so I catch the reference and feel proud of myself.
  • LobstersandKins3pm – Aunt says she thinks the baby is sleepy and should take a nap… in the middle of the party where the entire purpose is for everyone to meet the baby. I shrug and take him inside for a nap.
  • 3:30pm – Another friend shows up and I use the napping baby as an excuse to sit inside quietly and have adult conversation with her. She left her two-year-old napping at home with her hubby. We commiserate about wishing we could have just one hour to ourselves each day, but agree those days are over.
  • 7pm – Baby woke up after an hour and continued to entertain guests all afternoon. While it was totally exhausting, I’m pleased that literally all of our family members got to meet the baby finally. Leave parents house. At least 8 cases of beer remain. Not being big drinkers, I expect my parents will still have the haul when we visit for Christmas.

Monday

  • 7am – Pack bags up and do a little work. This is the most relaxing day of the trip yet.
  • 2pm – Back to Logan for our 4pm flight. No hand swab this time, but our car seat gets stuck in the x-ray machine. We wait 15 minutes while TSA pokes at it with a stick hoping to dislodge it from the center of the machine. Finally the car seat is free. We buy a tiny Harvard t-shirt for the baby from the airport gift shop. We’re setting the bar high.
  • 4pm – Take off on another unremarkable flight. LM sleeps for most of it, as do we.
  • 7:30pm MST – Land in Phoenix. We head to baggage claim and I send hubby to the garage to get the car to save time. I’ll get the bags and meet him outside. Our bags are first off the plane and as they circle the carousel one immediatly after another, I dive to try and catch them, while wearing the baby. It’s not pretty. Two people race to help me lug them off the belt. Yup, we’re home.
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