Jet Lag

Holy moly am I beat! A six hour time difference plus a nursing baby equals one exhausted momma! Alexa was so amazing both on the flight to the US and the flight back. After she ate her cereal, she totally passed out for the duration of the long haul flight. Baby...you rock! I was actually able to sleep for almost an hour myself which was much needed. By the time we landed in Vienna I was totally shot. I slept for the majority of the drive back to Linz and we even took another short family nap once we got to the apartment.

Monday was a total killer. Thankfully, my mother in law stepped in and hung out with us all day so that she could lend a hand with Alexa and let me nap a little throughout the day. My one "cat nap" turned into a two hour long pass out session! Oops!

Alexa seems to be adjusting alright to the time difference. The only problem we're really having is that she won't go to sleep unless she is rocked (thanks Mom!) and has the boob as her binky. Any advice as to how to stop this would be great!

The absolute worst thing is that Michael is in Vienna all week and I'm alone with baby and our new inhabitant...jet lag.  I'm hoping that a good night's sleep will help and that the jet lag won't be so bad tomorrow.

Travel tips: traveling alone with an infant without a stroller

I am so glad that I didn't bring the stroller to the airport with me! Instead, I decided to go with the Baby Bjorn carrier. We did not just go from home to the airport, first we had to take the train from Linz to Vienna.  We were fancy and bought First Class tickets on the Westbahn train to ride down to Vienna. There is no way I would have been able to get a stroller up the stairs of the train and there definitely was nowhere to put it in First Class.

Once we arrived at the airport I was so glad that I had her so close. There were a bunch of creepy people at the airport at 4am and in the carrier absolutely no one could get her! I know that makes me sound paranoid, but I don't care! Going through security was a breeze. I popped her out of the carrier, put the carrier on the belt and the two of us walked through the metal detector. The airport security guards in Vienna, London and the US were AMAZINGLY helpful! They helped me get the carrier back on and Alexa back in it. One of the guards even took a few minutes to talk and coo with her. So cute! I hope our return flight is as successful!

We're HERE!!!

After a very long journey we finally arrived to my mom's late Thursday night. Alexa did an AMAZING job on the plane. She ate, she slept, she played...rinse and repeat, for the entire flight. I'm so proud and so happy that she wasn't the screaming baby on the plane! (Yup, we had one of those...and a screaming toddler.)

Everyone was waiting for us when we got to my mom's - my Pop, his wife, my cousins, my nephew, my aunt and if course my mom, brother and stepdad. It was so great to see everyone and they of course were so excited to see Alexa. Alexa, however, was exhausted and cranky and not in the mood for visitors. I'm sure next time she sees everyone will go much better. It was just very overwhelming after a long day of traveling.

We've got so much going on the next couple of days, but I wanted to put up a quick post. I hope everyone has a nice weekend in Austria and a great long weekend in the US!

A travel bean

Next Thursday, my little string bean and I will be leaving for the US to visit friends and family for a few weeks. I have been trying to plan out in my head what I'll need to bring for myself and for Alexa for our trip. Now, normally I can fill a large suitcase just with clothes and shoes for myself. This trip, however, I could probably just bring a carry on with my clothes in it because I'm at that awful in-between stage of post pregnancy where nothing fits. I still can't fit into any of my regular jeans, shorts or pants, and most of my shirts are now too tight in the boob area. I know what you're thinking..."just wear maternity clothes!" If only life were that easy! Most of my maternity clothes are now too big. I still have a left over baby bump, but it's not quite big enough to rock most of my maternity pants. One pair is passable and I live in them or my yoga pants. I have been searching and searching for some kind of jeans or capri pants in my new in-between size, but apparently they don't exist here in Austria. APPARENTLY, Austrian chicks pop out kids and immediately go back to stick figure sizes! That is so not me.

Anyway, I've found a packing list on Baby Center that looks pretty decent, so I think I might follow it and see how things go. I also know that I don't need to bring quite as many clothes for Alexa as I normally would need because so many family and friends have bought a bunch of stuff for her. This, hopefully, will make packing a little easier.

Packing Checklist for Traveling with Baby

Pre-birth I was so excited about my trip to the US and not nervous about traveling with an infant at all. Now, I realize that I have booked the worst possible flight imaginable. The layover is nearly impossible and we will be lucky to make our connection. Good thing I've been working out! Maybe I'll be able to sprint from one terminal to the next with a stroller, a baby, her diaper bag and my carry on! (Good luck!) Just thinking about the entire trip makes me a little queasy. I'll be traveling nearly 13 hours alone with a 3 month old. People keep telling me not to worry too much, that not knowing what to expect is the worst part. I just hope my little bean likes the airplane. She's pretty good being calmed down with white noise or sleep machines, so hopefully the hum of the airplane will lull her to sleep and we will have an uneventful trip.

Any suggestions or tips on traveling with infants or what to pack?