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EP 08: Travel
2.7k Plays2 years ago
It’s summertime which for many families means travel! This week the moms talk about traveling with babies and toddlers. They reminisce on the care free days of pre-baby travel, and share their best tips and tricks for traveling with tots. Whether your passport is dusty, or you’re a globetrotting mama, this episode is for you!
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Transcript
Introduction and Morning Coffee Rituals
00:00:07
Speaker
There's no right way to do it. Oh, we're going to get into it. Good morning moms. I'm Shannon. I'm here with Candace and Whitney and this is the mom group chat podcast.
00:00:21
Speaker
It's Friday morning, how are we, gals? Good morning. We are good, I've got my iced coffee, my second of the day that I'm going to regret, probably in about 30 minutes, but you know, living life on the edge. I actually had to go to the grocery store before taking grain-to-daycare to get coffee, because we were out. And I was like, I'm not starting my Friday like this.
Managing Early Wakeup Habits and Mom Guilt
00:00:45
Speaker
No. His ass woke up at 5am, so I was like,
00:00:49
Speaker
It's already seven. Who cares? Let's just go to the grocery. I've had a day. I do like going to the grocery store that early though. Me too. Because you feel like you're on top of the world. Well, no one was there. I almost felt like I was barging in on the people working. I was like, are y'all good that I'm here? So sorry. Did Graydon inherit your early riser? I 100% that this is my karma coming back to haunt me.
00:01:18
Speaker
My mom always said, I can't wait for you to have a kid that wakes up this early. And he does it periodically. It's not all the time, but man, he will wake up between five 30 and six almost every day. It's crazy. Do you let him, do you let him like marinate in his crib?
00:01:36
Speaker
If he stands up, that's game over. That means he's up. So he was up today. I walk in and he's gotten to that age. So Graydon is now 19 months old. He's gotten to that age where I walked in. He goes, poo poo. And he patted his butt. Like, mom, I'm awake because I shit in the crib. Come get me. So I was like, argue with that. Like, thanks for telling me that. Did you have to do that while you were sleeping? Yeah.
00:02:06
Speaker
I do. I'm actually glad you brought that up Candace because like one of my slight mom guilt things that I'm like, is this normal or is this not okay? Like if TJ is not
00:02:18
Speaker
crying or like vocal. I let him chill until I let him chill for like 30, 40 minutes. Oh, I'm I'm an hour girly. I let her sit in there for an hour and she rolls around and plays with her sleep sack and she'll she'll even get up. It's actually funny. I watch her now. She gets up and there are two windows on the either like one on the end of her crib and the one like on the other wall. Her her crib is in the corner and
00:02:48
Speaker
She'll wake up and like try and look out the curtains. She'll be like, good morning, world. And I just let her in. She doesn't cry. I usually try and cap it around an hour. But if she's up at six, I'm sorry. But she is staying in there until seven. I do not get her out of there until seven. He was whining this morning, so I had to go in.
00:03:09
Speaker
but I did make him lay in the bed with me for 40 minutes. Like he just rolled around and he kind of cuddles me, which I'm like, this is cute.
Pregnancy Updates and Perceptions
00:03:17
Speaker
I don't, I can't complain. I know he was mad about his poo poo diaper. So yeah, if they're saying poo poo and pointing, you have to do it. How are you feeling wit? Tell us, give us a little bit of a pregnancy update.
00:03:33
Speaker
So I'm 24 and a half weeks now, which is so crazy, over halfway, feeling great. I slept eight hours last night, which, you know, comes and goes these days. So I'm so happy, even though, yeah, like I said, he woke up early, but I was awake already. I randomly woke up at five, I had gotten my eight hours, then 5.15, he cried and I was like, cool, 15 minutes to myself this morning.
00:03:59
Speaker
But everything's going great. I had a follow-up anatomy scan this past week and everything looks healthy and good. Amazing. Pregnancy is so long.
00:04:13
Speaker
I was thinking about you with yesterday because I was had you at like 22 weeks so you're a little bit past where I thought you were but I was like okay Whitney's baby is due in September we still have to get through all of summer and she's already been pregnant for what feels like
00:04:30
Speaker
a long ass time. I mean, I literally told you all the day. So I know when you're trying to get pregnant or when you're like aware and tracking things, you know, like so soon then you have a long time. I know. And yeah, I mean, I mean, I immediately text. I mean, y'all were the first people I thought of. I was like, I have to tell them besides my husband and family, like my mom and dad, I was at home for Christmas. So I was like,
00:04:58
Speaker
Shannon Candice, I'm positive and I'm freaking out.
Toddler Illness Adventures and Reactions
00:05:03
Speaker
So, yeah, when you know- That was shocking. Yeah, when you've known since before Christmas, it's like, oh my God. I was like, I told Chris, I wish I was having her in June. Like, I just want my summer and I can't have it.
00:05:18
Speaker
I know like we want a second baby and but the thought of giving up this summer like makes me want to like pump the brakes on trying. I went through I just like randomly was looking at my archives on Instagram at my stories from last summer and I remember at the time thinking it was hard because Graydon was like
00:05:40
Speaker
in that like seven month to year range but we were so fun I was like I took that for granted like we were out doing things traveling I was drinking I was having a ball with him and I'm like man this summer I'm like a whale just at the pool like
00:05:56
Speaker
And I can't even enjoy it. The one positive of being pregnant in the summer is you don't have to suck in at the pool. You just let it loose and be like, well, I'm pregnant. And so I will not be giving a flying F about this. Wait, hold on. Before we get into today's topic, can we talk about Graydon when I saw you last week and the story about what happened? I don't even think we've told Shannon. No, I don't know this.
00:06:25
Speaker
Oh my God. I'm excited. Okay. So I had to go to Nashville for work. So Whitney lives in Nashville. I flew in like pretty much a day early ish, like 12 hours early so that I could spend the day with Whitney.
00:06:41
Speaker
And the whole plan was we met at a coffee shop right after I flew in. We were going to spend the day together, pick Graydon up from daycare. And then she was going to take me to the grocery because I needed to get a couple of things and then drop me off at my Airbnb in Nashville. So we have an amazing, a very chill day. Like we had coffee at our favorite coffee shop. We worked together a little bit at her house. We watched some TV and then we went to go pick Graydon up from daycare.
00:07:06
Speaker
Which, by the way, her daycare is so cute and nice in there. Like, I was, like, in love. I want my child to go there. It's so clean. So nice. And so, like... That made me feel good that you were... Yeah. And you liked it. I was like, okay, good. Because... The staff was like... Yeah. The staff was so nice and it was so clean in there. And I just was so impressed. So anyways, we walk in the doors and instantly the staff is like,
00:07:35
Speaker
Oh, you know, we just sent someone back to take his temperature. Like he, I don't think he's feeling well. And when he's like, what? Like he was totally fine all weekend. Like, I don't know what's happening here. So we walked past the teacher that they had sent to take his temperature and they're like 101.6 or something, right? Like something like that. And when he's like, Oh, shit. So.
00:08:01
Speaker
We get him and instantly like she picks him up and he like instantly puts his head down on her shoulder and is like cuddly like you can tell he really is right. Like he's not. He's not like that. So we put him in the car seat. She like gives him a snack and the man is still.
00:08:22
Speaker
the entire car he was so lethargic and like not well the whole time and if you looked back at the car seat like him in the car seat he was like this that is terrifying as the as the mother of a toddler boy like that would freak me out i'd be like why aren't you moving his mouth he didn't he was just staring like yeah he was like i'm a little
00:08:50
Speaker
She kept looking back and being like, what is wrong? Like he didn't say a word the whole ride home. And if you, if you know, Graydon, he was, he's a chatty little boy. Okay. He didn't say a word. And so Whitney is looking back constantly. Like, is he breathing? Like I genuinely, like we were both concerned. We both kept looking back at, back at him.
00:09:14
Speaker
I'm going to go back to my thoughts of what I was thinking in the car after I tell you what happened. We get him out of the car. We are walking in the front door. Whitney walks in the front door and instantly graded projectile vomit all over Whitney. Literally, she's holding him facing herself.
00:09:36
Speaker
like has one of those like throw up burps, you know, he's like, and just project. It was all over Whitney's hair in Whitney's hair, all over her. She sets him down and she's like, Chris, Chris is, you know, doing his triathlon training. So he's like on a bike classic and he and she's like, Chris, he's really sick. He's really sick.
00:10:02
Speaker
She sets him down, he throws up even more on the floor and I'm sitting there like, Oh my God, I feel so bad. I'm like, what can I do? What can I do? I'm like, can I go get towels? So Graydon is like really unwell and instantly. Oh, and then also Whitney said, you know, I did hear the stomach flu was going around.
00:10:20
Speaker
And I know I have three days of work ahead of me and I'm like, I got to get out of here. I was like, the first flight out of here, man, I'm out. Literally, I told Winnie, I was like, I'm. Yeah, see it. I called the I called an Uber immediately and was like, I love you all so much.
00:10:40
Speaker
A, I think it was a burden that I was there because I was in the way. Graydon just threw up all over the floor. I didn't want, I, genuinely she was just taking me to my Uber after, or to my Airbnb after that. So I was like, I'm going to get an Uber. I love you so much. I got to get out of here. Graydon love you mean it. Yeah.
00:11:00
Speaker
I'm going to go back to talk about when we were in the car and he was sitting there. He didn't touch his snack. The entire car ride, I was thinking, this kid's going to hurl. I was thinking it the whole way, but I didn't want to say it out loud because I don't know. I mean, obviously I know Graydon, but I don't know him as in and out as you do as his mom. My question to you is, is that what you were thinking also?
00:11:26
Speaker
Absolutely not. Like, so Graydon has been sick before and had fevers where he's thrown up. He just hasn't done it in so long. I didn't, I didn't know if that had phased out or not. Like.
00:11:39
Speaker
Him projectile vomiting like that was kind of shocking. I was like, I forgot that you did this because it's been so long, but he still got it in him. The boy still got the vomit down. I mean, he was like, ugh. It was like, it was exorcist, like, such a breath. And I was like, oh, Chris, come here, my dear.
00:12:01
Speaker
I have to say though, Whitney, you took that vomit like a champ. She was so calm. She didn't gag. She didn't like you. She, she literally was projectile vomited on and was so chill. She was like, I'm going to, as soon as she was, she was able to hand him off to Chris where Chris could hold him. She was like, I'm going to go upstairs and change. Like she was so calm and chill.
00:12:24
Speaker
And I was like, I am like, I lived with Whitney in college, OK? This is the this is the woman that could not clean a toilet without gagging. OK. Yeah, that's right. Whitney, like, has major gag reflux for yucky things.
00:12:41
Speaker
Like she used to do the dishes and gag while she did them. So I to watch her literally get projectile vomited on and then just calmly be like, I'm going to go change. I was like, I'm sorry. Who are you? Oh, my gosh. I guess somebody you love like that. It doesn't matter, right? I was trying to escalate the situation, but.
00:13:07
Speaker
Man, it was wild. He was totally fine. It was like, he was fine 12 hours later. I'm like.
00:13:12
Speaker
The hell was that? Oh, yeah. She texted me like, OK, so that was probably like three o'clock ish. She texted me at like six p.m. And she's like, Graydon's now outside watering the plants. And I was like, what is he OK? And he played hooky the next day with me. He was totally fine the next day. It was just like a random fever. Weird, oh, fever. That's so crazy. Kids is it comes on fast and strong and then fizzles out.
00:13:41
Speaker
I feel like his immune system is getting really good, though. Like, that was a quick turnaround. It used to take days. And for that to happen, and it was like six hours later, he was fine. I was like, OK, daycare doing its thing. Let's go. OK.
00:13:58
Speaker
Yeah, we projectile vomited, but we got over it quick and now he's back to doing little chores.
Realities of Traveling with Toddlers
00:14:04
Speaker
Yeah, now he's the landscaper. I just had to share that story because it was so, it was just such a mom, like a mom moment thing. And I just, you get a gold star for handling that vomit. And I just needed everyone to know that.
00:14:20
Speaker
Good job. You made me laugh so hard. I was crying because the face you made, which I hope to God that we can put that on TikTok or Instagram reels because it was the face. So crazy. And he was just like, you know, obviously I'm a guest in the car. So he was like, I felt like he was looking at me in the mirror and he was like,
00:14:45
Speaker
He was like, I don't know. I don't know who you are. Lady, I'm about to project. I'll vomit on you. So he's like, I was not expecting a guest. I'm going to her all and I don't know you. Yeah, literally as he could be. I was I said to to Whitney, though, it was very nice of him to wait until they got inside because to throw up in the car seat and in the car is way worse. Yeah. Way worse. So that was really nice of him.
00:15:14
Speaker
Yeah. So nice of him to wait till he was inside on the hardwood floor to where it was a quick, easy cleanup. I mean, Whitney got vomited on. So you took one for the team. But but oh, my God. So funny. Thank you for sharing that. That made me laugh so hard. But speaking of car rides, maybe we should transition into our topic of the day, which is traveling with kids.
00:15:43
Speaker
It's a doozy. I've only done it on an airplane. I have not done the car, which I'm excited to talk to you, Shannon, because I'm leaving next weekend for a six-hour plus, of course, car ride. Are you driving? Yes, unfortunately. Have you all done a long car ride yet? I feel like Hilton Head was far. Yeah, we've done two car rides.
00:16:07
Speaker
talking about travel. This is what I was thinking we could talk about was kind of like our overall like take on it like how it is post baby but then I think it would be cool to like get some nitty gritty like
00:16:21
Speaker
tips if you guys have any. I have a couple just from traveling that I feel like would be helpful. But for the car rides, I had a horrific experience driving from Corolla. This was when TJ was like six months. He's gotten a lot better with the car now. I feel like the worst times to travel with kids are
00:16:44
Speaker
like nine-ish months to maybe two years. But Graydon's getting I think a little bit closer to that two-year mark where he can actually be tamed with the iPad.
00:16:58
Speaker
That's what I'm hoping he had a lot when we were in Tahoe, when he was 14 months, he wanted nothing to do with the iPad on the airplane. But now that he's 19 months, I'm like, do you want Miss Rachel? Do you want some simple songs? Like, let's see. I'm going to bring it. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I think one of like, well, when he was six months, we drove from.
00:17:22
Speaker
The beach back home is about five hours and I was by myself. I can't exactly remember why. And there was like a 90 minute period where he was just like screaming his head off in the back seat. And I was just like in the front seat, literally can't do anything besides try and not freak out because you're operating a motor vehicle on the interstate. And I was just like also crying. I was just like, yeah.
00:17:48
Speaker
Uh, I just want to keep going so I can get home as soon as possible. But like, this is traumatic. And I remember getting home and I was like, Andrew, we're not doing that again. Like, yeah, we're not doing that again. Hilton had recently, I sat in the back seat with him while Andrew drove and it was way better because I could just feed him snacks. He's still not really into shows. Um, but he took like a nap at some point, which was a blessing and it was, it was doable.
00:18:18
Speaker
So sitting in the back, does he ever like reach and he's like, meh, like get me out of here. Cause sometimes if I'm sitting back there, Graydon will do that. And I'm like, I don't want that to be an option. Um, he, he didn't so much like he'll struggle sometimes. Like he doesn't love to be in the seat. We took a couple of breaks where he could get out and like run around a little bit at like a Starbucks or something like that. He was a lot better this time. Now he didn't like expect me to hold the
00:18:44
Speaker
him in his lap or anything. Um, Alice has just, yeah, Alice has just started the reaching for me thing in the car seat. Like I almost always ride back there with her. Like, even if we're just like going somewhere as a family, um, I am always in the backseat with her and that's a new thing. Like as of the past couple of weeks, like she's reaching for me, I'm like, dude, I can't take you out of there. So I don't know where you learn that, but once you're in there, I can't do anything for you.
00:19:14
Speaker
I know he'll do that sometimes so it makes me nervous if I am back there and he's like, man, then we're gonna have to pull over and like reset or something. Well, I have never done the long card. The longest we've done is like two hours maybe. I would say like Disney when we went to Disney and which is like an hour and 30 with traffic and everything.
00:19:37
Speaker
She did like nap for some of that. But Alice doesn't love the car seat. So the car rides make me very nervous. Like I don't know if I just that scares me. I feel like I will always choose a flight over a car ride because I don't know. I feel like there's options. Right. Like you can get up and walk down the aisle or they can like
00:20:02
Speaker
I don't know, jump around on my lap. I just feel like there's options. I also generally feel more comfortable flying because of my nanny days. So I traveled a lot with the family I nannied for. I've done a lot of plane rides with toddlers. I feel like I have some tricks up my sleeve with that and I'll share some of those tips at the end.
00:20:23
Speaker
There are some things I've like learned along the way that I think are helpful when you're flying with a toddler and we have flown a couple times with Alice obviously to Shannon's wedding there and back and then to Lake Tahoe which is very far obviously I'm in Tampa Florida so that
00:20:40
Speaker
Plane ride is like six hours ish and we had a stop I think But she was pretty good on the way back It was a different story and I don't know if I want to like fully get into that but she had a hand foot and mouth on the way back and She looked like so scary. She not only did she have Like not only was it the height funny at the airport. She was She was like no one look at my baby. It's Quasimodo. Don't look at her. I
00:21:09
Speaker
She looked awful. She had sores. She looked bad. She looked real bad. She had, she had sores all over her mouth. And then that morning she fell into a drawer, like a bedside drawer. So she had a black eye. So she had a black eye and sores all over her mouth. She had like a hundred and one fever. And I just was like, I literally wanted to smuggle her everywhere. Like I just wanted to put a sheet over us and walk through the airport. No one look at her.
00:21:38
Speaker
because she looked awful she looked like she had like the plague i'm not kidding i'm like the visual i just had was of et when they put that blanket over him in the literally in the bicycle so that nobody can see him and see that there's an alien they're like oh no it's just
00:21:54
Speaker
Yeah. E.T. was clearly in the front. Basket man facing forward. Obviously. They did not hide him very well. Also, the bike flies, so. And then you're not doing so good. You are very conspicuous. You are standing out like a sore thumb, my guy.
00:22:19
Speaker
I feel like with traveling, we've done a lot of travel with TJ. And the main thing is just like, you have to change your mindset. That travel is no longer relaxing. It's not like at all. So yeah, it's just takes I think like my main tip and how I get through it now is
00:22:42
Speaker
This is not going to be a fun day. Like this is just going to be a hard day and I'm going to prepare as much as I can, but anything could happen and I'm just ready to take it on and it'll be over in 12 hours.
00:22:57
Speaker
Yeah, it's letting go of expectations. I feel like I, if you have an inpatient husband, like myself, someone who gets flustered easily, like my husband, I literally had to give him a pep talk before we got on a flight with her the first time. Like I said, I have experience flying with toddlers. I, and I just feel like in general, I'm a pretty patient person. So I had to give my husband like a full pep talk. I'm like, listen.
00:23:24
Speaker
I know what you think traveling is like and what we're about to do is not what you think. Okay. You got to let it all go. Whatever happens, you got to let it roll off your back. You have to understand that things are going to take longer. Things are going to be a little more difficult and you just got to smile and keep it moving. Like that's all you can do. Don't pack a book.
00:23:47
Speaker
don't pack your headphones. Like you will not be using them. You will be hands on like the whole time. Yeah. I think also like some people when they get pregnant or when they have little kids, traveling is just such a core tenant of who they are. And they're like, I will never stop traveling and I will never stop. And I'm like, okay, it's possible. And if you love it that much, like there's ways to do it and maybe it's worth it for you, but,
00:24:17
Speaker
I was at lunch with some girlfriends like last week and this came up. There were four, four of us. And my friend was like, do you think you will travel internationally with your toddlers? And three of us said no. And one girl said, yeah, like I think
00:24:33
Speaker
It's still worth it. And she had taken her babies. She has a three-year-old and a seven-month-old and they had gone to Germany and they had like a great time. I don't know. Like the rest of us were like, if I'm going to Germany, I'll be going by myself or with like my friends, my husband. Like I'm just not going to bring my toddlers.
00:24:50
Speaker
to do that. So I think it's just how important it is it to you. Some people really want to expose their kids to foreign countries and have those types of experiences. So like if you really, really care about that, you can do it. It's just not like going to Mexico with your husband alone and you're like drinking tequila on the way there and like
00:25:13
Speaker
anything goes and it's, you know, fun. Yeah. Here's the thing. I like the idea of that. I like the idea of traveling to Europe or across the world with my toddler. I love the idea. Like I'm thinking of like travel blogger, like we're, you know, walking out of a cute cafe in Italy and we're feeding gelato to Alice. Like that's the vision in my head, but
00:25:41
Speaker
The reality does not look like that and I think I just don't know if it would be worth it to me. Another thing I need to mention is it depends on the temperament of your child. Children are so different and I feel like if you have a calm, chill, easy baby,
00:26:01
Speaker
or easy toddler, like, yeah, maybe it's more doable for you. And if you have like a super strong will, it's like temper tantrum prone child, which let's be real is so common. And just the reality of toddler hood, like it's going to be way harder than it just depends. Like if I think taking into account the temperament and personality of your child is important, whether it's worth it or not. And cause it will define how difficult it is.
00:26:30
Speaker
Now that I've had, or I'm having my second kid, I got great advice, um, from people that had kids to travel that first year because they are a little more go with the flow and yes, their sleep schedules off. Yes, you're a little more tired, but they're more, I don't want it like bendy and flexible at that age. And now that green's gotten older, I'm like,
00:26:52
Speaker
it's gotten a little harder just because I'm having to work around his tantrums and things like you said so like now with the second kid around like oh my gosh if I
00:27:03
Speaker
If I could leave Graydon with grandma, I would travel all the time with her just because it'd be
Travel Logistics with Young Kids
00:27:08
Speaker
so much easier. But now it's a little tough. He's at the age where he's on the go, and I can't control it, so. The other thing I was going to mention, which kind of Whitney, you and I talked about this because Whitney and I went to Lake Tahoe together, we had four adults and two toddlers. Well, baby, I guess, Alice was still a baby, a baby and a toddler.
00:27:32
Speaker
And the amount of shit we had to bring was so much that we left that trip being like, how does anyone travel with more than two kids and only two adults? Like the pack and plays and the car seats and the strollers. And then obviously it was a ski trip. So we had more bulky things. We had coats for everyone. We had boots, we had skis, we had
00:27:56
Speaker
all sorts of things. And we had the largest car that you could rent, the largest one. And I kept thinking, I grew up in a family of three. How the f...
00:28:07
Speaker
fuck did we do anything? How did we pack a car with enough shit for all of us? Well, I guess the real answer to that is my family didn't travel that much. My first flight was when I was 12. That's what I was going to say. I feel like this generation, because of I think social media and just how we are, I don't think I did anything.
00:28:31
Speaker
until I was older. We would go to grandma's house. We would drive three hours to go see my dad's grandparents, I'm sure, but people weren't taking their babies all over the world. Also, they had less guilt about leaving their babies behind. Andrew's parents left for three weeks when he was three months old and were like, okay, we're going to China.
00:28:54
Speaker
He was left with his grandparents. I feel like just that was normal. My parents left my sister to go to Europe when she was nine months old for a little bit. They had less guilt. And also now everybody thinks everyone's traveling with their kids, so it seems really attainable. But it is super hard, especially with the toddlers. One of the things I would recommend is you guys were staying at a family place.
00:29:22
Speaker
You didn't have a property management company you could work with. But if you are renting on Airbnb or through any typical rental site that has a property manager, just see what they can provide for you. Because most of them can provide cribs, high chairs, bumbo seats.
00:29:42
Speaker
And even if they can't, you can ask if they know a rental equipment company and you can get a stroller. Like you can kind of get the whole kit ready for you there for a fee. That's the other thing. Like you have to reset your expectations on what travel is going to be like and also how much it's going to cost because it's going to cost more. Yeah.
00:30:14
Speaker
Yeah, that ended up being, she was so sweet and nice. And my recommendation, if you are traveling and you do want to sit or you do want to date night while you're out, if you're staying at a hotel, like one of the larger hotel chains, almost all of them, especially if you're in a very much a vacation place, like Lake Tahoe is definitely like a vacation place.
00:30:27
Speaker
When we were in Lake Tahoe, we also had to get a babysitter for the days that we were skiing.
00:30:35
Speaker
All of the hotels had preferred lists of babysitters that work in the hotels a lot that are all CPR certified. And we chatted with her for like two or three weeks ahead of time to get to know her a little bit, to tell her about our kids and what they were doing.
00:30:51
Speaker
It was pricey. Don't get me wrong to pay her. It was pricey, but it was worth it. We got a couple of days of skiing in and got to have some adult time while still making sure that our little ones were taken care of. But it kind of goes back to what you said about managing your expectation. Cause that's like a whole nother expense on top of the normal vacation expenses. But if you can swing it, you'll actually have like a calm memory from your trip.
00:31:18
Speaker
It may, I mean, being able to go ski and feeling really comfortable with her, I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm doing this everywhere. I go because it made it so fun. And then by the time we got home, we all played in the snow. It was great. I just highly, just to confirm. So you were staying at a family home in Tahoe, but did you just like call up one of the hotels and be like, Hey, can we get your preferred sitter list? Like how'd you find your girl?
00:31:46
Speaker
This is my grandparents' timeshare, but the timeshare is connected to the Hyatt. It's on the same property. You do have the resources of the hotel because we are staying in the residence part of the Hyatt Resort in Lake Tahoe.
00:32:03
Speaker
Which highly recommend by the way, it is so beautiful and nice. But yeah, so I did call the Hyatt, but I recommended the same thing to a friend of mine here in Tampa who was going somewhere else, who was staying at an Airbnb. And I still told her, I was like, you should just call up the hotels and like pretend you're staying there and be like, do you have a list of babysitters?
00:32:25
Speaker
Most of the time they're not going to, I mean, it's not like you can provide a room number. You're not checked in yet, you know? Most of the time it's just a concierge who's like, yeah, sure. What's your email? I'll send over the babysitter list. So yeah, I would say even if you're not staying at the hotel, just use them as a resource, like use the concierge as a resource.
00:32:43
Speaker
That's a really good tip. We have some weddings, uh, coming up and I've been trying to figure out like, do I bring my mom? Do I bring my nanny? Like what's the easiest route here? So I'm definitely going to try that. Yeah. I feel like always my go-to is my mom and I forget that a nanny is an option, but it really was a great option having that.
00:33:05
Speaker
So should we get into some like practical tips that we have? I know that was kind of, we're kind of already in that doing that already with the hotel specific. Okay. I have some flight tips. Okay. Hit me. Obviously I feel like I'm not going to go to like general here. Like obviously there's so many things like make sure you pack a shirt, an extra shirt for yourself in case there's a blowout or you have a spill, a drink. Yeah, there will be a blowout.
00:33:33
Speaker
There will be eventually. Yeah. Like snacks, all those general tips. I feel like a lot of those, a lot of moms know, but if you don't, I'm sure maybe we'll post some of the general tips on our Instagram or something. This is one thing I used to do a lot when I was a nanny. What is it about toddlers and plastic cups?
00:33:52
Speaker
I don't know, but I would ask the flight attendant for a stack of plastic cups. They just like to play with the plastic cups themselves. But if you go to the craft store, and I guess this is more like older toddler, well, not older toddler, but like past two, because I used to travel with Kira when she was past two.
00:34:15
Speaker
If you go to the craft store and you get that bag of like those puffs and not like eat puffs, like craft pom poms. Thank you craft pom poms that are all different colors. I would lay out the cups, the plastic cups, and I would give her the bag of pom poms and she would separate them by color and kept her busy for like 30, 40 minutes at a time. And then we change it up.
00:34:44
Speaker
And she would just play with the cups and she liked to stack them. We would make like little plastic cup towers, all the things I so even now with when I flew with Alice and she was, you know, 10 months or whatever. I would ask for a little bit of a couple extra plastic cups and she would bang them together, which I'm sure probably is super annoying for everyone around me. But would you rather crying or would you rather a little plastic cup banging? I don't know. I feel like my my tip was
00:35:13
Speaker
All the ones that were probably most helpful, which when they're little, you give them the bottle while taking off or landing for ear issues, which I got that tip a lot, but in case you haven't heard, that is honestly a great.
00:35:25
Speaker
little tip and then buying them something new for the trip. Like it's an exciting new toy. Like I plan on getting great in something new for the car. Like maybe it's a book that reads or makes, has music. So he'll be entertained for a little bit, but just something that he's like, Ooh, this is going to be fun. So just something new and exciting for them to play with. That's good. Mine is for the plane. If you can swing it, get a road to yourself.
00:35:52
Speaker
Oh, yes. Get the extra seat. Just do it. It'll be very much worth it if your kid is like standing already and walking.
00:36:01
Speaker
Um, and then also this is just me. I don't think this is required, but just because of how I am and the anxiety that I get when I feel like I'm making other people uncomfortable. When I sit down, I just like say to everyone around me, like, thank you so much for bearing with us. He's usually pretty good. Like just like a little introduction to like me and TJ.
00:36:25
Speaker
or I'll be like, he's super friendly. Like he'll probably smile at you. I just try and like make sure everybody like notices me and sees that I'm like, I'm here.
Sharing and Learning Toddler Travel Tips
00:36:37
Speaker
And like, I know that it can be annoying to sit next to a baby. So like, I see you. Nobody has ever, like, nobody's been rude to me. I think most people like get it that it's hard to travel with a toddler, but just having that little interaction before we go. And like, I've covered my ass, like,
00:36:52
Speaker
I said hi to everybody. Um, and that kind of puts me at ease for the rest of the flight. Can I read y'all? I looked up travel tips for toddlers, um, and are on a road trip. And this actually made me giggle because these are like, let me just really quick. Number one, prepare your car. No shit. Okay. Uh, number two.
00:37:13
Speaker
Invest in roadside assistance. Okay. Thank you. That helps with his tantrum. Um, number three, avoid leaving your child in the car. Oh wow. Once again, four hot tip. Number four, get your toddler's car seat inspected. Dude. I'm like, what am I reading? These are not helpful. These are like things I hope you guys are doing or like a Russian bot wrote this.
00:37:41
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. This is an AI article for sure. Or they really, we really need a mom to write this. Like we need a mom version that's actually real. I do see one that says, um, plan your trip itinerary with the kids in mind.
00:37:56
Speaker
like plan that you're going to have multiple stops. Don't try and race there. Cause you know, that's just not going to happen in your, like we said, expectations will be not met. Um, but keeping the kids in mind and knowing that this is a journey for them when they're this young. So I'll just have to remember that next week. Yeah. Another thing that's helpful to remember is that like, I think travel will be fun again when they're like six.
00:38:23
Speaker
You know, this is a hard slog right now. Traveling with little kids and toddlers is like harder than so many things. Like you get so exhausted, but I was at the beach with my sister-in-law's family. Those kids are, there was five kids in the house, six to 11.
00:38:43
Speaker
They were literally completely independent. They were making breakfast for themselves. They were making snacks for themselves. They knew where the waters were. Their parents were having an excellent time. They were with their families. It was family friendly. But everybody was just doing what they wanted to do. And there was times where they were all hanging out. But then there was a lot of time where they were separate. And the kids were entertaining themselves. And the parents were doing what they wanted to do.
00:39:09
Speaker
And I was with TJ and I was just like, I'll see you later. We're doing our own thing over here. That looks fun.
00:39:19
Speaker
Like it's hard right now. Um, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and I think travel will be fun again when the kids are older. Yeah. I think it's kind of like, I like you saying that because I feel like with having a 13 month old now, like I feel like I'm in this, I'm, I'm in this space of like.
00:39:42
Speaker
being sad about this little, like her little, little phase being over. And sometimes I forget to look the other way, like forward and being like, Oh my God, there's so much to look forward to. Like there's so much fun to be had that, so I, I just appreciate you saying that because it just made me look the other way and be like, okay, wait there. That will be fun. I will be excited when like, you know, things are different and you know, they're, they can be independent.
00:40:10
Speaker
Yeah, and they can take like a real interest in the travel as well. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, I'm going to go get my car seat inspected. Don't forget. Prepare my car. For what? For a bunch of cheddar bunnies to be for a potential projectile vomit. Just get it all schlacked. You know what? I did notice that I do need an oil change and I was like, oh, I better go and do that before we leave.
00:40:38
Speaker
So that's another thing. So annoying. I mean, the roadside assistance one is not a bad tip, actually, because if shit hits a fan, if shit hits the fan, AAA is always clutch to have. Does AAA clean up projectile vomit?
00:40:55
Speaker
business idea, business idea, roadside assistance that cleans up projectile vomit in case I always get nervous that Alice is going to be carsick because I was a carsick baby when I was little. I'm a pookie person, as you guys know.
00:41:11
Speaker
And so many of the babies I either have nannied for or friends of the babies I've nannied for, they literally couldn't be in the car for longer than 30 minutes or they would projectile vomit every time. And I'm sure there are some moms of babies listening that have car sick babies and my heart goes out to you. I don't know.
00:41:32
Speaker
You can't get those goggles. They have these goggles that you put on kids who get super carsick. They look hilarious. Extremely cute. I haven't seen them on baby babies, but I've seen them on little toddler kids.
00:41:47
Speaker
Damn, do toddlers keep those types of things on their head? I feel like Alice would rip that off so fast. I mean, maybe older. Yeah. A little bit older toddler kids. I think we're all in that weird limbo right now where it's like our kids are like on the brink of keeping headphones on and watching the iPad, but it's like that weird in between.
00:42:08
Speaker
Or they can't like reason why they would do anything that's not super comfortable and great for them. If it's not like super comfortable and super great for me right now, fuck that. Like I'm not doing it. Like you cannot reason. There's no like, if you keep these goggles on, you will not projectile vomit. They're like, I'd rather vomit. Me too, my man.
00:42:34
Speaker
We'll need to check in later in the summer after we've all made some trips and see if we have any new revelations. We'll post something on our Instagram prompting you guys for travel tips so that you guys can drop your best travel hack and travel tip down in the comments of that Instagram post so that we can share the wealth and help each other out. We love that.
00:42:58
Speaker
Especially if your kids are at an older age, like two and a half, three, like, tell me what's coming. Let me know. Does it get better? What are your tips at that age? I would love to hear. All right. Well, happy travels, everyone. Happy travels. Enjoy your trips. I hope you can fit a glass of wine on that plane in there somewhere.
00:43:19
Speaker
Yeah, you have to chug your drinks. That's my other tip. Just throw it back. All right. Love you guys. Thank you so much for being a part of our mom group chat. New episodes drop every Tuesday and don't forget the group chat is blowing up on our Instagram page. So make sure you're following along over there. All right. Got to go. My toddler just put something in her mouth.