A Traveling We Will Go

I have fallen off my posting schedule I set for myself, but there is a good  reason.... In less than 48 hours Amar'e and I will be half away across the country, and I have been busy trying to prepare for this wonderful change in environment. We are Florida bound as of Saturday afternoon. I would be lying if I said I was not a bit nervous. I am not nervous about going to Florida itself, I am nervous about the flight, especially with a toddler on my lap. I've been trying to think of what I will bring to entertain her during the flight. Since I will not be bringing any type of electronic, besides my (non) smart phone, I will have to get creative about entertainment for her (I've flirted with the idea of getting some type of tablet so she can watch a few movies and maybe play some games, but it will throw off the budget and I'm not sure if it is worth it). Ideally I will be able to nurse her to sleep, and she will stay asleep the entire flight. During that time I will either read, or try and relax and rest myself. The more I think of it, the more nervous I become. I am trying to keep the vacation part of the whole thing in mind and not the flight part. It is not working very well since the flight is a huge part of the vacation.

Another challenge is packing. Here in Northern New Hampshire it is obviously winter. I received a text from my cousin yesterday morning saying that the temp has been in the high 70's and 80's, so don't bother to bring cold weather cold. This means our warm weather duds need to be dug out of many different places like the basement and the garage. It is also going to be tricky dressing for the flight. I know that in the past I've always been chilly during flights, and I dress warm. But when I reach Florida, I find out that I should have thought about how warm it was going to be when I arrived. I looked pretty foolish in a sweater leaving the Orlando airport. I want Amar'e to be as comfortable as possible so I will be dressing her in layers.

This will be Amare's first time on a plane. I have no idea how she will react to it. It will my first time flying and traveling with a toddler. The first time Damien went to Florida was when he was four. But being a big kid all his life, he seemed older and handled it extremely well. In fact, he slept most of the time on the flights. This will also be the first time Andrew will be away from Amar'e for more than 24 hours. He keeps saying he will be fine, but I know he is nervous. I don't blame him; I would be nervous too. In fact, I don't think I would like it at all if it were the other way around. But he knows it is extremely important for me to see my family I haven't seen in years, and he supports this trip.

The count down is on: 1 day 9 hours......Florida here we come!


If anyone has any advice on flying with a toddler, please share with me....I need all the help I can get!