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| Leji loves travelling with her brother |
Despite all warnings, we braved the odds and decided to take the kids on multiple trips this summer. It's a bit crazy but you only live once, right?
Travel with Bender makes it look so easy; but we realized we're not ready to sell everything and take on a nomadic life at this point so we just took on a series of trips.
We lugged a ton of bags (plus strollers and carseats) with us so I didn't bother include my laptop in the production number. I don't know how other blogger moms do it, but it's harder to convince my toddler to sleep/nap when I have my computer on.
What's so challenging about road trips?
1. Kids refuse to sit and remain strapped in their carseats for long periods of time.
2. When they're too tired, too hot or overly stimulated they just cry non stop.
3. Some people think you're bad parents when the little ones cry so much. They stare.
4. When baby poop or spit explodes all over you and your backup clothes are stored in a far-flung bag. If the baby is consuming solids already, its nasty smell diffuses oh so quickly. It's embarrassing.
5. Adjusting your body clock becomes even more tricky as toddlers totally redefine jetlag. Dear God. Hubby required extra potent coffee to get to drive after long-haul plane rides.
I tell people I tandem feed; but during roadtrips it's quite impossible to make them latch at the same time. The carseat requirement in first world countries make it even trickier. My dear toddler hates pumped milk so we opt for cookies or granola bars plus flavored or almond milk while on the road. When I get stressed, I grab a bag of chips.
There are times when she insists on latching for comfort & throws a fit when she sees me prioritize her baby brother. We tried distracting her with toys and gadgets but after all the hullaballoo we realized it's much simpler to rush back to the hotel before she gets overly tired.
I usually allow her to latch once we get to the hotel room except when I have to put her brother to sleep. They usually tease each other when they're face to face; he even grabs her hair and pokes her eye :/ So they take turns. I usually encourage her to drink milk from a sippy cup while her brother is at it. Before I tried making her drink the let-down milk from our Hakaa; but she said it's gross even after transferring the milk to her sippy cup. I figured she didn't like the smell of UV-sterilized Hakaa.
When she is too tired to wait, she would demand: "Alright, I just need a hug!!!" Most of the time with tears. She often tells me she can't wait for her brother to turn two.
No regrets; my children seem to have gained more self confidence after everything. My daughter rushed to my grandma as soon as we got back. She showed our phone photos and even enacted some of the events that took place. "Gramma, we went up a huuuge castle. It was mine for a day! It had a lovely garden with pink flowers and other colors...and we rode a gorgeous train!" I was shocked to hear her say gorgeous. She gushed: "Lolo, Lola, Tito Niki & Tita Abby went there with us. You know them, right? Complete family! It was really fun, I wish you were there too." She's so cute when she's not overly tired.
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