Traveling With Small Children

So we just got back from our first trip flying with both girls for a summer vacation to Colorado.  And was it an adventure!  I miss the days of traveling when I was solo, packing and going through the airport by myself or my husband with only my bag to worry about packing.  I saw a few of those single girls about my age walking through the airport terminals with a purse and a magazine in hand.  Sigh.... But hey, it was an adventure and I am already looking back and laughing at some of our pitfalls we went through:

-Car seat was lost by the airlines when we arrived in Denver
-Baby refusing to drink any liquids, even the boob, at take-off because.....Of an ear infection baby
-High Altitude caused baby NOT TO SLEEP at all during trip (lack of oxygen causes red blood cells to be produced by your body which will create more oxygen and to do that, it requires your body to be awake- a little TMI science lesson)
-And on our return take off, baby refused liquids, plane had extreme turbulence causing it to drop 100 feet at different occasions, baby screaming, entire flight screaming, me screaming and holding on for dear life, but then, phew, it was all calm again (mountain air can be crazy turbulent)

So after those minor detours, I learned some great tips for air traveling with small children to make you a more sane mommy:

Mommy Support

Mom stress... or is this the new norm?  As a child counselor, I sometimes feel like people may think I know all of the answers to raising a perfect angel of a child and being that perfect stress-free mom.  But I am hear to tell you that I in fact am not.  Why?  Well, for starters because there is no perfect child, or perfect way to parent.  When I was searching for pregnancy books, I found this title on the shelf and had to laugh out loud:
      I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids

Most people think they have all of the answers before they have kids, but they don't know jack until they have to face it themselves.  It's funny to hear people say, "I will never let my kids do that" because chances are, you probably one day will be standing there eating your words :)

Parenting is the most rewarding job I have ever had, but also the hardest job.  Ever.  Because not only is it mentally and physically exhausting with the day to day tasks, but it's also hard in the fact that you are teaching, enriching, modeling, and planning for your child's future, which is a stress in and of itself.

How do you get through it?  Here are a few things that have helped me:

We all eventually get through it, the stress and the joys of parenting.  But what I forget and take for granted sometimes, is the support group of moms that I have to help make life as a mom easier.  And all I have to say is I don't know where I would be without them!!  They make me feel more grounded and I know how normal mom stressors can be.  I met most of them in my neighborhood and in my area Early Childhood PTA.

I forget how great they are, because I will be talking to a friend on the phone that is also a mom but may live out of town or I don't see as often, and she will tell me about her crazy day with her kids and ask, "is that normal for my child to....?"  and I will think she is crazy for asking, because we have all already talked about fighting that battle with our kids in my mom support group, and so thankful for that!

Online Shopping

As a mother, my life has been crazy since I had kids and it takes being organized and 50 hours in a day to get everything done.  Unfortunately since my days have only 24 hours in them, and a gazillion things to do, I have given up and started ordering things online.  I used to be one of those that refused to buy anything from a catalog.  I had to feel it in person, try it on, see it live.

As counselor mom, the idea is to stay as sane as possible, right?  Yes, make your life as easy as possible.  So I have given in to the online shopping mayhem, no more hang ups of having to see it 'live.'

If I haven't mentioned on here before, my absolute favorite shopping website is Amazon, hands down!  There are a few others like Sams Club, Zullily, Ideali, Shutterfly, Gap, Old Navy, Forever 21, etc. But by far Amazon tops the cake. What can you not buy on there?

Just lost my last snack cup, let's see what Amazon has.  Don't mind if I do!  Do I have time to run into Target with 2 small children in 100 degree weather for a snack cup? Amazon answers my prayers.

I know what you are thinking, but no, this is not a paid blog post.  But if you are wanting to try out their Prime Membership, where you get FREE 2 DAY SHIPPING, they are having a promotion for free Amazon Prime! Yes, that's right, I had to devote a whole post on this new promotion because it's such an awesome deal.  Also, if you are a new mom, you can get Amazon Mom Prime membership free by clicking here.

Join Amazon Prime - Watch Over 40,000 Movies

My full time job is raising my children, and when I have only 2 hours free during the day where my children are not about to go down for a nap, then I want to do something fun and educational with them if possible.  Not running to Toys R Us for a pack of diapers, or going to Sams for wipes.  What did they used to do before online shopping???  Or cell phones? :)