Our First Traveling Experience

What do you get when you cross two "expert" travelers with an 8-month-old baby boy with PKU? Just a little bit of madness! Actually, the commute itself was only a little chaotic at times, and the trip as a whole was wonderful! Marty and I have been to several places around the world, in several different countries, but this felt like our biggest and most tiring adventure yet! It was a totally different ballgame with a baby.

The 3 of us left on Wednesday afternoon, April 7th, for San Antonio to see my brother, Uncle Eric, graduate from Air Force Basic Training. I had been looking forward to the trip for so long! I could not wait to see how Carson reacted to the experience, and to learn the do's and don'ts of traveling with him. We said it was a "warm-up" or "test" for our big 10-day trip out West, which is coming up soon. Dada told the entire airplane Sunday night that Carson passed with flying colors!

For those of you who want to know about the trip, I will tell the story now. For those who want to see my travel tips, keep reading below the story.

Our sister-in-law, Aunt Lainey, drove me, Dada, and Carson to the Birmingham airport on Wednesday afternoon. Thankfully, Carson decided to "do his business" just before we boarded the plane, so I had time to change him in the airport bathroom! LOL!! This was Carson's first flight, and I was SO excited to see how he would do!
After all the anticipation, Mommy was the one who freaked out! I was terrified during the take-off, and I have flown many, many times. I blame my hyperthyroid hormones, but alot of people have told me it is also because I am a new mommy. Who knows? Carson did not really seem to care what was going on, one way or another. He barely even looked out the window. He seemed unimpressed. He was very good, and by the time the plane landed in Houston, he was asleep! I don't see how he slept through that landing!

We flew to Houston because it was so much cheaper than flying straight to San Antonio, and Marty had family we visited there on the way home. We rented a car in Houston and drove 3 1/2 hours to San Antonio to our hotel. We arrived around midnight. Carson slept the entire time! I made sure I had his Glo Seahorse with us in the back seat.

We got to Lackland Air Force Base Thursday morning around 9:30, hoping to catch Uncle Eric running by, but no such luck. We finally found Granny and the gang (Pops, Nanny, and Aunt Elaine) seated for the coin ceremony. Eric was in the band flight, and we knew he was playing the baritone, so we were able to spot him quickly. He was taller than everyone! The coin ceremony was very emotional,as promised, and I really enjoyed it.

When we saw Uncle Eric for the first time after the ceremony, I realized I had left my stupid video camera recording and ran out of tape! GRR!! So I missed the big hug from Granny (our mom). We did get lots of pictures. The best part was when he saw Carson for the first time in 8 weeks and still held him like a little baby. Granny just had to show him that Carson was a big boy now and can sit up by himself!

We had alot of fun touring the base and getting lost all weekend. On Friday, the day of the Graduation Parade, Papa Steve, Glenda, and Billie (our dad, his wife, and our sister) arrived, as well as Nissa, Parker, and Ellie (my other sister and her 2 kids). I was SO excited and couldn't WAIT to see Nissa and Ellie, and for us to meet Parker and for them to meet Carson for the first time. Last year, Parker was born in February and Carson was born in August. Nissa and her family were not able to come visit this summer, so we did not see each other at all last year. Here is my sister Nissa holding Carson for the first time.



I'm so upset because I did not get any pictures of me holding Parker, but here I captured a rare smile.


It was fun to let the boys meet their cousins for the first time. Carson loves anything or anyone that runs around like a puppy dog, so he loves little kids! He will just laugh and laugh and smile at them!

The whole family went to eat together after graduation at Ruby Tuesday's, which was alot of fun. Then on Saturday, we all went to the River Walk and the Alamo together. It was beautiful, and everyone really did have a great time. Carson got carried that day more than he rode in the stroller, so poor Dada and Pops got stuck pushing an empty stroller most of the day!

All in all, it was a fabulous trip and everyone had a wonderful time, including Carson. He thoroughly enjoyed being spoiled endlessly, which took its time wearing off once we got home! He got to meet family members he had never met before, including Dada's Uncle Faron
and cousins Andrew and Linda who live in Houston. We stopped on the way back to the airport Sunday to visit with them and let them meet Carson. Things were hectic getting to the airport and on the plane, but when all was said and done, we had a safe and uneventful flight home. The entire trip was a success, and a great trial run for trips to come! We are so blessed to have our families and to get along as we did, and God truly provided us a wonderful time together.

And now, for My Travel Tips:

In preparation for our trip to Texas, I combed the internet for travel tips, not only for babies, but for PKU as well. I found several good ideas, and came up with some on my own. Since we are still mixing Carson's formula for a 24-hour supply at one time, we had the nutritionist send us a letter in case the amount was too much to carry on the plane. As it turns out, we never had to use it or get questioned about the amount at all.

I weighed out his powdered formula on the gram scale for each day's supply in a measuring cup, then poured each day into a plastic baggie. I labeled each baggie with a marker to show the date it was mixed and the amount of each formula. I placed the baggies (the amount was so huge!) in 2 separate flat, sqaure plastic bowls with tight lids, and put the bowls in a plastic bag before packing in the suitcase. Being an experienced traveler, I know how roughly our luggage is treated!

The formula we had already been using for Wednesday was enough to fit into 2 bottles, so I carried those in the cooler instead of the big container we normally use. I bought a 9-can size cooler with a cloth exterior, pockets, and a shoulder strap, with one of those blue plastic ice substitutes. Those stay very cold all day long, but the cooler itself was not very well insulated for the outdoors. I had to make sure the formula stayed up against the ice pack for it to stay cold all day. It worked well enough. I liked that the cooler was big enough to hold his 32-oz container of formula and several plastic jars of baby food. I also stored spoons, measuring spoons, and bowls in the pockets. It was very handy. The cooler was just the perfect size to fit under Carson's stroller alongside his big diaper bag.

I made sure to give an extra can of Carson's special protein formula to my parents, Granny and Pops, and Aunt Elaine and Nanny, who were all driving out together on Tuesday, the day before, just in case of loss or damage to our stuff. I packed an extra can in our luggage as well. As it turned out, the can was slightly damaged in our luggage (the metal seal just popped off), so I swapped cans with them on the way home to avoid any messes. So glad we did that!

In retrospect, I wish I had mixed an extra day or two of formula in case of an emergency. I couldn't believe I didn't do that! But that is why we brought the extra can of Carson's most important of his 3 formulas we mix together. Silly Mommy! Thankfully, we did not need the extra and everything went very smoothly. Dada came up with a great plan to get the powdered formula out of the plastic baggie each morning. He bought us a gallon easy-pour jug of water at a drugstore that night, and we kept it in the refridgerator in our hotel room. Each morning I would cut a corner out of the baggie instead of opening the zipper top, and pour the powder into Carson's 32oz container. Then I would pour the water and shake. I usually whisk it, but I found if you shake hard enough, you can get the lumps out if you have to!

I fed Carson baby food and bottles on all the plane rides, and he did just fine, no fussing. He had fun flirting with girls and looking out the window or sleeping. I was very thankful we stayed at a hotel that had a refrigerator in the room. On our next big trip, we will not always have that luxury, so it will be a different story. We carried Carson's travel system (car seat and stroller) to the gate and they stowed it on the plane for us instead of underneath with the cargo (make sure to pay attention and have it tagged once you arrive at your gate; one girl on our plane didn't do it before boarding and had to get out of line!). It did get scuffed up anyway, but I felt like it was treated better than it would have been otherwise, and we were able to pick it up right outside the plane so we could use it right away. I highly recommend this, because if you are like me and carry alot of junk, it works great for storage! We carried one large carry-on bag, Carson's diaper bag and cooler, and the camera bag onboard. We had plenty of room. We made sure to have Carson's birth certificate at all times as proof of his age. We carried him as a lap child and therefore he flew for free.

While we were out during the trip, we carried enough food and formula for the whole day, as you never know what to expect when you are out and about. Everything fit in his cooler and stayed cool enough. I had the fridge turned down so low in the hotel room that the water had ice in it, so that helped too! Luckily, at the Riverwalk, I had lots of men handy to carry the stroller up and down stairs, since we did not see too many handicap-friendly areas with ramps or elevators. There was even a restaurant that wouldn't let us carry the stroller inside! Give me a break, people! There are many good reasons to travel in a group. :)

I had been SO nervous anticipating this trip, but all-in-all it everything was near perfection. I recommend lots of sleep and exercise beforehand, because it was quite a workout getting through the airports and pretty much everywhere. Also, ladies, fingernails won't last very long! All mine broke and now I still don't have any growing back! Just do your homework ahead of time and be prepared...and everything will go smoothly. Most importantly...have FUN!