Mommy FTW

For many people, summer time means lots of travel.  When we travel with Cameron, we always take along our Baby Bjorn Travel Crib.  We bought it last summer, and used it many times – it’s super light, easy to set up, and folds up into it’s own neat little suitcase.  I was worried that this summer Cameron would have grown out of it – but he hasn’t!  In fact, he seems to really love sleeping in his own personal pup tent.

Let's go!

This crib is a litle on the pricey side, but I think it is WAY better than any other Pack N Play I’ve ever seen – and the convenience factor makes it totally worth it for me and my little guy.  By the way, don’t bother buying a specific sheet for this crib, just use a regular crib sheet and tuck in the extra sheet around the edge.

I wrote a write up on the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib last year – check out my review here.

Posted from New York, New York, United States.

Recently Huggies approached me and asked me to be a brand ambassador for their Little Movers line of Diapers.  Those of you who read Mommy For the Win regularly know that I am a true fan of Huggies, so it took me about 1 minute to say “Yes!”  Part of the job description is to write a post about Little Movers.  I was wondering what I would write about – I have already done a Huggies vs Pampers post, as well as discussed my preference for their Overnight diapers and their Little Swimmers.  But, as we were on our way to our Vacation last week Huggies managed to prove to me, once again, how awesome they are.  So I decided to tell my story in case some of you are still not in the Huggies Little Movers Camp with me!

Last Monday we were all set to fly non stop from JFK to Turks and Caicos – a quick 3 hour flight.  The night before I packed my diaper bag with 3 of my Huggies Little Movers thinking this would be more than enough to last me until we were all checked in, and ready to hit the pool.  Well, that morning, the world (and the unhelpful staff at JFK) was conspiring against us, and we missed the check in time for our flight.  After a small breakdown on my part, we managed to rebook on a flight that took us through Miami, and then eventually on to Turks.  We were supposed to arrive at 9pm, assuming everything ran on time.  Our bags were checked, and I suddenly realized that I might have a diaper situation on my hands……

Cameron burns some energy and puts his Little Movers to the test.

After lunch we still had plenty of time to kill.  Cameron had a lot of energy, and I was happy to let him work it off in the hopes that he would snooze on the plane.  He had already had his diaper on since 8am, but I didn’t want to change him until absolutely necessary since I knew my supply was limited.  Cameron must have walked up and down those flat “people mover” escalators in terminal 8 about 100 times.  He was putting those Little Movers to the test!  But there was never a leak, and it sure seemed like they weren’t getting in his way despite being quite full.  I was hoping he would poop before our flight, but when they finally let us on the plane (at a very late 2:30pm) he hadn’t, so I changed him. 1 diaper down, 2 left.

Finally asleep.....

As we departed, I gave Cameron his bottle and he fell asleep quickly.  The flight was full, and he was on our laps.  I can’t imagine how he managed to sleep – he was in every extremely uncomfortable position possible, and constantly shifting.  He was going to have some serious kinks in his neck!  Despite the shifting, and having just downed 9 oz of milk – no leaks.  Go Huggies!  We arrived in Miami around 6:45pm.  I kept Cam’s diaper on hoping still for the elusive poop before changing him.  No luck.  They called for our flight to board, so I changed Cam in the bathroom.  Another extremely full diaper, with no leaks.  2 diapers down, 1 left.

We boarded the plane around 7:30 pm – and waited.  There was a lightening storm, so we were stuck.  Cam took this opportunity to have his poop – diaper change required!  And in a plane bathroom, no less.  Believe me folks, this is quite a challenge.  3 diapers down, 0 left – fingers crossed.

We finally departed Miami around 8:45pm – and arrived in Turks around 10pm.  I gave Cameron some milk to help with the take off, and some water to help with the landing.  Cam was surprisingly peppy, given that it was around 10 when we  landed.  No leaking or sagging as Cameron ran around the baggage claim area.  Eventually we ended up in our hotel room – around 11pm, 8 hours later than we expected to.  Despite my stressing, Cameron, and his Little Movers had held up to the challenge.  I put him in his Huggies Overnights, and we all passed out within minutes.  What a day!  And finally, the vacation could really begin!

Little Swimmers? Check! Awesome fun in the sun? Check!

I asked the Fort Greene Babies and Fort Greene Kids Yahoo Groups for some more advice on entertaining Cameron on the plane, and I wanted to share with all of you the suggestions that other moms gave me.

Pop up books – one mom claimed that she entertained her toddler for 4 hours with this pop up book!  Sounds pretty good to me.

Magna Doodle – I often forget about those “old school” toys, but I thought this was a great idea.  It’s all the fun of crayons, without the potential mess and wasted paper.

Mr. Potato Head – another “old school” toy that sounds like it would be lots of fun for a plane ride.

A Toy Airplane – The only time I took Cam on a flight before he was deathly ill and much younger.  I think this time will be much more exciting – and having a little plane there for him to play with might be the cherry on the sundae!

A puppet – Cameron has a book called “Mouse in the House” that has a little mouse puppet which he is obsessed with.  So I think a puppet for a plane ride is a fantastic idea.

Those crappy toys you get with your happy meal (etc). – One mom says she saves all these little toys and breaks them out on the plane.  If parts of them get lost – who cares!  Sounds like smart thinking to me!

Many moms echoed the suggestion of playing movies and videos, the necessity for lots of snacks, and also how important it was to have a change of clothes for the child (and yourself, if you can fit it) in case of disaster!

And, with that – I’m off for the week!  I’ll come back and report on how the Beaches Turks and Caicos resort was……… But for now, some much needed vacation.

Have a great week!!

Our vacation is less a week away (!!) so I’ve been asking my fellow moms for advice when it comes to entertaining a toddler on a plane.  None of these are exactly groundbreaking ideas, but maybe some of these them will be helpful to you.

Stickers – lots and lots of stickers! – Cameron is really into stickers lately, so this idea made perfect sense to me.  We’ve been getting them after our weekly visits to Trader Joe’s and Cameron will spend the whole walk back sticking and unsticking them to his pants and anything around him.  I went to Target and picked up a bunch in the Stationary and Scrapbooking sections (on the first floor near the greeting cards).  We went for the truck and farm stickers, but there’s a big assortment.  I also ordered some Melissa and Doug stickers off of Amazon.  I got a pad of paper (also from Target) so that the stickers hopefully end up there instead of all over the plane.  I also plan to bring crayons.

Cameron picks out some stickers at Target

A new toy – I’m going for something blinky that involves batteries.  I haven’t quite picked out something yet, but I’ll keep you posted as to what I end up with.  But, I plan to keep it totally secret until we get on the plane, that way it will be all the more exciting.

Videos – I ordered a Yo Gabba Gabba DVD – It is Cameron’s favorite so I am hoping it will buy me at least an hour or so.  I went for the Dancey Dance Bunch, but I’m pretty sure any of them would do.  Cameron doesn’t seem to mind watching them over and over again.  I also have some Baby Einstein.  Cameron loves Baby Wordsworth, and Neighborhood Animals.

iPhone – Peekaboo Barn is still Cameron’s favorite iPhone App, but he also loves just flipping through the photos (most of them are of him) and pressing the buttons in general.

Snacks – lots and lots of snacks.  I think we all know that there isn’t much food on airplanes anymore, so don’t forget to pack an arsenal.  It was also suggested to me to try lollipops.  This isn’t something I would normally give Cameron, but when it comes to keeping a toddler quiet on a plane, I’ll go for pretty much anything.

Non-Refrigerated Milk (yes, they make that!) – I actually plan to bring this for not just the plane, but the vacation in general.  You can get it on Fresh Direct (it’s called Farmland Lil’ Milk Stay Fresh Whole Milk).  By the way, they also have 1% and 2% if your little one is no longer on Whole Milk.

Other Passengers – Cameron loves to make friends.  Hopefully some of my fellow passengers will be interested in making friends back!  If so, I plan to use them for as much entertainment as possible.

Books and Puzzles – Just like his videos, Cameron can play with his puzzles and books over and over and not get bored of them.  He also really likes his touch and feel flash cards.  I think I’ll stick with his most favorite ones (tractor, firetruck, dog, cat, ball).

Any of you mommies out there have other ideas to share with everyone?  I can use all the help I can get!

I am excited to say that in May we’re going on vacation somewhere warm – and not in the US!  So, we needed to get Cameron his passport.  Since the Pratt Post Office is closed, I had to find somewhere else to submit his application.  I searched online at the usps website and found that the Adelphi Station was the place I should check out.  The website said that I needed an appointment – so I got on the phone and called.  And called.  And called.  No one ever answered.  I moved on to another post office – the Cadman Plaza Branch.

Again, the usps website said that I needed an appointment.  So I called – the phone was answered by an automate service saying if I was on a touch tone phone to press 1, and then I was routed through a few menus finally ending up at the passport application people.  The phone rang.  And rang.  And rang.  No answer.  I tried over and over again – with no success.  Finally, I called and when asked if I was on a touch tone phone I said that I wasn’t – and I got a real live person right away!  So, if you are trying to reach someone at Cadman Plaza – I suggest you take this route.  Although, when we got there it didn’t seem to matter that I had an appointment. Good thing I put all that effort into it!  I would just recommend that you show up a few minutes before the passport window opens so you can be first in line.  The whole thing took about 10 minutes.

Cam strikes a pose

Anyways, there’s a few necessary things for getting your baby a passport:

1) A passport photo – we got ours at the local Walgreens.  It was easy – they had him stand on a crate and snapped the pic with a digital camera.  1 hour later – voila!  Passport Photo.

2) Fill out the passport form – it’s called DS-11 (you can do this online, and print it out and bring it with you).  Be sure not to sign the form until you are in the presence of the passport agent.

3)Your baby’s official birth certificate with both parents name on it.

4)Your baby’s Social Security Card.

5)IDs for both parents – Drivers License or Passport will work.

6)Copies of the IDs that can be sent in with the passport application.

7)Both parents must show up when applying for the passport.

Check the official government page to read all about the documents required to get a passport for a minor, and to fill out the passport form online.

As I have mentioned, Cameron and I were in DC this week visiting the grandparents, going swimming, and having a great time!  I had decided that instead of driving we would try taking Amtrak from Penn Station.

I did some research both on Parents Around the Hill and via the Fort Greene Babies yahoo group before the trip.  The neighborhood moms left me fairly assured that it wouldn’t be too bad when I got to the station.  I was still nervous!  I took the Q from Dekalb Ave to 34th Street Herald Square for the sake of elevators, and then made my way towards Penn Station on foot above ground.

The entrance to Penn Station that has the down escalator is at 31st St and 8th Ave.  I thought the diagram of the building posted on the wall said there was an elevator here, but I didn’t see it, so I went down they short escalator with Cam.  (Yes, I know, you’re not supposed to do this).

Once we got down to the main area I started looking around for a red cap, who I had been told would be able to help me out.  I didn’t see anyone, so I walked over to the Amtrak Customer Service desk (not the ticket counters) and a friendly man told me what track my train would be leaving from and that there was an elevator over by the police desk.  Indeed there was.

I got in – the choices were a little confusing.  I went down to “TL” – Track Level, I figured.  When when the doors opened I found that I was stuck in between the tracks, and not at the right number.  Apparently I was supposed to go to “LL” where you can move to any of the tracks and then take a different elevator down.  I went back up to “LL,” found my track, then took another elevator down to “TL.”

Cameron relaxes in his PJ's

Since I had gotten to the train early there were plenty of places to sit.  I found Cameron and I a section of 4 seats (2 and 2 facing each other).  It was perfect – there was lots of room for him, and for all our stuff.  Overall, getting to the train was pretty easy!  Stay tuned for more updates on the trip to DC, and the train trip back to New York.

We’ve been doing some traveling this summer, with more to come in August, so I had invested in a Baby Bjorn travel crib after much research.  Any product on Amazon that has over 70 reviews with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars makes me feel pretty confident.  So, despite it’s steep price tag, I went for it.  I was not disappointed!  This crib is super comfy for Cameron, sets up and folds up extremely easily, weighs only 11lbs, and fits into it’s own handy dandy carrying case.  A must have for parents who travel with their little one!

the BEST travel crib