This is a backpack that has a laptop padded section. Comfortable breathable back and straps.  Good organizational space.  Large enough for a day hike, day on the town with two children or to be used as a diaper bag.  A friend of mine always used a backpack as her purse, diaper bag and stuff carrier and I understood why when I used this bag.  Made with many  100% recycled materials

GoGaGa Bag:  The Slide - Diaper bag to messenger

I have had this bag for a few months now, and had waited to write about it because I was trying to figure out how to best describe this amazing bag.  It is a messenger-style bag that is created to be multi-functioning.  It is completely versatile; both women and men will feel comfortable walking around with it.

GoGaGa offer many varieties of bags but the one I tried was The Slide. It comes with a changing pad, cell phone /iPod pocket and baby wipe holder.  All these accessories can be removed and your bag would be just like any typical messenger bag except that it has an amazing shoulder strap.

I am sure that I could not carry around a heavy messenger bag with a conventional strap, but the strap on this bag alone is worth every penny that you pay for the bag.  It is a large elastic cloth band (a bit like an infant sling carrier) that spreads out the weight of the bag on your shoulder and back.  It is very comfortable.

The bag also has two insulated bottle holders, well-designed compartments and even a yoga mat holder.  All these compartments can be used with your baby in mind or when your baby is not in tow.  I had enough room in this bag for all my daughter’s accoutrements plus my own.  I loved being able to bring cold water on one of my excursions without looking like I was bringing my diaper bag along.  The cell phone / I pod carrier holds phones well as long as you don’t bend over. Unfortunately, you do that often with a child so I don’t recommend storing your phone in it.

I love the baby wipe carrier from this bag - I use it with all of my other bags.

Overland bag: Calistoga - Grocery bag to car organizer

This simple cloth bag got a lot of oohs and aahs at the grocery store.  It is a typical cloth grocery bag except that it has some reinforcement along its seams which makes it stand up in a square shape.  This way you can put heavy gallons of milk in it or nicely folded t-shirts without the whole thing collapsing and frustrating the heck out of you.

I use this bag to grocery shop and to bring different things I want to keep organized in the car. During our previous car camping trips we would have loved to have a few of these to organize our gear and clothes. I like bags that are open so that you can see what is in them.

Prana Bags: Whipsaw Messenger Bag:  Use for one person.

This is a great looking bag with many features: ample pockets and storage areas, laptop compartment; it can be used by both men and women.

I wanted to try this bag out to see if it could be used for different purposes but I found the strap to be a bit uncomfortable and the adjustment buckles to be heavy and in the way.  The storage areas are designed more for the single user.  I would not recommend this bag to be used as a diaper bag, except if you don’t mind if everything mingles together. Also, the bag itself is heavy.

This bag is probably the most strongly made and I am sure the construction would last more than a life time. It is very sturdy.

Autumn Tote ( Prana):  Use for day on the town.

I have used this wide mouth, insulated top loader for a variety of activities: grocery shopping, trips to the library, travel around a city, and a weekend getaway.  Even though this bag is intended to carry a laptop it has ample room for other things.

I have used it to insulate my meat and dairy when I went to the grocery store and had to drive it back home in a warm car.  I also used it to carry many large heavy children’s books back to the library and the books stayed in place and did not flop around.  It also worked well for my basic needs on a weekend getaway.

I recommend this bag for all around use. It does not have a shoulder strap so it is more of a tote.

Tavares:  I tried a pair of these cute ballerina-inspired shoes and found them to be very comfortable.  You can wear them with a skirt or pants and you can pull off wearing neutral colored socks with them as well. They are simple canvas shoes with crisscross webbing that starts on the foot and wraps around your ankle. It is a good shoe to wear if you are going out and also doing a bit of walking. You can still look elegant without being uncomfortable.

My daughter Lilli, who is a ballerina in the making, auditioned for and was accepted into the Jofftrey ballet camp this spring. There are three camps in order of increasing prestige: New York, Atlanta, and Detroit. She was accepted into the first two. We chose New York because, well, its New York and its ballet! Anyhow camp started June 13, and she flew there with two friends from her ballet studio (Grand Junction Academy of Dance). Apparently the regulations regarding children traveling without adults is somewhat loose because no flags were raised anywhere including at check in yesturday. The staff at United weren't terribly sure, but they seemed to think at twelve that unless you request and pay for an accompaniment, it is not necessary.

   Lilli has only flown twice in the last few years, both times with me (Mom) and they were international flights. All of her domestic experience was when she and her sisters were babies and we flew to visit my sister in Santa Cruz (picture two car seats with babies and a three year old) I started driving after doing that once. So while I felt like this wasn't an altogether new experience, it was still a little overwhelming. She weighs 81 pounds and is 5'1" - couldn't wrestle herself out of a handhold. Unfortunately for me I watched the movie "Taken" last month. Her two friends however both have regular flights back east, one to her Dad three times a year with older sister in tow, and the other to Grandparents yearly. We hired the "pick up" limo service for a split $100 fee. So I was feeling pretty okay about the flight there and maiking it to their dorms.

   However the flight back, Lilli will be on her own as she stays two weeks and the other girls are returning after one week. The "drop off service" according to one mom was to the ticket desk, but according to the liason for Joffrey was to the correct carrier door, curbside only. This would be one of those times that I am glad I don't just listen to the answer that I would like to hear, because I almost let it go. However, I have never flown through La Guardia, but I have flown through JFK and Newark - I had an idea what New York airports might look like to my little twelve year old. I therefore bought myself a round trip ticket to New York flying in the day before she gets out and leaving two days later. My ticket was cheap $404 considering the late purchase time (3 weeks out) but changing Lilli's ticket, so we could spend a day and a night together in NY, was $275. I decided that I could have flown in the night before and back out with her on her flight but what would be the fun in that. When life gives you lemons make lemonade. We are doing a little sightseeing, I have never been inside the Statue of Libery, and if Lilli's chaperone doesn't take her to the Guggenheim, then that will be the museum du jour. Tickets to "Wicked" for Saturday night and we fly out Sunday morning.  

   She called from Denver then again from the plane after they landed in NY. I didn't hear from her then for two hours and that horrible but oh so recommended movie, "Taken" came to mind. I left a message and a text for Lilli "You were supposed to call me from the limo" and "if you don't text me soon, I am going to freak out". She called and texted; they had been out buying metro passes and groceries (sent her with cash, two disposable $100 visa cards and one of my credit cards in her name with pin - strict instructions to keep them in different locations). This is where those trips to Europe with Mom have come in handy! Hope you are well, Heidi. Told Gabi about Stella's passing. She sent her condolances. Sincerely, Tracy 

It was one of the easiest trips I have ever taken.  I really enjoy Richmond and all of the different museums, parks and outdoor attractions.  My father’s family was very helpful and gave me a real rest.  It was great to spend so much time with them, but back to the subject of air travel.

It is interesting to do this kind of travel and to see what kind of reactions you get from people. Here are some little anecdotes and exchanges from the trip:

·         “You are so brave.”

·         “You bring kids’ Tylenol with you.”  I do not.

·         “Since you can do that trip you could travel to a location that requires you to be traveling for a full 20 hours with four plane changes.”

·         In one of the connecting airports the elevator was broken.  Four repairmen were looking at the elevator but doing nothing. They watched me dismantle the stroller upon which I had piled my carry on, Cora’s carry on, the car seat, our lunch and a half-asleep Cora. The four repairmen continued to watch while I put each of these items (except Cora) on an escalator (since the elevator was broken). We all watched as all of my belongings crashed and bumped at the top in a big pile.  Then I rode the escalator and put everything back together at the top under the watchful eyes of the repairmen. (Who still weren’t fixing the elevator).

·         After my first flight the pilot asked everyone to stay seated before we got off because we had a close connection time. Everyone stood up.  We missed our connection.

·         Happily, the agent at the counter upgraded us to first class because of our missed connection.

·         Also happily, the man who sat next to us asked to change seats to give us more room.

·         On the way back, when I went to the gate to get a stroller ticket, the gate agent told me the flight would be loading in 20 minutes.  Since I thought I had some time, we went to the bathroom, when I returned I realized that the gate only had a long staircase. The agent hadn’t mentioned that important piece of information. I had to dismantle my whole rig but I made her carry everything because she refused to bring me to the service elevator. I kept the whole airplane waiting.   At first the stewardess said I could not bring the car seat (which Cora has to sit in) onto the plane because it could not fit in the overhead compartment (what parent would bring a car seat to store it?)

·         In Atlanta, I ordered food but had the stroller and the tray to carry. A cleaning lady carried my tray, cleaned the table and pulled my chair out. She also sat Cora down.

·         Another cleaning lady noticed I had not cutlery and went to get some for us.

·         In one bathroom, Cora was getting tired and thought that she cut her finger and started to scream bloody murder. She does not like the idea of bleeding.  I got out of the stall as she was pulling on my pants and putting snot all over my shirt and kicking.  We had 10 minutes to make it to our connection. I had no idea what to do. A mom who was changing her baby opened her suitcase and handed me a fluorescent green adhesive bandage. I slapped it on the non-existing cut and Cora agreed to get in the stroller and we ran to the gate making our flight.

Why is this the best air travel I have ever done?

Because when traveling with children you need to change your mindset. Everything is about them.  I had no illusion of resting, reading or taking care of my specific desires.  If you take care of your children’s needs and your basic needs and just go with the flow, then you do not build anxiety or stress over situations.  Also, I think the dynamic is simpler without another adult. When another adult is present you tend to have high expectations of their involvement but they may have a different agenda and want to take care of their own needs. In this case, you don’t have a choice.  Cora was fun and I enjoyed her company.

Heidi

Just this March we drove to Tucson and had a wonderful time. Cora now loves to spend time rolling down unknown roads to look at new environments. Seeing the landscape change from Rocky Mountain snow to Saguaro Cactus country can be quite breathtaking.  On the way you pass through desert plains that are abruptly adorned with red rocked mesas.  Even last year when we went to Mexico on our road trip she did fairly well.   We may not cover as much territory as when we were childless, but we drive a safe amount and everyone feels mostly rested when arriving at our destination.

What fascinates me about these road trips is seeing everything through her eyes.  Cora gets very excited by signs that have very large O’s and gets quite animated when she sees livestock grazing.  Her descriptions of different cars driving by is also hysterical.  In her mind tiny cars are SUV’s and sedans are described by their color.

Time and space is always an issue as well. If we run out of some specific food she will say, “Let’s go to City Market,” and describe the special grocery cart that they have at home.  If we say we will be at our campsite soon, she will tell us we could sleep at home, even though we have been driving for three days straight.  If we see cows with a horse she will ask if it is ours (we often walk her to visit Jessie the horse who lives with cows).

For the most part what fascinates me about traveling with a toddler is not the way they perceive the world through their developing brains, but the simple pleasures they can take from such travels.  Toddlers help you to slow down (if you let them) and to look around at the world with fresh eyes.  They love to point out odd things that you can see from your car window, but they also like to play with rocks and create fascinating imaginative games on the side of the highway when you stop for a pee.

Once, we had to walk a ¼ mile to the ‘toilet’ and then squat next to what seemed to me like the exact same sagebush that was next to the car.  In southern Utah, Cora made us walk around a ditch carrying imaginary friends back to our house. She had all kinds of explanations on how this was our house when we got there. This is your bed, this is the kitchen, etc.  In northern Arizona we pulled off the highway on an unknown dirt road and after we ate she lead us through an interpretive dance of feet stomping and twirling, while we overlooked endless red desert mesas.

On a horrible pull off,  where I was very disgusted by the toilet paper and old clothing laying around, Cora played a running game and did not seemed to be fazed by the  collision of human trespass and beautiful landscape.

At campsites she easily finds interesting rocks, sticks, or nooks to play in.  She gets comfortable and at home in minutes.  As we adults go busily PREPARING the camp site and reorganizing the car.

Toddlers know how to live life.

Heidi

But it is too late. Tickets are purchased, cabañas are booked and my huge duffel bag is weighting down the back of the truck with Anders’ travel cot, board books, diapers and wipes, tot-friendly food and a change or two of clothing for me.

Before baby, I strolled along the Great Wall of China, rafted class IV and V rapids on the Rio Chiriqui Viejo in Panama, donned a headscarf in Turkish mosques, climbed the highest peaks in California, walked off an airplane in another country with no plans and no reservations, but this trip would be different.  And why not, my life was different.

This South American adventure would be a scaled down version of my life. I had given up so many of the activities that make me who I am in order to appease a new little person. No more living just for Melynda, now Anders’ needs had to come first. At 34 years old, it was a rough transition, and though I’ll have to give up my nomination for “Mom of the Year” for saying so, I occasionally resented my son for everything he had stripped from me.

Argentina is a long way from Bozeman. It’s even longer when flying from 45 degrees north to 42 degrees south while sharing a seat with an active little boy, but Anders and I made it to Bariloche without any sleep (for me), but without angering any other passengers or getting dirty looks. We rented a car, we found our cabaña, we ate meals and took naps on a regular schedule.

I wanted to do big hikes in the Andes, to salsa dance until four a.m. in Buenos Aires. Driving ten hours to the coast to see penguins seemed like a great idea until I considered my travel partner. Instead we hung out by lakes picking up rocks one at a time to throw in the water. I took short hikes through forests of Alerces practically running with Anders in the backpack, knowing that I had two hours before his tolerance gave out and the complaining started.

In retrospect our Argentine travels take on a rosier glow than when we were there. A lot of trips are like that; they get better in our minds as the frustrations and discomforts of real life travel fade away, and the photos of smiling faces on the trail take a more prominent position in our memories.

I discovered that traveling with someone on the edge of toddlerhood opens new doors that aren’t there for a solo traveler or a couple. Everywhere Anders and I went, Argentines wanted to talk to him, hold him, kiss him. Those people are baby crazy in way Americans certainly are not. My rubio-headed boy with the mejillas grandes was the center of attention wherever we went and I found myself talking to people all day—people who would have passed me by otherwise. When he made a sound that was mistaken for “hola” the spectators went nuts.

Anders also helped me slow down and look at the Patagonian landscape more closely. We’d spend an hour sitting by a stream playing with rocks, feeling the orange-yellow lichen, sniffing wildflowers and collecting dandelion tufts. At the botanical gardens in Buenos Aires we walked around at the pace of someone who is two feet, seven inches tall, stopping every thirty seconds to observe something tiny, or shiny, or otherwise fascinating.

I got to see Argentina through someone else’s eyes. The perspective wasn’t as big, as crazy or as fast paced as it would have been if I was alone, but the details were amazing. Now I just have to incorporate that insight into our life back home.

This is cross-posted at Your Wild Child.

     This was our second family vacation to Grand Cayman in the British Virgin Islands and definitely not our last.  Also known as the Tortugas for it's large population of turtles, this is a great place to take the family for some r&r on the beach.  We stayed at The Westin on 7 mile beach, which is a funny name for a beach that's not 7 miles!  I guess that's like Island time, just a rough estimate!  No matter how you measure, every inch is beautiful coral sand!  The Westin is located about half way down the beach, which we feel is important because it's too far for the "Cruisers" to walk to.  Also, the beach is really wide and plenty of space for everyone to set up camp.  Speaking of camp, the kids camp is great!  Our daughter was more than happy to spend part or parts of the day at the camp.  They go on expeditions to different places on the island, have lots of fun activities on the hotel property, and offer evening "camp" so you can go out for a "grown-up" dinner a couple of times!  Dinner, yum!  The food at the Westin, and on Grand Cayman in general is very good!  You can spend a fortune, or seek out quaint little places on the island that offer up some very tasty meals at reasonable prices.

     Our favorite activities were walking the beach to restaurants, horseback riding with Nicki (our second time with her), an excursion with Red Sail to Stingray City (an absolute must!!!), kayaking right behing the Westin (they don't let you go very far unfortunately), and snorkeling right there near the Westin.  We saw so many different fish, each time out I saw something different; nurse sharks, reef squid, queen triggerfish, porcupine fish, you name!  Next time down, we will be checking out the people at AMBASSADORS OF THE ENVIRONMENT.  Located within the Ritz Carlton, this company offers some amazing adventures.  This is a story on it's own.  I had a very good discussion with them about the Dolphin centers on the island.  They didn't have much good to say, they had turned down an offer to team up with one of the companies due to, let's say, some long paper trails, and probably some of the stuff I've listed below that I found out.  Anyhow, if you go, you should definitely check them out, they do night snorkels for kids ages 8+ or adult only night snorkels and many other activities.

     The biggest dissappointment was the Dolphin Discovery.  I didn't do my research beforehand and they wouldn't give a refund once there.  The local papers and the locals have mixed feelings, most of them not good.  Mainly the corruption, the lack of permits, the destruction of reef from the sewage, and the worst, a dolphin that a Mexican fisherman found floating that had been attacked by a shark.  The dolphin was more than capable to be released back into the wild, in my opinion (and a few others), but I asked if that was going to happen and the answer was a firm no.  Which is my answer if anyone asks if I'll go back there again!

     Overall, I give Grand Cayman a double thumbs up for families!

Thom Schuchaskie

You should be aware of the signs and symptoms of altitude sickness.    Make sure your child is nursing/feeding on her regular schedule, that your baby is well hydrated, and their temperature is kept at a constant.  The best way is to gradually go up in altitude. Of course, that is hard if you are arriving at a high altitude by airplane.

Also, you should monitor yourself or buddy up with someone else to make sure you are well fed, hydrated, and that your temperature is normal.  If you are having a bit of altitude sickness you may not be has sharp in realizing your child has issues.

That said, traveling at altitude for most adults and children should be completely fine.  7,000 feet is not that high, in fact it is rare to have significant altitude sickness under 8,000 feet.  Take it easy on the first few days. Most people who visit us from the east coast have mild headaches on the second day of their stay and may be more out of breath, but after that they are fine.  Since your newborn will not be exercising, they should be fine.

If you suspect that your child has mild altitude sickness either move to a lower elevation or if that is not possible go to the hospital.

Here are some resources to read:

You can check out Medicine for Mountaineering starting on page 266

 Baby Center has an article on the subject. The article is simple and to the point.

International Society for Mountain Medicine has extensive reporting on the subject.

Have a great trip.  It is always good to ask questions so that you are well informed.

Heidi Ahrens

I am nervous about our first trip up to the mountains with our four month old. We live at sea level and are taking him to the Sierra to our family vacation spot at around 7,000 ft. Any tips? Reassurance? This is okay...right?! :)

Thanks and hope to add a story from our trip!

We have made our annual mini-vacation to Telluride four years in a row now.  It was never a conscious plan but it seems like we keep going back.  We found a great hotel with decent prices the first year and just kept going back.  The hotel (Hotel Columbia  ) is child and animal friendly, but has the atmosphere of a sophisticated boutique hotel.  Imagine our disappointment when we found out it was getting a face lift and would not be open for our annual pilgrimage this year! ( I need to add that they will also be raising their prices so we won't be able to afford it in the future).  So, I booked a cheap room in a nearby hotel I found on the internet, after speaking to an employee who assured me that the comforters where comfortable and new and that the rooms were nice.

After a four hour drive we arrive to our hotel and this is what we encounter:  A nearly empty parking lot with construction trucks, a closed office, and a phone with the message “ If you use this phone we add $40 to your bill”, a box with an envelope with our name on it and keys with another threatening note “ If you lose one key 40 more bucks”, a few of the hotel windows were open and we could see open bags of wonder bread, a jar of peanut butter with a knife stuck in it, and yappy dogs.

We lugged our luggage up to the second floor and entered the room. I almost cried.  It was my birthday and, although I was not expecting a hotel W experience (the room was 88 dollars, half the regular season price), I was expecting a $176 room.  The room was small, dank, and had only a stand up shower, the kind your grandpa buys to put outside his rustic cottage to offer privacy to folks taking a shower. The floor had linoleum and a musty carpet,  the bed had those road side motel covers that shine so much because they are made entirely of plastic.

 We rushed out to go eat a fabulous dinner at the amazing Cosmopolitan Restaurant --  a fancy fare restaurant with amazing off season prices, incredible service and always welcoming to the chaos of toddlers.

We returned to our Mountain Side Inn and I slept fitfully and depressed.  We had only one ¾ size pillow each and I could not call because there was only the emergency phone number ($40 extra).  The next morning I decided to go talk to the lady at the front desk, which was open at 9:00. I decided to be truthful about what I felt but to be extremely mellow and kind about it (This is hard for me; I usually take out my ‘lived ten years in New York card’ when it comes to customer service).  Somehow in the midst of this depressing facility, an angel was manning the counter and offered me the keys to a room in paradise.  She told us to take our time, leave our things there, go visit the other place and let her know.  So, except for the angel, never go to Mountain Side Inn unless you are: going to Telluride to ski and drink heavily and won’t look at your room or care, or if you are a group of teenagers. But rush quickly over to the Manitou Bed and Breakfast to stay in one of their fabulous rooms!  Both hotels are managed by the same company ( Telluride Alpine Lodging) but they are on completely different scales.

The rooms at the Manitou Bed and Breakfast ( not a real Band B; you aren't staying with a sweet old granny and all the amenities are in your room; so you don’t have to be quiet or talk to strangers) are large, lush, comfortable, and fabulous. Cora had her own bedroom and bathroom; we had a large bed and a large bath.  The best thing is that we paid the same price as the other place. I highly doubt that will happen again though; so it may be the end of our visits to Telluride. We put Cora down for her nap in her new room, while I went and emptied the old room out.

We really enjoyed our stay in Telluride. The town is so child and outdoor friendly.  During the off season many places are closed and the streets are empty but the fun is still there.  You can stroll on the path ( 2.5 miles one way) along the stream (San Miguel River) through town and explore the river bed. Cora did this with great enthusiasm even though it was November in a 9,000 ft elevation mountain stream.  We then visited a few shops and no one batted an eye lash at our wet daughter.   The river trail runs to two children’s park, a great skate park , and a fishing  pond.   Cora loves our visits to Telluride because she gets to explore outdoors, and play, and see some good skate boarding. She also saw a beaver, a beaver lodge, beaver dam and area where they take wood and slip back in the water; A great learning experience.  In sixteen years of living in Canada and going to a remote cabin on a lake I had never seen a beaver or any of these typical signs of their habits.

Telluride also has an amazing library, including the best children’s library I have ever seen, with so many activities and reading nooks. They have fabulous adult areas too.  We spent lots of time at the library .

We did the Bear Creek Canyon hike to a waterfall.   It's a well-groomed 2.5 miles one way starting at the south end of Pine Street. It is the mellowest of hikes around, which is good if you don’t have time to acclimatize to the elevation.  If you are staying in Telluride for a week then you can take the Gondola up to 12,000 feet and start different hikes on top of the ski slopes (Large Mountain).

We also ate some great food at La Marmotte, an amazing French restaurant with prix fixe for the off season. This place has a quieter atmosphere and is not especially child friendly but we will keep going because of the great food.

  I know that Telluride is a very popular destination during the skiing months and the summer for their various concerts. I have never been there during those times; so I cannot give any advice for traveling there then. I do know that it is busy, a lot more expensive and that the campground is often full.

Heidi

Gear Review update:

Now, that winter is in full swing here in the Roaring Fork Valley, I have had the chance to put some of the gear that I reviewed to a greater test.  Here is an update on what I think.

Mountain Sprouts Mittens:  They are warm, well-constructed, durable, and keep snow out, but they don’t work for a child that is already very mobile and independent.  My daughter finds it frustrating that there is no thumb and that she can’t grip things. She only wears them if she is asleep or doesn’t want to hold anything.

Oslo Waterproof Merrell Boots:  These are the most fashionable winter boots I have ever worn. I get stopped by total strangers, young, old, female, male, they are very waterproof and comfortable. Unfortunately, my feet do get cold in them.

I just wanted to share our flying experience with Anna when she was four months old.  We flew home to PA to visit for my father's 70th birthday surprise.  Our flight to PA was so awful, my husband and I were scheming on how we could drive 33 hours back home, so that at least if our baby cried, we wouldn't have to share it with everyone around.  We didn't just experience crying, but that inconsolible crazy colic crying that eats at you soul for 4 hours.  After mustering all our courage, we had a dream flight back home and Anna slept the whole way.  What gives?  Here is what we could come up with: 

Fly early in the day.  It seemed Anna's tollerance of the airport and all the extra stimulation was much greater. 

Have something for baby to suck on, breast, bottle or paci during take off and landing.

Set up for a nap right before boarding the plane.  We did our change, feed and walk normal nap routine.

Try a dose of Tylenol if ok with your doctor, it seemed to help Anna relax a little, fall asleep and stay asleep despite take off and hurting ears.

Stay Calm yourself.  I worked hard to breathe deep and visualize a calm, peaceful, sleeping baby.  Somehow, I really think this helped.

I hope our experience will help someone who is traveling over the holidays have a smooth trip.