This month, I officially jumped into training for a race, and we took our first trip on an airplane. Here’s a few things I learned about both.
----- F I T N E S S -----
> Find smooth sidewalks! I never noticed how janky our ‘historic’ sidewalks were until I thought Baby KJ was going to fly out of his car seat on our first run. Speaking of car seats…
> A stroller that qualifies as both a jogger (rubber wheels) and a travel system (includes car seat adapter) is a huge bonus for running with a young baby. It is very nice to be able to attach the bucket car seat to the stroller for nature and the mall.
> It’s not just pushing a stroller that makes running harder. Sure, I knew the extra weight was going to be a burden but wow! Running up hills without your arms to drive you is killer on the gluteus ++ navigating the stroller with one hand is the greatest forearm workout of all time. I’ve had to settle for adding a minute per mile to my usual pace, and that is only after working my way up to running without walk breaks.
> Getting back to running hasn’t been as hard expected. Being that I only started running a few years ago, those first horrible miles are still burned in my memory. I thought getting back to it was going to be just as bad, or worse. However, now I have a self confidence that I didn’t have back then. In the past, I truly set on my long runs wondering if I’d make it home alive. Now, it is hard, but I know I can do it. Time + Patience is all I need.
> Weight training has been a huge challenge. I can stick KJ in the stroller almost any time. If he’s awake he just looks around, coos, and enjoys the fresh air. If he’s asleep, or getting cranky/tired, he wines for about five minutes and then puts himself to sleep. Everything else has been so hard. If I’m in the house it is so hard to choose fitness over other tasks when I’m not holding or entertaining KJ. Whether it’s running or joining a gym, I recommend getting out of the house for workouts.
Whatever your fitness goals are – give yourself grace. YOU GOT THIS! The best things I did for myself were register for events so that I had something to work toward. I chose events that I’d enjoy. This weekend I’ll be running the Tough Mudder for the third year in a row with my family, and next weekend is my first half marathon back. I signed up for the Wine and Dine Half at Disney. Can’t worry about time goals there because it’s more important to grab a picture with all of the characters in route.
----- T R A V E L -----
> Arrive Early. I say this, knowing I’ll probably never take my own advice. I have TSA PreCheck, and I rarely check a bag. I typically arrive 30-40 minutes before departure. For my first flight with a newborn, I arrived at Hartsfield Jackson approximately 55 minutes before departure (HA!). Kyle almost had a meltdown and he wasn’t even going with us. By the time I got to the counter to check my bags, I was only 44 minutes early, which is too late. I had to be escorted to a special check in counter. If my bags didn’t make it on the plane it was my fault. Delta would put them on the next plane but I would have to come pick them up at the airport. They would not deliver them. Considering that we were staying an hour from the airport and KJ’s convertible car seat was one of my “bags” this could have been a catastrophe. So, if not for allowing time to deal with the all of the possible delays a baby can cause (hungry, cranky, blow out diaper, throw up, etc.) – do it for the car seat!
> Bring the BARE MINIMUM on the plane. Little babies don’t need much for entertainment. Bring a change of clothes, a diaper for every 2ish hours, and food/pacifier in a backpack diaper bag. A baby keeps your hands full, even if you’re wearing them. The lighter your load, the easier the adventure. In my checked bag I also brought this stroller and this car seat dolly which were both amazingly handy.
> Use all the tricks. If you’ve read any baby book, you know they have rules. Don’t nurse your baby to sleep. Don’t let them sleep longer than a certain number of hours. Live by your schedule, no matter what. Blah, blah, blah. When you’re on the plane, let that all go and just keep your baby happy. You won’t ‘ruin’ them in a matter of hours.
> Be prepared for change, for better or for worse. During our time in New York, KJ decided he pretty much hated his car seat – yikes! However, he also decided to sleep through the night. Neither of those things stuck with him on our return home. I can speculate for ages on what caused each but babies are always changing so it’s best to just remember that even on vacation you never know what’s coming. Roll with the punches like you would at home and don’t let it ruin your trip.
> Everyone has an opinion. I haven’t encountered so much unsolicited commentary as I did during this trip. I am out and about in Atlanta pretty often, but maybe it was just the yankees in NY that surprised me. Some commentary was sweet: Ooohs and awwwws at my adorable little bundle. Some was rude: ‘that baby is too young for this temperature’ + ‘can’t she feed him in the bathroom’ + ‘I would never [insert pretty much anything]’. Some commentary was even silent. Like the man who sat down new me on the train, took one glance over at KJ (who was being silent by the way), breathed a deep sigh of disgust, and promptly moved to another part of the train. As my husband would say – smile at the good stuff and let the rest roll off like water on a ducks back.
I’ve always loved to travel. While traveling with a baby does require some adjustment, I do not believe it’s impossible. We’ll continue to learn together. We have another flight next weekend and two in December. Let the adventure continue!
25% of your first year of live has passed Baby Boy. Onto the next months we go.
*NOTE* the links included are just for your convenience to see the products that I use to help make Fitness + Travel easier for me and Baby KJ. They are not advertisements, endorsements, or anything else indicating that I may benefit from sharing them with you.