"A Guerilla Approach to Flying with Kids"

"A Guerilla Approach to Flying with Kids"

Here's a nice article from CNN with tips for traveling by air with kids (babies and up).

I must admit, I never thought about bringing a vomit bag with me.  It's a good tip.

Practical tips for pumping on a plane!

Since I was scheduled to be on planes for long periods of time, I was fully ready to have to pump on the plane. But apparently I wasn't properly prepared because the battery pack for my pump part was lacking fresh batteries.  Oops.  But even though I didn't end up getting to pump on the plane, I still have some practical tips for you!

1.  Learn from my oversight and make sure you have fresh batteries for your pump.  And bring some back-up extra batteries.  Also, test to make sure that your pump works effectively when powered by batteries.

2.  When you get to the gate, talk to the gate agent.  Don't make any demands, and look a little pathetic (but not too needy!) and ask if there are any available seats with an empty seat next to it.  Explain (perhaps bashfully) that you'll need to pump milk on the plane for your darling child whom you had to leave at home, and that some extra privacy would be very much appreciated.  Don't get antagonistic if they say "no", but be very appreciative if they say "yes".  When I asked the gate agent, they were very nice about it and willing to reseat me to accommodate my need for a little extra privacy.

3.  Mentally prepare yourself.  Pumping on a plane is a crappy, yet necessary, part of traveling motherhood.  Just think about your beautiful child - you have to do this in order to keep your milk supply up and/or relieve your engorged breasts.  And when it's over, maybe you'll have a little "take-out" container of milk for your kid!

4.  Bring a nursing cover.  If you're pumping in your seat, the nursing cover will give you a little extra privacy.  I'm not here to engage in any debates about how expressing milk is a natural part of life and that women should be free to do so unashamed and without a cover.

5.  To avoid weirding out your neighbor, you might want to kindly explain that you'll be pumping discretely during the flight.  After all, you don't want him/her to think that the contraption with all the funny wires that you're hooking up to your body is some kind of weapon.

6.  Where to pump?  Depending on how close your seat-neighbor is, it might be most convenient to pump in your own seat.  Or, I've heard that others pump in the airplane bathroom, despite the ickiness factor.  If you decide to pump in the bathroom, just be considerate of others who are the plane who might need to use the bathroom.  Try to time your trip to pump when bathrooms are in least demand - during beverage/meal service, when a movie is playing, when the pilot first turns off the seatbelt sign, etc.  You can also ask the flight attendants if there's a convenient (and perhaps a little more private) place for you to pump, perhaps in the very back of the plane.

7.  I've found that the Medela wipes are the best bet for sanitizing pump parts on the plane.  The bathrooms are icky and the water isn't potable, so washing pump parts in the bathroom is not ideal.  My one gripe about the Medela wipes is that it's hard to get the wipes all the way to the bottom of the Medela bottle but a little creativity can help solve that issue (such as using a long pencil or pen or something to make sure that you get the wipe all the way down to the bottom of the bottle).  It's not a perfect solution, but it's the best solution that I know of.

8.  When you're done pumping, you can try to ask the flight attendant if there is any fridge/freezer space to store your milk.  Don't count on it though.  They didn't have any space to store my milk on the flights I was on.  So bring a little cooler with an ice pack if you can, especially if you'll be traveling for a long time.  Breastmilk can sit out at room temperature for 6 hours, so if you're on a very short flight, it'll be fine.

Any other practical tips?

Air travel with breast milk... a follow-up

So I'm back from my 3-day trip without the kids.  It's funny - I thought I'd be terribly depressed, missing my kids.  But it really wasn't that bad.  It helped that I was really busy the whole time I was gone and that I was also able to video chat with the family.  Also, the uninterrupted sleep at night was a huge boon.  But now that I'm home, it's nice to be back with the kiddos.

Anyway, this is a follow-up post to my previous musings about whether or not I'd be allowed to travel with bags of breastmilk while unaccompanied by children, given TSA's new guidelines that breastmilk is to be treated as medical liquids.  All I have to offer here is anecdotal evidence, so take it with a grain of salt.  The TSA may have some obscure official position concerning the whole matter.  Anyway, during my trip, I pumped milk and was fully prepared to have to dump it all at the security checkpoint, as painful as that might be.  I stored the milk in the Lansinoh bags and froze them.  In all, I probably had around 12-15 bags of milk, each with varying number of ounces.  I just put it in a cooler and then declared to the TSA guy working at the security checkpoint that I had breastmilk.  He took a quick glance at it and let it through.  I wasn't hassled and they didn't make me open the bags of milk, or taste it, or make it undergo any further screening.  Keep in mind, though, that I went through the security checkpoint at a very small airport, so other airports may differ in how thorough a screening they give bags of milk.

So, for those of you who have to travel without your child for a few days and are planning on pumping while away, have heart - you may be able to take all your milk with you back home as carry-on.  (Though, I want to stress that there may be some official TSA policy of which I am unaware, so you should probably be prepared to pump and dump if you need to...)

If anyone has any other experiences with this, please do leave a comment!

Air travel with breast milk... but sans kids

I have an upcoming trip planned alone.  Without the kids.  So on one hand, that means I'll probably be able to sleep through the night for the first time in months.  But on the other hand, I have anxiety not only over leaving my kids for a few days, but about the whole pumping on the airplane thing and carrying breast milk with me through security.  According to the "new" TSA regulations, nursing mothers can carry breast milk with them through the security checkpoint in quantities greater than 3.4 oz, provided that it is declared prior to screening.  Breast milk is supposed to be treated like liquid medications.  However, I'll be gone for 3 days, and I'd really hate to pump and dump, and I'd also hate to pay the $25 fee to check in baggage, just for the sake of saving the milk.  So I'm wondering, does TSA have any restrictions on how many oz of milk can be brought through the security checkpoint?  If I were, say, to attempt to carry 15 bags of milk with me, would they turn me away?  Make me throw out the milk?  Call me a security threat?  Anybody have any firsthand experience with us?  Perhaps I'll do the responsible thing and email TSA to see what they have to say.  Or perhaps I'll just try to bring the 15 bags of milk with me anyway, and if they tell me that I have to throw it away, then I'll live with it...

Keeping the kid(s) occupied

So when you're in for a long car ride or plane ride, how do you keep your kids occupied?  Of course, there's the ever-popular DVD player, but are there any other creative (or not-so-creative) options out there?  We haven't purchased a portable DVD player yet.  We're hoping to never have to resort to that option.  It's partly out of principle, but mostly out of practicality.  I mean, if the DVD player doesn't entertain the kid, what option do you have after that?  At least for our family, the DVD player is the nuclear option - there's no going back, and if it fails, I'm not sure there are any options left for keeping the kid entertained.  So we've been utilizing low-tech solutions so far, starting small so that we can work our way up to the nuclear option if absolutely necessary.  For those of you with kids with eczema - it's like starting with the lowest steroid cream (hydrocortisone) to see if that can get rid of those itchy red bumps, and then working your way up to the stronger steroid creams.

Anyway.  One thing that our son really likes is the Aquadoodle Travel Doodle.  I found it at Target on clearance in the summer, and my son loves it.  It's simple, compact, and there's no mess.  It can keep him occupied for quite a while.  Also found at Target on clearance were Travel Tangoes.  I haven't yet introduced them to my son yet, since he's still a little young for them, but I'm hoping they'll keep him occupied and silent when he's a little older.  He also loves books, so we make sure to go to the library to get him new books to read (though if you're worried about losing these library books, you can always bring books you have at home already or purchase books at a garage sale or book sale and keep them hidden until you plan to be sequestered in a cramped space with a young child.  We've also tried getting books on CD from the library.  The kid wasn't too interested in them - I think he was a bit too young and certainly couldn't follow along in the book, since he can't read yet.

Another tip is novelty.  To make sure that a toy will keep my child's interest for at least a small amount of time, I make sure to keep some toys as only travel toys.  He doesn't get to play with the Aquadoodle at home, thus ensuring that it will be a new fun toy for him to play with whenever he gets to play with it.  I've also tried wrapping up some of his more regular toys - the whole process of unwrapping the toy not only takes time, but also seems to make the familiar toy more interesting.  Get new books from the library.  Or when you see something on clearance at the store (even the dollar store) and have an upcoming trip planned, don't give it to the kid right away, but save it for the trip.

What are your tips for keeping a kid occupied during travel?

Here's an article from the Wall Street Journal about the increasing difficulties for parents flying with children.

Luckily, my selected seats have never been reassigned by the airlines, though I'm pretty obsessive about checking my seat assignments periodically before my departure date to make sure that they haven't been changed.  And when I fly Southwest, I also set an alarm for 24 hours before the departure time to make sure to check in as soon as possible so that I can board the plane earlier.

One particular bone to pick with the article - it mentions that one reason why airlines are less baby-friendly is the lack of microwaves to warm up bottles (though it notes that flight attendants can still warm up bottles with hot water). Who warms up bottles with a microwave? That's a very big no-no. Which reminds me, don't assume that the flight attendant knows how to warm up your bottle. If you ask a flight attendant to warm up a bottle for you, clearly specify that the bottle should come to room temperature, no hotter. I had a flight attendant once warm up a bottle to a scalding temperature.

Cell phone SIM Cards - Hong Kong

While in Hong Kong, I knew that my husband and I would be split up for at least part of the time, since I was there for a conference. Cell phones were very helpful to us - not only when we were apart, but also so we could contact our local friends, etc. We consulted our friends in Hong Kong and were told not to buy SIM cards in the States (for example, through online retailers that specialized in international SIM cards) but rather to wait until we got to Hong Kong. So, we brought our unlocked phones that take SIM cards (we have T-Mobile here in the States) to Hong Kong. The SIM cards we found were incredibly cheap in Hong Kong, especially since we weren't planning on making many calls anyway, and all of our cars originated in Hong Kong and were to phones in Hong Kong. We went to 7-11 (and in fact, I think most if not all convenience stores carry them) and bought a SIM card for around 68 HKD (approximately US$10)! I don't remember how many minutes were included (maybe 50???), but there were plenty for our modest cell phone usage during our stay in Hong Kong, even though we were charged for both in-coming and out-going calls. With this basic phone card, we could technically call international numbers - but the per minute rate was pretty expensive. If you're planning on making calls mainly to international numbers from Hong Kong, you can purchase a basic IDD card. I think the price for the IDD phone card was 98HKD.

The lesson here? If you're looking to get a SIM card for your phone, do so in Hong Kong. They're readily available and very inexpensive. Just go to a 7-11 or some convenience store.

If I can find our phone card and the information I came with, I'll be sure to upload some pictures.

Costco Travel

I love Costco. I love their products, I love their return policy, I love their food court. If I were to get married again, I'd get my wedding catered by Costco. Heck, maybe I'd get married at Costco.

However, when most people think about Costco, big barrels of pretzels and large sides of beef usually come to mind. Not travel. But I've been using Costco Travel to book my cruises lately, and I've been very happy with my experience. They have great prices (and often have incentives like an added $100 Costco cash card). For example, the price for our Alaska cruise as booked with Costco Travel was at least $300 less than if we had booked through Norwegian Cruise Line directly. And the service has always been stellar.

My one complaint is that when I asked specifics about NCL, the agent with whom I spoke wasn't able to provide many details. She had never cruised NCL and wasn't able to give me much information about the individual staterooms. This wasn't too much of a problem, since I like to research my travel plans on my own, and I was able to get the answers to my questions through CruiseCritic.

In addition, I've also used the Costco Travel website to book rental cars. They have great discounts on rental cars, and their prices are often cheaper than if I booked my rental car elsewhere.

Cruise to Alaska - packing tips

At the beginning of May, we took a cruise to Alaska! We were on the Norwegian Pearl, and we had a fabulous time. I'll slowly get some posts up about our cruise and our experience cruising with a child. In the meantime, here are some packing tips if you're taking a kid on a cruise. These packing tips need not be cruise-to-Alaska-specific. I'll update this list as more ideas come to me.

-Over-the-door shoe organizer. When you travel with kids, you'll have a bunch of little items like sunblock, saline spray, tylenol, etc. In the cabin - whether you're in an inside stateroom or a suite, you'll have limited storage space. So to keep your cabin neat and to quickly and conveniently locate small items, the shoe organizer works perfectly.

-Stroller rain cover. The weather in Alaska can be pretty unpredictable, and they get lots of rain there. You'll need a rain cover for your stroller. While on our cruise, we found the rain cover very convenient for walks on deck - it kept out some of the wind while we made laps around Deck 7, trying to get our son to go to sleep in his stroller.

-Pack n Play Sheet. If you're requesting a crib for your cabin, they'll likely provide you with a pack n play. On our cruise, we got a pack n play, and a full-sized flat sheet. The sheet was a pain to put in the pack n play without being a suffocation hazard. Luckily I brought a Pack n Play sheet with me. Unluckily, my son threw up all over it, so we ended up having to use the flat sheet anyway. So bring 2 Pack n Play sheets!

-Clothespins. You never know when you'll need to clip something. The clothespins came in handy when we tried to stroller our son to sleep around Deck 7. Without the blanket blocking his view of the outside world, he would be too stimulated by all the people and the sites. When we clipped the blanket onto the stroller to block his view, he was more ready to fall asleep. And the blanket keeps in some heat and blocks out some of the wind on the boat and in chilly Alaska.

Stroller Use in Rome?

Like I said in an earlier post, I didn't get to do much sight-seeing in Rome since I was working the whole time. So I didn't get to walk around with my son very much. Nonetheless, we did bring his stroller, and we actually used it! Rome is much less crowded than Hong Kong, so it was markedly easier to maneuver a stroller around the streets than in Hong Kong. (Please note, however, that we stayed mainly in the Piazza Navona area, which is dominated by pedestrian zones.) There were paved sidewalks in addition to cobblestone streets, so if you bring a stroller, make sure it has somewhat sturdy wheels.

Things you should note, however, are that most of the restaurants and stores are very cramped. So you'll find that it will be difficult to maneuver a stroller in the tiny restaurants and stores. Also, if you plan to take public transportation, a stroller might be difficult. If you're taking the subway, elevators down to the subway platforms are either non-existent or very hard to find. So you'll have to carry the stroller down the steps. Further, the subways and in particular the buses can get very crowded, so you might prefer to have your child close to you in some sort of carrier rather than in a stroller. Best bet? Take both - a carrier and a stroller. Even if you don't end up using the stroller in Rome, it will likely be helpful in the airports. However, make sure you check your airlines for the baggage limits and their policies on strollers. More on this later. (Grr - Air France made me pay for an extra bag because they wouldn't allow me to gate-check my stroller in Rome.)

Accommodations in Rome - apartment rentals

Yes, I know. I've been neglectful of this site lately - but in my defense, we've been busy traveling and otherwise busy with all that baby stuff. I have a whole backlog of posts percolating in my mind. Hopefully little by little, I'll have time to write it all.

So back in March, we took a trip to Rome. We stayed for 8 nights - I was there working, unfortunately, while my husband had most of the childcare duties. Luckily I've visited Rome many times before and have had many opportunities to explore the city and its wonderful sites. So I wasn't *too* sad that I didn't get to do the touristy thing.

I was in Rome organizing a conference. But rather than stay in the conference hotel, we decided to rent an apartment in Rome. Hotels in Rome (and in Europe, for the most part) tend to be small by American standards. And the walls aren't particularly thick. So I was worried that either other people would keep my son awake, or he would keep other people awake and angry. And I figured that he would want some space to roam around. So we decided to rent an apartment for the week - it turned out to be a marvelous plan, and with three adults and 1 baby, my stay in the apartment turned out to be cheaper than getting a hotel room. (Granted, we were staying near Piazza Navona which is prime touristy area, so hotel prices in that area are on the high side to begin with.) I also figured that a full kitchen would be very helpful for preparing meals for my son.

Anyway, the service I used was Sleep in Italy. They offer apartments of all sizes and in all neighborhoods in Rome. Their prices, I think, are quite affordable - and they have apartments at many different budget levels. Dealing with them was incredibly simple. I emailed back and forth with them over the course of months (I wanted to carefully research all my options!) and they were always patient and courteous. They typically responded via email to my inquiries within a couple days. Also, you can arrange to have a crib delivered to the apartment for a small extra fee. (A small complaint - they had told me via email that they would provide a pack-n-play type of crib. But an Ikea-type crib was at the apartment when I arrived, and it was set at the highest setting. We had no tools to modify the position, so we ended up not being able to use the crib at all for safety reasons.)

So here's how my experience with the whole reservation process went - I emailed them for information about their rentals and about specific properties over the course of a few months. They have all their properties, along with pictures and descriptions, on their website. The website also shows the availability of their different properties. They were quick to respond (and at one point, even offered me an unsolicited discount!). When I was ready to book, I completed a form that they sent me via email and sent it back to them. On this form, I was instructed to provide the time at which I would arrive at the apartment so the owner could meet me there and give me the keys. I was then required to pay a deposit. Because I didn't want to send them my credit card details via email, I called them with my credit card number. The person who answered the phone answered it in Italian, but then quickly switched to very good English when she realized I spoke English. The deposit was 20% of the total cost of my reservation; the balance was to be paid in cash upon arrival. After the payment was made, I received a reservation confirmation via email with the name and cell phone number of the owner.

Fast forward to a few months later... when I arrived at the apartment, I buzzed my apartment number, but nobody was there. I waited for 10 minutes. Still nobody. I walked around looking for a pay phone, but pay phones that take coins and not phone cards are very scarce. I started panicking. Luckily, a local shop owner allowed me to use his phone, and I called the apartment owner. The owner met me at at the apartment about 10 minutes later, gave me the keys, a quick tour, information about the area and apartment, etc. I paid him the balance due in cash. Afterwards, he left us in peace to collect our wits and settle in. We had no problems during the duration of our stay.

When we left, we had arranged with the apartment owner that we would leave the keys inside the apartment, since our flight was at 6AM.

Overall, the whole process was sufficiently smooth. The only snafu was when I wandered around, looking for a phone to call the owner. It would have been nice if he had been in the apartment when I rang the doorbell. To avoid this whole mess, either have a cell phone handy, or see if you can make clear to Sleep in Italy that you will have no phone in Rome and ask that the person who is to meet you at the apartment to give you the keys is actually IN the apartment at the specified time. The perks of having a full kitchen and extra space were well-worth the initial troubles

I've also heard good things about Rental in Rome. Although I didn't use their service, I did email them early in my research process, and they were also very courteous and quick to respond to my inquiries via email.

The people who work at these two companies speak very good English, and there are also phone numbers should you wish to contact them via phone.

Singapore Airlines - Bassinet Seat

When we made our air reservations on Singapore Airlines, we made sure to request a bassinet for Baby. Baby bassinets can be secured to the wall in front of the bulkhead seats, and since there are only so many bulkhead seats available, there are a limited number of bassinets. According to the SA website, the dimensions are 768L x 298W x 158H, and can support a maximum weight of 14kg (approx. 31 lb). The bassinet comes with a wide zippered "belt" used to secure the child - you're obligated to secure the child with the zippered belt whenever he/she is in the bassinet. The bassinet was brought out to us when we reached cruising altitude and was packed away by the flight attendants before we the final landing procedures.

Having a bassinet was nice, because we could put the sleeping baby in the bassinet and relax, eat our meals peacefully, etc. However, the most annoying thing about the bassinet was that whenever the seatbelt sign was on (for example, during turbulence), we were obligated to take Baby out of the bassinet. Invariably, this would wake him up, and we would have to go through the whole process of lulling him back to sleep again. And there were a few spots of turbulence during our trip, so we had to take him out of the bassinet and put him back in multiple times. (However, using the bassinet as storage during these times was nice.) So some considerations in choosing the bassinet seat:

• If your child is a light sleeper, or if it's difficult to get him/her back to sleep, you might not even want the bassinet because of the possibility of having to take him in and out of the bassinet multiple times.
• Since bassinet seats are in the bulkhead, you won't have any storage at your feet. All diaper bags, toys, etc. will have to be stored in the overhead bins.
• The plus side to the above point, however, is that there's plenty of leg room and plenty of space if you are willing to plop your child on the carpeted floor (the cleanliness of which is questionable) to play or entertain him/herself.
• Yes, you can reserve a bassinet and the bulkhead seat even if you don't plan to use it, but please be considerate of other families who are on the flight who could really make use of the bassinet.
• If your child tosses and turns a lot in his sleep, having a bassinet might not be a good idea - it's very small, and your child might not like to be confined.
• Make your decision about choosing the bassinet seat based on your child's sleep patterns. If your child is unlikely to sleep most of the plane ride due to the time of flight or excitement or whatever, save the bassinet seat for someone else who has an infant who would plausibly sleep most of the way.

Having the bassinet was a nice perk since our son did sleep most of the flight, but given the cons as expressed above, I wouldn't be too heartbroken if I were not able to secure a bassinet seat. If your child sleeps well in a carrier like the Ergo or the Kangaroo carrier, you might be able to strap him/her in the Ergo for most of the flight and leave your hands free and arms unencumbered. However, note that since child carriers are not approved child restraint devices, you will have to figure out someway to buckle your child in while using the carrier, or take your child out of the carrier and buckle him in whenever the seatbelt sign is on.

One tip - we didn't want the cabin lights to wake up our son, so I made sure to bring some clips (clothespins will do) in order to pin the blanket to the bassinet. By pinning the blanket, I was able to make sure Baby had enough air circulation, but his head was shaded so that the cabin lights wouldn't disturb him.

Flying with an infant on Singapore Airlines

When booking our airfare, I was fortunate enough to find that the lowest airfare from San Francisco to Hong Kong on my desired travel dates was on the highly-praised Singapore Airlines. I had heard stories about the high level of service on Singapore Airlines, the above-average food (even in economy class!), and the baby-friendliness of the flight attendants. I had flown Singapore Airlines on this particular route many years ago when I was a young child, but I was too young to really appreciate how nice Singapore Airlines was in comparison to other airlines. (Then again, when I was young and traveling, most airlines - even the US-based airlines, had great service since this was before the whole decline of air travel.)

The flight was also perfect because it was a redeye flight. My hope was that because of his own sleep schedule, he would sleep through most of the plane ride. For the most part, this held true, and my husband and I were able to enjoy some of the on-board entertainment and were able to enjoy some of our meals in peace. We were very lucky parents, indeed.

About a half hour before we were scheduled to board, Singapore Airlines (hereafter SA) staff members circled the gate to make sure everyone was appropriately accommodated. They noticed that we had a child and a stroller. They asked if we were ready to relinquish the stroller, which we were, and they tagged and bagged it, and took it to be gate-checked themselves. (For those interested, they do have the large plastic bags for strollers at the gate - you just have to ask for one. They don't have them at the primary check-in area before the security area.) So we didn't have to deal with a child, carry-on luggage, and with folding up a stroller at the end of the jetway ourselves. This made our whole boarding experience much nicer. They also informed us that there was priority boarding for families with young children and directed us to sit in the section near the boarding doors so we could be whisked away into the plane promptly. Having priority boarding again was a nice change from Southwest Airlines.

After we had boarded the plane and had settled in, we were handed the typical "spoils" - a menu, headphones, an amenities kit with toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, etc. Our son was given a toy - a stuffed dude in a plastic bag. Our son enjoyed nomming on the plastic bag. We were then offered a pre-flight beverage - we were given the choice of water, orange juice, white wine, or beer. I'm sure we could have requested another beverage, but we chose the beer - a fitting nightcap at 1am, don't you think?

Since we had not purchased a separate seat for our son, we were given a special seatbelt for him that would attach to my own seatbelt. It was a bit useless, in my opinion, since it was a bit loose and it could also be difficult to confine a squirmy kid with this strap of fabric. However, it works fine if you have a sleeping child in your arms! I was able to nurse my son while he was strapped in with the seatbelt. Once we were in the air, however, and the seatbelt sign was on, we were able to put him in the bassinet. For a review of the bassinet on Singapore Airlines, see my post here.

When you make your air reservations, you can also request baby food. During dinner, a flight attendant brought us a small tray with three jars of baby food and a plastic spoon to show us what the tray was. Since our son was sleeping at the time, she told us to just call a flight attendant at any time to bring us the tray of baby food. The brand of baby food was Heinz, and it was made in Australia. (Since we were traveling to Hong Kong, I had some concerns that the baby food would be made in China or something. This turned out not to be the case.)

At any time, you can also ask the flight attendant to heat up a bottle for your child. However, you might want to specify how you want the bottle warmed and how warm you would like it - after all, not all flight attendants have children or now how to warm up a bottle! They initially asked if we wanted it microwaved, and we politely declined and asked for it to be warmed in hot water. However, they made the bottle of milk way too hot. So next time, I'll have to be specific and ask for the bottle to be warmed in hot water and only to a temperature slightly above room temperature or whatever.

When (not if! It's a 15 hour flight, after all.) you need to change your child's diaper, there is a changing table in the bathroom. But it's an airplane bathroom, therefore it's very cramped. We ended up changing our child in the bassinet (and the couple next to us did the same). There was a lot more space, and it was much more convenient for us.

The flight attendants were incredibly gracious and helpful. Their friendliness made traveling with a baby so much easier. If you're traveling alone with your child, they'll go out of their way to help you (though, do understand that they have many other passengers to take care of, so keep your requests for help reasonable). They're willing to hold your child if you have to go to the bathroom, etc.

Overall, I would highly recommend Singapore Airlines, whether or not you're traveling with a child. The food was indeed good for airplane food (they offered a Western option and an Asian option for each meal. I always chose the Asian option, which was consistently nice. They also offer snacks throughout the plane trip, such as a baked cha siu bao or chips or crackers.), the flight attendants were nice (and man, the uniforms for the female flight attendants were really nice - my son flirted with many of them), and the overall level of service was so much better, especially in comparison to domestic flights on US-based airlines.

Stroller or Carrier in Hong Kong?

Before our trip to Hong Kong, I decided that I wanted to buy a "new" stroller for our trip. Sure, I already had four strollers at home, but none of them would be suitable for Hong Kong. The Graco travel system was too bulky, the umbrella stroller had no canopy or recline function, the Snap n Go was obsolete since we weren't using the infant seat anymore, and my Inglesina Zippy stroller was just a little too heavy. What I wanted in a stroller was something that could recline (at least a little), had a canopy/sunshade, was lightweight (ideally less than 13 pounds) so we could carry it long distances if Baby wasn't happy in the stroller, and most of all, I wanted it to be cheap. This last requirement was most important to me because I didn't want to be heartbroken in case my new stroller got lost, stolen, or dinged up in our travels.

With this checklist of requirements, we went to Babies R Us to check out their inventory and test drive their strollers. We loved the McLaren strollers - but they were far too expensive. I also liked the Chicco Capri stroller, though I still wasn't willing to spend $80 for a stroller that might get damaged in its first few weeks of life. So we returned home from Babies R Us empty-handed, hoping that something would come up on Craigslist.

About a week before we left, and after I started getting a little desperate, I found the Chicco Capri stroller on Craigslist for only $35. I jumped on the deal. I was a little sad at first that I couldn't find such an amazing deal on a MacLaren stroller, but it turned out to be a good thing, because of the recent recall on MacLaren strollers. So for $35, I purchased an almost new red Chicco Capri stroller. It weighs only 11 lbs., has a detachable carrying strap, a travel bag, 2 position recline, 5-point harness, and an adjustable canopy. It also has a really small basket underneath the stroller (too small to be really useful, but good for small things like a jacket or blanket).

Unfortunately, we didn't use the stroller at all in Hong Kong. During our travels, we stayed mostly in busy districts such as Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, etc., where the streets are crowded and using a stroller would have been very inconvenient, if not dangerous. Since we walked a lot, we dealt with a lot of pedestrian traffic and also automobile traffic. The drivers there aren't very considerate of pedestrians (it's like there's a war between pedestrians and drivers over the roads), so I didn't like the idea of pushing a stroller with a defenseless baby in front of me while crossing the street, hoping that drivers would obey the red light.

Another reason why a stroller might not be the most convenient option - we used the MTR, or subway, a lot, and I noticed that elevator access to the subway station itself from the city level was either nonexistent or very well-concealed. The usual access to the subway station from city level is via flights of stairs, and having to carry a stroller and baby (and various other baby equipment like a diaper bag) would have been a pain, especially if I were traveling by myself.

We relied heavily upon the Ergo Baby Carrier - because of its design that distributes baby's weight evenly, I didn't experience any back pain. Baby was able to see the world in the Ergo and also fall asleep (and the attached hood helped him to stay asleep), and I even learned how to nurse with the carrier so that I could walk the streets of Hong Kong while nursing discretely. (I loosened the straps of the Ergo so Baby could nurse, and then I wore the Hooter Hider and draped it over the Ergo so nobody could see that I was nursing.) I felt like I could better protect Baby since he was so close to me.

I did see some locals use strollers in Hong Kong, but the norm seemed to be to either carry the child in one's arms or to use a carrier of some sort.

Breastfeeding/Nursing in Hong Kong - My Observations

In my 11 days Hong Kong (well, more accurately, 8 days in HK, 3 days in Macau), I don't think I saw anybody else nursing in public. (In fact, I didn't see many infants out in public either..., which is not to say that there are no infants in Hong Kong - there may be a many reasons why infants weren't more prevalent in HK, like the swine flu scare, cultural norms that encourage keeping babies at home and away from crowds and strangers, parents work during the day so helpers take care of children at home, I was just in all the wrong places, etc.) Like I mentioned in a previous post, Hong Kong has been trying to do a huge public awareness campaign about the benefits of nursing, and from what I heard from my "aunties" (my mom's friends), doctors are really encouraging women to breastfeed their babies.

So nursing in itself isn't shunned in Hong Kong, and from my own personal experience, neither is nursing in public, although not many women do it. Whenever I nursed in front of them, my aunties always commented about how nursing is always best for mom and baby and agreed that nursing is a lot more convenient than carrying bottles and mixing formula. Nobody seemed uncomfortable by the fact that I was nursing my baby in public (though discreetly under a Hooter Hider), and conversation simply carried on. No gawkers, no rude comments, nothing. Also, I do speak Cantonese, so I listened intently to make sure there were no rude comments about my nursing in public - and I'm happy to report that there indeed were no rude comments. So ladies, if you're used to nursing in public and are planning on visiting Hong Kong, by all means, go for it.

Now for a few tips. I was using my Hooter Hider the whole time, so I'm not sure if reactions would have been different had I not been using a nursing cover. I imagine that the reactions would have been much different, especially given that nursing in public doesn't seem to be very common. I would recommend using a nursing cover for discretion, however. In fact, when I nursed while using the cover, most people simply assumed I was trying to lull my baby to sleep or keep him asleep - not many people realized that I was nursing my child (once again, perhaps because nursing in public is so uncommon).

On the very few occasions that I was not already sitting down in a restaurant and need to nurse my son (I admit, a large chunk of my time was spent in restaurants since there's so much good food in Hong Kong!), I would just duck into a nearby cafe or fast-food restaurant that looked somewhat comfortable, would order something small to drink or munch on, and carry on with nursing. While there, I ducked into a McDonalds a couple times to nurse (and my husband ordered coffee), went to a few dessert cafes, etc. I avoided places that were really incredibly busy not only to avoid distracting my son while he was nursing, but also because I didn't want to annoy proprietors who wanted a high turnover on their tables. The great thing about Hong Kong is that there are so many restaurants - finding a somewhat comfortable place to sit and nurse and also have something appetizing to snack on is not a difficult task.

And of course, just in case, I always carried an empty bottle, some formula, and a bottle of water in my diaper bag. We never used the formula when I was present with my son because of the ease of finding a place to sit down and nurse, but bringing the formula was a good backup plan.

Back from Hong Kong!

I've been back from Hong Kong for a few weeks now, though I'm just now getting my life back in order. We had a fabulous time, and Baby was miraculously very cooperative during the trip. He adjusted so well that I'm thinking that taking more trips (even international ones) with him will be a genuine possibility.

Now that I'm back from Hong Kong, I'll start a series of posts about traveling with a baby in Hong Kong. Stay tuned!

Ergo Carriers on Sale - $85

I really love my Ergo carrier - it's really comfy for me, my husband (when it's not too warm for him to use it, since he's a human furnace), and Baby. They're incredibly convenient, especially in crowded areas, such as malls or cities, where strollers may be a bit difficult to navigate. They usually retail for over $100, however there are some on sale for $85 (+$8.50 s/h) here: http://www.yellbaby.com/ergo-baby-carriers.html. Sale is limited to supply on hand, and they're not going to get any more carriers in stock.

Flu Shots

I just took my son in to get his flu shot today at Kaiser. I wanted to get him his flu shot weeks in advance of our upcoming Hong Kong trip, in case he suffers any reactions. The flu shot clinic was surprisingly efficient! There were no tears during the injection; in fact, Son just gave out one loud squawk, and that's it. After the flu shot was administered, we were asked to stay for 15 minutes so the nurses could monitor any reactions to the injection. It was a good thing that we stayed, since Son experienced some slight swelling at the injection site - nothing too serious. The Kaiser nurses promptly noted the reaction in his medical record, gave us an ice pack, and sent us on our merry way.

Since Son is under 9 years of age, it's recommended that he receive 2 flu shots, 1 month apart. Given his reaction to the initial shot, it'll be up to the discretion of his pediatrician as to whether or not he should receive the second shot. He has a doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks, so we'll see what she says.

I'm hoping that the H1N1 vaccine comes out soon so he can get the shot before we leave for Hong Kong.

Relevant links:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Information about H1N1 Vaccination

BebePods

Since my son is on the small side, he doesn't really fit in restaurant high chairs - this really is a drag if my husband and I actually want to eat our meals at the same time, without having to hold a baby. We've figured out a temporary solution, however. We just lug our BebePod around with us. Actually, we've just been leaving ours in the car, and bring it with us to restaurants. We have the fancy version with the seatbelt, so Baby stays pretty secure in the seat so far. We've learned that placing the BebePod on bench seats, in booths, or on banquettes work the best, since it's less likely for the BebePod to fall of the chair. When we have to put the BebePod on a chair, though, I usually keep my left arm on the chair (because of new-mother paranoia) and am still able to eat with my right hand. After all, new parents learn pretty quickly how to do all sorts of things with only one arm.

There are plenty of travel-friendly high chairs on the market. The ones that I've seen clip on to the table (for example, the Chicco Caddy Hook-On Chair for approx. $40 or the Phil and Ted's Me too! Travel High Chair for approx. $50). I've refrained from shopping for one of these chairs because we tend to frequent hole-in-the wall Chinese restaurants with unstable tables, so hooking on a high chair to the table isn't safe at all. (Another plus of the BebePod option at these venues is that the high chairs at a lot of these restaurants look absolutely filthy. At least if my BebePod is filthy, it's my baby's filth, and that's always okay.) And further, I already had a BebePod, so spending money on an additional baby item just doesn't appeal to me.

Ikea!

There's a great song about Ikea from Jonathan Coulton (you can find it here, just search for "Ikea"). Seriously, this song runs through my mind every time I'm at Ikea, and sometimes upon noticing that people are giving me strange looks I realize that I'm singing the song.

Anyway the point of this post is not to plug Jonathan Coulton (who also does a great cover of Baby Got Back, found via the same link posted above), but to discuss Ikea. Ikea is incredibly baby-friendly, which is surprising, given Sweden's low birth rates.

The Ikea in Palo Alto, CA has these great baby care rooms. There's one on the lower level when you first enter the store, and another on the top floor near the cafeteria. These baby care rooms are stocked with baby wipes and even diapers (size 3 only, but still...)! There's a changing table, a sink, and an Ektorp chair for nursing. They also have these strategically placed speakers next to the door so that the music that they pipe in covers up most of the sound outside. It really helps when you're nursing so that Baby doesn't get distracted by loud and sudden noises outside. My only complaint is that they should put another chair (even a simple wooden chair) in the bathroom, in case husbands, partners, family members, or friends are in the baby care room while Mom is feeding Baby.

The cafeteria also has bottle warmers in case you need to warm a bottle. I tried it once, and I couldn't seem to get it to work - it took a looooong time for the water in the bottle warmer to heat up. Either the bottle warmer sucked or it was broken. I just ended up filling a cup with hot water from the hot water dispenser attached to the coffee machine and warming up the bottle that way. (Caution: that water is HOT - you might want to mix it with some cold water so you don't melt the baby bottle.)

I believe all Ikea stores have these great amenities.