Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

Every fall, my husband and I join his family for a week long vacation at the beach. For ten years we rented the same house in Sandbridge, VA. After new owners took over and renamed the house Dojo, we still continued to call it Quarters One, as it always would be for us. Eventually, as the neighborhood began to change, we moved our vacation further south, to the beaches of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

When we started this yearly tradition, there were no kids in the family, but we all looked forward to our first week at the beach once we had them. My husband and I were the first. We actually missed that first year at the beach because our son was due the week of vacation. The next year, we experienced the beach through the eyes of our one-year-old son. It was a magical year for all of the family. After several years of reigning supreme as a singleton, he finally became a big brother.

Our darling little girl was five months old when we vacationed with her for the first time. Also joining her at the beach house that year was our brand new nephew, a mere five weeks old. I have to give my sister-in-law and her husband credit. I found it difficult enough to travel with a five month old. I don't know how they managed with a five week old.

We learned a lot of lessons on the trip to the beach that year. We had plenty of time to do so! On a trip that should have taken us ten hours, we finally arrived at our rental house after twelve hours in the van. By this point, our son was now six years old and required regular potty breaks. And I do mean regular. If we dared try to wait for one more exit, we would nearly have a catastrophe on our hands.

Stopping was a catch-22. We had to stop, for gas, food, potty breaks. But once out of the van, it was extremely difficult to get the kids back in the van. Even at five months of age, our daughter knew when she did not want to go back in, and she was really good at getting her way.

Have you ever tried to strap a kid into a car seat who refuses to plant their bottom? With her head firmly pressed against the headrest, our daughter had the strength of Hercules. There was no way to physically force her into her seat until she was darn good and ready.

Some “quick stops” inevitably turned into hour-long stops, and we learned to make a game out of it. “Tag” and “Chase Daddy around the Rest Area” were our favorite games. I would hold my daughter and pretend to chase Daddy, all the while she would be laughing hysterically.

We also learned that babies don't always sleep just because they are in a moving vehicle. That was something we had originally banked on. Our daughter was just as determined to stay awake as her big brother was. Eventually, I ended up sitting in what we called the “way back,” the third row seat of the van, so I could help entertain our little restless kiddos.

Since then, we've learned to do the bulk of our traveling at night. The darkness of the van and the perpetual motion helped us get through more miles with fewer pit-stops while the little ones slept. We also learned that traveling was part of the vacation. We often stop at places where we can eat, gas up, and sight see a little bit. We once made an afternoon drive through Washington D.C. and decided to get out and walk to a few of the memorials. When we got back to the van, we were all in good spirits, and ready to be on our way to the real destination: the beach.

So we've learned a lot about traveling with babies. Each one of our own three kids are so different from each other that we've learned to be creative with our travel plans. As they've gotten a little older, it's definitely gotten easier to travel with them. At least now I don't shudder when I think of twelve hours in the van with an infant.