Big Man Goes to Boston

We arrived back from Boston this afternoon. Our trip was a whirlwind, so let me start from the beginning. My lovely husband spoke at a design camp for Drupal. Hudson and I decided to come along. To be honest, I am not sure how I got up the nerve to travel with an infant, but I did.

Exactly one week before we were set to go to Boston, my mom left after having stayed with us for four whole months. It was a very sad day. Since then, Hudson has been screaming and squirming so much, I began to regret the fact that we had planned this huge trip. I kept thinking, how in the world am I going to comfort a screaming baby as he flails like a fish in my lap on an airplane?

I began to panic. Big time. Eventually, I simply had to quit thinking about how the trip was going to go. I lowered all of my expectations (I basically had none) and just went through the motions of packing and planning. The phrase, ‘It is what it is,’ became my motto.

I read up on tips for traveling with infants. I asked some of you for tips and you gave me great advice. It wasn’t until I started packing though, that I realized just how much work traveling with a baby is going to be.

I packed bottles. I packed formula. I packed a blue bowl and a spoon. I packed oatmeal cereal. I packed soap. I packed a million burp rags and loads of diapers. I packed toys. I packed books. I packed blankets. The list can go on and on and on. Even though I started planning and packing early, I still overlooked a few details, which was totally frustrating.

I will tell you that trying to sterilize bottles in a hotel sink wasn’t fun; trying to feed a squirmy 5-month old cereal without a high chair was even less fun; mixing up all the cereal and formula concoctions 24/7 was exhausting (throughout the trip I so wished I was breastfeeding). Nevertheless, the trip was a huge success. I was absolutely stunned and amazed at how well Hudson adjusted.

We learned a lot about our baby. For starters, he LOVES to travel and that’s an understatement. I don’t think words exist to describe his love of new places and people. We got compliments both on the way to and from Boston from people all around us on how well Hudson behaved throughout the flight. He basically slept through both.

Once we got to Boston, he slept for 12 hours straight two of the three nights we were there. He loved going on walks along the river. He made eyes at the ladies on the elevator. He smiled and giggled his way through two dinners at two different restaurants. We even got to have dessert. He was the most pleasant and the happiest we had ever seen him. He only cried around nap times and at night when it was time to turn in for the night. And I’m not even exaggerating.

So now we know that Hudson needs to be on-the-go all the time. He gets bored and frustrated sitting at home. He really does prefer to be out and about, meeting new people. I believe at the end of our trip I told Nathan I should just get on a plane and fly from one city to another. I bet Hudson would absolutely love that.

I am really glad we decided to travel with an infant. I am also glad that I went in without any expectations, maybe that was why everything seemed to go so well. Now that we are back home, Hudson seems a little disappointed. I bet he is wondering when we’ll head to the airport. I suppose we should plan another trip sometime soon.