Let Kids Travel

This will be a two part post and a little break from our European adventure which I promise to pick up on after these posts. Last week my husband was asked to fly to New York City with five days notice. Yes, you read that correctly, FIVE DAYS. I am still puzzled on why I agreed to this. It seemed like a nice break. We were not able to get direct flights so it would be a whole day of travel.

One of the reasons on why I regret agreeing to this is my daughter. While we have traveled all over with her before she is in a phase at 15 months. How to describe this phase? Isla has just learned to walk and loves to exert her independence. She wants to do what she wants, when she wants and if no is the answer she throws a screaming fit on the ground. I honestly have not had to deal with this before with Wellington so this is a completely new experience and it made for a rough flight.

We flew Southwest and while previously we had been pleased with them and are very dedicated fliers I was disappointed this time around. Is it really too much to ask for your belongings to arrive in the same condition as they were sent in? We had just bought a new City Select Baby Jogger stroller  and we put it into plastic bags (the ones it came in) thinking it will be safe from scratching and damage. Boy, was I wrong! Sometimes it feels like the damage is intentional. The bag was ripped in multiple places and the stroller was scratched and gouged. My brand new stroller now looked like it had years of wear. Southwest used to provide bags, but they no longer offer that service. I am just utterly disappointed and I hope in the future airlines provide a safer way for strollers and car seats to travel, maybe by providing canvas bags that are used on each flight to transport these products. These are products our children use on a daily basis and requesting them to be handled in a safe and respectful way should not be too much to ask. Seeing my stroller makes me wonder what my carseats have been through. Be aware of all of this as you travel on airlines.

After that whole ordeal (still sad about the condition of my stroller) we made it to New York. We rented an apartment through Airbnb because we didn't think the hotels in New York would be big enough for our family. The apartment had three stairs getting into it but luckily while I was out and about a helpful tenant helped me get the stroller in. I think in hindsight I wished we had done the hotel just for the convenience and the luxury.

Food is easy to come by in New York and there were a ton of grocery stores. We stayed in the East Village. There was a Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and another city grocery store close by. Also, a ton of food options on every block. New York really is amazing like that in how much is accessible by walking and I walked a lot. I probably did about 8 miles everyday. Why so many miles? The subway has a very limited amount of subway stations with elevators. On the days that I was alone I could not do the stroller by myself so I was left with no choice but to walk. That was definitely disappointing as my husband and I were hoping to possibly move to New York if we wanted to stay in the states, but the limited access for strollers would be an inconvenience in my life.

The time change was not that difficult of an adjustment for the kids. Honestly, I struggled more with it and am still struggling to adjust back to normal rhythms. Isla is actually napping better since we returned! Another thing to keep in mind when traveling during these winter months is illness. Wells is still battling a cold he picked up. Even after being home for a few days I have a very cranky preschooler.

I think with all trips there is good and bad, you just have to be able to do deal with it and hope the good in the end outweighs the bad. Hopefully, after I write my next post of all the fun, touristy things we did that will be my conclusion in the end. Here is a little preview!