One
of Aaron’s best friends got married last weekend in Ann Arbor. We used it as a good opportunity for our
little family to fly across the country, attend a wedding, visit the University
of Michigan, and meet Aaron’s big family.
Aaron’s dad was the middle of 9 children, so he has 8 aunts and uncles
on that side and more cousins than I can count.
We had a great time introducing Guinevere to several of those family
members (obviously, not everyone in the family was able to attend). But I can tell you, traveling with a 2 month
old is exhausting! I ended up coming
back from the trip with a small cold, and now am religiously washing my hands
trying to make sure I don’t get little G sick too. How ironic would it be if, after introducing
her to multitudes of new people, I
end up being the one to give her her first cold?
Air Travel With a 2 Month Old
The
part of the trip that I was most nervous about was flying with an infant. I didn’t want to be that family – you know, the one with the screaming baby in a small
enclosed space, hurtling at high velocity, miles above the Earth. Fortunately, we took a red eye on the way to
Michigan and she slept the entire way. I
was given advice to feed her on the way up and down to help with any pressure
on her ears, but I couldn’t even wake her up to feed her on take off. I was able to wake her just enough to feed
her on descent, though. Honestly,
traveling to Michigan was relatively easy.
The TSA people at LAX even let us skip the line at security and we got
to go through with the pilots, which was good because we were running a little
later than we had intended. Oh, and when
traveling with an infant, you don’t have to choose between being felt up or
pelting your body with deep xrays. We
went through the regular metal detector and that was it. Also, Delta (and possibly other airlines, but
we flew Delta) does not charge for checking infant items, saving us $25 each
way for the pack n play. You just have
to talk to the agents when you are checking in – the computers might try to
charge you extra for infant items, but when talking to a human being, they just
check it straight through. Also, if you
ever travel with an infant, be sure to talk to the airline people at the gate
right away. They will give you tags for
checking the car seat/stroller at the gate, which is very important/helpful. This way we were able to keep her in her stroller right up until we got on the plane and then they deliver the stroller back to you when you disembark the plane.
Guinevere's first plane trip. |
Once
we arrived at the Detroit airport, Guinevere needed changing badly. There was a family bathroom, which I assume
was big enough for all three of us to go in and change her, but it was
occupied. I went into the ladies room
hoping that there would at least be one of those fold down changing pads. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there
was an entire changing station! It had a
changing pad, and disposable sanitary liners for the changing pad (though I
still used the travel pad that I carry in my diaper bag on top of the
disposable liner). There was a sink
right there next to the changing pad.
Guinevere loved looking at herself in the mirror at the changing
station, so it made changing her after that long trip that much more enjoyable.
We
weren’t quite as lucky on our flight home.
We still got the pack n play through for free, but had to stand in the
regular security line at the Detroit airport.
There were several other babies on our flight, which was
interesting. There was even another 2
month old across the aisle from us. Guinevere
was still very well behaved; thank goodness!
She slept for a large portion of the flight. When she woke, she was in a pretty good
mood. Every time she looked like she was
about to fuss, we gave her the pacifier and she calmed right down. Once we landed at LAX, I went into the ladies
room to change Guinevere. The LAX
changing area was not nearly as nice as the Detroit changing station. There was a separate room labeled “Nursery”
which had a pull down changing pad and a sink.
But the oddest part of the room was that there was no trash can, so I
had to carry the dirty diaper out of the room with me while holding my baby and
find the general trash can for the bathroom.
Aside
from our first night in Michigan, Guinevere handled the time zone change
relatively well. The first night was
really bad, though. She would NOT sleep!
It was like being back to the newborn phase. She was awake and fussy and demanding to eat
every 2 hours throughout the night. But
then 2 nights later, she slept through the entire night (10pm – 7am) for the
first time ever! She hasn’t done it
again since, but it’s nice to know she has the capability to do so. I was prepared for an encore of the sleepless
night experience when we returned home, but she decided to be good for us and
returned to her normal sleep pattern of waking once around 3 am for a feed and
then going back to sleep.
The Wedding
The
main impetus for this trip was our friend Nicole’s wedding. Aaron and Nicole have been close friends
since college at the University of Michigan.
Nicole was a groomslady in our wedding, and she asked Aaron to be an
usher in hers. The wedding was beautiful! The ceremony was in the Michigan Theatre,
which shows movies and has live events on stage. It was a fun, lighthearted ceremony, complete
with images of the bride and groom superimposed on classic movie posters. Guinevere was well behaved during the
ceremony as well. She slept through most
of it and got several adoring stares from the wedding guests.
We
had a couple hours between the ceremony and reception. Aaron had to stick around to take pictures,
but Guinevere and I headed back to the hotel room and both of us took a
nap. I’m so glad there was that time in
between! I’ve noticed that the days I
don’t get a nap, I end up going to bed around 9:30 pm because I am so
exhausted.
Guinevere
was really good during the reception as well.
She slept during most of dinner.
Once the band started playing, she woke up and seemed to enjoy the
music. Aaron’s friend, Kelly, was there
and she held Ginny for us so that Aaron and I could have at least one dance
together. I don’t think I’ve ever danced
so little at a wedding before. I can’t
wait until Guinevere is old enough for her to be my partner on the dance
floor! I just love watching little kids dancing
and having fun at weddings! Of course
the bride wanted to hold Guinevere - and
got loads of comments such as, “well that was fast!” (unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of that. I think Aaron got a pic on his phone)
The ceremony |
Kelly and Guinevere |
The bride and me |
Our little family |
Meeting the family
After
the wedding festivities were over, Aaron and I headed back to Aaron’s aunt and
uncle’s house. They live close to Ann
Arbor and generously hosted a family get together so that the Midwest contingent
of the family could meet the newest member.
We had so much fun! Aaron’s mom
was even able to be there.
Unfortunately, I was having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures
for myself. But I know one of Aaron’s
Aunts took loads of pictures (Aunt Dianne, if you are reading this, I would
love to get copies of those pics).
Aaron
and I also drove up to Chesaning, the small town where Aaron’s parents grew
up. Both of Aaron’s parents grew up on
farms, but Aaron’s grandparents sold their farms long ago. Aaron drove us past the farmhouse that Aaron’s
grandfather built and where Aaron’s mom grew up. We even stopped and Aaron knocked on the door
to see if the current owners would be willing to let us walk around, but no one
was home. We stayed with Aaron’s
grandmother and walked around a little.
This is one of those towns that’s so small it only has one
stoplight. I loved getting to spend more
time with Aaron’s grandmother and watching her hold her
great-granddaughter.
Meeting her great-grandmother |
Touring UofM
Aaron
got his BFA from the University of Michigan and loves to reminisce about how
fantastic an experience he had. He ended
up dragging us all over campus showing us portions of his glory days, and
pointing out how much has changed in the past 10 years. As exhausting as it was (Guinevere got to nap
in the stroller much of the time, but I had to walk . . . when will they create
a stroller for adults that we can nap in? J)
, we had a great time. Aaron ended up
finding several professors/admin people that remembered him. We got to go backstage at the Power Center
and were able to take a look at the stage.
We also went into two additional smaller theaters later on (one thrust
and one black box). I kept telling
Guinevere that theaters are like a second home to both her mom and dad.
Aaron
also insisted on taking a picture of Guinevere on top of the big M located in
the middle of the diag. At first he
wanted to lay her down directly on top of it – which I very quickly
vetoed. I know she’s had her shots and
all, but laying my 2 month old directly on the ground where tons of people walk
every day . . . no. I am not comfortable
with that. So we put a burp cloth
underneath her – unfortunately, she’s just a little too long for it, so then I
grabbed a diaper out of the diaper bag and put it under her feet. But if you have any experience with babies,
you know their feet never stay still for long.
Oh well, at least she’s not putting her feet in her mouth . . . yet.
Future student? |
Overall
we had a great time. I’m really glad
that we got to see all the people and places we did. Not that Guinevere will remember this trip,
but hopefully a little of it will stick in her subconscious.
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