texas bound traveling tips

this year we had the wonderful opportunity to finally go back home to TEJAS! woopwoop! little guy's very 1st time to see mommy's stomping grounds and my 1st time in over 3.5 years. and the crazy thing: it's the 1st time since i graduated high school that i got to actually enjoy home for longer than a mere 2 weeks. with tickets purchased, no school, exams, papers, nor pesky job to worry about i had the privilege of a beautiful trip embracing mi querida familia.

el plan: me and little guy fly out on the 20th of dec and stay til the 20th of jan (AN ENTIRE MONTH of Nana and Micah goodness!) while papa ditches work for 2 weeks from the 24th til the 4th to play and enjoy some texas lovin! plan set and off we went!

now, had i not flown with the little guy before by myself ( AZ.4 weeksold. tia annie m manditory trip), i would have been a bit overwhelmed. BUT since we had, this was a cake walk. almost.

ARIZONA TRIP . important lessons learned.

so in october i flew to AZ. by far the easiest flight i have ever had (and i've traveled a couple good times). we researched the procedure, risks and all, of taking infants on airplanes. we did everything from call the airlines for confirmation on age limits and safety precautions to inquiring with other moms and most importantly...praying about it. we received a peaceful feeling about it and proceeded taking all precautions.

lifesavers on airplane travels have been:

• my wrap! little guy was nice and nestled closely, germ free, away from the urges of stranger's reach AND not to mention the wonderful perks of being a mom with precious baby infant apparently in tow.
  
• hand sanitizer- applied every 10 minutes i swear (looking back now i love how paranoid i was. now, naaaaah!
• the very last back seat, any empty rows, or isle seats (just incase)
  
• binki -for flight take off and landing
• bottle- for flight take off and landing and just incase i was sitting next to folks not so BF(breast feeding) friendly
• my nursing cover aka hooter hider (as my girl jen loves to call it)
• oh! and for LONG legs-i have this phobia of airport bathrooms and all the nasty germs confined to such a small area. so thanks to my amazing diaper changing skills and long legs i was able to successfully stay seated and change the little guy
  

anywho, so my AZ flight was bomb.1.5 hrs in and out and the little guy was knocked a-out cuddled right up on my bosom:

well THIS flight was a bit different. i had several friends tell me "girl...that's the easiest it's going to get. travel like crazy now because when they're mobile...it's a whole nother ball game!" ...yeah i can tell that's going to be the case for us. as for this case: i blame it mostly on the curious nature of my 3 month old. either that or the fact that it was a 4.5 hour flight (direct flight thank goodness) flying SOLITA carting :

this

this

strapped onto this

all piled together on top of these

yeah... i basically looked crazy. but we managed. looking like this:

and mostly this:

and ladies and gents we made it!

did i mention how folks tend to literally bend over backwards for mothers w/ infants in tow?! yeah i milked it for all it was worth!

a long trip to DFW, a quick transfer and before we knew it we were in good ol Abilene!
bump the 5 hour drive and almost inevitable notorious texas state troopers-->30 min is well worth the couple extra bucks.

upon arrival : the greatest reward ever

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkB9xQ8GyFo