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North to Alaska! Etta’s first airplane ride went well. Instead of nursing her on take off and landing, I gave her a bottle of water, which she guzzled, necessitating many diaper changes. We used frequent flyer miles to get a seat for Etta, and we had three seats in a bulkhead row for the trip up. I’d learned to change Etta’s diaper while she sat in my lap and luckily she saved her daily poop for once we were settled in our overnight accommodations. I couldn’t imagine having her on my lap the whole flight, and in fact I tried to keep her secured in her seat for most of the flight because I’d heard that it is impossible to hold onto a baby during sudden turbulence. We met the train at 6:30am in downtown Anchorage and enjoyed the four hour trip south through the mountains. We were in the last row of seats in the last car, so we didn’t have a lot of people passing through the aisle. There was a large open area across from the bathroom behind our row where I was able to lie Etta down for diaper changes. We had to place the carseat forward facing due to space limitations in the many vehicles we rode in, but at 19 pounds Etta was almost at the 20 pound minimum required for forward-facing. We converted back to rear-facing once home to our own car. Everything in the mouth but food About halfway through the week Etta went on a food strike. She decided that she didn’t want to be spoonfed and clamped her mouth shut any time a spoon came near. We tricked her into laughing, quickly inserting a bite of food while her mouth was open, but she quickly learned to laugh with her lips pursed! Once the food was in her mouth she didn’t spit it out, so it wasn’t as if she didn’t like the taste. We stayed the week at my aunt & uncle’s house and they had shag carpeting loaded with all sorts of little treasures that Etta decided were edible. Several times she fished out vitamin pills, thorns, staples, shards of bark, and other dangerous small objects. Luckily Etta was not able to crawl as the house also had open stairwells and lots of fragile art objects. It was a childproofing nightmare that kept me on alert at all times. Friends and family Etta met dozens of new people during the week, from train conductors to eccentric relatives. She handled each new encounter without complaint, although when personally greeted she shyly nuzzled her face into my chest. She went into the arms of "strangers" pretty easily and was quickly captivated by their attention. One little person she especially enjoyed was a baby named Zen, just two weeks younger than her. At the beginning of the week Etta could wave but not clap hands, and Zen could clap hands but not wave. By the end of the week they’d taught each other to do both. Hikes and other adventures Seward is a small town, so besides a trip to the aquarium and several visits to my aunt’s studio and a coffee house, there wasn’t much else to do except load Etta up in the carrier and head to the hills. One day we hiked beside a magnificent blue glacier, another day we walked along the rocky shore, and our best adventure of all was a half day hike to a secluded mountain lake with cousin Cedar and her baby Zen leading us. The weather was cold and overcast almost the entire week, but if it wasn’t raining, we made the most of our visit and tried to see as much as we could of the natural beauty around us. Packing and travel lessons learned: · I packed all of Etta’s clothes in zippered plastic bags. Each bag contained an outfit and undershirt. Each outfit either had an easily accessible snap crotch or pull-on pants for swift diaper changes. · I packed two pair of the knit, leather-soled moccasins that she wore instead of socks and shoes, because they’re so easy get on and off for diaper changes but difficult for her to kick off while wearing. · In the diaper bag I carried a velour cardigan and a warm knit hat in case it got cold. I also brought an all-in-one fleece outfit that she wore several times due to bad weather. · A large nylon bib with sleeves covered her nicely at meals, and I only fed her non-staining foods (no carrots) while we were traveling. I bought a roll of paper towels that were extra thick to use as face and hand cloths after her meals, wetting them with water from her water bottle. · Before the trip I bought a few new toys, and I also packed some of her old favorites, and I would present her with one new toy at a time to hold her interest. All of the toys I packed were plastic so they could be easily washed or wiped off. · I brought two lightweight play quilts which doubled as bedding. I used towels at my aunt’s house for blankets at night. |
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