Better parenting through products

We've been home from South Carolina for a few days. The visit was fabulous, the flights were easy, everyone had a great time, and yet we are still relieved to be back home. Now I'm getting back into my regular routine, including blogging.

We managed to travel lighter than we did the last time we went to visit Isaac's grandparents. Instead of having nine items of luggage, this time we had only seven:

1. one small suitcase (for me and Isaac)
2. one small suitcase (for Craig, plus extra room for gifts from grandparents)
3. one carseat
4. one stroller
5. one very small suitcase (for computers, cameras, and carry-on essentials)
6. one backpack (for food, toys, and books)
7. one diaper bag (in addition to holding diapers, it's my purse)

Our strategy was sound. We checked items 1-3 at the curb where the taxi dropped us off, checked item 4 at the door to the plane, and carried on items 5-7. Isaac is now dependable as an independent walker (meaning that he almost always walks in the direction in which we want him to walk) so often in the airport he ran on ahead, Craig pulled along item 5, and I pushed item 4 containing items 6 and 7. We felt like we were traveling so light, and Craig felt positively liberated at not having to lug item 3 onto the airplane! (More on that later.)

However, when we picked up items 1-3 at the baggage claim, we realized we have one more item than we have hands. Two adults can't simultaneously manage four wheeled suitcases (one containing the carseat) and a stroller. It didn't seem worth it to rent a luggage cart just to go across the street to the rental car bus, so we had to temporarily leave the carseat behind. Perhaps we should invest in a single larger suitcase, instead of two smaller suitcases, thereby combining items 1 and 2 and reducing our total luggage load to a manageable six items.

Speaking of investments, our traveling success was aided by the purchase of a few new products. We didn't need to bring a Pack N Play for Isaac to sleep in, because Craig's parents bought him a folding toddler cot. (Not that Isaac can even fit in a Pack N Play any more.) We didn't need to lug around the carseat, because we bought a wheeled carrying case for it. And we didn't need to bring the carseat onto the airplane for Isaac to sit in, because we bought him a harness that attaches to the airplane seat belt. (After the carseat-related injury to his knee that Craig suffered on an airplane this summer, these last two were, as he said, worth every penny.)
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