My newest baby gear...

As first time parents we are bombarded with the "must haves" in baby gear...and to be honest some of the gadgets they have come up with are a little over the top. For instance, during a recent trip to Babies 'R Us I noticed a pacifier that is spring loaded so that once it pops out of a baby's mouth it automatically closes and the actual pacifier is protected from germs...give me a break! All of this to say that some things are useful and essential and some are just a marketing ploy!

Considering that Riley flew on many trips comprising of MANY flights (I think somewhere around 14) last year I would like to think I have traveling with an infant down. It got to where I would turn down help because I had a system and I could do it quicker and easier on my own...but I always appreciated the offers! We have taken somewhat of a sabbatical from traveling but are about to start it all up again...two...possibly three...weekends in a row coming up of flying. However, I am no longer traveling with an infant...I will now be traveling with a mobile one year old! Pray for me!

Since I will be traveling ALONE with my mobile one year old I began tactically thinking through this entire process...we no longer have an infant carrier and base that nicely attach to our stroller...we now have a big car seat that attaches to nothing! As I envisioned myself maneuvering through the airport with my mobile one year old and having to lug around an enormous heavy car seat I began to rethink things. So I stumbled upon the GoGo Kidz stroller wheels...and they arrived on my doorstep today!

I do believe in taking full advantage of the "fly free until age of 2" deal so I never know if I will actually get to have Riley in her own seat or not...if the flight is not full they will let me bring her car seat on the plane and I always hope for this as it is much less stressful for me! The GoGo Kids Travelmate attaches to many car seats...both of ours are compatible as we have a Britax and a Graco. I spent the last 30 minutes figuring out how this thing works and while the instructions are pretty useless I did manage to figure it out! This is what it looks like when you get it all attached...no guarantee of a smiling happy child though!

Riley has been a great traveler thus far so I have high hopes that we will have a great trip...now if we can just get the airline to hold up there end of the deal and not screw something up we'll be set! My next task is to come up with something SUPER fun for Riley to play with on the flight...we'll see! I will definitely provide feedback on my experience and if things don't go off without a hitch the first try we'll have several trips to work out the kinks!