Thursday, May 8, 2008

Packing


So we're leaving on Sunday to spend 7.5 weeks in Croatia. We'll also travel to Slovenia and then Austria for a little R&R toward the end of our work time there. This means we face the mother of all travel days with our little 16 month old next week. Bozeman, MT to Zagreb, Croatia via Denver, Chicago, and Frankfurt plus a two hour shuttle ride to Rijeka, Croatia. We forked out the extra $ so she could have her own seat on the plane...and we could have our sanity.

But enough about the travel, let's talk about the packing. We're doing our best to only have one checked bag and one carry-on for each of us. Mostly because I don't want to carry anymore than that...plus I don't think we could fit anymore in a European rental car. I'll update you on this process shortly.

Packing for a mega-trip like this with our daughter requires a ton of thought.
-What's our living situation?
-What are the weather averages?
-What kind of vitamins and medicine might we need?
-What kind of kid gear do I need - Carseat,Stroller, kidcarrier backpack?
-What is the easiest luggage combination

No matter how much planning we do there's definetely a sense of "here we go!"

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Top ten things we can't live without when traveling with our daughter

1. Combi stroller - lightweight with a full recline...great for nap-time on the go
2. Digital Camera
3. Portable DVD player - Sony that swivels and lays flat
4. Multiple kinds of snacks with lots of zip-lock baggies
5. Our daughters bedtime ritual CD of Baby Beethoven
6. Graco Pak-n-play
7. Clorox disenfectent wipes
8. A new toy for extra long trips
9. Our daughters favorite blanket
10. Soft lunch cooler to store milk (avoid paying Starbucks $2.50 for a glass of whole milk)

This list assumes you're smart enough to bring along things like diapers, wipes, bottles, etc.

P.S. We're not taking our Graco Pak-n-play to Europe with us this summer because all our hotels have baby cribs available...one less thing to carry!