Lists and Miscellany
I'm a big fan of lists. The giant, leaping thoughts of "Gee, I really need to get this done, but not right now" have a place to go, so I can hold onto them. My brain was especially bad after the baby was born, so I just got a stenographer's notebook (just like my dad used to use for his notes) to make a list of things I needed to remember.
Today I finally took a few hours and tried on all my clothes, after putting most of the maternity clothing in the suitcase. (I had one in the laundry, one I'd never worn, and one in the car ... but I'm not sure I can close the suitcase again without help.) There's quite a bit of clothing which I can't get into, some things which I'll be donating, and lots of extra hangers (as opposed to the previous none for guests). I have hanging in the closet seven skirts and two dresses which either fit or fit well enough to be used in case of emergency. I have no pants (except one pair of drawstring) which fit, but three pairs of shorts which fit ... more or less. I have way too many shirts, especially white ones, and I'm not sure why I keep holding onto the ones which are nice, but I don't like them. So there may be further purging after my husband gets home, with his extra brain cells. I do have one pair of nice pants which fits, but until it snows in Florida, I won't be wearing them. (Augh!) So eventually I will be going shopping again. I have lots and lots of baby clothes to return (he still has more than I do), and plenty of gift cards, so that's all right, but I would rather shop in the thrift stores anyhow. It's more fun, and it seems easier to find things which I both like and can fit into. (Also a good place to get clean, ironed shirts for my husband. Score!)
I am a bit leery of the coming week. Today is my day to clean the house and get things ready, but little yowly boy has been confusing me. I think he wants to eat, so I try to feed him, but he screeches and screeches until I get so sick of it that I put him back to bed. Which is what he wanted. Poor thing.
Saturday we're going to the monastery to get the icons and baptismal favors. Sunday there's Liturgy. Monday there's Liturgy, picking up Paul (godfather-to-be) at the airport, calling people (Presvytera Georget, the dentist to reschedule the appointments, and the OB/GYN about the refund), possibly going swimming at the pool, and a hierarchical dinner thingy. (Maybe there's a vespers somewhere?) Tuesday there's Orthros and Liturgy in Tarpon Springs, with all its festivities, then rest (maybe) and on to Tampa for their church's festal vespers. Wednesday is Tampa's festal Orthros and Liturgy, greeting my mother from the airport, and picking up Thanasi (our seminarian for the GOYA Winter Event this year) from the airport. Thursday is the long-awaited baptism and taking Paul back to the airport. It gets less hectic after that, since I am not planning on going to the Winter Event, but I will still have a houseguest (and my mother, who is staying in a nearby hotel), and, of course, the laundry.
We will attempt to watch a Jane Austen (about, not of) movie tonight, and I may figure out a bit more of Traveling With Infant airline stuff. (Advice welcome; please comment.) After that, we're off and running with no time to look back. Thank goodness there's the Holy Spirit. (Yes, that's redundant, but it's still nice.)
Today I finally took a few hours and tried on all my clothes, after putting most of the maternity clothing in the suitcase. (I had one in the laundry, one I'd never worn, and one in the car ... but I'm not sure I can close the suitcase again without help.) There's quite a bit of clothing which I can't get into, some things which I'll be donating, and lots of extra hangers (as opposed to the previous none for guests). I have hanging in the closet seven skirts and two dresses which either fit or fit well enough to be used in case of emergency. I have no pants (except one pair of drawstring) which fit, but three pairs of shorts which fit ... more or less. I have way too many shirts, especially white ones, and I'm not sure why I keep holding onto the ones which are nice, but I don't like them. So there may be further purging after my husband gets home, with his extra brain cells. I do have one pair of nice pants which fits, but until it snows in Florida, I won't be wearing them. (Augh!) So eventually I will be going shopping again. I have lots and lots of baby clothes to return (he still has more than I do), and plenty of gift cards, so that's all right, but I would rather shop in the thrift stores anyhow. It's more fun, and it seems easier to find things which I both like and can fit into. (Also a good place to get clean, ironed shirts for my husband. Score!)
I am a bit leery of the coming week. Today is my day to clean the house and get things ready, but little yowly boy has been confusing me. I think he wants to eat, so I try to feed him, but he screeches and screeches until I get so sick of it that I put him back to bed. Which is what he wanted. Poor thing.
Saturday we're going to the monastery to get the icons and baptismal favors. Sunday there's Liturgy. Monday there's Liturgy, picking up Paul (godfather-to-be) at the airport, calling people (Presvytera Georget, the dentist to reschedule the appointments, and the OB/GYN about the refund), possibly going swimming at the pool, and a hierarchical dinner thingy. (Maybe there's a vespers somewhere?) Tuesday there's Orthros and Liturgy in Tarpon Springs, with all its festivities, then rest (maybe) and on to Tampa for their church's festal vespers. Wednesday is Tampa's festal Orthros and Liturgy, greeting my mother from the airport, and picking up Thanasi (our seminarian for the GOYA Winter Event this year) from the airport. Thursday is the long-awaited baptism and taking Paul back to the airport. It gets less hectic after that, since I am not planning on going to the Winter Event, but I will still have a houseguest (and my mother, who is staying in a nearby hotel), and, of course, the laundry.
We will attempt to watch a Jane Austen (about, not of) movie tonight, and I may figure out a bit more of Traveling With Infant airline stuff. (Advice welcome; please comment.) After that, we're off and running with no time to look back. Thank goodness there's the Holy Spirit. (Yes, that's redundant, but it's still nice.)
posted by magda at 3:30 PM
2 Comments:
I hope everything works out well. Happy New Year!
During take-off and landing, you can keep the baby happy by nursing or bottle-feeding or using a pacifier (whichever you and he prefer). This will help the pressure in his ears equalize and avoid ear pain. And if he has fluid in his ears from an ear infection, that should actually help, too, so no worries.
If you want to strap him in a carseat for safety, then you'll need to get on the plane early to buckle it in (and have someone hold the baby while you do that) -- but I've found that you can't really get the carseats buckled in as tight as necessary for safety in less than 30 minutes, and the airline staff will insist that it is buckled just fine significantly before that, and it's so much easier to just check the carseat so you don't have to drag it through the airport while carrying a baby. In which case, you'll probably not want to board the plane any earlier than you have to, so he won't be cooped up in such small confines longer than necessary.
And once you're in your seat, if other passengers are still boarding and the door is still open, you can/should ignore flight attendants that insist that you are delaying the plane by letting him crawl around happily instead of holding him in a death-grip in your arm.
Getting through security is annoying because you have to take the baby out of whatever carrying thing you're using (stroller, sling, baby-backpack) and run that through the X-ray.
Overall, it's not really that bad. I traveled a lot alone, which can be rough, but if you have a husband or other family member or friend with you, then it'll be a breeze.
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