1. A massive stroller shade that completely covers baby. My insane son NEVER sleeps in stroller, but he’ll doze a bit if I have this thing on there. Plus, it’s good for him: uv, bugs, etc: http://www.amazon.com/Protect-Bub-Deluxe-3-Sunshade/dp/B000BMET9A/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1248567893&sr=8-4

2. A travel highchair. I got this sucker for $22 on Amazon and it has been an absolute lifesaver for dining out. I can’t stand those icky restaurant highchairs that every other kid has slobbered on. My little dude does so well in this and I can throw it in the basket of the stroller on the fly: http://www.amazon.com/Regalo-Diner-Portable-Hook-Chair/dp/B0000A1O7P/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1248568147&sr=1-1

3. A really good sound machine. This thing sounds like an airplane and softens or eliminates random noises in a hotel that wake up baby. It’s just white noise (not ocean/rain sounds) and totally helped keep J asleep on our vacation. Small, too: http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-980A-Screen-Sleepmate-Conditioner/dp/B000MPH0PG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1248568211&sr=1-5

Now about the BF on take off/landing. Do you have any safety concerns? There is so much attention to strapping the carseat in, tray tables up, seats up, bags under seats. A loose infant in your arms is a serious projectile in a crash. Maybe it’s the years of being in small planes and knowing what happens in a plane crash — even though the prospect is low, I’d prefer to have G strapped in a seat in the safest position possible. I’ll deal w/ a little crying for the safety. Would you pull your kid out of a carseat going down the highway to BF on a road trip if he/she was fussy?

I also don’t like to have a ‘lap’ baby in a seat behind me. In a crash that kid is flying straight into me.

And I’m not usually a safety, paranoid freak (at least I don’t think I am).

Flying with our youngest was OK before she learned to walk -she was happy to sit in her seat and be entertained. But once she was mobile – flying became really difficult because she refuses to sit still. (She also hates her stroller – she’s OK with the carseat because her sister is usually in the backseat with her.)

We pack lots of snacks and toys and try not to let her nap at all before the flight/time the flight to coincide with naptime so she will sleep for at least part of the flight – that helps a bit. Giving a bottle just as the plane begins to take off is helpful too – the sucking action helps the baby’s ears pop.

We’ve had good luck on a couple of flights to be seated in the same row as someone traveling with a baby the same age. At one, they don’t really want to play together, but they do enjoy checking each other out (and checking out each other’s toys!) Older kids toddlers/preschoolers will actually play together which takes the pressure off mom and dad for keeping the kids entertained!

We almost never stay in a hotel anymore (at least if we’re traveling with the girls). We almost always rent a house or a condo now – it works out so well with kids. Typically, they aren’t any more expensive than a hotel room would be (Craiglist is a great place to look – lots of stuff in the $100 – 150 per night range), but they make the trip so much better. The kids get their own room to sleep in, you get a kitchen (so you can easily make formula, snacks, etc. And you save $$ because you don’t have to eat out for every meal. We usually eat breakfast at the condo, pack a lunch and snacks for the girls that will fit in the diaper bag, and just eat out for dinner.)

Most condos and houses will have a washer and dryer – which is great with a baby. You don’t have to pack nearly as many outfits that way. I’ve gotten in the habit of doing a load of laundry the night before we head home. Then when we get home, our luggage is full of clean folded laundry that can just get popped in the dresser. I hate coming home to a suitcase full of dirty laundry – that’s no way to end a vacation! :)

The other thing that’s nice about renting a house/condo is that when you inevitably return to your room earlier than you’d like, at least you can watch movies without waking the baby, because the TV is in a separate room. I always end up letting our kids stay up/out later on vacation because, like you said, it’s no fun going back to your room at 7:30. My younger daughter will stay awake however long we stay out, so we’re usually back by 9. The older one would fall asleep in her stroller, so we could stay out much later, walking around whatever city we were visiting, because she wasn’t missing out on any sleep. Depends on the baby, I guess!

I will also give a plug for vacationing without the kids. I’ve only done it twice. Once, I won a grant to attend a conference in Chicago (which is where my mother-in-law lives.) All my expenses were paid for, so we bought plane tickets for my husband and girls and flew to Chicago together. We dropped the girls off at Grandma’s house, and my husband and took advantage of the hotel room in the city. He played tourist all day while I attended the conference. At night we went out (which we almost never get to do) – it was fabulous! And if the girls needed us (which they didn’t) we were only 45 minutes away. That was a great trip!

The other time was much harder, but also awesome. We decided to take a big trip for our 10th anniversary – we went to Amsterdam. About two weeks before the trip, my mother-in-law came to visit and spent a week with my daughter (she only sees her once or twice a year, so it was important for them to get reacquainted.) While my MIL was here, we talked about how we’d be flying to see her in Chicago in two weeks – that gave my daughter something to look forward to. For the week between MIL’s visit and our flight to Chicago, we talked about how Chloe would be seeing grandma again in a few days and then they would have a sleepover at grandma’s house while mommy and daddy went out of town.(Chloe was 3 1/2 at the time.) We stayed overnight at Grandma’s house the first night to get Chloe settled in and then we left on our trip the next afternoon. I’d never been away from my daughter overnight before, so I cried the entire drive to the airport. SHE was fine – apparently didn’t even notice we’d left. We were gone for four nights – we called each night at the same time to check in with her. She never wanted to talk very long because she was having too much fun being spoiled by all of the Midwest relatives. We had a wonderful trip – lots of sightseeing and sleeping in – it was really wonderful. And Chloe had a really great time too. I don’t know how young is too young for something like that to work, but at 3 1/2 Chloe was able to understand what was happening and that we’d be coming back. She still asks when she can sleep over at Grandma’s again, so it definitely wasn’t traumatizing for her! So, if taking grandma on the trip with you isn’t an option, leaving the baby with grandma might be – even if grandma lives out of state. :)

Sorry this is so long!

We recently went to Cape Cod from NY, and the beach was great, and we got into a perfect routine. Up early-ish, breakfast, and beach. Totally wore him out. He took a 2 hr. nap everyday, then more beach time in the p.m. and was more than exhausted by 7pm.

I agree w/ others, if you could go w/ friends, or family that would help out, it would be really great for you. I work, so when I went recently, I knew it would be tough, but I really wanted to have that uninterrupted baby time all to myself.

Could you stay at some sort of Marriott suites that has more than one room, w/o being too expensive? Also, I know it sounds completely NUTS, but I’ve done a home exchange before (when I was single….read about it here: http://doodlebuds.blogspot.com/2009/06/creative-financing-challenge.html

I would definitely do this again with a house. It would be free, and we’d get much more space than a hotel, and a kitchen which would be great.

Whatever you end up doing…have FUN!

Trust me she is usually not super easy, but you just have to get her out there. I liked the blanket providing security comment, I never thought of that. I will try it! Good luck and hope you have a great vacation very soon!