4 travel tips with a tot

Chicago has always been one of my favorite cities. When we found out Chris was going to be attending the Podcast Movement 2016 conference, we threw around the idea of Graham and I tagging along, but I immediately said, "Nah, it would just be easier for us to stay here while you go."

Fast forward to about 2 weeks before Chris' trip, and I randomly decided, "Hey, I got this. We can travel to Chicago with a baby. No problem!" Making decisions on a whim when it involves leaving the state (or immediate vicinity of your home) with a baby is totally normal, right?

We had a blast and it was so fun making new memories with Graham, BUT, we learned a thing or two about traveling with a baby by the end that I thought should be shared (and that I wish I had thought through beforehand...oops).

1. If possible, drive versus fly. Graham, so far, has been a great plane baby. He's been on a total of 6 flights so far, and he slept through 5 of them! However, we realized that when you take into account the amount of time you have to leave to get to the airport, get through security, fly, catch an Uber, and get to your hotel, you really only end up saving an hour or so.

​Plus, we could have packed SO many things that we ended up needing, that we weren't able to take on the plane with us: a pack and play, food for Graham, drinks for mom and dad, a white noise machine (see #3). Babies have SO. MUCH. STUFF. Side note: If you DO have to fly, it's pretty cute when your baby earns his or her wings, so that's a bonus :)

2. When booking your room, consider upgrading to a suite. We had one, relatively small room, which allowed for plenty of family togetherness, but not so much sleep. The crib (which our hotel provided if requested) was positioned at the foot of our bed, because that was really the only space it could fit. That being said, once Graham was in bed for the night, we might as well have been, too.

We had to turn every light and TV off, tip toe around the room to get to the bathroom, and watch our movie on a computer using two sets of earbuds as to not wake the baby. A suite would have allowed us to put Graham to bed, then hang out in the next room--worry free.

3. Pack your white noise machine! What we didn't realize until after we had unpacked our bags, was that our room was located right next to the elevators. Awesome! This created a lovely soundtrack to our stay, so we got creative, opened the YouTube machine, and found a life-saving, 11-hour video titled "FAN white noise". You're welcome.

4. Rent a reclining stroller. Most major cities have services that allow you to rent baby essentials, and they'll even drop off and pickup to and from your hotel. This was THE best decision we made. Renting a good stroller with the option to recline was perfect for long days walking around downtown, which inevitably leads to a tired baby (recline and snooze away, little G!). We used Babierge, which I highly recommend.

Despite the sporadic rain, we had an amazing time in Chicago. You must eat at Wildberry for breakfast (and order the cinnamon roll pancakes!) no matter how long the wait is (I have no shame admitting we ate breakfast there 3 mornings in a row). I also highly recommend RPM Italian, which happens to be my favorite memory of the trip...

We took a chance at a nice dinner with Graham in tow, but soon after we arrived and ordered our glasses of Malbec and appetizers, little G decided it was time for a meltdown. We ended up ordering our entrees to go, and shuffling out the door and into an Uber as fast as we could. Once Graham was asleep in his crib, Chris and I snuck around the corner into our tiny foyer, sat on the floor, and ate our nice dinner off of an ottoman. It was perfectly imperfect and we loved it.

See you next time, Chicago :)