New Orleans//Traveling with an Infant

Carson and I just recently returned home after nearly a week in New Orleans.  I was pretty nervous about both Allie's first flight and walking around the Big Easy by myself.  Carson was attending an oil and gas conference most of the week, so my main goal for the trip was to entertain myself while making sure that Allie slept well at night (so Carson could function properly the following day).

The flight from Los Angeles to New Orleans actually went fairly well.  We were able to check our stroller and carseat (for free!) before having to go to through security.  I wore Allie in the BabyBjorn, and we simply walked right through the metal detector (they just checked my hands for explosives).  We brought our car seat, but ended up only using it twice on the trip--to and from the airport--we made do just fine without the base.  I tried to time it right to feed Allie during take off and landing but it didn't really work out that way. We just had to wing it and feed her as she became fussy. Her ears did not seem to bother her at all during flight. After 20 min. or so, she was able to find a comfy spot and slept for a good portion of the flight (so did I).

We stayed in the Warehouse District in the Hilton Garden Inn which was actually a really perfect location.  It was basically across the street from the convention center (perfect for Carson) and about a mile to the French Quarter and 2 miles to all the shops on Magazine Street.  Allie did okay sleeping in the hotel-provided pack n play.  We tried to not let her cry too much but I think the hotel strategically placed us so we wouldn't be a nuisance to other guests.  I took full advantage that there was nothing that needed to be cleaned, vacuumed, folded or scrubbed on our hotel room, so while she slept, I read.

On our first full day Carson and I simply walked around the French Quarter.  We had recently visited New Orleans in 2011 so everything was pretty familiar and there wasn't anything that we felt we HAD to see.  It was nice to just stroll around and enjoy the ambiance.

On Monday, I walked the two miles to Magazine Street.  I had read that there was good shopping over there and decided to be adventurous.  The sidewalks were, at times, pretty terrible but our stroller did great  (To think, I almost didn't bring it!).  I loved seeing all of the historic homes and it felt nice to be out of hubbub of the French Quarter.  Everyone was SO nice.  As I was walking, everyone said hello and many people commented on how cute Allie looked.  People just aren't like that in California.  Monday night, Carson's Grandfather got to meet Allie and offered to watch her for us while we went to an A&M event.  We went, realized we didn't know anyone, and left after swiping some appetizers and beer.

Tuesday, I got to meet up with my mom who drove in from Texas to spend some time with Allie.  We ate beignets at Cafe du Monde and then roamed.  It was nice to just walk around and catch up.  Carson got to have some fun on Bourbon street later that night.

Wednesday, I had breakfast with my mom and I got to see rain!  It was so wonderful being in the rain, Carson and I hadn't seen rain since last March.  The rain drops were huge and the smell made me think of home.  Later that afternoon Allie and I went back out and remembered how rain can leave behind a disgusting amount of humidity.   We just hung out in a coffee shop and then sat in the quarter and listening to a jazz band play.

We didn't leave until after 7 pm on Thursday.  We grabbed lunch at Warehouse Grille (my favorite place we ate!  Get the Morning After Burger!)  then decided that we needed something to do indoors so we wouldn't be gross on the flight home.  We ended up visiting the National WWII Museum.  We both really enjoyed it and highly recommend it if you're in New Orleans!  It was kind of expensive ($22 each!) but it's HUGE and we easily killed over 4 hours.

Our return flight didn't go quite as well.  First of all, the New Orleans airport didn't let us check the stroller until we got to the gate so we had to deal with that headache through security.  Surprisingly, at security, they did let me get through with my huge tube of ointment.  "Oh, this is for the baby?  Okay, it's not a problem."  I fed Allie once we were on the place.  This time, instead of passing out like she did on the first flight, she just couldn't get comfortable.  She would just cry and cry; I couldn't get her in a good position to fall asleep.  Carson and I both walked her up and down the aisles, but as soon as we sat down she wailed.  Eventually, I sat her up in my lap sideways and rubbed her belly and she literally fell asleep sitting up.  After that, I was able to move her to my shoulder and she slept the rest of the way.  Again, everyone around us was incredibly understanding.  Allie was one of four babies on that flight.

This trip made me incredibly homesick.  I miss rain.  I miss nice people.  I miss ferns.  I miss Texas.  I miss our family.  I miss 290.  I miss my friends.  However, we have decided that we won't be flying home for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year.  The flights weren't terrible, but it's not something we want to do again any time soon.  The trip has also really messed up Allie's sleep schedule and after a week of being home, she's still not back on track.  It's just not worth it to us to get her so out of whack.

Things I'd do differently:

On these two flights, I sat in the window seat for ease of nursing.  However, it made getting up to change the baby/going to the restroom/walking the baby a challenge.  I think next time we'll sit in the aisle.

I forgot how terrible humidity is.  I'm used to vacationing in California and being able to wear jeans/jean shorts multiple times.  Not the case when it's humid outside.  I ended up having to do laundry halfway through the trip.

Allison has reached a new level of spit up.  Not to mention, after using the burp cloth during the day, the humidity got to it and made it just feel wet everywhere.  I should have brought enough to have one for each day.

I knew I would be walking around the majority of time and didn't want another "nine toes" incident so I only brought chuck taylors and a very casual pair of flip flops.  I should have known to bring one nice outfit, but I didn't.  It ended up that I should have because we went to an A&M reception for the conference one night.

Next time, I'll research places to eat.  I know New Orleans is supposed to be a great spot for food and maybe I'm just cheap, but I don't like spending over $15 for a meal.  I wish we would have eaten at more places outside of the French Quarter.

Don't forget you need cash at Cafe Du Monde!