Wednesday 27 July 2016

Houston, SC, Jersey, NYC


Houston: 



We were very lucky to get to stay with the bride and groom at there home…Aaliyah was a little jet lagged and had her long sleep around 4pm and woke up for milk 2-3 times a night..still not that bad as she doesn't cry when she wakes up..she just stirs. The week in Texas was great! We got to meet up with old friends and take Aaliyah to her first wedding :) Max was Aaliyahs date as I was in the bridal party. I had pumped enough milk for 2 days so I could party just a little ;) Turns out I am not much of a wild child post baby haha I had a few champagnes and drinks at the wedding…met up with my friend Jasmine after the wedding and had one cocktail at the hotel bar and we were passed out by 2am…Jasmine and I used to leave the house at midnight and not come home until 5am haha oh how times have changed…Max and Aaliyah had a great night too…left the wedding around 8.30pm and partied in the hotel room with milk! 

Mr and Mrs. Livezey


Beautiful Bride!

Steens Family!






Aaliyah got her ears pierced in houston too! yes...at 3 months old....I got my ears pierced at the same age and don't remember a thing obviously haha i was fine with it..knowing she would cry a little but it would be done and when she gets older she can decide to take them out. Honestly, she cried more getting her shots!

Ears pierced and fabulous!

While in Houston we also got to meet up with some family friends..Christian and his wife Lyndsi and his mom Jennifer. It was so good to see them! Christian pretty much grew up at my house when we lived in Texas. Its crazy how you can meet up with people that you don't see for years and its like you never left. Thats how you know who your real friends are!

 


After Houston we headed to South Carolina to see my grandpa. He was so excited to meet Aaliyah! He had flashbacks to holding me for the first time when I was her age. It was beautiful to see and so lucky we got the opportunity to introduce Aaliyah to her great grandfather! 



Beach day at Myrtle Beach


Great Grandpa John



NEW JERSEY
Next stop was New Jersey to see my grandmother and a few aunts, uncles and cousins!
We got picked up from the airport by my Aunt Fiona. It had been 11 years since I last saw her and the family! It was such a treat to spend a few days at their home and see my cousins. 

Uncle Steve

Cousin Owen :)

After spending some time with Uncle Steve and his family we drove down to Redbank where my grandmother lives.

Great Grandma Marge!



As you know, Aaliyah loves wearing headbands…and has been named mini marge after my grandmother who also loves wearing headbands haha. There first meeting was very emotional…Aaliyah is the first great grandchild and I dont think my grandma expected to ever meet her as she is too old to travel to Australia. There were smiles and tears (all happy) and of course we got a picture of both of them in their headbands!

Our final stop was Brooklyn, New York
We stayed at an Airbnb with my sister in law Hannah. She lives in London and had yet to meet Aaliyah. It was way to expensive for us to fly to London to see her so we met in the middle! We had the best time just spending time with her and exploring NYC. 

Aunty Hannah!

cuddles with Aunty Van Van



WHAT A TRIP! by the end of the 3 weeks I was more than ready to come home…we had just moved into our new home the week before we left and I wanted to get back and work on that! We met the USA family and the famous London Aunty Hannah and were ready to make the 27 hour trip home!! 

Captains and flight attendant back to Doha


very happy baby!



Not sure when we will be back to the states but we will definitely got back! I mean whats the point of having kids if not to take them to Disneyland :) 

USA Trip!! Travelling with a baby

What a journey! 3 days shy of Aaliyah turning 3 months old we got on a few planes and ended up in Houston Texas! 

ready for the summer weather!!!

sleeping..and still on the ground haha

Here is what our itinerary looked like: 

Houston-10 days
South Carolina-2 days
New Jersey- 3 days 
New York- 4 days
Back to Perth!

The main reason for a trip to America was for my best friends, Amanda and Ryan's wedding. I was a bridesmaid and even if I wasn't I wouldn't have missed it for the world!!! We knew it would be a crazy time with a newborn but we committed...also my grandparents and family live there so it was a great opportunity for everyone to meet Aaliyah.

So lets start with the flights...and the anxiety leading up. 

I was a bit nervous bringing such a young baby on a 27hour trip...our first flight was 9 hours followed by 11 hours. I was on pinterest like every day reading up on what other mums had done when travelling with a baby. It totally helped! I was so organised and packed everything so well.


"how many hours left on this trip!"

On the flight I had my diaper bag, carry on luggage, nursing pillow and baby wrap and Max had his own backpack. 
I organised 4 ziplock bags with 2 diapers and a change of clothes in each so when we had to do a change on the plane we only brought the ziplock bag and the wipes...the toilets are tiny so didn't want to bring the whole diaper bag in there. It worked really well and each change was very smooth since i separated everything before we got on the plane. 

"planes aren't too bad"

waiting to board!!


The one good thing about travelling with a baby is the extra leg room! We sat in the front row and had a bassinet for Aaliyah. She would sleep in the bassinet while we ate meals but mostly slept in my lap. I also brought my nursing pillow on board which was a lifesaver! She slept in my lap but my arms didnt get tired because of the pillow.

Everyone was very impressed by our "chill" baby...she didnt cry much at all on the flights over to America. She would nurse, sleep, change, play and repeat. I think because she was still so young she still wasn't interested in much....we brought a few toys and she would play with them and that was that!


I'm sure we got lucky and not all long distant travel stories with babies are like ours haha but over all we had nothing to complain about. I think being organised from the beginning made a big difference...I was prepared for any situation.



landed in houston...27 hours later!