I’d never thought much about packing before we had kids, it was just something to get done and often the night before a trip. Since all of our married-with-no-kids clothes were sitting in the wardrobe, all clean and ironed, there was really no challenge! Then, there was the novelty factor with baby # 1. I’d enjoy packing his ‘good’ clothes and marvel at how cute they looked in the suitcase with our things. Ahh baby makes 3. Things started to go pear shaped when baby # 2 came along though. And when did I start packing for my husband?
Our first major family trip for 4 involved multiple flights across the country. The trip was great, but the lead up to it was quite a disaster. I wanted to use up a flight $ credit for a holiday we’d cancelled (career changes, home renovation delays and unexpected baby on the way). Our cancellation policy was NO REFUND, but we could still use the $ value of the flights within 12 months of the original departure date – for 1 trip only. I found a small loophole though, it was still deemed to be the same trip, no matter how many stopovers we had before heading home. So, it was decided we would travel to an interstate Baptism, stay with family in the Hunter Valley and then head off to far north Queensland for a beach holiday. I arranged connecting flights in-between to save driving and hire cars. Sound fabulous?
Ok, so now I know – packing for multiple trips in different climates with 2 adults, a toddler and a baby is a pain. I, in fact, can’t do some things no matter how simple they may seem and yes, everything has changed since the kids came along. Apart from the travelling accessories, we needed; Baptism clothes and a gift, farm clothes and beach clothes. There were some unexpected annoyances too;
1. Shoes – too many to take, but what would we REALLY need (good shoes, heels, runners, gum boots, sandals, slippers, croc’s)?
2. Nappies and snacks. They take up more space than you’d think.
3. Presents – kind relatives showered our kids with gifts during the 1st stopover (all of which I now had to fit in the suitcase). I thought of posting some things home and probably should have.
4. Because it was our baby daughter’s 1st time meeting many of our family, I thought all the gorgeous baby girl gear was a necessity. She had so many cute outfits I couldn’t decide what she would need and I packed way too much for her.
5. Then of course my ‘dressy’ church Baptism-appropriate dress could not accommodate breastfeeding (without ripping off an arm or hiking up my skirt). It was awkward. When I look back now I wonder why I didn’t just race out and grab myself some new clothes…then I remember – no time and no inclination!
I left the final pack too late – with a slow burn that somehow led up to the night before our early flight. Nothing fit in
the suitcase, the kids got sick and I couldn’t get them to sleep. I wondered why I was bothering at all. In the end, I wore the same clothes and shoes most of the trip. In a last minute (tired) effort to get the suitcase closed – I took out most of my things.
The good news is I’m fine with packing now. I think sometimes when you’re busy or tired it manifests itself into something. With me, it was packing for this trip. I think it was my way of telling myself I was a bit over everything. Even the thought of a holiday seemed exhausting! I’ve learned though, that with any family travel, we can’t expect everything to go smoothly. I love the expression “plan for the worst, expect the best”. On another note, my eldest son (now aged 4) has just asked me “why are there no pockets in underpants?” So I guess I’d better give that some thought now!