As a new Mom, doesn't that seem to always be the question? The amount of time we spend talking and stressing about sleeping it's no wonder we (for the most part) don't get any! A new study came out today stating that letting your baby cry it out won't damage them for life (or that was the jist) but as a new Mom, do you really want to take that chance? And will that study take a new Mom who might be debating sleep training and push her over the edge to do it? Personally, I think it's such an individualized choice and a decision you need to make with your partner and that there is no study that would push me to do it. Am I crazy? Maybe. Did my child wake up in the middle of the night until she was THIRTEEN months old? Yes. Would I sleep train if I had to do it all over again? Nope. I just didn't think it was the right choice for me or, more importantly, for Kennedy. I thought (and still do think) that she was waking up because she needed me and I was alright with that. I was never a good sleeper, I'm still not, so, it made sense to me that Kennedy wouldn't be. I crawled in to bed with my parents until I was in middle school because I would wake up in the middle of the night scared to be alone. Would I want to leave my child in her crib "crying it out" if god forbid, she woke up terrified? Of course not and how do I know that being scared isn't exactly what's waking her up? On the other hand, I'm extremely lucky that I can be flexible and that there were days that I could be a zombie. I wasn't in an office trying to prove myself as a worker and hide my status as a new Mom. If I was, I probably would have felt differently and maybe I would have sleep trained. I think it's up to you and what's right for you, your spouse, your child and your family. Whatever you choose to do, I have no doubt that you will look back on those days and laugh at how much stress it caused you and you'll miss those nights where you snuggled that sweet baby back to sleep but for now, I know it's easier said than done :)

​I am sorry to have been MIA but we just got back from a two week vacation in Europe with Kennedy and it was amazing!  We traveled to Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, Obertraun and Prague and loved each place just as much as the next! If you have the opportunity to take a trip with your little one, I would definitely recommend it. We did learn some things a long the way so I thought I would share my top ten travel tips on traveling with a little one under two.

1. Bring your own travel crib- we stayed in air bnb’s almost the entire time which was amazing because it (a) gave us a kitchen and (b) gave us a place to put Kennedy to sleep while we still hung out. We almost always had her sleeping in a different room than her so by bringing our Baby Bjorn Travel Crib (and her lovey) she always has consistency with a slight feeling of “home”, if you will.
2. Always bring a change of clothes for the baby in your backpack/diaper bag/carry on- I learned this one the hard way on more than one occasion. The first time I regretted not doing this was when we had a luggage snafu issue (aka we lost our luggage for about twelve hours) and all I had for Kennedy was what she was wearing… a romper that she did not love. It made it hard for her sleep sans clothes and it wasn’t the most appropriate outfit since we were traveling to the Alps. The second time was when Kennedy had a HUGE blowout on our hike UP the Alps. It was gross and everywhere and we had nothing to change her into #momfail. And because god forbid I learn my lesson, the third time was when she had a blowout on the flight home and had to go through border patrol in just her diaper and my sweatshirt draped over her. So, lesson learned. Always bring a second outfit for your child in your backpack. You’re welcome.
3. Get an umbrella stroller that reclines- We have the Maclaran Triumph and it was worth it’s weight in gold this trip. It’s light and it partially reclines so Kennedy took all of her naps while we were on the go… AMAZING. We had quite a few quiet lunches while she napped and even one dinner!
4. Screens are your friend- we are not huge into letting Kennedy watch TV or play on our phones or the iPad at home but for this trip, we let her go ham. She wasn’t always totally into it but it gave us some quiet on the plane and in restaurants, which was nice.
5. Be flexible- I can’t stress this enough, we didn’t have crazy full itineraries and we always tried to spend some time at the AMAZING European playgrounds everyday. If Kennedy was napping in her stroller, than we would skip the inside of the palaces and walk around the gardens, if Kennedy didn’t want to sit in the stroller anymore we would try and find somewhere for her to play. It’s her vacation too and if we had had too strict itineraries I think we would have been frustrated and disappointed.
6. Keep the baby fed- I don’t know if this is just Kennedy or not but if she isn’t fed, she’s hangry and no one wants a hangry baby on their hands. We always had fruit pouches on hand and tried to get to dinner on the earlier side so she wasn’t super hungry yet. We learned this one the hard way when we tried to take her to a 7:30pm dinner and she was just pissed. Keep that child fed and you’ll all be much happier (oh and bring a bib, trust me!)
7. Be a team with your partner- This is SO important and I really think it makes all the difference. We only had one baby with us so we took turns in places like planes and trains. If one of us needed to nap, than the other would take the baby and vice versa. Parenting is the biggest team sport you could ever play so take advantage of your teammate.
8. Bring a carrier- just having a stroller won’t always do it and if I didn’t have Ryan who carried Kennedy and the stroller up a bazillion steps I would have definitely needed to be able to wear her. Even with Ryan we wore her on hikes and through a lot of the airport and it was nice to have the option.
9. Let them eat the local food- You might only feed your child organic food and never let me touch pasta but you know what? Traveling is all about being immersed in the culture and if that culture means my child is eating schnitzel (and loving it) than I say go for it. It may be easy to be in control of your child’s everything at home but when you’re away you need to be flexible (see point 5) and let things go.
10. Have fun!- You’re doing a pretty amazing thing showing your child that there’s a world beyond the city or town that they live in. It’s such an educational experience for them (and YOU) and make sure you live it up! 

 
I’ve never met a vacation I didn’t love and this one was certainly no exception. Kennedy may be our biggest adventure yet but I also hope that she loves to be an adventurer and the first step for that is to take her on one! So, Mamas and Papas, don’t stress about the little things  (like the 8 hour plane ride), hopefully someone will let you have the whole row and it will all be smooth sailing from there (or atleast smooth enough for you to navigate!)