Traveling with Samuel

We've taken two road trips with Samuel so far. His first road trip was to Louisiana to meet our family there.  He was only three weeks old, and yes we were a little crazy to take him on a 9+ hour road trip. The only reason we went when we did was I had signed up for a photography class. The photographer who shot our wedding began offering classes a few years ago, and I have been wanting to go to one of them. I had paid the deposit for the class long before we knew about Samuel, and I wanted to make it to the class. We left on a Friday after I worked half a day. Our dogs usually travel with us, but we decided that it would be best if they stayed at home this time. One of us sat in the back seat with Samuel so we could keep him happy. We had to stop twice and feed him, so it took us a little over 10 hours to get there.

He got to meet a lot of people who had been praying for him for a long time. My parents do not live in Louisiana, but the live closer to James' parents than to us. So, they drove down from Arkansas and spent the day with us. My mom's mom fell and broke he hip the day we brought Samuel home from the hospital, so they had been terribly busy taking care of her. This was their first time to meet there new grandson.

With his aunt and uncle

 Meeting his great-grandparents

James' parents hosted a "Sip-and-See" at their house on Sunday afternoon so people could stop by and meet little Samuel. It was so good to see everyone. We had to go back home a day earlier than we wanted because we needed to meet with our attorney.  The little man diffused a speeding ticket on our way back home. I was driving, and we had just gotten back into the St. Louis metro area. I have driven thru that area dozens and dozens of times, and I never realized that the speed limited dropped in that area from 70 to 65 mph. The officer asked for my license, registration, and proof of insurance and then he started talking about the baby. He let us go without a ticket.

At the end of March, we took Samuel to Arkansas for the first time. We bought a luggage carrier for our SUV. so we could take our dogs with us this time. They rode in the cargo space. My grandmother finally got to meet him. Samuel is her third great-grandson.

 I got to catch-up with my aunts and cousins at Samuel's baby shower.

A few things that make traveling with Samuel simpler:

Using On-the-Go packets of formula

Pack only enough diapers and wipes to cover what you will need on the road. Buy a small pack of diapers once you get to your destination.

Pack his stuff in his own suitcase. On our first trip, his things got packed with mine - which made it hard to find stuff.