You may have read on a previous post that Mr. Piñata and I went on a 7-night, 9-day trip to Italy and that Little Piñata stayed home with my parents. This involved a whole lot more preparation than I would have imagined! I think I started about a month before our trip and I’m sure glad I did. I think part of the reason that everything went so smoothly with him was that we had done a whole lot to prepare. Although I’m sure we missed some or could have cut out some, this is what worked really well for us.
1. About a month ahead of time I went ahead and started writing out a HUGE list of instructions for my parents.
Even though they have kept him overnight quite a few times and watch him one day a week, I still wanted to be sure they wouldn’t have questions. He also stayed for the first 2 nights with a good friend of ours, so we knew she would need all kinds of details that my parents would already know. Here’s everything we included in this “document.”
– His Schedule
Thankfully his schedule is a whole lot simpler than it used to be since he’s been down to one nap. This allowed the schedule portion to be fairly straightforward. I included things like naptime and bedtime rituals and his usual times of meals, snacks and sleeping.
– Emergency Information
This is pretty imperative even if you are leaving your little one for a short period of time. We made sure his pediatrician information was on there and included a copy of our insurance card. We also wrote and signed a form stating who could make medical decisions for him in our absence. I’m so grateful they didn’t have to use any of this though!
– Suggestions and Tips
I wrote out how we usually discipline him if he misbehaves, but also said that we would be open to whatever they felt comfortable with. We just wanted to make sure they knew what he was used to. We also wrote out what to do if he has an allergic reaction (to eggs or bug bites), remedies we use if he gets a cold, and what we have found works if he wakes up in the middle of the night, etc. It was amazing how I kept remembering things to add to this portion of the “document” as we got closer to the date. I’m so glad I got started on it so early so there was lots of time to make additions.
2. We made a crazy amount of lists.
I mentioned this in my previous post, but I had A LOT of lists. The main list was the packing list of everything I needed to pack for Little P. But, I divided it out into what would go in his suitcase and what would be a big item that wouldn’t fit (like booster seat, travel crib, stroller, etc). Making categorized lists like this helped me to feel less overwhelmed.
I also had a list of everything I needed to do ahead of time, such as pack his clothes or go shopping for some of his staple food items ahead of time.
3. We talked to Little Piñata about it.
I have no idea if this actually prepared him well or not, but since he did well I might as well take credit for it, right? A week or so before we left we started talking about how mommy and daddy were going on a trip to Italy and would be gone for a while. We told him he would stay with his friend and then with grandma and grandpa, and that we promised we would come back for him. We did this enough that we could ask him, “where are mommy and daddy going?” and he would answer, “Italy!” He could even tell us who he was going to stay with and in what order.
4. I provided and packed some staple food for while we were gone.
I figured that our friends and family were already so generous as to offer to watch him all day and night for so long, I certainly didn’t want to add additional grocery shopping or cooking to their stress! In “the document” I listed out food he will pretty much always eat and included a lot of that when we dropped him off. I had a reusable grocery bag full of things like almond butter, bread, jelly, fruit cups, bananas, oatmeal, etc. I also packed a cooler of milk, cheese sticks, tomatoes, avocado, and even some leftover pasta I knew he would devour.
5. When packing I organized everything into ziploc bags.
Since our friends were keeping him for 2 days, I didn’t want them to have to search through the whole bag every time they needed something, especially something small like a sunscreen stick. I was inspired by Mrs. Tic Tac Toe’s post and had categorized ziploc bags. One was for swimming clothes (trunks, swim diapers, rash guard t-shirt, etc.), another for pajamas, one for toiletries, etc. That way everything wasn’t just a disorganized mess in his duffel bag and those watching him could find things much easier. I even labeled each ziploc bag, even though I’m sure they could have figured out what was in there without that.
6. We had just about everything ready 2 days ahead of time.
Mr. Piñata and I actually read this tip when we were looking for ways to prepare for jet lag and it was such a lifesaver! I’m usually so bad at getting everything packed up and ready to go at the last minute that we tend to have stressful start to vacation. But, we’ll be doing it this way from now on! We had everything ready to go and packed up (except for last minute items like food for the cooler, sound machine, lovey, etc.) 2 days before we left so that we could be well rested and less stressed as we got ready to leave. Of course I had a list of everything that needed to be packed the day we left (see #2), but other than that everything was at the back door ready to be loaded up. This definitely prevented the usual “day we leave for vacation fight,” plus we had gone to bed at a reasonable hour the last 2 nights and were well rested going into our trip.
There you have it! Those are my quick tips. What have you done to prepare for leaving your kiddos for an extended amount of time?
pineapple / 12053 posts
great tips. we ALWAYS have the day we leave for vacation fight. every single time.
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
When we left C for the first time as a baby, my info doc was no joke 6+ pages single spaced. I was so so nervous. Now I am more lax, though I always leave emergency docs and buy/make a ton of C’s favorite foods..
guest
Ah! I am so worried to leave my monster! He will almost be two when we leave for a week and I don’t know how to mentally prepare for this!
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
Great tips!
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@birdofafeather: I’m glad to know I’m not the only one! Seriously. Every time except for this trip!
@Mrs. Confetti: Yes, I imagine my page would have been MUCH longer had Little P been younger.
@Amanda Rios Fitzgerald: Personally, I think right before 2 is the perfect age!
They don’t have a good concept of time yet, you’re likely not in the potty training phase yet, but at the same time they’re old enough to not be TOO high maintenance. It will definitely be harder for you, but I’m sure your sweet LO will be so well taken care of.
pear / 1696 posts
Thanks for sharing all this! We haven’t left LO overnight yet, but hopefully we will get to plan a little getaway someday soon…I like the organized zip lock bags idea, but I might consider using packing cubes instead, since we’re trying to cut back on our plastic waste:
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&id=102
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
Great tips!! I always organize a ton of things into ziploc bags too!
kiwi / 511 posts
We haven’t done big trips (just 2 weekends one in December and one in Feb). So the travel thing was easy for us. The big thing was prepping my in-laws to take care of our two. Even though they only live 20 minutes away we asked them to stay at our house because it was easier for me, I didn’t have to pack their clothes, diapers, wipes, favorite toys, foods etc. I highly recommend having your caregivers stay at your place if possible.
Then I also had to write up a schedule for them to refer to. Our kids are schedule driven to some extent and we do adjust as necessary, but the schedule helped them read the kids’ cues as to when they were hungry and tired. My MIL loved it. I also planned menus for her and did the shopping because there are food allergies and she is still not quite comfortable meal planning on her own yet. The menu is posted on the refrigerator, I also list suggestions for snacks (if I don’t it will be all Teddy Grahams all the time!).
Then of course we had to leave a medical release form (I use this version http://www.momready.com/articles/content.asp?ID=12) , and we listed their pedi’s number and address, and for each child we had a bulleted list of allergies (food and medical), doses for Tylenol and Advil (just in case they needed it), where the epi pen was, their weight and any medications they were currently on. We also left a copy of the insurance and RX cards since both my DH and I have a set.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Haha, isn’t it funny how people so small can require us to make lists so long?
blogger / apricot / 335 posts
Whoa I never even thought about these things and I plan to leave the baby with my parents some nights too! Gotta save these tips!
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@Seattlemom: The cubes are a good idea! Thankfully, we were able to reuse the ziploc bags for other uses around the house.
@Mrs.Maven: That sounds so nice to have the caregivers come to YOUR house! My parents definitely preferred being in their own house. I love that template for the medical release! I’ll have to use that next time!
@looch: Oh my gosh, yes! And it would have been even more had he been younger.
blogger / cherry / 113 posts
These are such good ideas. I’m really Type A when it comes to trip planning. That medical release is a great thing to have just in case!
blogger / clementine / 750 posts
Great tips!
kiwi / 511 posts
@Mrs. Pinata: I really had to push for them to come to us because they and my DH were originally thinking the kids would go to them. Then I pointed out my in-laws don’t have any outlet covers, they don’t have a gate to the steps. Ten we would need to pack up the booster seat and high chair, the pack and play, food because of all the food allergies since I didn’t want my in laws to have to buy everything. Then there were the medicines and the nebulizer (just in case it is small but just one more thing to pack) and I hadn’t even gotten to diapers, wipes and clothes yet or toys for the kids to play with. Then they realized yeah it is easier for the grandparents to pack for three days and bring a cpap machine.
So if you lay it all out you mind a change of heart. It wouldn’t hurt to try.
blogger / persimmon / 1220 posts
Great tips!
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
There’s a lot of really great tips in here. We’re not in the position to leave our kiddos for extended periods, but man… I’d be back here in a heartbeat if we were!
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
great tips! but, really, i’m just so jealous of your trip to italy!!!
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
I love the ziplock bag tip too. I just used it for packing toys for a long drive so I could pass back stuff that went together without taking my eyes off the road.
We haven’t taken a long trip apart yet. Recently I did 6 days without DH and M, but I just let DH handle it all on his own. He only had to call with a question once. Impressive!