My husband, almost one-year old, and I returned home from a short vacation last night. It was much needed and especially after turning down going to the Caribbean and then regretting it, we were glad to be out of Utah Valley.
We headed down to Cedar City first to visit some family and then went to Las Vegas. The last time we went to Vegas was just after we got pregnant (so quite a while ago) and it was basically miserable. Not only did the cheap hotel concierge tell us that the Sahara Buffet was amazing (and it was some of the worst food I’ve ever eaten), but the whole area we were walking through was trashy. We had no idea where to look in order to avoid nakedness so we walked looking up the entire time. With this in mind, I was worried about going to Las Vegas again but we wanted to see the Jabbawockeez so we made the trip.
The Aria (hotel) had been recommended to us, especially as my husband loves technology and the Aria is the most technological hotel in Vegas. And it was amazing. The first time you walk into the hotel room, the lights turn on, the curtains open, and music starts playing. Our clock allowed us to change the temperature, change the television, change the curtains, change the lights, change the music, and order room service or anything else we needed.
The Jabbawockeez show was not what we expected but was good nonetheless. Originally we had planned to leave our daughter at my sister-in-law’s house and not spend time in Vegas but instead just drive to Vegas to see the show – we were worried our daughter would not want to sit through the entire show. But with our changed plans, we took her to the show. During the pre-show, she sat on my lap and clapped and danced to the music. Once it started, she wanted to be held and rested her head on my shoulder for the entire show. When we tried to cover her eyes from the bright lights that were shone on the audience or cover her ears because of extremely loud sounds, she pushed our hands away so she could watch the entire thing. I’m so glad she wanted to pay attention because that was the biggest worry of the weekend.
On the way to Vegas, we stopped by the store and bought an umbrella stroller. It was honestly the single most needed thing on our vacation for the babe. Without it, life would have been much harder. It was so lightweight, and so easy to maneuver anywhere we were going. So if you go on vacation, I would recommend having or buying one!
I was grateful that we took her pack-n-play with us. It was a bed she was used to and amazingly enough, she figured out the difference (most of the time) between when she was in there for sleeping and when she was in there to play (because we the hotel room was not as baby-proof as needed). She slept so well each night and I’m sure our neighbors were really glad about that. One of our neighbors, I’m pretty sure, glared at us as we entered our room with our daughter in tow as they opened up their door to their room. I could just imagine them thinking, “Great. We’re stuck in a room next to a baby.” But luckily, there was no crying from our room at nights!
Also, I realized that as a mom, vacation involves the same duties as at home, just somewhere else and possibly somewhere more inconvenient. I still had to worry about diapers, baths, naps, and feedings, just outside of the comfort of our home. However, at the same time, it was nice to be able to have my husband there with me to take on some of the responsibility that I’m usually left with from 8 am – 5:30 pm every day.
Here are some of the things my husband and I decided that you can’t leave home without for a vacation for a kid:
- umbrella stroller
- O Cereal (like Cheerios)
- water bottle, sippy cup, etc.
- something that reminds the child of home (for our daughter, it was a big stuffed black bear)
- pack-n-play
