A blog conference and Traveling with a baby

FIRST:

I am giving away a ticket to a neat conference going on this fall. Just leave me a comment if you are interested in going and I will notify the winner Tuesday.

Where will the conference be 

THE BEAUTIFUL Sheraton Keystone in Indianapolis, IN

(ps - it's connected to a massive beautiful mall)

When 

Still the 11-13th of October 

(we'll start Thursday evening and end Saturday night) 

Who 

All women are invited. 

It's not JUST a blogging conference, but it will be super beneficial for women who are looking to leverage the internet to make much of Jesus. 

What

 The conference will be made up a few different components. 

First of all, we'll be having some life sessions and some strategy sessions. 

The life sessions will center around the idea of applying the gospel where the Lord has given you influence in your own personal, real-life world. 

The strategy sessions will be chock full of wisdom for those of you building brands, endeavoring online and creative businesses - and all those sessions will be centered around the gospel as well. 

           We've said it once and we'll say it again. We truly believe this is a conference where a superstar blogger can bring her best friend who wouldn't know how to log into facebook if she tried and they will BOTH leave feeling refreshed, encouraged and excited to use the influence God has given them. 

Read more HERE.

Go to the website and learn more.

www.theinfluenceconference.com 

And on another note - this is another post in my series on the first year with a baby:

It can be stressful to even think about traveling with a baby. I'll be honest: now that we have two, just the thought overwhelms me so much we rarely go anywhere. Packing is the thing I dread the most. But when Harper was a baby, we took several trips. Her grandparents live 3 hours and 6.5 hours away, so we traveled several times to see them.

The key is to be organized and think ahead. You have to really consider anything your baby might need while you are gone. We are fortunate that both sets of grandparents bought cribs and set up a room for our kids, and they also have high chairs, so that makes it easy for us to go visit. But you still have to think about clothes, bibs, diapers, food, pacifiers, pajamas, toys, etc.

A great tip for car trips is to try to travel at a time when your baby will sleep the most. Leave right at nap time and they will sleep most of the way (depending on the length of the trip), or leave at bedtime. Be prepared to make lots of stops to eat or change diapers. You just have to be patient and not be in a hurry to get somewhere. Nursing adds a whole new dimension when you are traveling, but it can be done!

When Harper was a baby, we took several plane trips as well. Harper and I once tagged along with Scott on a work trip to Ohio. It was actually a great experience. I was able to nurse her on the flight and then she slept most of the way. (Nursing on a plane is WAY out of my comfort zone, but it was fine.)

It's hard to establish naps when you are traveling, but it can be done too. While Scott went to meetings, I would put Harper in her pajamas and make the room dark and cool and she would actually take great naps!

We also went to the beach when she was about 8 months old. It was really fun, but vacations with small kids are anything but relaxing! We went by plane on this trip too, and it was great except that coming home we got stuck on the plane for four hours and then in the airport for several more hours. (The plus side is we got stuck with the David Crowder Band--my favorite--and got to meet them!) The best tip is to be COMPLETELY flexible when traveling with kids and try to keep your cool.

Also, be creative. Our favorite thing about this beach trip is we dug a "baby hole" in the sand. We dug this big hole, then put a ton of towels in it and a huge umbrella over it. Harper took the BEST naps there because it was cool and shaded, and we were able to stay out on the beach while she slept. We still sometimes wish we had a "baby hole" at our house.

Having kids shouldn't keep you stranded at home. It makes it more complicated, but they can add a lot of fun to your travels. Seeing the world through your children's eyes is one of the greatest pleasures a parent can have!
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