A New Perspective

We're back from our quick trip to Buffalo and have lots of tales to tell. I hope to post several new stories this week.

Until last week, Greyson still sat rear-facing in his car seat. It's safer and he didn't seem miserable, so there he stayed. As he approaches his second birthday, we've been debating when to make the big switch. Our trip to Buffalo seemed like the perfect time - he would ride in his car seat forward-facing on the plane, and then in the rental car, and upon his return home.

As much as I hate it, Greyson has ridden forward-facing in his car seat in his dad's truck a few times. I hate it because he has to ride in the front seat, but since we only have one car with a backseat, it has to do in a real pinch. He begs to ride in daddy's truck, to go fast! So we knew he was ready to "turn the seat around" as Gloria Estefan might say.

We made the big switch Thursday night, and his first ride was Friday morning on the way to the airport. He immediately loved the new view, pointing out everything he saw - cars and trucks and motorcycles, etc. He loved the red and green traffic lights, and we explained how we have to stop on red and go on green. He thinks the other light is orange, but that's ok since he doesn't have to pass the driver's test for a few years. His delight with facing forward continued through our whole trip, and even now he's excited to go for a ride in the car. What a difference! He didn't hate his seat before, but he sure loves it now.

The only problem is that the seat is more upright when facing forward, and I'm afraid his days of sleeping comfortably in the car are over. Now he nods off, or slumps over, drooling all the while. It hasn't stopped him from falling asleep in the car (or on the plane) but it has certainly shortened his naps.

Greyson did remarkably well on our trip, riding in so many planes, trains, and automobiles. I think his favorite was the "school bus" - his favorite mode of transportation, and the generic name he applied to the airport shuttle bus as well as the airplane itself. Yes Greyson, a plane is kind of like a big school bus. Of the five hours we spent in the air, I would say only about 20 minutes of that was stressful. Actually it was all stressful for fraidy-cat me, but only 20 minutes was stressful due to flying with a toddler. We were well prepared, calm, and the whole family did a great job of traveling together. I'm not quite ready to do it again soon, but happy to report it was totally worth the hassle.