Attending a wedding with Infant!!
Dear Friends,
Every wedding season, there is always this very fun and close friend's or relative's wedding that you were always planning on attending. The dress, the dance, the destination all sounds very exciting, but if you are a Mom , then the mood swings, poops and burps, naps and feeds, along with a lot of drama will follow. So is it all worth it?
Well, you won't believe I missed my best friend's wedding in Goa, where I had promised to be a bridesmaid, because my daughter was only 4 months old.
Then came my cousin's wedding, and this time my daughter was seven months old. The thing is, the wedding was from my husband's side of thee family and I have never even met the groom before!! I wanted to meet my extended family, as the last I must have seen all of them was in my wedding, and so I had decided to attend this one.
The wedding was out of town, and we had planned a three day trip. We arrived a day before the functions were to start and that gave me time to bond and get my daughter acquainted to the new atmosphere.
Now, be prepared for a complete change in behavior of your child. My daughter who is always friendly and smiles a lot, became cranky when she met all the new members of her family. Obviously she was the youngest, and so she had hogged all the attention. She refused to let go of me and wanted me to carry her around at all times.
The good thing was, I took her stroller along, so during dinners and family get togethers, she was comfortable in there and parked next to me.
The next day, there was a Mehendi function followed by Garba, obviously the Gujrati wedding is incomplete without one. So if you have to attend a Mehendi function, you can easily apply it on your hands during your Infant's nap time. I did that, and when she woke up I washed it off. The color may not be that dark, but if you love get a henna tattoo then go ahead. My husband was on the baby duty, while I danced my heart out.
My daughter was eating pureed foods, so I had carried Gerber brand's stage one, two and three food boxes. She loved the blackberry, blueberry and banana puree, the carrot puree, the oats, apple and cinnamon puree and the banana puree. I had ordered these boxes online. You will need three food boxes per day along with milk.This made my life easy, as I did not have to stress about her food. It's really light weight and will nor occupy a lot space in your bag.
Then, the wedding and reception was on a terrace and it was super windy. I had no idea the weather would be different on top, and ya I did not pack any warm stuff. My advice is to carry a sweater and a cap as the weather is always unpredictable. My daughter wore comfortable clothes, Indian wear in Cotton silk and a beautiful frilly sequin frock. The trick is to make your child wear a comfortable onesie inside.
From my experience I would like to share the pro tips with you all.
1) For airplane travel, I used a soother, only during take off and landing she was sucking the soother. If you are able to feed and that will also help your child to relieve from the air pressure, if not don't be afraid to try a soother.
2) Plan your infant's meals in advance and it's always a better idea to carry it with you. You can also request the staff in the hotel, to make something of your choice for your infant, but I would suggest to have Gerber food puree's as it is healthy and your child will definitely have it. I tried it for the first time and my daughter ate it. Was such a relief that I didn't have to go around hunting for her food, or wait for someone to help me prepare it.
3) Carry extra diapers, more than you normally use in a day, rattles and favourite toy, stroller, clothes and blankets.
4) Carry a travel case for baby essentials.
This one is very pretty and I had ordered from www.pamperhamper.com. It has a plastic mat for diaper change and four pockets to keep daipers, wipes, bib, napkin and food box.
This was a life saver, I didn't have to carry around the entire baby bag at all times. I just could pack the essentials and refill it at the hotel each night. Also you can keep some of the toys handy in the stroller pocket or in your hand bag.
5) Also carry your infant's prescribed medicine for common cough, cold and fever, In public places the chances of infection are always high. Avoid feeding her anything new. Do not feed her juices, or fruits from the wedding buffet, the immunity of your child may not be fully developed to counter the bacteria.
P.S
Have lot fun and let go of the Mom guilt, if you don't bathe your infant for few days, like I did,or if you stayed out late and not adhere to the night sleep time, like I did. My daughter usually sleeps at 8pm, but she was all up till 11.30 pm and having a blast. Do not be afraid to ask for help from your family and learn to share responsibilities with your husband. Like for example, I was enjoying the Mehendi and Garba function while my husband was responsible fro your daughter, and the next day, he was dancing like a pro at the Baraat, while I stayed back with our little angel. So the key to stress management is proper planning and sharing of responsibilities. This way, nothing is difficulty and you can enjoy most of it!!
Love you all!!
Every wedding season, there is always this very fun and close friend's or relative's wedding that you were always planning on attending. The dress, the dance, the destination all sounds very exciting, but if you are a Mom , then the mood swings, poops and burps, naps and feeds, along with a lot of drama will follow. So is it all worth it?
Well, you won't believe I missed my best friend's wedding in Goa, where I had promised to be a bridesmaid, because my daughter was only 4 months old.
Then came my cousin's wedding, and this time my daughter was seven months old. The thing is, the wedding was from my husband's side of thee family and I have never even met the groom before!! I wanted to meet my extended family, as the last I must have seen all of them was in my wedding, and so I had decided to attend this one.
The wedding was out of town, and we had planned a three day trip. We arrived a day before the functions were to start and that gave me time to bond and get my daughter acquainted to the new atmosphere.
Now, be prepared for a complete change in behavior of your child. My daughter who is always friendly and smiles a lot, became cranky when she met all the new members of her family. Obviously she was the youngest, and so she had hogged all the attention. She refused to let go of me and wanted me to carry her around at all times.
The good thing was, I took her stroller along, so during dinners and family get togethers, she was comfortable in there and parked next to me.
The next day, there was a Mehendi function followed by Garba, obviously the Gujrati wedding is incomplete without one. So if you have to attend a Mehendi function, you can easily apply it on your hands during your Infant's nap time. I did that, and when she woke up I washed it off. The color may not be that dark, but if you love get a henna tattoo then go ahead. My husband was on the baby duty, while I danced my heart out.
My daughter was eating pureed foods, so I had carried Gerber brand's stage one, two and three food boxes. She loved the blackberry, blueberry and banana puree, the carrot puree, the oats, apple and cinnamon puree and the banana puree. I had ordered these boxes online. You will need three food boxes per day along with milk.This made my life easy, as I did not have to stress about her food. It's really light weight and will nor occupy a lot space in your bag.
Then, the wedding and reception was on a terrace and it was super windy. I had no idea the weather would be different on top, and ya I did not pack any warm stuff. My advice is to carry a sweater and a cap as the weather is always unpredictable. My daughter wore comfortable clothes, Indian wear in Cotton silk and a beautiful frilly sequin frock. The trick is to make your child wear a comfortable onesie inside.
From my experience I would like to share the pro tips with you all.
1) For airplane travel, I used a soother, only during take off and landing she was sucking the soother. If you are able to feed and that will also help your child to relieve from the air pressure, if not don't be afraid to try a soother.
2) Plan your infant's meals in advance and it's always a better idea to carry it with you. You can also request the staff in the hotel, to make something of your choice for your infant, but I would suggest to have Gerber food puree's as it is healthy and your child will definitely have it. I tried it for the first time and my daughter ate it. Was such a relief that I didn't have to go around hunting for her food, or wait for someone to help me prepare it.
3) Carry extra diapers, more than you normally use in a day, rattles and favourite toy, stroller, clothes and blankets.
4) Carry a travel case for baby essentials.
This was a life saver, I didn't have to carry around the entire baby bag at all times. I just could pack the essentials and refill it at the hotel each night. Also you can keep some of the toys handy in the stroller pocket or in your hand bag.
5) Also carry your infant's prescribed medicine for common cough, cold and fever, In public places the chances of infection are always high. Avoid feeding her anything new. Do not feed her juices, or fruits from the wedding buffet, the immunity of your child may not be fully developed to counter the bacteria.
P.S
Have lot fun and let go of the Mom guilt, if you don't bathe your infant for few days, like I did,or if you stayed out late and not adhere to the night sleep time, like I did. My daughter usually sleeps at 8pm, but she was all up till 11.30 pm and having a blast. Do not be afraid to ask for help from your family and learn to share responsibilities with your husband. Like for example, I was enjoying the Mehendi and Garba function while my husband was responsible fro your daughter, and the next day, he was dancing like a pro at the Baraat, while I stayed back with our little angel. So the key to stress management is proper planning and sharing of responsibilities. This way, nothing is difficulty and you can enjoy most of it!!
Love you all!!
Very nice
ReplyDeleteGood pointers Mama!!
ReplyDelete