Lauren's first trip to Boston wasn't without excitement.
Wednesday's Adventure:
For starters, when booking the trip I checked with the airline about a short connection and was told that it was an "approved connection" so we shouldn't have a problem. Our connecting flight would be at a nearby gate, and that we should just let the agents know we had a short connection and they'd take care of everything for us. Because of the short connection, I didn't want to check bags. I figured they would stand more of a chance of getting lost, so we had everything (luggage, laptop, diaper bag, pump, etc.) to carry on. In Columbus before we left, the lady at the counter told me that I could either get the stroller and carseat in Baltimore or I could check it all of the way through to Boston. She said that since we had such a short connection that we might not need or want it, but it was up to us. So, I checked it through.
Well, we arrived in Baltimore and while I was waiting for my mom and aunt to get off the plane, I checked to see what gate we needed to head to for our next flight. Boy was I shocked to hear it was in a
different concourse. As soon as mom & aunt patty got off the plane, we took off. I was carrying Lauren over my arm like a sack of potatoes, with a diaper bag and pump around my neck, wheeling a carry-on behind me. No need for a stroller, indeed! As we rounded the corner out of the concourse where we landed, Aunt Patty heard our names over the loudspeaker telling us we needed to be boarding. I told mom to run ahead since we were at the gate at the end of the concourse (of course!). As I was speed-walking along, a Southwest guy stepped out with mom at the end of a moving sidewalk and told us to slow down and not to worry. We were literally the last 3 people to board the plane. Thankfully, most people were saying "oh, what a cute baby" as we got on, but there certainly weren't 3 seats close together left. So much for my boarding position of A10! Poor Lauren was jostled quite a bit and threw up on me, but not a lot (thank goodness).
We arrived in Boston with our stroller and carseat waiting on us and headed to the hotel. That night we had a lovely seafood dinner at Legal Seafood with my college roommate, Marianne. Not wanting to bother Marianne, I didn't ask her to buy diapers for me, but rather mentioned to her when we got to the hotel that we needed her to take us to get some. We forgot, which led to....
Thursday's Adventure:
Buying diapers in Boston is not an easy feat. When packing, I assumed that I'd be able to by diapers at a CVS or other store near the hotel, so I took enough for our travel plus a few extras in the diaper bag. Since we totally forgot about getting diapers with Marianne on Wednesday evening, on Thursday morning it became a necessity when we were down to 3 for the day and Marianne wasn't coming back to town again until Friday evening. Mom walked a mile from the hotel in search of diapers in the early morning hours before the rest of us were up. No luck. She did find a CVS that sold diapers, but they only had size 4 and not size 2. A lady at Dunkin' Donuts suggested wrapping the baby in a towel. Mom went to a number of asian markets where they coudln't understand what she was wanting. The conceriage at the hotel wasn't any help either. Mom reported that the doorman at the hotel said since we were in a former industrial area (the convention center attached to the hotel was new) that we'd likely have to take a cab. I went to breakfast with my clients and mom and Aunt Patty proceeded to call 1/2 dozen CVS's and Walgreens and any other store they could think of. Since the city city part of Boston doesn't have Wal-Marts or Targets, we knew we were down to pharmacy's and mini-marts. Aunt Patty got one lady who told her they did have diapers, but she couldn't leave the register to check what sizes. Many others said they didn't carry them. I came back to the room to check on progress and Aunt Patty found a CVS 5 miles away that had them. I went back down to the room where a presentation was going on and the CEO's secretary asked where I'd gone off to (b/c they were trying to announce me!). Thankfully, it wasn't for my presentations so it wasn't a big deal, but when I explained the diaper situation, she said she could have the hotel get them for me. I told her I'd check with my mom, but didn't think it was necessary.
Back in the room, Aunt Patty was all for the hotel getting them, but when they realized they would be stuck at the hotel all morning (or would have to come back at noon to get the diapers from me) waiting, they decided to just get the diapers themselves. I went down to work and Aunt Patty took a 5 mile (and $26) cab ride to buy a $10 bag of diapers. Unreal. When we saw Marianne on Friday she told us that most of her friends that live in the city order their groceries online and likely do the same with diapers. We never did see a little grocery or store where we could have bought diapers closer to where we were staying while we were out and about.
I did three 90-minute presentations on corporate governance to clients on Thursday. I had one morning session and two in the afternoon. With only 10 minute breaks between the afternoon sessions and a 45-minute break for lunch after the morning one, the schedule wasn't designed with a breast-feeding (and thus, pumping) mother in mind. I chose to eat before pumping after the morning session and ended up having to start our session 5 minutes late so I could pump! Because of questions after our session and waiting in line, the time for lunch went really fast. Since some other sessions ended late, it wasn't a big deal that we started a little late, but I hated seeming a little unprofessional as I told the partner I was traveling with "I just need 5 more minutes" and dashed out of the room with a black bag over my shoulder......I'm thankful my pump has a battery pack and my batteries were charged because I didn't have time to make it to the room. After the fact, the CEO's secretary told me she could have locked me in a coat closet, but I was running so short on time that I just went in the bathroom to the handicapped stall with the baby changing table....not the most sanitary, but hey, dire circumstances! We finished our second session a little early, so I got 10 minutes of pump time before starting the last session......Instead of 15-20 minutes 3x a day, I got 15 minutes total. But, the sessions went well, we were asked lots of questions, and it was nice to be back in the saddle a little bit. The partner that was traveling with me made a special point of telling everyone that I had put together everything on my own time since I was technically on maternity leave still. Made me feel good -- especially since he didn't have to say anything like that.
While I was off working, Lauren was off playing around with mom & Aunt Patty. Oh my. They took her on a trolley sightseeing tour of the city. They didn't want to go through the hassle of getting on and off at the various locations with the stroller and all of her stuff, so they just enjoyed a 2-hour trolley ride tour of the entire city. They said they learned a lot and had a great time.
After the trolley tour, they came back to the hotel so I could feed Lauren before I headed off to a client dinner, and then they were off again!
Lauren celebrated her first St. Patrick's Day in a bar.
Yes, you read correctly. A bar. The hotel bar was having Irish singers and dancers and my mom (loving all things Irish) really wanted to go. So, mom & Aunt Patty dressed Lauren in her green outfit and took her down for appetizers.
On Friday, I wasn't giving any presentations, so I went down to some of the morning sessions at my client's conference, but the afternoon sessions weren't going to mean much to me, so we made plans to meet Marianne after lunch for some sightseeing. We headed over to Quincy Market to get lunch, shop (I wanted to get Hannah a stuffed lobster) and hang out while we waited for Marianne (our wheels) to finish up her patient schedule and come and drive us around.
One of my favorite places in Boston
Aunt Patty really wanted to go to the Cheers Bar!
(so we did, and Lauren went to her second bar in as many days, as we had appetizers there too)
Marianne took us over to the Naval Yard to see the USS Constitution. I'd been there before with Sheri years ago, so I didn't fuss with getting Lauren out of the stroller to go on, but Mom & Aunt Patty did....and had many conversations about how my dad would have loved it. We also spent some time inside the Constitution Museum, which was really interesting (I don't think Sheri and I went in when we did our tour in 2003). They even had a fun children's area that Hannah would have LOVED where you got to climb into hammocks like the sailors would have and use a pulley system to pick up a goat!
Sisters!
Our last stop with Marianne was to Boston Garden and Boston Common to walk around. It was a really beautiful day for Boston in March. I think it was almost 70 degrees outside, so we had a great walk. We also got our pictures taken with the "Make Way for Ducklings" public artwork.
I had another client dinner on Friday night and then we headed home on Saturday. It was a great trip. I know Lauren gave mom and Aunt Patty fits a couple of times in the evening -- not wanting to take bottles and not wanting to settle down -- but thankfully they survived!! I'm so glad that Mom was able (and willing) to take time off work for me like that, and I'm glad that Aunt Patty was able to go too. I'm sure mom enjoyed the company while I was off running around, and it was nice to be able to pass the screaming baby off on someone else : )
Mom told me the trip gave her a taste of what retirement will be like, and I think she's looking forward to wrapping up her teaching career this summer! I'm just glad that I have family that will step in an help out in any way necessary (and family that will cajole me into sitting on a bronze duck in a park!).
