Mama On the Road

Boston's North End. Thought of my Parmenter family!

The last two weeks have been a blur! I've had two 48-hour trips with two stops each! Last week, I went to Boston and Washington D.C. in 48-hours to charter two new ExactTarget user communities. I was traveling with my coworker, Rachel, and we grabbed a fun Italian dinner in Boston's North End less than a week before the mayhem unfolded with the Marathon.

Then this week, I headed back to D.C. to meet with a client who wants to start up a private user community for their company. I spent a brief night there before heading to Toronto for their user community meeting. I was in Toronto for only a day trip and then was home that evening. I barely made my flight home that night because of bad storms stunting travel in Detroit and Chicago. Thank goodness the sweet Delta agent booked me for the direct Air Canada flight back to Indy about an hour before it took off. But that meant I had to sprint the long haul between different terminals at the Toronto airport and then hurry through customs and security again. That was my closest call for sure. If I hadn't made that fight, I wouldn't have been home until the following day which was another day of tricky travel around storms. When I asked for help getting out of the first terminal, one agent asked me when my departure time was and then told me that I'd never make it so I should just give up. I'm so glad that I didn't. Ava was so happy that mama was home when she woke up!

Before I left this week, Ava told "mama, I'll be so sad when you're gone." I hugged her and reassured her that I'd be home the next night after she went to sleep. I replayed that moment in my mind when I ran to the flight to get home!

Beautiful view crossing the Columbia River

Dinner with Daddy while I was traveling

Ever since becoming a mother, traveling for work has taken a different flavor. It involved intense longing for my own bed and my family at home. But while I'm gone, I enjoy small moments of peace usually from the back seat of a cab or the seat of a train. It's strange in that moment not to on duty for making dinner, helping change into dress-up clothes, or get my preschooler a healthy snack. Traveling requires much more preparation than ever before! Before I leave, I make sure to do bath night, laundry, and prep lunches before I head to the airport. Aaron is a dedicated father, as you can imagine, who arranges his schedule to take Ava to school and back again in the evening. They have dinner dates too! While I was at a happy hour in D.C. with our clients after the charter meeting, I got a text from Aaron that he took her to the mall for dinner at their renovated food court. Those moments that connect me with home are bittersweet.

Cherry Blossoms in D.C.

I book my travel for the minimal time away from my family. It's too hard for me to be away for an extended time for all of us, even if it means waking at 3am for an early 6am departure. My company is empathetic, especially because we're balancing two travel schedules! Aaron and I both work for ExactTarget, our jobs requiring travel for customer meetings. But if I have to take Ava to a doctor appointment at 8:30am on a week day, it's not a big deal since I'm usually on the road. Time balances out.

I spend lots of time in route - the airport, taxis, trains, walking, and in all that time away my heart is always tied so closely to my family back home. Before we had Ava, I missed Aaron of course, but it wasn't a big deal to stay over night or extend time in a city. Now, I soak in as much as I can before rushing back to the airport.

Cozy spot to moderate #ETcafe Twitter chat

I find ways of making it work. Organization and planning ahead really help me stay sane. And on the nights and weekends we're home all together we take more time for laughs and family hugs. I'm about to enjoy some weeks at home before my next trip to Atlanta in May!

Sunny view from Toronto office

Day Trip Mama

Hooray for Nursing Room! Then I realized it was a bathroom too.

My coworkers think it's hilarious, but I'm known for my day trips for work travel. I get up very early and head to a city to meet with clients and then head home that night. The longest I've flown for the day is Phoenix and it was about 21 hours away from home! I had to transfer in Memphis on the way out, but I got home on a direct flight.

I love day trips because it's easier on my family being a mother to a young kiddo. My work requires me to travel and when I do, I try for a day trip. I just had my first overnight trip away from Ava since she was born, only a few weeks ago for a work event in Toronto. I'm really glad that I waited until Ava was old enough to understand that I was leaving. When you're a mother it's so darn hard on the kids when you're away. Aaron told me that Ava missed me so much. My day trips have forced Aaron to to creatively figure a different bedtime routine without nursing. They've developed their own routine for when I'm gone. And some nights, he'll take her to dinner out at a restaurant and send me a picture of their special bonding time. It's really sweet!

I believe that a mother and baby should be together as much as possible in these early formative years. Research also shows that a baby needs their mother present as much as possible. In fact, the trusted bond with a mother and baby, results in a more independent child and adult. Our nursing relationship has always reinforced this belief.

When I travel for long day trips or my overnight, I have to bring my breast pump and creatively find places to pump in airports, hotels, client's offices and search for places to freeze my cooler bags and store my milk. The TSA requires cooler packs to be frozen so I'm always looking for places to store my packs in a freezer. When I've been at my client's offices or hotels, people have been really accommodating to me. Airports are the worst for a nursing mother who needs a place to pump. Apart from the Indy airport, no other airports that I've been in have a dedicated lactation room that isn't in a bathroom. The Indy airport is new and they took the time to put in two mother's room (inside and outside of security) for mothers to nurse or pump. But since it's my home airport, I've only used it once.

With day trips, I spend my time on the ground in a city looking from a window of a cab or building. But I enjoy it!

The Toronto and Dallas airports call their family bathrooms "nursing rooms." I took the picture above of a sign that was outside of the room. It shows the international breastfeeding symbol on the front. I waited for over 10 minutes for the room, then a guy struts out after "doing his business." I was really disappointed to learn it was also a bathroom. I told him that I had to pump milk in there and showed him the sign. He was clueless!

A few TSA agents have tried to bully me into putting my expressed milk through the x-ray machines. Most of the times, that's a rare occasion and the agents are really nice. If you ask for alternative screening, they will open the bottle of milk and wave a paper over the opening, then place the paper in a machine or just use a paper on the outside of the bottles and bag. I've tried to find information if it's safe to put breastmilk in the x-ray machine and found very little about it. So, I go on the safer side.

I travel with a heavy pump and gear all over airports and cabs while hauling my work computer. I'm happy to do it because it protects my nursing relationship.

A month ago, I got an email to our La Leche League group from a mother traveling to Indy for work who decided it was easier to donate her milk locally, than to carry it home to her baby. I met her just before she went to the airport and picked up her milk in a cooler. That night, I met up with two families who gratefully received the donation. I was happy to see that loving act from one family to others for babies in need.

In my breastfeeding support group, we have lots of moms that ask how they can travel while maintaining their breastfeeding relationship. My suggestion is try to see if you can (1) travel with your nursling or (2) minimize your travel away. For my first trip, I traveled with my mother-in-law and she was the "Granny Nanny" while I was working. It was awesome. Then, I traveled with Ava and found childcare by asking a client or using a personal connection when we arrived. That worked  for trip home to the Bay Area, Portland, and even Chicago just last week. Here's my blog post on toddler travel tips when we went to San Francisco last summer. If you travel without your nursling, minimizing your time away is key. That means a day trip or prioritizing the days that you must attend the events. The truth is that it's really hard to be away from your baby and kids. Aaron has to leave work earlier to do daycare pick-up and then we have to prep for when I'm gone. I make sure the cloth diapers are clean and Ava's bag is packed for daycare.

Pumping on the road can be a challenge, but you can do it! I can't tell you how many times, I've had to pump in a public restroom out in the open. I use a Simple Wishes pumping bra and a Bravado nursing tank so I have very little skin exposed. The bustier covers my breasts and my tank covers my midsection. It's really uncomfortable when you're hand expressing when there are small children and people gawking at you. I know other moms have pumped using a nursing cover even on a plane or at a gate. I'm not that brave, I guess. 

Finding places to pump at hotels and offices isn't bad. You can usually ask for an empty office or if you have a colleague who has a hotel room, you can pump in there. I have pumped in server rooms at offices. That works! Hotels usually give you a refrigerator when you ask for them and they are usually free of charge for storing milk. When I was in Toronto, I had to give up my hotel room at noon. I asked my coworker if I could pump in her room since she was busy at the conference. She got a second key for me to access her room and I asked the hotel staff to bring the refrigerator from my room to hers. I really needed the freezer for my cooler packs for the TSA rules.

Bring your pump and cooler bag on your carry-on bag. I store my flanges in a Ziploc bag in the cooler. If you're gone multiple days and coming home with a lot of milk, try to store them in a larger cooler bag with large bottles to store it something sturdy. When I traveled overnight, I brought a bottle brush and dish wash liquid to clean the pump parts and bottles at the hotel.

The bottom line is that you have to be creative, use your resources, and be upfront with people to set expectations while you're traveling that you'll need to pump since you're away from your baby. It may take more planning ahead, but you can make it work! I'd love to hear other tips and advice from moms that have done it before!

San Francisco

I was just out in San Francisco with Ava and my mother-in-law, Michele. We had an awesome time! It was a business trip, but since I'm from the Baby Area, I wanted to bring Ava out to spend time with family and friends. It was my first trip since she was born and with her newly walking, I was a bit nervous. I was thrilled when Michele said she was available to come out with us. She watched Ava during the work week and they ventured out in the city together. Michele flew with all of her kids as young children so I felt confident going with her for our first inaugural flight! It worked out perfectly! We flew out on Saturday and came home on Thursday. I wasn't sure how Ava would adjust to the 3-hour time difference, but she was very flexible. Here's my post on toddler travel tips.

We arrived to the hotel at noon on Saturday and we decided to unpack and let Ava stretch her legs. We walked to Whole Foods to pick up supplies for the week. For dinner, we grabbed Chinese takeout from an excellent place that specializes in Dim Sum (but we didn't get go back the next morning to try it). We Skyped with Aaron so he could say goodnight to Ava. She whimpered when she saw Daddy on Skype, but was very excited to see Bena on the computer! Aaron said that the house was very quiet without us and that Bena was a little off while we were gone.

Sunday was an amazing day! We met up with family and friends at Crissy Field Park, which has gorgeous views of the Golden Gate Bridge. We had sunny weather, though it was a bit cool with the breeze. Ava got to spend the afternoon with all three of her Grandmas! My stepmom (Meme) and my brother, Braden, drove in from Sacramento for the afternoon. They were so excited because they haven't been to visit us in Indiana so they were dying to meet Ava. They picked us up from the hotel and drove us to the park. My mom (Grandma Anna) and her boyfriend, Bernard, drove up to see us. My mom hadn't seen Ava since she was 5-weeks old! Ava fell asleep at the park on a blanket and Meme got to hold her for a bit. James, Kelly, and their son, Ethan came up from San Jose and then Romeo and Jeff drove out from Sacramento too. We had a bring your own picnic lunch and it was so relaxing! I'll never forget it!

I worked in the office Monday through Wednesday, but it was close enough to walk back at lunch to nurse Ava. It was hard to leave her for both of us because she cried for a few seconds when I'd leave. Grandma called herself the "Granny Nanny" on the trip got pretty creative at distracting Ava while I was leaving. They spent a lot of time in the lobby of the hotel walking around. Ava was just learning to walk that week so it was fun to stretch her skills on different surfaces like grass, cement, tile, and rugs. That was a big day for Ava and Grandma because they took a cable car ride up to Nob Hill and then Grandma carried her back in the pack through Chinatown. Michele was exhausted by the end, but they had fun and Ava fell asleep in the carrier. What a surprise! We grabbed dinner together on Monday night after work in the Ferry Building at a burger place. Ava was obsessed with the birds and seagulls! She practically yelled and pointed when she saw them. When we walked around the city, she looked up at the buildings and the people walking around. I could tell she really enjoyed seeing new things.

On Tuesday it rained ALL day! It was chilly too. So Michele took Ava on a stroller ride inside the hotel and they went swimming at the hotel pool. She's very creative. I guess you can tell she's done it before! Grandma let her walk around the empty dining room of the restaurant and Ava had her first taste of Fruit Loops. She wouldn't eat the orange ones.

On our last day in San Francisco, Michele took Ava (in the stroller this time) to the Legion of Art Museum. They had a great time! Even though it was on the other side of the city, Michele got directions with the bus and they spent the afternoon looking at fine art. They saw the Rodin sculptures. I love the pictures that Michele took with Ava walking all around the courtyard and by the art. That evening after I was done with my work meeting, we walked to a Thai restaurant for dinner. Ava was tired from the day, so we had to eat fast. We distracted her by putting an orchid in her hair.

Our flight from SFO was at 7:45am so we woke up very early. We had plenty of time to get to our gate. The airport security let us through faster since we had a baby and we had a bit more time to let her walk around. Ava got a bit antsy on the longer flight to Indy, but we entertained her. She nursed a lot and slept on my lap. Grandma sang and read to her. Aaron picked us up and it felt so great to be home! We missed each other, but it was great to know that Ava is a good little traveler and she enjoyed seeing a new city! What an amazing trip!

Great Packable Snack Idea: Individual Nut Butter Packets

I'm always on the lookout for nutritious snacks that I can pack away in my bag for travel or in everyday running around! I believe that having a nutritious snack on-hand helps you avoid eating a fast/junk food, which really doesn't do much for your energy. For example, the apples with caramel sauce option at some fast food chains is a treat, but not a nutritious snack because it contains high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Nutritionally, you're better off packing your own snacks, but even more reason--it saves you time! You don't have to go searching for food. If you treat your body well and in good health, your body will naturally be hungry after 3-4 hours. To keep your metabolism going, a healthy well-portioned snack gives you the energy boost to keep going.

Back to the nut butter packets...I bought these to pack in my bag for the hospital. When I go into active labor patterns, I'm going to make my way to the hospital with Aaron and my doula. This is my first baby, but from my research and knowing my body, I'll need healthy light snacks to keep my energy up. Midwives and doulas recommend that laboring women eat lightly and drink regular fluids to keep their energy strong during labor. I'm all over it! What else is in my snack bag for the hospital? ...Natural juice boxes, Horizon low-fat milk in a box, crackers, and trail mix. Plus, I know Aaron will forget to eat and having the snacks available for both of us will be very helpful!

These nut butters "Honey Peanut Butter" and "Maple Almond Butter" are all-natural and I plan to spread them on crackers or whole wheat bread. They were only $.79 at my local Whole Foods near the other nut butters. These small packages are convenient to add to your computer bag, travel carry-on, diaper bag, or purse! Don't forget to mix them before you squeeze them since the oil separates from the nut butter.

If you have a nut allergy, this is not the snack for you, but click here to find more packable snack ideas. If anyone has tried this brand, please let me know how they taste in the comments below!

Be a Road Warrior - Say "No" to Jet Lag!

I love to travel and used to do it a lot more for my job before I got married. Now, with all those trips under my belt, I learned how to adjust to time zones quickly to enjoy my vacation or if I'm on a business trip, stay focused on work. I've had my share of jet lag. I distinctly remember sleeping in a conference room in Mexico City for 20 minutes because I couldn't keep my eyes open!

This picture from 2002 from a business trip in Tokyo, in Shibuya, with my coworker. Working at McAfee, I went on a 5 country road trip to Asia in 2 weeks launching our new products! I went to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, and Sydney. I didn't realized how spread out the region is until I had to fly all those legs. We visited each new office training sales reps, partners, and hosting customers. There was no time to have jet lag!


We've all had jet lag before! It's when you can't sleep, can't stay awake, and most likely have a headache. Your body is out of sync!


This week, I'm away at a software tradeshow in Los Angeles. I'm going to work on the booth, talk to customers, soak in the industry news, and in the off hours work on my product launch. It's going to be a crazy week. So again...no time of jet lag! When you're traveling, that's the time to seize the moment. Staying awake and energetic is so important, but it can be hard, especially when your body clock is disrupted!

Here are tips that have worked for me when I travel to minimize the effects of jet lag.

• Fake the new time zone - when you arrive, live in that time. If it's morning, stay awake, evening go to sleep. It starts with the plane ride. If you arrive in the morning, you need to sleep on your flight so you can stay awake all day (see last tip). I bring Tyelonol PM with me to help me fall asleep on overnight flights.


• Hydrate - drink water before, throughout, and after your flight and try to avoid alcohol or caffeine, which dehydrate you. I often wait to buy a coffee until I land for my morning flights.


• Healthy snacks on flight - eat light and at the right meal time as your trip. You don't need a lot of energy to sit on a plane for hours anyway.


• Sleep well before your trip - getting a full night's sleep the night before your trip, helps because you're not working with a sleep deficit.


• Stock up on the goodies - sleep mask, ear plugs, inflatable pillow are great for overnight flights to help you sleep on the flight or in your hotel at night. For women, I like to bring my pashmina scarf to keep warm on the flights so I don't have to use the airline provided blankets. Airlines are cutting back on that anyway, so it's good to have your own.

On the Road Again...Don't Leave Home Without These Travel Essentials

I spent the evening packing for my trip tomorrow. I'm going back home to see my family in Northern California. I used to travel all the time for business. These days, I hardly travel, but I have my packing routine to a science! When I'm on the road, I pack things that I can use to keep my healthy lifestyle in check. Here are a few tips that may help you on your next trip, whether your going business or pleasure.

Meals & Snacks/Carry-on:

• Refillable, durable water bottle empty the bottle before you go through security and you can wash the bottle throughout your trip, fill up at water fountains, and save lots money on buying bottled water at the airport.
• Non-perishable snacks like dried fruit and individual packaged trail mix (shown above) are great because they don't spoil and it's better than buying an expensive or unhealthy snack. Granola is another good idea. You can always find yogurt on the go so you can top it with granola for a quick breakfast.
• Individual packed wet wipes are great for cleaning your hands after a flight or when there is no soap in public restrooms. I like natural, non-drying varieties.
• Your iPOD filled with energizing music for workouts is a good idea. I also make sure it's synced with podcasts and fully charged the night before.
• Meal for flight - don't forget to pack a nutritious meal. I go for a sandwich or salad with fruit. I use disposable containers so I don't have to bring them back with me. Or try these ideas.

Exercise Gear:

• Sneakers for touring around and you can jog or walk anywhere in the hotel treadmill or city sidewalks.
• Resistance band doesn't take much space and you can do lot of different exercises in a small space with a band. Check these band exercises out for ideas.
• Exercise clothing I pack 2 sets of exercise gear and socks and bring linen spray to freshen them. You can use hangers to let them dry after your workout.

Checked Luggage:

• Sunscreen is essential for protecting your skin. I pack it every time and make sure it's not too old so it is still effective.
• Vitamins help you keep your energy. You may be getting less restful sleep at a hotel or simply being exposed on planes and public transportation to germs so having your vitamins with you is a good idea.
• My heart monitor is small enough to pack and I don't exercise without it.

If you have more travel ideas and essentials please send me an email. I'd love to hear them!