Alaska 2006:

Traci and I are currently in the Anchorage Airport awaiting our next flight to Nome, AK at 6AM (It's 4AM Alaska time as I write this). The Anchorage Airport does have free wi-fi, which I think is an improvement over last year. That and the Starbuck's is now 24 hours (sweet)!

Kylie did great on the first leg of our flight (11PM - 2AM PST). There were many other crying babies on board... but at least for the sake of those around us, it wasn't Kylie.

Q: Why are we going to Alaska with a 6 week old baby?
A: Why not? The long answer is that we've been making an annual pilgrimage to Alaska for the last several years. Traci has been on staff with a substance abuse camp outside of Unalakleet for a couple years now called "Camp Gilead". This year, we were both to be on staff, but this past Monday we learned that the camp had been cancelled this year for a variety of reasons. It would've been nice to know that a little bit more in advance of our trip. But, we have our trip booked.

Traveling with a baby is hard work! There's a lot of stuff you need to bring with you in support of your baby, especially for an extended trip (we'll be in Alaska for 2 weeks). Having the right kind of gear will help. We're still learning. We did learn that Dr. Brown's bottles don't work without the patended "tube", they'll leak out the top.

Hopefully, our next flight will be good. It is usually on an antiquated 737-combi (half cargo, half passenger). This flight runs to Kotzebue (North of the Arctic cirle), before hitting Nome. So we'll have two take-offs and landings to contend with for Kylie. Now that I think about it. It'll be impressive that Kylie will have crossed the Arctic circle at 6 weeks old.

We'll be in Nome for a few days before coming down to Anchorage to meet up with my high-school/college roommate Ty. He lives here and works for a Civil Engineering firm. Traci and will be scoping out property this trip, and also spend some time taking in the sights of Anchorage and surounding areas (Kenai Fjords, Denali, Eagle River, Wasilla, etc.).

Other baby carrier products. We've just invested in the Moby wrap. I've heard it called different names. It is essentially a long piece of spandex/cotton material that can be tied around your body in a variety of way to support the baby. We figured this was less bulky than the Baby Bjorn, and that it would be good for travel.

http://www.mobywrap.com/

Here are two baby carrier products that were given to us. The Sling and the Baby Bjorn. The Sling is nice, though Kylie hasn't quite grown into it yet. The Bjorn was nice for hiking, though her head would bounce off my chest with each step... it'll be better as she grows older. Both are handy for doing stuff around the house and freeing your hands.