Brayden took his first flight when he was just shy of 4 months old! And it’s safe to say that I was a complete stress case before the five hour flight. First, did we have EVERYTHING? Carseat, stroller, Ergo carrier, diapers, formula, etc.?? Good lord this baby required a ton of luggage! I was so worried about the arsenal of baby gear that I didn’t even know that I needed to bring Brayden’s birth certificate with us in order to check him in for the flight! Total amateur mom move for sure! I was completely disappointed in myself. I usually have all my research done and am on top of all travel requirements. But this was a fail. No way around this one.
Would Leon have to rush home to grab it? Would we miss our flight now? My heart sank. I desperately explained to the woman at the ticket counter that clearly we had never flown with a baby before and had no idea what we were doing! Thankfully, she took pity on us and checked us in without his birth certificate! We were so grateful. Vacation was saved! (Thank you, Hawaiian Airlines!)
We were on our way! I could breather a little easier now that we had survived check-in and security, and were safely on our plane. Brayden did so well on the flight. He didn’t even cry once! He was his usual, happy self switching between Mom and Dad, and he took a few naps as well. All in all, a very successful first flight for our family of three!
In a nutshell, Maui was amazing! We had some great meals out (which is something we don’t do often back at home). Our first stop is always Cheeseburger in Paradise. I think it might be more for the view than the burgers though! Another favorite spot is The Plantation House at the Kapalua Golf Course. Another great restaurant with amazing views of the greens and the ocean!
We took our family beach stroll every morning and Brayden was so happy just having the ocean breeze on his face and the sound of the waves crashing around him. He was so peaceful! He honestly slept more on this trip than he has EVER! All of his napping meant we spent quite a bit of time in the condo waiting for him to wake up! Forced to relax…oh darn! Luckily, we were staying at my mom’s timeshare condo at the Kahana Villa Resort, so we had all the comforts of home.
A few notable highlights of our trip: the first time Brayden had his toes in the the pool and the sand! We know he will be a water baby for life! And he looked so cute in his one-piece swimsuit and hat! He also looked adorable in his authentic Hawaiian outfit (thanks Grammie!) complete with sandals, and his matching father/son golf outfit. Where did my chunky little baby go?
We had an amazing week in Maui. So many fun, new experiences for Brayden, and for us! As always, we left and were already mentally planning our next trip! Fortunately, we would return at the end of the year to celebrate Brayden’s 1st birthday! Stay tuned for the next blog post!