Oops…It’s Been a Year Since I’ve Written Here :(

Posted on September 8, 2021 by alyssa

So, it seems that I blinked or blacked out or something and all the sudden it’s been almost a whole year since I’ve written anything on here. Oops!

There’s a lot of reasons for that. I’d itemize a list for you, but I’d prefer to blather on endlessly because after all, that’s what blogs are for.

The magic of blogs under a double rainbow

For a long time, this blog was all about my “homes on the road,” which was a fun way to share cool places we camped all over the continent while full-time RVing. When that shindig ended, my blog (and I) felt a bit lost. I optimistically mused about blogging on topics like DIY house renovations, gardening, mom-hood, etc. But even now, 2+ years after being out of the full-time RV life, still none of that stuff makes that sense to me. At least not enough to pretend to be enough of an expert on to write about.

Full-time travel? Of course, that was never as easy or glamorous as it probably appeared in small snippets every few weeks on your screen. But it made sense in my head, at least most of the time. House life? Mom life? None of that comes as naturally, and I sometimes feel like I’m going through the motions of someone else’s life while barely treading water.

Over the years, I’ve taken this blog to some semi-personal places but it’s all been pretty travel-related, and that’s my safe place. Owning a legit housing structure on a remote piece of property where the desert meets the forest and the mountains is its own adventure. So is keeping a small human alive, day in and day out. Yet writing about those things for all the world to see (correction: probably three friends and two stalkers) makes me want to squeeze myself under the bed and hide even though I don’t fit down there.

Meanwhile, more and more people I know aren’t cool publicly sharing things online anymore, that whole concept is iffy with a baby, and talking about travel during COVID sometimes feels sketchy too. Other excuses I make for neglecting this blog are being too burnt out from writing for work to ever feel like writing for “fun,” being too generally exhausted from baby life to do anything creative, and being distracted by shiny things.

Quick! Everybody hide your nose and mouth!

But alas, I feel crappy about letting my miniature corner of the world go to waste. It’s a place I carved out to chitter-chatter about cool places without selling out or turning a passion project into yet another chore to weigh me down. In the meanwhile, I’ve actually been traveling quite a bit since full-time camper life ended and exploring lots of awesome places around my home base in New Mexico. I’ve also finally started to bust out of my comfort zone and meet some cool local people who are into some of the same stuff I am. Some of this deserves writing about, which is why I’m here again to fill the void.

Enough blather for you? Okay then. Moving on!

Besides the blather, my actual goal with this post was to give a quick recap of cool places I’ve been hanging out so far in 2021. Yet again, I considered venturing out to other topics for this blog but that didn’t go so well. So, why not stick with the tried and true?

Sure, travel hasn’t always been without its controversy his year, but I’m not a dumb traveler….I’m vaccinated, a responsible masker, a relentless planner, and an informed reader of reliable things. I’ll always have a restless spirit and a wandering soul. But the Southwest still feels like home to me on most days, and I want to share that with you, dear world.

So, without further ado (and I think you’d agree that there’s been plenty of ado), here are some cool spots I’ve been lately with one representative photo per place to keep it simple and moving along. Oh, and a few anecdotes because that’s just what I do.

Tucson/Wilcox, Arizona – January 2021

Saguaros always win the “who’s taller?” game

What better place to escape for the winter in the Southwest than Tucson? This camper trip was filled with wonderfully wearing tank tops in January, cool rock formations, iconic cacti, and buying some random pottery. So far, my baby hasn’t fallen into a cactus, and I’m trying to keep it that way.

Taos/Angel Fire, New Mexico – February 2021

Despite the adorable look on little Chikoo’s face, snow isn’t exactly his cup of tea. Regardless, we headed up to the Northern New Mexico ski resorts to get in some runs and playtime out in that white stuff.

Las Cruces, New Mexico / El Paso, Texas – March 2021

One of Monkey’s favorite places on the planet is White Sands National Park. The gypsum sand stays cool on even the hottest of days and is oh-so-soft on doggie paws. Yet the winds here are absolutely nuts, and this visit was no exception. We met our good Chicago friends, Bryina, here and following a winery/lunch stop nearby on a particularly awesome day. Other highlights from this camping trip were walking through the pueblo ruins, bike trails, and roadside antique shops selling super weird stuff.

Grandparents Visit NM – April 2021

Countless trips around the yard riding in this red beauty

April was one of the rare months when we didn’t leave the area for a camping excursion. My little man turned one year old in April, so Grandma and Grandpa drove out to New Mexico to celebrate. The local staycation involved the small man’s first trip to the zoo, a sugary birthday cake, and a crazy number of new things to play with.

Southeast Utah – May 2021

Impossible to take a bad pic with a Utah arch in the background

May is always a big travel month for us…it’s the husband’s birthday, our marriage anniversary, and a perfect time to be outdoors in the Southwest. Those red rock landscapes in Utah are my favorite places to be, and it’d been too long since we’ve been back among them. This trip included a first-time visit to Capitol Reef National Park, a revisit to Canyonlands National Park and Moab, and some random finds like Leprechaun Canyon and the Factory Buttle OHV area. Bonus points for an overnight in one of our favorite Colorado spots, Cortez, on the way back home. It was pretty much all hiking all the time, so definitely thanking the universe that the Chikoo rides awesomely in a baby hiking backpack.

Ladies’ Weekend in ABQ & Jemez Springs – June 2021

This girl is my ride-or die. We text and video chat every day, but that’s not always enough. She was awesome enough to fly out to see me in June so we could party it up downtown, go hiking, wine tasting, and get into random shenanigans along the way.

Arizona Pitstop – July 2021

It was 112 degrees outside, but that doesn’t stop us from seeing awesome people. Arizona transplants, Chancy, met up with us for a delicious lunch and boat cruise on Saguaro Lake. There were good drinks, great views, and even better times hanging out. I give this day a solid two fist bumps, even when we spent a stupid amount of time loitering in a CVS just because it had air conditioning.

SoCal/NorCal – July 2021

Playing in sand: 5 stars. Scary ocean waves: 2 stars.

Now this was a fun camper excursion. We set up camp just outside of San Diego and took the Chikoo to his very first beach, Imperial Beach. There were also splash pads, breweries, in-laws, more breweries, fun Cali friend meetups, and lovely weather. Bonus points for a fun rendezvous in Downtown Flagstaff on the way back.

Northwest New Mexico Birthday – August 2021

The time came to turn 38, so I may as well get on a boat about it, eh? Birthday celebrations took me to Northwest New Mexico with stops in Farmington, the Bisti Badlands, and Navajo Lake. Getting old isn’t so bad when you’re surrounded by scenery like this.

Local Adventures Close to Home – 2021

Yet within a 30-minute or less from my house, I’ve found plenty of other good stuff to do too. There have been a scattering public pools, cat cafes, brew spots, music festivals, playgrounds, trails, group hikes, and mom meetups…not to mention monsoon season with its epic sunsets filled with lightning and double rainbows.

You know you’re a local when you take sunset pics in your backyard every evening

Dunno when I’ll be back here…maybe sooner, maybe later. But for now, my blog neglect guilt is absolved! And there’s still plenty of 2021 left to go exploring. Toot-a-loo!

That day I hiked into a canyon in a dress and tried to look professional

Travel Trailer Adventures Close to Home in New Mexico

Posted on October 18, 2020 by alyssa

Most of what I’ve written about on this blog from the beginning has been about travel, which is something that often feels like a distant memory these days. Between the the pandemic and the arrival of our little “Chikoo,” I’ve spent more time at home this year than any other time I can remember in my adult life.

Here’s a little recap of the sweet new places we’ve been able to explore close to home lately in our new(ish) travel trailer camper.

Ruidoso, New Mexico

As far as New Mexico towns go, Ruidoso is a sizable one with a population of over 7,000. Ruidoso was on our must-visit list for quite a while because of what we’d heard about its lovely forest, lake, mountain town vibe. We had actually planned to be here in the summer for a trail running race and had booked an Airbnb here (pre-pandemic and pre-baby). Obviously, the race was cancelled and a camping seemed like a better option, but we still made it here in a different way.

Ruidoso is a little over three hours from where we live, which ends up more like four hours when you consider “camper time” – i.e. striking out at gas stations looking for a propane fill, having to drive no more than 67 mph, and mandatory pull-overs for baby meltdowns. It was our first camping trip with the travel trailer and second camping trip with a baby, so we booked a private campground with full hookups for convenience that was honestly not so great. It was like no one in the entire campground was aware that there was a pandemic going on or had ever heard of a face mask. Although the tall pine tree scenery was pretty, the sites were close together, and the other residents had no qualms about coming up to you to breathe on your baby because they missed their own grandkids.

The close quarters and intrusive people made it impossible to spend any time outside our camper to enjoy the outdoors whatsoever, which is pretty much the whole point of camping. However, the hikes in the area were pretty great. With “Chikoo” in a carrier, we knocked out quite a few miles on the hiking trails in the area and also checked out Grindstone Lake. I was super glad we got an early start on the hiking trail around the lake because this place got crowded as the morning crept into afternoon. Swimmers in the lake had no intentions of social distancing, forcing us to rush through the rest of our lakeside adventure to find less-crowded spaces.

Ruidoso had a cute downtown area with lots of shops and restaurants, and a lot of things were actually open. There were some other people walking around town but it wasn’t too crowded overall. The only place we stopped into was Noisy Water Winery, which has multiple locations but a couple tasting rooms in this downtown area. We did a wine tasting outside on a back patio where we were the only people and had a wonderfully sleeping baby, so yeah, that was pretty much a perfect afternoon. We even bought a bottle of our favorite cabernet to bring back to the camper and definitely made use of a those pumped bottles I’d brought along for “Chikoo” for untainted milk!

Valley of Fires Recreation Area

The Valley of Fires Recreation Area was an impromptu stop on the drive home from Ruidoso and exactly what we needed after finding ourselves in more crowded conditions than expected. This is a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) area by the Malpais Lava Flow, where a volcano erupted about 5,000 years ago and left behind a bunch of black molten rock.

It was a super-chill place where we were the only people camping as far as the eye could see. There was one paved travel that went through the lava rocks and desert terrain, which was perfect for pushing a stroller and walking a dog who has a tendency to get cactus spines stuck in her paws. Although I’m glad we checked out Ruidoso, this empty BLM spot was exactly what we were actually looking for in a little camping getaway and well worth extending our outing for an extra day.

Eagle Nest & Angel Fire, New Mexico

While the Ruidoso/Valley of Fires trip took us Southeast of home, our next travel travel camping trip took us Northeast to the Eagle Nest/Angel Fire area of New Mexico. This was another place I’d wanted to check out for a long while because we’d never been further than Taos in that direction.

I went into this trip expecting beautiful mountains and forests, but what I didn’t expect was how colorful the fall foliage is. Largely covered by desert sand and sagebrush, New Mexico isn’t known for its fall foliage in the way that say Vermont or even Oregon is. But I was absolutely floored with how stunning the bright yellow aspens were here, strategically tucked among the dark green pines and exposed rugged rocks. On the way back home, we took a longer scenic route down to Las Vegas, New Mexico and got to see some amazing oranges and reds along the roadside.

Unlike Ruidoso, nothing we experienced in this area was crowded, and I could count on one hand how many people we ever saw on any hiking trails combined during the trip. It certainly doesn’t hurt that when we plan these mini camper getaways we always do them on Sundays to Wednesdays to avoid weekend crowds. A perk of being self-employed. We stayed at a campground in Eagle Nest that was wonderfully empty, with no one around us at all and nice views of Eagle Nest Lake. It really made me wish we’d packed the SUP to take out on the lake, but this trip was more about trying out our brand-new baby hiking backpack among the fall leaves. Just before the trip, we picked up an Osprey Poco Plus from REI.

We had to wait until little “Chikoo” was strong enough to hold up his head before we could use it, but he did pretty well overall here at just over five months! We could get in a few miles before he had enough of it, although sleeping sitting in such an upright position was a bit of a challenge for him. We had perfect fall days here with chilly mornings and hot afternoons that involved stripping down from winter-wear to summer-wear as the hours ticked by.

We also walked through the town of Eagle Nest to check things out but absolutely everything was closed on a Sunday evening, so that was a quick endeavor.

Red River, New Mexico

On this same trip, we headed up a bit to the mountain town/ski resort area of Red River, which was an instant favorite spot for us. We went hiking in the Enchanted Forest cross-country ski area, which we basically had all to ourselves. Then we headed to the adorable little downtown area which was way more established than I was expecting for a town with a full-time population of just over 400 people.

It’s a resort town and touristy, but also obnoxiously quaint and with a nice brewery/distillery in town for beer/spirit flights. As a souvenir, I bought a fun winter hat from a local shop, although it’s been around 80 degrees back at home every day since we’ve been back so that poor winter hat is getting the shelf treatment for a while. A future wintertime ski trip to Red River is definitely in the cards.

Visiting all of these places has really been helping me get to know the different sides of New Mexico better while preventing me from going absolutely insane in homebody mode. Little “Chikoo” is proving himself to be quite a decent travel baby, and we’ve found our COVID comfort zone for getting out and about…at least for now. Although we haven’t yet decided on our next destination, we’re already looking forward to another New Mexico camper trip in November sometime between Election Day and Thanksgiving. Yes, times are tough, but it’s also a great time to be in a place that you love and still have so much more to learn about.

I Thought I Was a Camping Expert….Then I Went Camping with My Baby.

Posted on July 13, 2020 by alyssa

During my three years of RV-ing full-time and several years of frequently camping before that, I encountered all sorts of crazy conditions. From below-freezing temperatures to nonstop rain, wildlife encounters, mechanical breakdowns, and madmen on the loose, I thought I had pretty much seen it all from either inside my tent or out the window of my tiny home on wheels.

But then, I decided to take my two-month-old baby camping, and that overconfidence quickly got shattered and the great outdoors felt a little less familiar. Here’s what happened the first time I introduced my tiny human to the world of camping, which ironically coincided with my first time camping during the pandemic.

The Trip

For Chikoo’s (a nickname, not his real name) first camping trip, we wanted to keep it simple and close to home. So, we booked a campsite in the Grants area of New Mexico, which was about an hour and a half away from home and a place we hadn’t spent much time in before.

Due to COVID-19, travel is sketchy right now to say the least. Any trip outside the home feels like a calculated risk and a balancing act between staying safe and stay sane, especially as a first-time mom of a tiny human with a developing immune system. Yet going on a trip in our own RV where we could use our own kitchen and bathroom felt safer than any other option at the moment. So, we just went with it and took out the good ole’ RV for a couple random weekdays to avoid weekend crowds.

Packing for a Baby

Between my husband and I, I’ve always been the packer for our trips. I have list templates for each kind of trip we take and usually start laying stuff out about a week in advance because I hate scrambling around at the last minute and always end up forgetting something important otherwise. But this was my first time ever packing for a baby.

Even after moving from an RV to a house, I’ve still stayed pretty minimalist with the amount of stuff I have, even with a newborn in the mix. But to accommodate the little guy on-the-go, we recently bought a fold-up travel crib that ended up working really well in the RV. In fact, he slept better in there than in the house and set a personal record of 4.5 hours of straight snoozing! For my first time packing for a baby, I definitely over-packed. But there was plenty of space in our former home-on-wheels, so there wasn’t much harm in having a few extra diapers and drool rags lying around.

Baby-ifying the RV

Little Chikoo isn’t mobile yet (unless you count his non-stop wiggling and kicking) so we haven’t had to truly baby-proof the camper yet. However, for a two-month old, we still did have to make some adjustments to our RV setup to accommodate the little guy.

This involved turning the sofa into a travel crib spot, the workdesk/dinette into a diaper changing station, and the top bunk bed into a storage area for baby gear and breastmilk pumping supplies. Of course, Monkey got to keep her bed on the lower bunk bed and continues to be an awesome big sister to little Chikoo.

Slowing Down the Pace

The main difference I noticed between my old camper life days and camping with a baby was the pace of travel. I quickly realized that I had to scale back my expectations of what we could seriously accomplish in a day and that I’d have to be more flexible around Chikoo’s needs – namely his demanding to eat about every two hours.

Pre-baby, the husband and I would have powered through a hike, checked out all a small town’s local attractions, and drank at two breweries by early afternoon. However, little things now like needing to stop and feed Chikoo along the trail gave us some awesome opportunities to take in the views, give a panting Monkey some much-needed shade, and just let the fact sink in that we are starting to introduce this strange and wonderful creature we made to the great outdoors.

Planning for Downtime

Part of slowing down the pace of travel involved scheduling in downtime at our campground and not spending the entire day out and about. Being out every moment of day was a bit too much for this little guy (and for us with him in tow!), so we spent more time than usual in the campground just chilling out. Being near El Malpais National Monument meant that we had some sweet lava rock landscape views from under the camper awning for a little shade from all that New Mexico sunshine.

Baby’s First 5-Mile Hike

But even with a slower pace and scheduled-in breaks, I’m happy to report that Chikoo did his first five-mile hike on this camping trip! By “hike,” I mean he rode in a front-facing carrier as the husband wore him on the hiking trail.

Our big hike was on a portion of the Continental Divide Trail that wasn’t overly challenging but still really beautiful and interesting to check out. Chikoo was super chill pretty much the whole time until it was time for a snack. However, poor Monkey got bit on the paw by something (spider? ant?) and was limping for a while until my tough gal worked it out and fixed herself back up again.

Our second hike the next day was to the Bandera Volcano and ice cave, which was a little shorter but still a pretty unique and dog-friendly place to check out on an uncrowded weekday morning. We wore masks everywhere we went, including on the hiking trails, just to feel as safe as possible. In my opinion, New Mexico has done a better job than a lot of states at controlling the spread of the virus, which makes me happy to live here. However, this particular area of the state seems to be known for its lack of compliance with public health orders, and even the mayor of Grants is now facing a $5,000 fine for hosting a 4th of July parade.

Avoiding Other People

As a pandemic baby, Chikoo isn’t getting the kind of socialization with family and friends that most babies have by this point in life. While we have been going stir-crazy quarantined at home, we intentionally chose a not-too-touristy destination, traveled on a Sunday-Tuesday rather than a weekend, and brought our own food and bathroom supplies to minimize contact with other people.

Fortunately, after over three years of full-time RVing, one of my greatest acquired skills is avoiding other people in campgrounds. Feeling claustrophobic and being bombarded by strangers at all times was one of my least favorite things about full-time camper life, especially towards the end of it. This skill came in handy now more than ever.

Although our campground got more crowded than I was expecting, people generally kept their distance from each other and most resisted the urge to hover over the most adorable baby of all time. This is about the only silver lining to the pandemic that I can think of right now, but I’ll take it.

What’s Next?

Although there were definitely ups and downs, I’m calling Chikoo’s first camping trip an overwhelming success…so much so that we’ve already booked his second camping trip in less than two weeks!

We’re planning to check out the Ruidoso area of New Mexico, a region that we have yet to explore as residents here. Not only will this be an exciting trip because it’s a new place but also because of another BIG CHANGE, which I’ll reveal in my next post!

Until then…stay as cool as this dude, who clearly has camping in his DNA.

Motherhood Month 1: Tales from the Newborn Zone

Posted on May 25, 2020 by alyssa

Greetings, friends! This blog has always been a space for me to chat about traveling and getting outdoors to do cool stuff. However, I couldn’t help but interject something a little more personal as a follow up to my last post, Preparing for a Baby in the Era of COVID-19.

When I wrote that about a month before my baby boy’s due date, I was stressing out about the whole childbirth thing, bringing a baby into the world during a global pandemic, and pretty much everything in between. Well, I’m happy to report that everything worked out just fine and that I’m now the MOM of a healthy and hilarious little guy who just turned one month old yesterday!

Note: On this blog, I’ll be referring to my son by one of his nicknames, Chikoo, which is a delicious fruit that grows in India and Central America. Chikoo isn’t his real name, but he does kinda look like a small, round, light brown fruit anyway!

As I mentioned in my last post, Chikoo was flipped upside down in belly, proving that he would already be stubborn from an early age. This resulted in me needing to have a c-section to safely retrieve the little guy and bring him out into the world. On Chikoo’s birth day, hospitals were still really crazy with COVID-19 safety protocols. But fortunately, my husband was allowed to be with me during every part of my hospital stay. This included him being in the operating room to actually watch part of the birth (EEEEK!) and staying overnight with me and Chikoo in the postpartum room.

I was required to wear a mask at all times while hospital staff was in the room with me, including during the actual c-section procedure and every time when a nurse came into take my vitals in the middle of the night. As far as childbirths go though, I couldn’t have asked for a better care team and recovery experience. My doctor and most of the nurses who took care of us explained everything to me really thoroughly, answered all my questions, and helped guide me in my first hours of being responsible for a newborn.

Thanks to Chikoo and I both being healthy and doing well, we were able to get out of the hospital in just two days, the very earliest that I was hoping for after the c-section. Meanwhile, our awesome local dog sitter took care of Monkey while we were in the hospital, plus a few extra days so we could get used to having a baby at home before introducing Monkey to her new baby brother. Spoiler alert: she’s been great with him over the past month – cautious, curious, and protective.

Fast-forward a month and here we are back at home, still social distancing but getting to know each other a little more each day. The whole lack of sleep thing at night is a real struggle with Chikoo, as it is I’m sure with all newborn babies. Breastfeeding and pumping are challenging, time-consuming, and sometimes painful – especially when food is loudly and frantically demanded every 1-3 hours. Getting work done is feasible for a few hours on some days but a total joke on others.

Meanwhile, I’ve been pooped on, peed on, and spit up on all within the same hour. But he’s also a little cuddle bug, makes the silliest faces that crack me up, makes the cutest sounds that melt my heart, and already seems to enjoy being outside and on the move.

With a newborn in the house, me recovering from major abdominal surgery, and due to just plain common sense, we’ve been pretty much homebound lately in this continued era of the coronavirus. My outings have consisted of a postpartum OBGYN visit and a pediatrician visit, while the husband ventures out for groceries and supplies once every couple weeks. Yet we’ve been getting outdoors a lot to enjoy this beautiful New Mexico springtime weather and the awesome plot of land we live on that is tiding me over until travel is a safer thing to do.

I hike with Chikoo in a carrier and Monkey on our little trail every day, and we’ve recently invested in some really comfy lounge chairs for the front porch.

To make our yard feel more like a brewery space, we’ve also picked up some new yard games – bags, bocce ball, and Yardzee (a large-dice version of Yahtzee).

There’s a forest road at the end of our little unincorporated village where we’ve gone out for some stroller rides. It’s usually more deserted than the popular trailheads nearby, but with everyone getting restless to get out while maintaining a safe social distance, even our little “secret” area is getting overrun by others.

A couple weeks ago I got to celebrate my first Mother’s Day. The concept of being somebody’s mom felt really surreal and still does. I spent most of my life never expecting to ever have a baby, but here he is, and it just seems to make sense right now.

Chikoo sure is cute in the newborn phase, but what I’m really looking forward to are the days ahead when we can start introducing him to amazing places, traveling with him, and helping him learn about the world around him. Hopefully all this frequent eating is helping him grow big and strong so he’ll soon be wearing his first pair of hiking boots and going camping for the very first time. And hopefully by then, all this pandemic craziness will have subsided and be nothing more than a great story to tell him about his first few months on earth.

But for now, Chikoo’s face is scrunching up, turning red, rooting around, and letting out a howl so loud that I would have never expected such a small being to make. This could only mean one thing. It’s feeding time…yet again.

Preparing for a Baby in the Era of COVID-19

Posted on March 30, 2020 by alyssa

As I sit on a yoga ball at my home office desk trying to focus on work, I can’t help but glance at the calendar and realize that my tiny human’s due date is only 31 days away.

In this era of COVID-19, it’s a crazy time to be bringing a new life into the world. But someone’s gotta do it, right? That someone has to be me? Really?!

When I first took those three pregnancy tests last August (five days after my 36th birthday and three days after buying a house in New Mexico), the idea of a global pandemic never crossed my mind. Now at the end of March, this crisis is affecting everyone in different ways. For some people, that’s being laid off from work, trying to home-school kids for the first time, or trying to care for a loved one who’s become sick. While those things aren’t my situation, navigating the uncharted territories of pregnancy, labor, and delivery are now front and center in my little world.

I read an NPR article today that hit home with many of the things that have been keeping me up at night lately. By around May 1st, will there be a shortage of beds or staff at the hospital where I’ve been planning to deliver? Will hospitals still be safe places to deliver babies then? Will I have to give birth alone with no one by my side for support? What if the baby or I get the virus while we’re in the hospital? Are birthing centers or home births viable alternatives? What if this little guy doesn’t flip around to the right position and a C-section is recommended?

My hospital has already limited the number of support people to just one per patient at the maternity ward, while some hospitals are saying no visitors at all. In spite of the risks, some hospitals are apparently suggesting that pregnant women get induced after 39 weeks to get their deliveries over with now before hospitals become more overcrowded. My parents planned to drive across the country to be here for their grandson’s birth and help out during our first few days as parents. But as with all travel plans, that’s now on hold indefinitely.

But it’s not all doom and gloom around here!

I’m happy to report that all of my friends and family are safe and healthy (although sanity is questionable), and so are Baby Boy and me. At each checkup we’ve had, he clocks in with a strong heartbeat and impressive growth at the 70th percentile for weight and length. I’ve been so fortunate to have an easy pregnancy with no complications so far, which seems to baffle every medical professional I see because of my “advanced maternal age” that still seems to get referenced at every visit.

With just a few weeks still to go before I get to meet my little guy, here’s what I’ve been learning along the way about preparing for a baby in the era of COVID-19.

Stocking Up on Gear (within reason)

I’m no hoarder and don’t support unnecessary hoarding in any way. I’m also a minimalist who cringes every time someone insists that “babies need a lot of stuff.” But in challenging times like these, it makes sense to be prepared with some essentials in case everyone else depletes the supply of what we end up needing.

With toilet paper now this country’s hottest commodity, we figured diapers may be next and that washable cloth diapers may be a more sustainable solution. I’d wanted to try cloth diapers anyway because of their alleged eco-friendliness and long-term cost savings, but now there’s even more of a reason to give it a go. We’ve bought a couple boxes of disposable diapers already too so we have some options as we muddle through our first few days.

My parents had planned to bring a bunch of baby essentials they’d bought over to us when they came to visit. But instead, they shipped us everything by mail in case it’s a while until they can get out this way.
As soon-to-be, first-time grandparents, they have been getting a real kick out of buying the little guy clothes in sizes ranging from newborn to nine months. I’m not a fan of shopping at all, so this was more than okay with me! Thanks to good ole’ mom and dad, he’s stocked up with a brand-new wardrobe…and totally starting to take over my office closet.

Gear Testing Makes for Fun Distractions

Within the last few weeks, we’ve also stocked up on a few pieces of baby furniture and such via online orders without having to risk our health by going into stores. We weren’t in any rush to buy baby stuff pre-COVID-19, but quickly stepped up our game now to allow for delayed delivery dates and out-of-stock items.

First of all, a car seat so that if a hospital delivery works out, we’ll be able to safely transport the little guy back home upon discharge. Quality tested by our stuffed pink chimp named Ginger “Dunkey” Bromeliad.

Next up was something for the little guy to sleep in. We had originally thought about just starting off with a portable travel crib/Pack-n-Play for our small bedroom space. But with travel now suspended until who-knows-when, we opted for a really basic stationary crib with a changing table attached instead. I don’t think our stuffed animal collection (testers) are going to want to give up their new sleeping space though.

Another priority for us was a rugged-wheel jogger stroller so that we can get outside and be active with little guy when he arrives. Here’s me testing it out in our gravel driveway.

An awesome friend surprised us with this fun bouncy seat gift, giving Little Man additional seating options upon his arrival. The tester here is my 35-year-old Cabbage Patch named Isabelle.As someone who doesn’t like to sit still very long, I’m also intrigued by the whole baby-wearing concept. There are an overwhelming number of options available for this and I’m sure we’ll try out a few different ones over time, but here’s the first ring sling I’m trying out with Sapote the Cabbage Patch. Playing with all these new toys has been a fun break from the news and social media and gotten us more pumped for our tiny human to arrive.

Taking Baby Classes Online vs. In-Person

As first-time parents, we signed up for five classes at the local hospital to become a bit less clueless: newborn care, infant CPR, a just-for-dads class, labor and delivery, and breastfeeding. Before everything in life got cancelled, we were able to take two of those classes. Two of the remaining ones offered online versions with videos/quizzes/etc., which were actually really helpful.Of course, our stuffed creature collection came in handy again when it was time to put what we’d learned into practice. We’ve had this pink chimp for over seven years but she still became the diapering test subject – a perfect fit!

I actually have my next routine prenatal checkup tomorrow at the OBGYN’s office and they still want me to come in for it. It will be my first time out into the real world in about 2 1/2 weeks. Just in case the little guy decides to make an early appearance, I’ve already packed a hospital bag and made arrangements with our local dog sitter to come pick up Monkey and take care of her so she’ll be in good hands when I go into labor.

Staying Healthy and Active

Aside from genetics (thanks, mom and dad) I attribute much of my easygoing pregnancy so far to my being able to get outside and stay active. Although we’ve been avoiding parks and crowded trailheads, we have an amazing piece of rural property that makes it easy to get outside while social distancing.

With pleasant temperatures in the 60s lately, it’s been a great time to focus on yard work projects (in moderation), like weeding and building our very own little hiking trail. Our high desert temperatures are finally staying above freezing, which means I can try planting some flowers and vegetables soon too.We’re also fortunate to live near some remote forest roads and trails that you can hike along and never see another soul. When we moved here in August, we rescued an old home gym system from my in-laws that was collecting dust at their place and put it together in our garage. That’s really coming in handy these days too with all the gyms shut down. I do miss swimming though because pre-COVID-19, I was swimming over a mile in laps every weekend and really into that.

Trying to Stay Positive and Flexible

Between trying out new baby gear, getting outside, and having more than plenty of writing to keep me busy while working from home at my day job, it hasn’t been all that hard to stay positive while pregnant during COVID-19. When I start to feel stressed out about the state of things, he gives me hope. When I feel him kick (punch? roll over? I dunno…), I’m reminded that he needs a positive place to grow and learn, and that it’s up to his dad and I to make sure he gets it. And believe me, those little reminders happen a lot these days, especially after 9pm when I’m trying to get comfortable in bed and fall asleep.

There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world right now, but after all, no son of mine would come into this life without it being an adventure.

Alyssa v. Nature

Where the nature outside collides with the nature inside

Category Archives: Baby