Last year we went to Seattle to do a little cross border shopping and went to the zoo and I made several conclusions about traveling with a baby (you can read it again if you want:
here).
So having learned my lessons from last year, we did the trip again this year and here is my list of Do's and Don'ts for crossing the border, outlet shopping and going to the Seattle zoo.
Do expect your child to not sleep and cry the whole way in
the car so that when she does sleep miraculously most of the way, you are
shocked beyond measure and thus in a really good mood after.
Do check that everyone’s passports are not expired (learned
that lesson the hard way last time we tried to cross the border)
Do pack lots of snacks and treats so that when its your turn to talk to the border guard, your child is so busy eating that she won't be screaming and crying.
Do have realistic expectations of shopping with a toddler. (i.e., Don't expect to shop at all)
Do not try to take a stroller into the outlet mall, they don’t
fit in between the aisles and she won’t sit in it anyways.
Do find something fun in the store for your child to do so
you and your spouse can take turns shopping (for Natallie it was the shoe
aisle, she literally tried on at least a dozen or more shoes at the Nike outlet
and cried when we told her we had to go)
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| do let Natallie try on shoes |
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| and more shoes... |
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| and more shoes! |
Don’t bother bringing your child into stores with no shoe or
toy aisle. The Fossil watch store is not a good idea unless you want to see how
many watches and expensive bracelets your child can try to put on when you turn
your back.
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| do take turns dipping Natallie into the fountain at the outlet mall |
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| do take turns taking Natallie on the ride-on toys (don't actually put money in them) |
Do expect that none of the streets go straight and almost
every intersection is a 5-way street in Seattle.
Do bring along a GPS to help you navigate but don’t be
looking at it so closely that you miss your turns.
Do experiment and let your child drink most of your caramel
frappachino. For us, we had a deliriously happy baby but I guess it could
backfire too.
Don’t stay at a hotel unless you want to be room-bound and super quiet after 7:30pm.
Do rent a basement suite for the same price (or less) than a
hotel. And bonus of us, Natallie’s play pen fits in the walk-in closet so it
was like having 2 bedrooms.
Do buy groceries so you can have a nice pancake breakfast in
the basement suite instead of eating all your meals in a restaurant (anyone
with child knows that eating out isn’t quite as much fun and relaxing as it was
before having a child)
Do scope out coupons for attractions ahead of time. We had a
2 for 1 coupon for the zoo and saved $18 and we found street parking which
saved us another $5.50
Do spend that saved money on memorable experiences like
feeding a giraffe.
Do not get suckered in to buy that $6 ice cream when you’re
at the zoo and cross the street to the 7-11 instead and get the $2 “Amercian”
size slurpee big enough to quest the thirst of a small army.
Do check out the zoo map ahead of time to make sure you get to see the really "good animals" before your child gets too whiny and tired.
Do take pictures of the animals you see so you can talk about it after. Natallie still remembers which animals were sleeping, the elephant was having a bath and that the monkeys were loud.
Do bring a blanket and have your child’s lullaby music on
your iPhone playlist so your child can have their afternoon nap at the zoo in
their stroller (I couldn’t believe how easily Natallie went to sleep!)
Do buy a cheap toy from the Zoo gift shop that is connected to an experience they will remember. Bonus for us the $4 giraffe entertained Natallie most of the car ride back home.
Do try going downtown for a nice dinner at the Cheesecake
Factory. Don’t bother looking for free street parking (just pay the $7 and save
your energy for trying to keep a toddler in her highchair and not throwing
cutlery or food)
Do check out the Golden Gardens beach in Seattle. Don’t try
rolling a stroller along the beach, it
just gets suck in the sand.
Do not expect your child to love the ocean. Natallie was
scared and preferred to throw rocks in the ocean and not even get her toe wet.
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| Terrified to get her toes wet! |
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| Much happier on the sand throwing rocks |
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| watching me attempt to skip rocks |
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| Natallie saying "throw!" after she threw rocks in the ocean |
And of course
Do take lots of pictures so you can tell your child about it
when they are older.
