A huge welcome to another new TWC guest guide, Emily C.! 

The question was whether to drive or fly.  We were going on our first beach trip somewhere 14 hours away from where we had just moved, and the spouse was going to finish out the workweek and fly up on his own.  The Fuzzy Bunny (my daughter, S, has very little hair) and I were going to go ahead of him.  As I thought of all the stuff I/she would need, including a car seat, a portable crib, the idea of driving seemed much more desirable.

 

If you too are planning a solo car trip with a baby under a year old, you can pack all the other things that you need from day to day, but you must have a favorite CD for child and adult amusement that can just live in your CD player.  You know the one.  You probably have it and can name it already.  Why not a download on your iPod?  Have you ever tried to find an album on your iPod while driving 75 on a major highway that you are sharing with tractor trailers while your child is sobbing hysterically because her tender little bottom is damp?

 

In our case, it is the first For the Kids album.   It has "Mahna Mahna" (Muppet Show theme song, performed by Cake), "Rainbow Connection" (Sarah MacLaughlin), "La La La La Lemon" (Barenaked Ladies), among many other fun songs by good artists that I can now sing by heart.  The critical aspect of this CD is that I truly enjoy it, and Mahna Mahna is equal to instant calm in the car.  And on my iPod, I had endless NPR talk show podcasts that I could just let play in sequence and not have to fiddle with anything while S napped in the back.  Bliss.