Sleepy Head

I have a challenge for you. Pick up 30 pounds worth of weights and carry them in your arms for a mile. You can rest if you need to, but you can't lay the weights down. OK, ready? Go! Why aren't you moving? Seriously, let's go. Why are you looking at me like I'm crazy? I've done this before so that means you can too. Go, go, go!

You still think I'm crazy don't you? OK, I'll admit it, this whole challenge is crazy, but it's not out of the realm of possibility when you are traveling with a child. One thing I think all parents are aware of is the fact that kids' schedules never seem to mesh with ours. This fact extends to sleeping as well. It's pretty much a guarantee that at some point, especially on long trips where you are sightseeing a lot, your child is going to fall totally and completely asleep at the most inopportune time (walking tours seem to be a favorite for Maya). Now you may think "Well that doesn't really matter. Surely you travel with a stroller." Well...actually, I don't. As inconceivable as that sounds, Josh and I have found that strollers cause more problems and hassles than solve them. Thus, we never travel with them. (If you don't believe me, try navigating the subway in Spain or any other city with an old transportation system. Steps and strollers don't work well.) The drawback to this, of course, is that when your child is so asleep that they are flopping around like a rag doll full of lead pellets, someone's got to carry them no matter how far the walk is.

Case in point: When we were in Budapest last year we spent one afternoon at Palatinus Beach on Margaret Island which is an island in the middle of the Danube River. It was roughly two miles from our hotel. After Maya and I played in the pool for a couple hours and then played at one of Budapest's gazillion playgrounds, we decided to head back. Everything was fine...until Maya fell asleep. Dead asleep. We took turns carrying her but we had to keep going as we wanted to try to make it back to the hotel because it was starting to rain. It was the longest two miles of my life.

Really, your options when they get to the dreaded "dead to the world" stage are pretty limited. If you can't stop, you just have to keep trucking along. For smaller children, this is when a fabric baby sling is invaluable. For older children, you can try taking turns carrying them or putting them on your shoulders. Most of the time, though, Josh and I will take the opportunity to stop into a small cafe or restaurant and have a small leisurely meal while she sleeps. Honestly, if you can't do anything of touristic value because your little one is zonked out, you may as well enjoy yourself! Cappuccino, anyone?