A few last travel notes

Just wanted to take a minute to share a few last travel thoughts with some of you families that will be traveling in the coming months.  These are basically just random thoughts that I thought might be helpful.  So, here goes:

Packing:

I used Grace's travel spreadsheets for my planning.  Especially the packing lists.  For the most part, I packed exactly what she had listed and we pretty much had everything we needed.  I did add a few feeding type items because Abe was 15 months and he was at that in-between eating stage.  I HIGHLY recommend the Playtex drop-in liner bottles.  I hesitated about buying them, because I knew he wouldn't be in bottles long, but they were exactly right for the travel situation.  The conditions for cleaning and sanitizing were not good at any point of our travels, so the drop-ins were perfect.  Also, I took a set of feeding bowls with lids that we used constantly.  We packed them for going out, we used them for mixing up Abe's rice cereal, they held a variety of snack items on the plane.  They were a must.  I also took Gerber finger snacks and I'm glad I did.  They were lifesavers on the plane.  The milk, baby cereal, and jarred food were all readily available in the Ethiopian supermarkets, but the finger foods were less available.

 A few little items I'm really glad we packed:

• Extra ziplocs- especially the gallon size
  
• Plastic formula container (worked great with the powdered milk too.)
  
• Slipper socks for all of us (all of the floors are tile or wood)
  
• A variety of small toys- especially the bubbles and the ball
• Bibsters (disposable bibs)
• Washcloths 
• Travel size clorox wipes and kleenexes

Items I wish I'd packed:

• More socks for Abe.   He went through about 3 pairs a day and they got filthy.
  
• More long pants for Abe.  The weather there was much milder than I'd anticipated.  I packed too many summery clothes and a spring weight was more what we needed.
  
• Disposable dishcloths (the kind with the dish soap in them.)

  

A few final travel thoughts:

• We flew Emirates and we had a great experience.  I highly recommend using them if you can and the forced layover in Dubai on the way there was great.  We arrived in Addis fairly rested and ready to meet Abe.  The equipment was in excellent condition and the crew were ultra professional and caring.
• Use your driver as a great resource.  Our driver was wonderful.  He educated us on the culture, took us to the best restaurants, markets, etc., helped us exchange money, picked up water and other items, and overall he was our lifeline for the week.   
• Realize that your experience will be different than how you have pictured it.  The process is constantly changing and things may not go exactly as you have imagined.  The Gladney in-country staff juggles a lot of responsibilities.  No two travel groups are going to experience the same exact things.  For example, we have no video of our first meeting with Abe.  I thought someone would be available to video because I had seen so many other videos, but that was not the case.  We had to choose either video or photo because there was only one set of hands available.  There were a couple of other small things like that which I had to get over in order to enjoy the moment.  
• Take time to enjoy it all.  You will get tired and it is all very emotional.  But try hard to soak it all in.  Take photos, video, and linger when you can.  You'll be glad you did!

I guess from this point on, my blog will be more about my family and less about my adoption journey.  We invite you to continue checking in or even to e-mail me if I can help any of you other adoptive parents.  I know I had a gazillion questions when I actually had the travel dates on the calendar.  We look forward to blogging about our wacky life as we continue this transition from 6 to 7!