Did you know kids travel 1/2 price on Amtrak, fave items from my recent trip, this week's book club pick and more mom stuff from around the internet
15 days until it is officially spring, but who's counting??
Hi, moms! I hope you’re having a great week. We’re back in cold, rainy Upstate NY after a great trip visiting family in Louisiana. (I’m manifesting warmer days…but at least Sunday begins Daylight Saving Time!!! ) Traveling with a kiddo can be a lot, but I was reminded how worthwhile taking the trips can be when I observed how much my daughter learned and absorbed while in a new environment. As far as the actual travel itself goes, my favorite mom hack has been the Mamava pods. We’ve used them at every airport we've been to thus far with Florence. To have a quiet, private place to breastfeed has taken so much of the stress and anxiety out of travel. Download the app for easy access to the pods if you’re curious to check them out on your next trip.
CLICK IF…
You have two (or three!) kiddoes and are hunting for an innovative stroller
You’re looking for new parenting mantra
You’re planning a baby shower or first birthday party and are searching for a sweet, classic theme
You’ve dropped your phone (way too many times) on a stroller walk or when pushing a grocery cart
Your kids have an awesome (and funny) auntie
FINDS: Travel Faves
Picks from our trip that made traveling solo with my toddler just a little bit easier:
My fave fanny pack for storing my tickets, wallet & ID while in the airport | Best soft ‘water magic’ coloring book, great for Easter baskets, too | Kids tablet for shows and games (Yup, we let Florence watch movies when we travel) | Easy to pack small set of glittery magnet tiles | Fave travel snack: Earth’s Best Organic Crunchy Sticks (Flora is obsessed with these — she literally squealed when I brought the strawberry banana ones out of the diaper bag on the plane) | My favorite travel stroller of all time (Can collapse with one hand, and has a great bag for storage when gate-checking} | An airport must have: This collapsible, silicone snack cup, we usually put some blueberries or strawberries in there for a fruit snack on the go | Stickers are a go-to for toddler entertainment, and the “First 100” books are always a hit (This one has over 500 stickers!) | Two-pack magnetic colorful drawing boards
DID YOU KNOW: Amtrak ticket discounts for kids
We’re headed down to NYC in April to meet up with my college roomie, who now lives in Spain. Our daughters will get to meet for the first time, and I can’t wait! (Wild fact: my friend and I had the same due date with our daughters exactly a year apart. Florence arrived a few weeks early, so they don’t share a birthday but it is close!)
Anyway, maybe I’m late to the game and this could be common knowledge. But I was SO excited to learn that kids travel for a discounted rate on Amtrak trains. All children up to 12 years old travel at fifty percent off the adult fare for a coach seat just like a standard adult ticket. (Make sure to select “Child” when adding travelers to your reservation for the discount to activate.) I’ll report back on how my first train ride with a toddler goes in a few weeks. Stay tuned!
MOM MAIL BOOK CLUB: The Wonderful Things You Will Be
This week’s Mom Mail Book Club pick is Emily Winfield Martin’s The Wonderful Things You Will Be. This book has been a favorite since before I became a mom. We discovered it in a sort of random way through the beautiful design on a special edition collection of Harney & Sons teas that we served at my baby shower. We fell in love with the whimsical illustrations and started reading the book as a family shortly after Flora was born. She loved it so much that her first birthday party was actually themed around the book. (Her special birthday jammies also matched the book!) Clearly, when I like a theme, I go all out. The book really has such a sweet message from parents to their children and makes for an excellent gift for any family welcoming a new baby.
Don’t forget that you can win a copy of this book by forwarding this email to a mom friend and encouraging them to subscribe. Each time you forward a Mom Mail email, it counts as one entry. When you forward an email, make sure to cc ‘mommailbymads@gmail.com’ so we can count your entry. The book winner will be contacted via email :)
Thank you for subscribing to Mom Mail! Until next week <3
Xo, Mads