This Friday I'll be heading out to visit my parents in their new home in Florida. My younger sister, also a cloth-diapering mother-of-three and fellow Boulderite, will be going with me. Each of us will be leaving our older two behind with their daddies and will be only bringing the babies, both boys and both still nursing. Though at six months I have a feeling Kevin will be a bit more cooperative lap baby than 21 month old Cooper. But we'll see. As promised, I'll be bringing my cloth diapers with me on the plane and in my checked bag to use at my parents. We'll only be staying three nights so I'll plan on doing one load of diaper mid-visit and probably a half-load the night before we leave. I'll be bringing a small muslin bag of soap-nuts with which to wash my diapers and at least a dozen of my Thirsties Wipes. Our day will start at around 4:00 a.m. when the alarm will be going off. We'll need to be leaving for the airport by 4:45 a.m. because it takes an hour to get there, find a parking spot and then trek to all the way to check-in. Our flight leaves at 7:40 a.m. and we'll be in the air approximately three hours and 20 minutes. Once we land, we'll need to pick up the rental car, install the carseats and the rented navigation system. Then we'll be on the road for about two more hours before finally arriving at my parents' house. That's about nine hours of travel time, if everything goes smoothly. (Cross your fingers for me that we don't board the plane only to have some announce over the loudspeaker that the plane doesn't have a pilot or a flight crew and that we'll waiting on the tarmac, unable to de-plane for an hour and a half or so--that has happened to me before). Here's what I am going to be packing for a travel day this long in my carry-on:

• 5 cloth diapers
• 2 extra covers
• 8 wipes, in a container and premoistened with water
• 1 wet bag
• 2 disposables (just in case)
• 1 change of clothes
• snacks: string cheese, granola bars, cooked baby carrots, sliced sweet red pepper, dehydrated yogurt drops, fig newtons, a water bottle,
• Cooper's pacifier and lightweight blanket
• a book or two--though the diaper bag might be too full for Cooper's favorite chunky board books...I'll have to find some thin, lightweight ones
• a toy or three
• my iPad, which can entertain both us if necessary

I plan on checking one bag as well as the car seat. The car seat fits in a handy travel case that has shoulder straps. I'll have my trusty backpack-cum-diaper bag and my purse, and I'll hang both over the handles of the umbrella stroller that Cooper will be riding in. I'll roll my checked bag behind me with one hand and push the stroller with the other. I've done this before, alone, and with two other children tagging along behind me, to boot and trust me, I look like a sherpa: grim, determined, organized and prepared for a long, exhausting trip. But once I check the car seat and suitcase, my load will be considerably lighter. And since I'll be with my sister and off on an adventure far from my daily grind, I'll bet my mood will be lighter too! Am I forgetting anything important?? Please let me know if I am. It's going to be a long day and I need to be prepared. Remember, I've never traveled with cloth before. Wish me luck!