T
he day my youngest child
became too big for her
pushchair was one of the
happiest of my life. I had
finally been set free. Unshackled, if
you will. The joy of knowing that I
no longer had to negotiate the hills
and crowds of Hong Kong with a
contraption on wheels was almost too
much. You see, for me, it wasn’t the
long-haul trips that upped my stress
levels; it was the so-called “quick
trips” into the city with my baby. How
difficult could it be to get to the shops
and back again with a stroller? Easy,
right? Wrong! The overseas trips were
a doddle in comparison. Forget about
the long-haul journeys, it’s the short
ones that need all the planning.
Pre-trip
Don’t even consider leaving your home
without at least one full day’s supply of
everything you need for your baby. You
may think you’re just heading out to the
shops for an hour, but believe me, there
are countless ways in which your trip
could be significantly extended. I once
went out to buy some milk and didn’t
make it back for ten days.
*
*
This may be an exaggeration.
Baggage
Yes, there are baggage limits for these
trips, too. Unless you’re planning on
taking a Sherpa with you, there is only
so much your stroller and that poor
back of yours can take. You do not
want to finally see the dress of your
Orla Breeze
explains why quick trips
around town are bad for your sanity.
dreams only to discover that you’ve
exceeded your baggage limit.
Taxi-ing:
I can’t count the number of times I
struggled to get my stroller into the
back of a taxi whilst wearing two bags
and a wriggling baby – and all whilst
the taxi driver watched from his rear-
view mirror. What is it about a woman
with a baby that causes them to very
suddenly lose complete use of their legs?
Travel Advisories
Extreme caution is advised if you
encounter any or all of the following:
•
Steep hills: It wasn’t until my
husband asked me what I would do
if I slipped and fell whilst pushing
the pram down SoHo’s hills that I
realised the inherent danger. Images
of my precious baby careening
towards Staunton Street propelled
me to go out and buy a dog lead,
which I duly attached to the stroller.
From then on I could relax, safe in
the knowledge that if my stroller
tried to take a solo run down those
hills, I’d be going with it.
•
Steps: I had no idea how many
steps we have in Hong Kong until
my first trip out with my newborn
and his spanking new stroller. Five
minutes from my home, I faced my
first set. And then another not five
minutes later. I couldn’t understand
how a city that had been so easy
to navigate could suddenly turn
into an obstacle course. As far as
I’m concerned, steps are a stroller’s
number one enemy.
•
Bars: So there you are, innocently
pushing baby back home, when you
suddenly realise that everywhere
you look are bars, bars and more
bars. No, not the steel ones – the
nice ones that sell beer and the
like. How is a stressed-out mother
supposed to stay on the straight and
narrow when faced with all this
temptation?
No matter how long an overseas
trip takes, it will always have one
huge advantage over your daily walks:
Within an hour of boarding a plane
with a baby, some kind soul will offer
you a nice, relaxing alcoholic beverage
and possibly a bag of peanuts, too. Yet
you could push a pram up and down
the hills of Hong Kong until you’re
blue in the face and still go home
parched. I don’t know about you, but
I’d take a 20-hour catered flight with
all three of my brood over a trip to
Central
any
day.
Orla Breeze offers workshops, evenings
and individual sessions for new parents
and parents-to-be. For more information,
visit
www.orlabreeze.com
. She also runs
her popular workshops Daddy 101, The
Truth About Motherhood and Joyful
Parenting at Annerley.To check the dates
of her next workshops, please visit
www.annerley.com.hk
.
January 2013
33