Little Bear: belated trip report/Happy natioal day

it has been almost a month since we came back from China. too much to say about the trip while too lazy to start.
things we packed for the trip for Ethan:

Clothes PJx1 / blanketx2 hat / sunglasses Diaper / wipe
Bath travel pack towel bottom cream q-tips
Toys - a bag full
Feeding formula /solid food bowl / spoon bottle/ nipple pump
Medication sun screen / bug repellent allergy / anti-itchy tellonone
Gears Diaper bag/sling / baby carrier booster seat travel bed stroller
Camera, DV,

things that I wish I had packed:

nursing pad, more baby clothes for Ethan - baby stuff are expensive in B!!

things that didn't get used much

travel bed: only used on the airplane (DFW to Narita) , he was held pretty much all the time on the way back.
booster seat: only use a couple of times at home. most resteraunt has high chair.
PJs: it was too hot to wear them
pump: used only once, nursing schedule was all messed up by the 13-hr jet lag.

we didn't pack much for ourselves. summer traveling is easy ;-) besides I gotta save enough suitcase room for new clothes ;-))

highlights

early bird gets the worm. bulkhead seat will only be assigned at the gate (not at the check in counter in DFW with AA). there are pros and cons for bulkhead seats. you definitely get more leg room, for infant under 20lb or 6 month, a bassinet can be attached to the partition wall. Ethan was too big for that, so we had him in the travel bed on the floor. the only complain about the first row seat is that the armrest is fixed, so you can't lift it up to let the baby lie down even you got an empty seat next to yours.
narita airport is great for kids - a very nice child area, play room, meeting room, nursing room, changing room, a kids toilet and even a purified water fountain.

we love our stroller. it is lightweight, one hand fold down and very easy to maneuver. also the navy/red color fits Xiaoxiong very well ;-)

Food, Food, Food ... Beijing has too much to offer, there is no way we could try out everything we wanted in 2 weeks, we even had our lunch booked. "big plate chichen and DuoJiao fish head" were the two got left out. ;-( next time we'd need a list and schedule. Ethan has gone to numurous resteraunts with us, among them, Beijing roasted duck we had twice, once at BianYiFang (MenLu), once at DaDong(LuaLu). I thought they were equally good (what d I know? I am so not a duck eater:-) ways of eating duck is getting fancier, we even had a girl to come demo us.