Fresh off a trip to Italy with his three-month-old, Matthew is riding high on new-parent vindication: his baby slept through both transatlantic flights while chaos reigned around him. But Pete and Mandy are quick to remind him that the easy travel window is fleeting—and they've got the battle scars to prove it.
In this episode, the trio swaps stories from the parenting travel trenches: Mandy's solo flight where her toddler baptized her in apple juice, Pete's infamous Baby Bjorn blowout that left his spouse covered in diarrhea for an entire red-eye, and the critical lesson both stories teach (pack. extra. clothes.). They also dig into the logistics that actually matter—Delta's sky bassinet service, the art of traveling light with maximum redundancy, and how to accept help from the secret community of parents who recognize that desperate look in your eyes.
The conversation shifts to daycare transitions and the bittersweet process of learning to let go—from the anxiety of those first phone buzzes to the unexpected heartbreak of receiving an adorable video and wishing you were cuddling instead of working. Mandy shares a cautionary tale about a babysitter who took her joking "no fun tonight" instruction completely literally, leaving her son unable to play Batman.
And in a hopeful coda, Pete offers a glimpse of the future: traveling with adult children is genuinely wonderful. They carry things. They pay for stuff. They're just... friends on a trip. Something to look forward to, parents—even if 14 years feels like a long wait.
KEY TOPICS
- Matthew's Italy trip triumph: baby Penn sleeps through international flights
- The sky bassinet: Delta's bulkhead bassinet service for infants
- Mandy's juice-soaked solo flight with toddler Casey
- Pete's legendary diaper blowout / Baby Bjorn disaster
- The golden rule: always pack extra clothes (Matthew packed three changes for 24 hours)
- Navigating travel logistics with strollers, wheelchairs, and baby gear
- The daycare transition: learning to trust and let go
- When babysitters take instructions too literally
- Traveling with only children: Mandy's solution of bringing Casey's best friend
- The promised land: traveling with adult children
What is Once and Future Parent?
Three parents. Three generations. One endlessly humbling journey.
Welcome to Once and Future Parent, where the parenting timeline gets the roundtable it deserves. Join hosts Matthew Fox (brand new parent), Mandy Kaplan (mom to a high-schooler), and Pete Wright (father of mostly-launched grown kids) as they gather to compare notes from three different stages of family life.
From the sleepless nights of preparing for a newborn, through the chaos of early adolescence, to the bittersweet art of letting go, each episode tackles the lessons, laughs, and late-night Googling that come with parenting at any age. Expect a mix of heartfelt honesty, media-fueled nostalgia, and just enough intergenerational snark to keep it relatable.
We’ll talk about everything from screen-time philosophies and failed movie nights, to the last bedtime story and the awkward magic of being parented by your own kid. Whether you’re building a nursery or texting your college student emojis you don’t fully understand, you’ll find real talk, hard-won wisdom, and a reminder that none of us are in this alone.