Ada's First Overnight

Our first overnight trip went surprisingly well. On the ride down, I felt like a one-woman circus trying to keep Ada occupied. The ride back? She slept the entire time. I'll get more to the specifics in a minute. But the biggest downside to a long car ride this weekend was definitely wasting the gorgeous weather.

We made sure to take advantage of the sun and warmth the minute we got home.

Back to our trip. We have always prided ourselves on our ability to pick up and go at a moment's notice. Packing with a baby has proven challenging even on short trips.

We try our best to resist bringing all the gear -- but with a spitter who wears cloth diapers, there are a few thing we have to bring with us that we wouldn't necessarily need to otherwise.

• 5,000 extra changes of clothing for both mom and baby.
• Several bibs and multiple burp rags.
• Enough cloth diapers for approximately 2 days (16 or so) and a wet bag.
• Special sleep arrangements (chair so she's elevated at night)

With breastfeeding, we had both pros and cons. PRO: I didn't have to pack bottles + accessories or remember to bring formula. CON: We had to stop along the way to fill Ada's tank. It was more than cramped in my tiny car. And we parked next to the garbage cans in a McDonald's parking lot with staff walking by every five minutes.

When we arrived, Ada was cranky because she was still hungry. So we did some nap-nursing for an hour before getting back into the car for another half-hour to head to the party. (Stephen's great uncle was turning 80.)

I swear Ada was trying to make me look like a whiny mother. The entire time we were at the party, at least in public, she was adorable and hardly cried at all. She acted like the ideal infant. Cooing and flirting. Smiling and letting strangers hold her. However, behind the scenes, she was being a fussy nurser, making me all stressed out and annoyed.

Then we left and she immediately started screaming. She didn't get her usual afternoon nap, and I could see it in her face. She was way over-tired. The entire ride back to Stephen's parent's house, I let her suck on my pinky because we couldn't find a good place to pull over so I could feed her. She was near sleep the entire time. It'd be boring to recount the whole night. But we got back. She ate. Fell asleep like a champ. Then was great the next day for our return home.

(Before I go on, more photo. Breathe in. Breathe out.)


How are things today? Oh, today.

Looks like she saved all her bad energy for me. (Any other parents feel like that sometimes?) She has been crying and unhappy with most EVERYTHING we've done. A constant struggle of doing something she usually likes . . . then it gets old after five minutes . . . then trying something else she usually loves . . . then it gets old after three minutes . . . and so on. Plus, I think with the teething, she's in pain while eating. Something is wrong there.

I'm absolutely exhausted. And though I say that often, I truly mean it. I'm so much looking forward to a weekend free from obligations. Only four more days, right?

Like what you just read? Stay connected! You can subscribe to the feed of these posts, chat with us on Twitter or Facebook. And you can always email us with your questions and comments.