Beer, Bread, & Baby: To Flo and Home We Go

This weekend was just a reminder that our lives aren't really ours anymore. They belong to the little man of the house and if he isn't happy, nobody is happy. Thats the gig though, that is what you sign up for when you decide to make a little crazy. Everybody who has had one has been where we were this weekend.

We had been planning for several weeks a fun-filled weekend at our friend's house in Florence. It is her childhood home and her parents were leaving town for a few weeks. Four families in total packed up their kids, their gear, and all the necessities for 3 fun days on the lake and headed out of town. In total there were 7 kids ranging from 9 months (sweet Jake) to 11 years old.

We had a great plan, start driving right in time for the morning nap and Jake would just drift off into lala land and snooze most of the drive. Haha, stupid parents, Jake had a little something else in mind. His plan looked a little like this, don't sleep the first 2 and half hours, be really mad, need Mama in the back seat, stop to nurse and stay mad, finally fall asleep about 45 min from our destination.

We were willing to drive around to let him sleep (somehow he knows when we stop), but we made one quick stop at a liquor store (and its a good thing because we needed it) and the little guy opened his eyes. 40 min nap, damn.

So ok, new plan, short morning nap, we will catch an afternoon nap. I'll nurse him to sleep and gently lay him down. I never do that anymore, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. Yep, someone decided for like the first time ever - no thanks on the boob Mom. Great.

Ok, NEW new plan, play outside, enjoy the lake and plan an early bedtime where we will go through our normal routine and then set Jake to snooze in the pack n play right next to our pull out bed. Yes I figured he might cry a little bit and I was ready to listen to it until he settled down, what actually followed was too sad to witness. We took a bath, went through the routine, I nursed him and he passed out. So I laid him down knowing he would wake up and want to put himself to sleep. The next 40 minutes were very pleasant and a highlight of our 24 hour trip. All the adults sitting on the dock with drinks and the sun falling enjoying some good laughs and banter...until the screaming on the monitor started. I don't really remember the next couple hours, but I know a few things. It is sad to see my baby cry. I couldn't let him go and I even had trouble settling him down too. I missed dinner, which was burgers, I love burgers. At about 8:30 Jake fell asleep on me on the pull out bed.

Poor little man, he was so tired, he was in a new place, he wanted to crawl, he wanted to go home. I was scared to move, but around 9:30 I slid him off of me and onto the bed so I could brush my teeth and put pajamas on. We then spent the night snuggling together, a little snack at 1:30 and then up for good at 4:40. Ouch.

It was a rough night, but selfishly I did enjoy the snuggles. When Jake was really little we spent a lot of early mornings and late nights snuggling in the chair in the nursery. It was the worst case scenario chair. If I couldn't get him back down after a feeding I would just snooze there with him. I mean, lets be honest several times I caught myself dozing off and opened my eyes with a jolt only to look down and see a sweet baby face looking up at me wide awake. Friday night was different. Jake is a big baby now, he knows how he wants to move to get comfortable, he knew where I was and how to snuggle closer, which he did. I was practically falling off the bed, but I didn't care. I would have slept in a headstand if it meant he would sleep.

Brian and I were texting, he spent some time outside with all the guys and then slept on the couch. We knew right then that we would need to go home the next morning. Its funny how things change, there wasn't a question in either of our minds, these are the things you do for your kids. You do anything, anytime, anywhere to make them feel safe and happy....and rested.

It was a rough night. It was our first attempt at a weekend trip and it turns out for Jake, 9 months isn't the best age for that. I don't think there is anything we could have done differently. So we packed up in the morning. All I could think was it had taken me all week to pack everything, making sure I covered all the bases to create a comfy stay for our little baby....now I just had to put it all away again!

On the ride home Jake slept practically the whole drive, took another nap at home and then slept a long night. He was happy to be home. We will try again for a vacation, probably not anytime soon. Until then, we can look back on this weekend and laugh. Little Jake has got us, he has got us good and whatever Jakey wants, Jakey gets. We are just here to make him feel safe and happy, so that is what we will do.