Vacation - All I Ever Wanted!

We are back from a long weekend away in Washington, DC. We had a great time and met up with some old friends and some really old friends, or, as LP likes to call them, her "new friends."

As I have blogged about before, the Hoos and I went to college in DC - we met there almost 15 years ago, and we are quite nostalgic about the place. It really is a great city with lots to see and do and we did a lot of seeing and doing while there.

We stayed at an Embassy Suites in Crystal City, potentially the highlight of the trip for the little ladies. They honestly thought they owned the joint and would run, laughing and whooping, from our room to the elevator, racing to "hit the button!" They also enjoyed swimming in the hotel's indoor pool and taking its shuttle to the Pentagon City mall. At the end of the trip AK almost refused to get into our car to go home, insisting instead on taking the "bus."

A quick rundown on some of our activities:

• The National Zoo with our friends from college and their adorable little boy. LP was in rare form, acting as a tour guide and in general talking every one's ear off. We got to see giant tortoise love, which was actually kind of gross. The kids didn't know what was going on and LP wanted to know if "the top turtle was going to turn the bottom turtle into a pancake tortoise."


• The Natural History museum with a high school friend and her two precious daughters. I guess it doesn't count as rare form if LP was once again a tour guide talking every one's ear off. The kids enjoyed riding the carousel on the National Mall and putting their feet in the fountain in the National Gallery sculpture garden. It was hot and my poor friend and her husband were toting around their 5-month old in a Bjorn in the 85 degree heat. Total troopers.


• The girls' first Metro ride. They loved it! LP really wanted to take the train underground and AK loves riding the escalator, so to them this was the best of all worlds. And at one point LP asked if she could stand next to her "new friend" and got up and held one my best friends since childhood's hand. Totally sweet.


• A nighttime monument tour. After dinner on Sunday night we took a trip into "the city". We ended up with a great parking spot right near the Hoos' and my favorite hidden treasure, the Albert Einstein statue. We enjoyed Albert and the Lincoln. It was fun trying to explain to LP that the steps in front of the reflecting pool is where "Daddy asked Mommy to marry him," or, as the Hoos puts it, doomsday (only kidding!).


• Quick stop at our old stomping grounds. LP really wanted to get a Washington t-shirt. Instead of getting the usual inexpensive tourist shirts (4/$10) we decided to instead spend $30 to get them GW shirts. Think of it as our alumni contribution. Despite the fact that the campus has changed significantly since we graduated 12 years ago, it brought back nice memories and we totally felt like old fogies explaining to the kids, "And this is where we used to study...And Daddy lived here for 3 years....And Mommy lived here for one semester...And we used to eat lunch here every day..."

The trip was a great combination of old and new memories. LP didn't want to come home and tried to leave some toys in the car for "our next vacation." It can't come soon enough for any of us.

Equity

The Hoos is going away for the weekend. This is unprecedented. The most either of us have been away from our daughters is for a single night - a handful of nights when LP slept at one of our parents' houses and my single, horrible business trip.

That is not to say that we are never alone with our children individually. The Hoos gets the girls up and out of the house without me around three days a week. I spend the afternoons and early evenings with them five days a week. He has occasional week-night work events and I have the occasional event or mom date. This will just be the first time that I am on my own for two consecutive days and nights.

By virtue of being mom, I spend more time with the girls. The Hoos works more and longer hours (and brings home more of the bacon). He does yard work and housework that necessitates not having children underfoot (gardening and kids sometimes mix, but not when your kids pick EVERY green tomato or pull each petal off each flower).

So, most weekends I do take the girls out alone for a bit - to the farmer's market, to the grocery store, the playground, on walks, but in the back of my mind I know that I will get some time to myself later in the day (usually nap time when AK is down and LP is awake but slightly more subdued).

If this was any other weekend, I would likely have packed the girls up and driven down to my parents house on Long Island for the weekend. Alas, my parents are visiting my brother and his family in California.

I am now in programming mode, trying to at least have a few planned activities for each day so the girls don't drive me crazy. In addition, even thought I usually keep AK home with me on Fridays, she is off to day care so I can run errands (and maybe even fit in a pedi) and have a little bit of time for myself.

We will survive (perhaps barely), I will be stronger for the experience. And, as my friend MLH says, I am banking points for a ladies day at the outlets. Then again, why do I need to bank time? Who decides what goes where on the balance sheet? Is it really equal in the first place?

I'd Rather Be Driving

In the past month we have taken two road trips as a family, in addition to various other small excursions. One thing is clear, being in the front passenger seat sucks. It might be worse to wedge myself in between the car seats in the back, but that isn't safe or really feasible; and, yes, the roof rack or trunk would be an improvement.

Why?

As the responsible adult not driving in the car you become the entertainer, the snack hander-outer, the plastic woman required to fetch things discarded and than desired in the most difficult to reach location from your perch. You are also asked to navigate, mediate, make assessments on when potty or lunch breaks are needed and give up your leg room for the aforementioned snacks, toys, drinks, and anything else that may be needed by other passengers at any point in time.

As with many families, whenever we are together in the car, the Hoos does the driving. I don't know why moms often give up the driver's seat (could be because it is easier than being critiqued?), but I need to rethink our approach. It would be nice to say, "Mommy is paying attention to the road, ask Daddy," but then I might have to field additional questions (e.g., where are the extra pacifiers? what snacks should I give them? why are you letting them drink milk in the car?) ...

Trippin'

I am sure you all are waiting with baited breath to hear all about our family trip to DC. According to the Hoos, LP was an angel in the car. She played with her baby for a while, they sang songs (she now puts in requests, e.g., "Bus!" while rolling her hands = the wheels on the bus; "Sumpin" while holding up one hand = where is Thumpkin), she napped, and they visited Bass Pro Shops. All in all a smooth 5 hour trip.

I actually managed to finish my meetings and walk over to our hotel before the Hoos and LP arrived so I could check us in. This definitely simplified life since it didn't require the Hoos making multiple trips in and out of the hotel while carrying sugar muffin. In case you are wondering, we stay at the Marriott Residence Inn in Rosslyn. For less than $100 a night, we get a suite which has separate bedroom and living rooms, free hot breakfast daily, and is a walk to the Rosslyn metro, various restaurants and our old stomping grounds of the Court House and Clarendon neighborhoods.

We had a really nice time and missed a big horrible snowstorm in Connecticut! We visited the mammal exhibit and insect zoo at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, we got to meet 2-week old baby Ezra, we checked out the cool photos and live frog exhibit at the National Geographic Museum with our friends the Raks, and we had some nice family time to boot. Of course when we got home, the Hoos had to shovel our driveway, but again, much better than spending the weekend snowed into our house.

Now that we are home we are trying to decide where to go for our next vacation or long weekend. Any ideas of places ideally within driving distance of Connecticut that are fun to visit, family friendly and good destinations for the March/April time frame?

On the Road Again

Earlier this week I got a request to attend a meeting in our Arlington, VA office next week. Despite being pregnant, I do enjoy traveling, and I do want to show my commitment to my job, so I accepted the opportunity as an easy one day trip that would not impact life back home too much.

As you may know from reading this blog, the Hoos and I used to live in Arlington, and we went to school in DC, a five minute metro ride. When I confirmed with the Hoos that the trip wouldn't be a problem, he wondered if perhaps he and LP might join me. We still have friends in the area, and one couple just had a baby that we would love to meet. Plus, DC is a great walking city and a good place to entertain LP. Even if she doesn't look at all of the exhibits in the Smithsonian Natural History museum, I am sure she would love to run around its big open corridors.

With the decision to spend a few days below the Mason-Dixon finalized, we moved on to the logistics. My meeting is from 1pm-5pm. DC is about a 4.5 hour drive without stops. There is no such thing as no stops with a toddler. We laid out our options:

1. Drive down as a family the morning of my meeting. Unless we leave the house at a ridiculously early hour to contend with the stops and potential traffic issues, we would be left stressing about making my meeting on time.
   
2. Drive down together (all the way or part way) the night before. We might get there in time, but we would most likely have a miserable night with LP sleeping in the car, waking up around midnight when we arrive and probably not falling right back to sleep.
3. Amy take the train or fly one way and the Hoos and LP drive down and meet me. Obviously not a problem for me, work pays for my flight or ride, but neither of us has ever driven alone with LP for more than an hour and a half. Without a passenger, there is the challenge of keeping the munchkin satisfied and happy. Even food bribery is difficult when your main job is to have your eyes on the road.

We decided on option 3. I will cab it to the train station the morning of my meeting and catch an Acela Express that gets me into DC at 11:45. The Hoos and LP will leave at whatever time works for them and meet me at the hotel a couple of miles from my office that afternoon. My plan is to pack pre-packaged snacks that the Hoos can open in the front seat and just pass back (e.g., raisins, goldfish single packs) and set him up with multiple water sippy cups since LP throws one when she is done and then complains that she wants more but can't reach it.

We figure if it is a miserable ride down for him, at least it is only one way and he then has a couple of days of vacation to recover for the trip back home. Let us all pray.

PS - Sorry for all of the typos lately, Blogger spell check isn't working. Harrummpf. I bet you all thought I had awesome spelling skills all by myself:)

Look Out for the Flying Old Lady!

I spent yesterday in Columbus, OH. Literally, just the day: a car whisked me to the airport at 5:45am and returned me home at 10pm. In between were meetings and airport challenges. Oh, and a fun experience that made me feel like I was over the hill.

Because of issues at LaGuardia airport, I ended up flying home a a puddle jumper. It was a teeny, tiny plane. As I sat down I turned to my seat mate and commented, "Wow, I am relatively small and I feel uncomfortable." She responded, "I am 12, I am just big for my age." Okay, not exactly relevant, but definitely true. She was twice my size. Turns out she was flying to New York to meet her dad for the first time.

A really nice, sweet girl, we talked most of the flight. She told me she was a seventh grader and I asked what books she was reading in English class (I have an 18-month old, I am not used to talking to more mature children, what can I say?). I then told her that we read "The Outsiders" and "Johnny Tremain" when I was in 7th grade. She looked at me blankly. "I guess it was a while ago, I was in 7th grade in 1988." Her response was that she was BORN in 1995.

In case that didn't make me feel like an old fogey, she went on to tell me that her parents were YOUNGER than me. I felt nauseous. And it had nothing to do with being pregnant or on an uncomfortable flight.

You See, We See, DC

We are back from our exciting trip to DC. First, let me say that LP was an absolute angel in the car. Both on the drive down to DC and the ride home she behaved beautifully. I had to read some stories and have a pacifier ready but she was great - even after sitting in a painful back-up this afternoon en route to the GW Bridge.

We had a really nice time. We got to see our friends and show off LP; she was the "entertainment". She showed everyone how she could howl like a wolf and kept doing it when she saw the boisterous response.

In addition to spending some quality time with friends, we also had some time alone to reacquaint ourselves with the old neighborhood. One of the highlights was visiting the sculpture garden outside of the National Gallery on the Mall. It has a huge fountain surrounded by beautiful curved marble benches. The Hoos and I sat back and let LP run back and forth between the raised fountain and our seats on the benches. She amused all of the tourists to the point that some even took pictures of her! Yes, it was a little creepy, but I am confident that they only had the best intentions. We also visited a butterfly garden situated between the Sculpture Garden and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. LP loved sitting up on the big rocks lining the path.

Saturday evening as we returned from a friend's house with LP snoozing in her car seat, we drove through the GWU campus. Some of the students were still in the process of moving into Thurston Hall (the freshman dorm). I can remember moving into Thurston! The Hoos and I figured out that when we were entering college, the current freshman would have been five years old. Seeing how young the students looked and noting all of the new construction and changes on campus made me feel ancient.

I guess you never really can go back. But forward isn't such a bad direction to go either. Onward!

Road Trip

LP's school is closed at the end of this week for teacher training. So, instead of just taking some time off to watch her at home, we decided to take a road trip. We will be venturing down to the DC-metro area to hook up with some friends and see the sights.

This will be our longest car trip since welcoming LP to the world. We are already starting to cringe at the thought of a bad car trip. We have no basis for this fear; LP is always excellent in the car, at least as long as she isn't hungry. However, in the months since we turned her around to be forward-facing in the car seat, we have noticed that she does not sleep as long in the car as she used to. This is both a blessing and a curse. While we no longer have to plan car trips around nap time so that she doesn't sleep the entire day away, she likes to be up and active and interactive. There isn't much you can do that is "active" with a one year old in the car; it is not as if geography or the license plate game will really entice her. We do play CDs and sing-along, but there is really only so much Raffi one can handle and I get a headache from turning around in my seat (not to mention the occasional burst blood vessel).

So far the plan is to leave about an hour before her regular nap time and hopefully make it down to lower NJ before stopping for lunch and some running around time. Hopefully expending some energy will help make the car ride more tolerable for everyone. Our next stop will be at Bass Pro Shops in Maryland ('ya, you pegged it, I am the one who wants to stop here' she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm); fortunately, Bass Pro is in an outlet mall that LP and I can explore (e.g., run around like crazy people).

Anyone have experience hitting the road with munchkins? Have any advice to offer for car ride bliss?

Milk on a Plane!

When I went on my horrific business trip to Phoenix while still breast feeding LP, one of my big issues was that I had to 'pump and dump' because you couldn't bring breast milk on a plane if you didn't have an infant. At the time, LP's only fluid intake was from my liquid gold, and it was really devastating to flush this precious resource.

I read today that the Transportation Security Administration has finally revised its policy regarding breast milk.

"Mothers flying with, and now without, their child will be permitted to bring breast milk in quantities greater than three ounces as long as it is declared for inspection at the security checkpoint.

Breast milk is in the same category as liquid medications. Now, a mother flying without her child will be able to bring breast milk through the checkpoint, provided it is declared prior to screening."

It doesn't impact me right now, although the horrible previous policy is one of the key reasons I had sworn off travelling for work. I am glad that the government has finally reconsidered its unfriendly and ridiculous policy. It will be interesting to see how this works in practice. Can't you just see some idiot making you throw out your breast milk bags because they are frozen and therefore not liquid?

As for how important the TSA felt the policy change is, it is relegated to a few short sentences buried below the new rules for lighters and game show consoles. Glad someone's priorities are straight.

Relaxed, Refreshed

Well, we are back from our week-long vacation at Cape Cod. We stayed on a lake in the lovely town of Centerville which has a really nice beach (Craigville Beach) and excellent homemade ice cream. We had never been to the Cape before and enjoyed it very much. The good news is that we were mentally prepared that this vacation would not be about sleeping late, because otherwise we would have been sorely disappointed. Anyway, as a sign of a good, relaxing vacation, I don't have much exciting to report.

Except...

On our last night there, LP was wandering around the house. She was always in our sight and it had good, laminate floors so she was really walking from room to room. All of a sudden, the Hoos hears her playing with something in the front bedroom. A room we didn't use. He walks in to find her playing with a broken lamp. A lamp that we didn't hear fall and break and that wasn't broken before. Fortunately baby girl is unhurt.

We contemplate the broken lamp, trying to figure out how it got that way and finally determine that we must have pushed it back on the nightstand to keep it out of LP's way, thereby placing it closer to the blinds. A good, stiff wind must have kicked up while we were out (natch), knocking the blinds into the lamp and the lamp onto the floor.

What to do? What to do? We already spent an arm and a leg to rent this house, we certainly don't want the cost of this lamp to come out of our security deposit, especially if we weren't even responsible for the damage. So, like any true scaredy-cats, we hop in the car and drive to every home store in the greater-Hyannis area looking for a replacement. From K-Mart, to Linens and Things, to Home Goods, Pier 1, Marshalls, Macy's (bet you didn't know the Cape was so built up. It just so happens that Centerville is the ideal location for surf and shop). Apparently off white, cylindrical, 12-inch high lamps are out of style.

We find another lamp in a closet in the house and replace the broken lamp, which we wrap up and throw out. The next morning the Hoos calls the owner and relates the story (minus all of the nutty running around). She understands, especially since it is incredibly windy the morning we are preparing to leave, and tells us not to worry about it.

Anyway, as nice as it was to be on vacation and not think about work, there is something really nice about returning home. Too bad I have 150 emails to go through...

The Great Outdoors

After two days in the woods, we have returned from our camping adventure.

Somehow all of our gear fit into the car. We have one kid - and a small one at that - and I feel like we were really cramming the stuff in. I have no idea how my brother-in-law and his family fit all of the stuff they need into the car and still have room for their three kids. To be honest, I don't care how they got it all in, I am just thankful that they did, because not only is my sister-in-law very well prepared, but my niece is amazing, taking LP off of my hands for small periods of time so that I could actually accomplish things and help.

LP loved being outside and getting dirty. Fortunately we had rented a camp site with a lean to (pretty much a covered wooden stage) which was a perfect place to let LP crawl around. She had a great time and didn't even attempt to eat too much "organic" material.

The first night we got LP to go to sleep around 10:30 in the pack-n-play. She woke up screaming screaming crying at 12:15. Did you know that noise carries very clearly when you are in the woods in the middle of the night? We were very concerned about fixing whatever was bothering LP, but probably more worried about keeping her quiet and from waking the entire campground. Eventually after much rocking, cajoling, some orajel and some Tylenol she fell back to sleep. Of course, she feel asleep in my sleeping bag with me. This meant that instead of sleeping comfortably on my sleeping pad in my sleeping bag, I slept on the three inches of cold, lumpy ground in between the pack-n-play and the nice, cushioned pad. LP slept soundly and well, I moved around a lot.

The second night was a vast improvement. LP fell asleep at 9:05 in the pack-n-play. At 9:10 it started to rain. The rain was an improvement over listening to people talk at other campsites (rain in the woods on a tent is VERY VERY loud) and it was also a relief because no one would hear LP if she cried. You guessed it, she didn't cry and I had to wake her up at 8 the next morning. Fortunately the tent was waterproof and we all stayed warm and dry and got some sleep.

The picture above is from Sunday morning. Now you know what I look like after 48 hours of not showering. Be thankful the blog technology has not been upgraded to scratch and sniff yet.

Will we go camping again? Sure. Would we do it with someone younger than LP? Probably not. Did we have a good time? Definitely. The company was good, the weather was great, and the attitude was care-free with no one talking or thinking about work the entire time. THAT is what a vacation is all about.

Roughing It

My dining room looks like my basement exploded in it. We are busily preparing for our camping trip this weekend and have decided (by default) that the dining room will be our staging area. THIS IS CAMPING! People camp at a moment's notice with no preparation. And yet this three day, two night excursion into the wilderness requires several lists just to manage all of the items we are bringing with us.

We have a list for the "usual" stuff - sleeping bags, sleeping pads, tent, flashlights, etc. Another list holds the food items (never mind that my sister-in-law and I are trying not to duplicate too many items in this category and already I have an overflowing bag of just the non-perishable items). You also have to consider the baby-specific items such as the hiking, baby-carrying back pack, the pack-n-play, the sleep sack in case it is cold, the baby Benadryl in case she gets stung by too many mosquitoes...I had to convince the Hoos that it was not necessary to bring a high-chair. You get the idea.

The good news is that the weather is supposed to be clear. The bad news is that my dining room probably will not have sufficient time to recover before our week-long vacation at the Cape.

Bring on the Woods!

We continue to prepare for our camping adventure at the end of the month. This weekend the weather was miserable, but the camping shopping was good.

We got two new sleeping bags and a new tent at Dick's Sporting Goods. We actually didn't intend to buy a new tent, but when I saw the nice big tents all set up in the store, my first reaction was "ohhh...this is niiiice." It wasn't just that the tent was so nice, it is also that we were planning on sleeping in the Hoos' 15-year old tent. The tent has not been opened in at least 10 years and I was starting to be a bit concerned that we would take it out upon arriving at our camp site and discover that the thing was covered with holes and had families of moths living in for the last decade. The new tent is 12x10 - bigger than the "master" bedroom in our little cape. If we can't all three sleep comfortably in this new structure, well, then the tent isn't to blame.

Speaking of sleeping, we are also starting to wonder how that is going to work. LP is not exactly used to sleeping out in nature or even next to Mommy and Daddy for that matter. Will she be so excited that sleep will never come? Our optimistic view is that we will just lay in the tent with it all zipped up and the Hoos and I will go to bed and LP can just crawl around until she falls asleep. The thought process is that she will be safe - she can't get out (at least I hope she doesn't know how to open zippers yet!) and there is nothing to fall off of or hurt herself on. Okay, stop laughing. We know it ain't gonna work, but we are hopeful.

Sleeping is just one consideration - we also have bugs to contend with, dirt and sticks and other organic matter to constantly remove from LP's hands and mouth, and the weather. We are going with my brother-in-law and his family. Every time they go camping it rains. I hope our good luck counteracts their bad luck...Start praying for us!

Vacation: The Joy, the Fear

Everyone loves a vacation. Heck, everyone needs a vacation. But for the first time I am looking upon an upcoming vacation with more trepidation than usual. Even more than my honeymoon to Canada in December. Cold enough to freeze your inner ear, but not cold enough for lakes to freeze and offer outdoor activities.

This summer we are preparing for our first vacations with LP. She was around last summer, but not in any state to take on vacation. Or maybe it was a good time to take her on vacation since she wasn't mobile and you didn't have to entertain her much. Regardless, it would not have been a good time for the Hoos and me to go on vacation.

The first planned vacation is a camping trip with my brother-in-law and his family at the end of June. They have three kids (four, eight and 10), and we fully expect them to laugh at us as we fumble our way through sleeping in a tent and coordinating life with a one-year-old in the great outdoors. We already know that LP loves being outside, so much so that she wants to consume it. I mean this literally - she loves to eat dirt and the like. Camping should be a whole new adventure when you consider the accessibility of all sorts of non-edible but enticing things.

Now that we have the camp site reserved we are mentally filling u pthe trunk and the back seat of the car. And still we will forget things. And still we will have a great time (she types optimistically).

Sweet Relief

I have never been so happy to see a machine in my life as when I limped into the house at 1:15 this morning. My feet hurt, my heart ached, I was a bit nauseous from the awful landing at Newark airport...but the sight of my Medela PumpInStyle almost made me cry.

I took off my shoes, sat down on the floor and pumped 10 ounces in 15 minutes. Then I went upstairs to peek in on LP, go to the bathroom, and slip into bed.

LP was even more gorgeous than I remembered. I didn't even mind when she woke us up around 6 and Daddy found her sitting up in her crib. But I really loved it when she cried out at 7:45 and I brought her into bed with me and held her close. It was like heaven - for both of us.

Update: I called EvenFlo to complain about the stinky pump. I told them that I can imagine someone giving up breast-feeding if that was the only pumping experience they had. The are going to give me an exchange credit for any other EvenFlo products (because it sure as heck wouldn't be another pump) with free shipping, etc. So I guess the pump isn't totally useless.

Just Call Me Clara

I have never felt so much like a cow in my life. Not even when I was essentially nursing constantly during LP's first few weeks. It didn't help matters that the freaking cheap Evenflo pump I got at Target is useless.

Where to begin? The trip to Phoenix was miserable, as expected, due to the weather and problems with the "jetway motor". Folks couldn't get off the plane at JFK and we couldn't get on the plane. Lovely. Then when I got to Phoenix, I waited on the wrong side of the airport for my hotel shuttle and instead of getting to the hotel at 10:45, I got there at 11:30. Strike two. Then I found out that the aforementioned pump was a piece of crap.

With my fancy Medela pump (thank you Aunt Angela!) I can pump both of the ladies at the same time and in 10 minutes be done (with about 6 ounces to show for my efforts). With this thing after half an hour with very very full ta-tas (sorry dad!) I had an ounce. And still two erect rocks. So around 12:45 I figured I had accomplished enough so I could sleep. And woke up with two boulders.

I spent two breaks HAND-PUMPING (which proved to be much more efficient) in a locked executive bathroom. Standing over the sink, looking into a mirror. My hands are cramped. And unrelated, my feet hurt due to swelling and I am scared to take off my shoes for fear I will have to stay barefoot.

Next time they want me to travel for work, I will most definitely say no. It's not worth it. Thank goodness my workshop went well, otherwise I might have considered quitting (joking, being tired makes me dramatic).

Here's hoping I make it home tonight. I miss LP, I miss the Hoos. The only good thing I missed was the miserable weather.

So Not Ready for This

I spent some time yesterday preparing for my trip to Phoenix. I am starting to freak out a little bit - not because of the trip, but because of the weather. Please, oh please don't let me get stuck out there. 36 hours away from my baby girl is going to be hard enough. Leave me alone, inclement weather!

Typically I work in the office on Tuesdays, but since I am heading out of town, I am working from home until heading to the airport. This morning, LP woke up at 7:50 and made some noises implying, "Okay, Daddy, I am awake, come and get me ready for school." She was probably surprised when Mommy went in to get her. Imagine my shock when I walked in to see her sitting up in her crib. Just sitting there, staring at me, with her pacifier in her mouth.

Now I am thinking, oh boy, I am leaving the Hoos home with an even bigger challenge. He needs to lower the crib by himself without me here to help or watch LP. Then, Hoos gets ready to take LP to day care. Of course, she was fine and I start blubbering like an idiot. Who is this strange emotional person? That's right - it is a mommy.

The Great Milk Shake-Up

My travel to Phoenix is officially back on. And now I am finally starting to think about what this means for me, LP, and the husband (the hoos). Here are some things I have discovered:

1. You can't carry breast milk on a plane unless you have an infant. So much for my idea of pumping and bringing it back with me.
2. It is impossible to carry-on a laptop, a pump, and a suitcase.
3. I have no idea how to use a hand pump.
4. Most of my concerns have to do with nursing - should I introduce formula?
   

I hate the idea that traveling for work would force me to compromise LP's 100% breast milk liquid diet. Do other nursing moms wait until babies are weaned to travel without them? How bizarre that this is my biggest concern. Of course, I am absolutely not worried that LP will starve, or drive the hoos crazy; they both will survive and he is her daddy after all.

I used to love to travel for work. I got to see interesting place, try new food, and return home in short order. Sleeping away from home no longer means getting to sleep in the middle of the bed and take an extra long shower...It means I have to pump morning, noon and night before I go to make sure there is plenty of milk available for my little muffin while I am away....how stinky is that?

Whew! Danger Averted!

I came in to the office this morning fully expecting to have to travel for work next week. As soon as I learned of the potential trip, I started running through my mental checklist: do we have enough milk stored (no); does the timing coincide with anything major (yes, big project at Daddy's work); do we have a plan (no)...hmm...things didn't seem to be in our favor.

The good news is, the trip to warm Phoenix, AZ has been postponed. The bad news is - now I have to improve upon my long-term planning. What does happen if I have to travel for work? Oh, shoot, now the real work begins. LP is probably ready for mommy to travel, but mommy isn't!