roadtrip

Etta’s First Road Trip

My husband had business for two days in Portland, and since I was no longer working, I was able to accompany him. It was our first road trip with Etta, and I had to really think about bringing everything the baby would need. I packed the Norwegian carriage for Etta to sleep in, her carry-handle carseat for a place for her to sit when we ate out in restaurants, the breast pump and feeding paraphernalia, and then the usual clothes and diapering supplies. As I gathered everything and got it organized to go, Etta became increasingly fussy and demanding of attention. I’d sit to feed her, she’d fall asleep at the breast, I’d settle her into her crib, and she’d pop awake again. We needed to depart at 3:30pm sharp, and as the hour drew near I finally had to just leave Etta to fuss in her crib while I flew about the house setting out extra food for the kitties, putting the wet laundry in the clothes dryer, watering the plants, and attending to all the details necessary for leaving the house for several days.

Once on the road Etta did surprisingly well. Of the four hour trip, she slept for much of it, breaking into a cry only as we approached the state border, just 15 minutes from our hotel. For the last hour of the trip I sat in the back with Etta. As my husband drove, I pumped my breasts into a bottle pre-filled with dry rice cereal. I put a bib on Etta and spoon fed her the familiar cereal dinner as we traveled 70 mph down the freeway.

We checked into the hotel and walked to a nearby restaurant for a late dinner. Etta was an angel, smiling and looking around as my husband and I enjoyed our meal. My husband calls Etta "owl head" because she swivels her head around so quickly now. Sitting in his lap at the restaurant, she watched the waitresses as they rushed back and forth on one side of our table, and the pedestrians passing by outside the window at the other end of the table. Her little head was constantly moving from side to side, as if she was watching a tennis match!

Vacation for Etta and Mommy

Etta was asleep by 10:30 that night, all tucked into her carriage at the foot of our bed. To my amazement, Etta only woke twice in the night, at 1:00am and 4:00am. She was changed, fed, and easily returned to the carriage to sleep. She awoke for the day at 7:30, when my husband left for his day of meetings. I had the buffet breakfast in the hotel, filling my ziploc baggie with provisions for lunch, too. With Etta in the carriage I walked around downtown Portland, spending several hours in a bookstore, where I bought Etta two cloth books. I have plenty of "board" books for Etta, but as she wants to teethe on everything, I thought some cloth books would be nice. The books had different textured materials as well as peek-a-boo flaps, squeekers, and things to manipulate.

We returned to the hotel before the lunch hour for some nursing and napping and then drove to East Portland to visit my friend Sally (a former coworker of mine who’d moved to Portland to be closer to her family). Sally had two children: Garrett, 2 ½ years; and Sydney, 7 months. It was wonderful to see Sally after two years, and to see her cute little house and her adorable children. Sally was a stay at home mom and together we agreed that we loved being mothers but worried about returning to the workforce out of touch. We were concerned about the technological advances, especially in the computer realm, that we were oblivious to.

In the evening my husband, and Etta and I met with relatives for dinner at a Chinese restaurant and as usual, Etta was perfectly behaved. She sat contentedly in her carry-handle car seat at the table with us. At 8:00 sharp, which is her self-appointed bedtime, she began to fuss. We rode the light rail tram back to our hotel and by 8:30 she was soundly asleep.

Why we don’t do the "Family Bed" in this family

Etta’s second night in the hotel was not as peaceful as the first. My husband was having very vivid dreams and was sharing them with us by snoring, grumbling, and shouting in his sleep. This reminded me why our family does not practice "co-sleeping" with the baby in our bed. Each time my husband would erupt in noise I’d wake, and within moments a little whimper would rise from the carriage. I’d wait a few moments before going to comfort Etta, hoping that she’d settle back to sleep on her own, but she never did. I’d pull her into bed, she’d nuzzle to my breast, suckle for about five minutes, and I’d return her carefully to her carriage. Just as I’d slip back into bed my husband would emit another loud yelp and Etta would startle awake. After the seventh or eighth time I lost my patience and decided that he needed to share in the sleep depravation that he was creating for Etta and me. He never actually woke from his dreams – he’d yell out but continue to sleep. But this time I poked him and grouched something about his annoying utterances, and he responded in sleepy frustration with, "What do you want me to do, go sleep in the bathtub?" I asked him to try to have more peaceful, less adventurous dreams.

In the morning my husband was off to his meetings and Etta and I lounged in the hotel room until 10:00am, then took a short walk through downtown. We returned to the room and packed up, checking out at exactly noon. Etta and I did a little shopping before we picked up my husband from his meeting in the industrial area around 3:00pm, and started the drive home. On the drive Etta fussed for about 30 minutes and cried hard for 10 before surrendering to much needed sleep. Overall it was a great trip and Etta did splendidly well. Our next trip will be to in Alaska when Etta is 8 months old. I hope it goes as smoothly!