Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Adventures in Road-Tripping (with babies)
The other week, SuperAmazingMommy and I embarked on an 11 hour road trip with our little ones. She brought her 22 month old son, and I brought my 10 month old daughter. Since Little One's been traveling pretty much before she was supposed to be born, she's used to the idea of getting into her car seat and going on long drives.She had her first plane ride and ambulance ride when she was teeny tiny. We also live on an island where we have to drive to wherever we need to go. The neighbourhood we live in only has farms, a general store, a post office, a town hall...and even those are a stretch to get to by foot! Little One knows that when she gets strapped into her car seat, it means she's going somewhere. Anyway, she's a great traveler and mostly just sleeps or entertains herself.
Now, this time around there were two things that made her a little cranky.Teething and a sore bum.
All the literature I've read states that there's no correlation between teething and rashes. Why is it that so many moms I've spoken to have claimed otherwise? Little One has never had a red bum before, and all of a sudden her bum is so sore. Poor baby.
Poor SuperAmazingMommy. She did all the driving, because like me, she fares better driving than being a passenger. Her 22 month old was also a super traveler, but at one point he got his foot stuck in his backpack that was filled with his toys and since we were in the front, we had no idea what the commotion was about. Once we discovered what it was and once I unbuckled my seat belt and reached over to get his foot out of the back pack, all was good in the world.
On the ride home, Little One cried a bit because every time she peed it would burn. SuperAmazingMommy suggested we stop somewhere to do a diaper change and put some diaper cream on Little One's sore bum.
Little One for some reason refused to nurse. I don't know if her gums were hurting her, but she'd keep biting me. She also doesn't do well nursing in public anymore. I don't know if it's because she's a bit older and more aware of her surroundings, but she is so curious and wants to look around all the time. She gets distracted easily! We stopped the car and I nursed her in a restaurant parking lot. When she was on the breast, she kept biting me. I'd pull her away and say, "No!". Every time I'd do that, she'd look up and SMILE at me!
It was a good thing I had pumped some milk for her and she fed herself the bottle. Not only was I frustrated, but I was also engorged! Fearing I'd get mastitis (yes, I can be a bit paranoid sometimes), I told SuperAmazingMommy that I hoped she didn't mind, but I had to manually express milk while we hit the open highway.
There we were. Two mommies, two babies, and the open road. SuperAmazingMommy was at the wheel, while I was manually expressing breast milk into a bottle. Nice.
To top it all off, there was a young hitchhiker at the side of the road. As we got closer, he looked surprised and then just smiled. Embarrassing.
SuperAmazingMommy had her hands full with M during our bathroom break, and the bathroom stall I was in didn't have a change table. I desperately needed to use the loo, so I had no choice but to hold Little One as I peed. Try holding a baby in one arm and unzipping your jeans with the other AND slide it down so you can pee! One handed! It is possible. Challenging, but possible. I ended up just changing Little One in the car. Did I mention I'm also a freak when it comes to public bathrooms? Yes. I have a fear of public bathrooms. I carry hand sanitizer in my purse, in the diaper bag, in the car... I will avoid changing Little One's diaper in a public restroom if I can. *sigh*
All in all, I think SuperAmazingMommy and I did a great job with our 11 hr trip from the Island to Montreal (and back!). The babies were fantastic travelers and we all survived the drive.
Good music, lots of road snacks (Baby Mum Mums for Little One, Golden Oreos for M, and Werther's Originals for SuperAmazingMommy and me!), 11 hours of conversation (a lot can be said in 11 hours!), and good attitudes helped us make the long drive a good drive.**HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY TO MY CANINE BABY, CHANCE!!!**
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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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18 comments:
Ugh. Maya used to bite, too. Evil. The best thing to do, I read, is just put it away. They will get the idea that way that it's not for biting. They are just playing, and not serious at that time. And they don't know they're hurting you. Maya used to LAUGH when she bit me and I said "OW!" Brat. ;) I was never able to manually express milk, so there were times when I was in tears, begging her to just nurse already, because I was totally engorged and in pain. I learned to take a pump with me, let me tell you. That stage finally passed, but it wasn't fun. And don't feel paranoid about mastitis. I had it, my friend had it, it's not uncommon. And also, not fun.
I used to keep the trunk empty (not on long car trips with two babies, obviously), and change her diaper there. We got some strange looks! I think people were wondering why I was putting my baby in the trunk. Ha!
You are indeed talented to pee with a baby in your arms. I seem to remember having to do that once or twice, and again, NOT fun. After that, I decided to make sure I had a place to put baby, like bring her car seat in or whatever. Not convenient, esp if you think your friend could hold her. But if you're alone, it would work.
I'm glad you had such a fun trip! Sorry Little One isn't feeling great. Stupid doctors with the teething. What do they know, anyway? ;)
chris first i'd like to wish chance a happy birthday! i cannot believe he is already 7 years old! he's middle aged in dog years! make sure to give him lots of lovin' because time is precious. yuou know we just lost our dog to cancer. who woulda known that dogs cold get cancer.
you and yoru friend are rockstar supermommies for taking in such a long road trip with tow small children! sprry to hear lo's not feelign so well and the teething isn't fun either for you or baby. as fior mastitis, it is something i'd be worried about. my friend had it and got really sick from it.
J:
They DO know what they're doing when they bite us, don't they? Hmmmph! Little One SMILES when I tell her NO and that she is hurting me. Evil! LOL!
I had to laugh at the baby changing in the trunk thing! I do the same thing with Little One! Is it weird that I think my vehicle is cleaner than most public restrooms?
Yes, talent is a good word for peeing with baby in arms! I don't think I'll make a habit out of it, but sometimes ya do what ya have to do, right? On the other bathroom breaks, my friend held the baby for me. This time, she was preoccupied with her two year old. Fun times trying to organize pee breaks with little ones in tow! This is how paranoid I am...I *considered* taking her car seat into the bathroom with me, BUT totally got grossed out at the thought of the car seat touching the bathroom floor! GROSS! I'd be the person who would put down paper towel or something UNDER the car seat and then put it on the floor. Urgh...I cannot tell you how much public bathrooms gross me out. LOL!
Hope you enjoy your little treats. Has Cherry dropped them off yet? :)
HM:
Sorry to hear about Bear :( I know what you mean. Our canine and feline babies are so dear to us. Amazing how animals can totally steal your heart.
Thanks for the compliment! I'll let SuperAmazingMommy know you said that! She'll probably be reading this though!
ouch. i remember the biting...i would just sternly say NO and eventually they got the point!
You are a trooper for taking such a long trip with TWO babies! Sounds like it all worked out though.
I had to do that once, pee while holding my baby. Difficult but possible-not so easy to wash hands after though!
I STILL change E in the trunk sometimes. That freaks people out since he is SOOO SUPER tall for his age, people think he's 5 not 3 and give us looks because he still wears diapers!
It would have been funny to see you actually pumping instead of hand expressing IMO!!
one last thing- HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANCE!! I remember you as a wee fluff ball and cannot believe how much you've grown and how many places you have travelled with your momma!
Dina:
Ohhhhhhh...Dina!!! LOL! I just had a mental image of actual PUMPING! Oh, the crazy things we do as mamas! I swear, there are so many things I never thought I'd do or experience in my lifetime. Expressing breast milk into a bottle in the passenger seat while my friend was driving...all the while casually talking about everything like nothing was odd about that scenario! That just cracks me up. Crazy!
A friend once told me that once you become a mom, all your sense of shame just goes out the window. She said that so many people have seen her nursing her babies that breasts are not anything to be surprised at anymore. She also had IVF and said that so many doctors have seen her hoo-ha that she doesn't even care anymore. Not that she flashes it or anything, but you know what I mean. I'm still a bit reserved and still cover as much as I can when nursing Little One. I just make sure not more than necessary needs to be exposed. I mean, a woman doesn't have to bare it all when nursing. A friend of mine was disgusted when she went to a restaurant and a mom was nursing. I didn't really care, because I've done it before and still do if Little One is hungry. The mom in question was showing everything though. It still didn't seem odd to me, because babies need to eat too, but my friend was really offended and grossed out. One of our other friends (who happens to be a guy) was also grossed out. Then I said, "How come it grosses you out to see a woman's breast when she's nursing, but you LOVE seeing a woman's breast at a strip club or in a porno?". He had nothing more to say other than "That's different".
Wow! I have no idea where that long comment came from!
Yes, I remember when I first got Chance. He WAS such a tiny little fluff ball! He fit into my hand and I took him EVERYWHERE! Now he's HUGE and he still thinks he's a puppy! He tries to sit on my lap all the time! LOL!
Dina, I MISS YOU!!! We need to get together soon!
hi c! bert and i have had our share of gross bathrooms when tc was a baby. if the bathroom was really bad, we wouldn't even go in. the car trunk became our diaper changing station.
also, happy bday to chance!!!!!:)
and lastly, i got the package today. thanks so much! tc likes the brochure you put in there about horse/mule rides. i think we will do that!!!!you are so very thoughtful c and i can't thank you enough for all of the goodies (candies, sauces, lotion/balms). we can't wait to try the red pepper jelly with brie!
word ver:
gonousin
CC:
Red pepper jelly with melted Brie!!! Ooooooooh!!! YUM! I've got a jar left of red pepper jelly! I think I'm going to have to indulge in some ooey, gooey, melty Brie on stone milled crackers!
As for the Kicking Mule Ranch, it's right up the road from us! You can walk there from our farm! Sort of! :)
I soooooooooooo hope you, Bert and TC can make it up to the Island next summer for a visit!!
OMGosh! You are so crazy Chris! I cannot belive you just wrote "manually expressed breast milk" in this post! BWAHAHA! Crazy girl! Sorrz to hear L-O is a biter. Is it just a phaze? I woldn't know. I don't have kids. Hope the biting stops though. She is just so darn cute. I love that girl of yours. You guys are so so blessed.
Bet that guy had second thoughts about asking for a ride! Ha! You girls wouldn't have given him a ride anyway right?
A mom's gotta do, what a mom's gotta do. And that includes hand expressing breast milk during a road trip and hoovering over a public toilet holding a baby. This is what motherhood is made of. :)
~ humps
Happy Burfday to Chance And a belated happy B.Day to Farmer John!
I love the image in my mind of you trying to use the loo and hold the little one all at the same time. Hilarious!
I too have issues with the use of public restrooms. Hand sanitizer is always with me too! I always try to the hover method over the toilet; but it's a little challenging when you're only 5ft tall!
Road trips are so very fun. It sounds like guys had a good ole time.
And Happy Birthday to Chance!!!
T:
We wouldn't have had any room in the vehicle for a hitchhiker anyway! LOL! The vehicle was PACKED with baby stuff! I think S.A.M. and I had just one little bag each for our clothes! The rest of the trunk and car space was filled with kid stuff! Oh, and I don't think I'd ever pick up a hitchhiker now. Too scary! I'd LIKE to do the good Samaritan thing, but it's just too scary and you never know what kind of people are out there!
Humps:
Sooooooo true!!
Big hugs for you and Baby! I WILL call you soon! XOXO
Jimbo:
Thanks so much! I didn't do anything special for Chance this year :( XO
Deb:
LOL! The toilet seat hovering!!! I do that too!! Ummm...and I'm about the same height as you! Too funny! I cannot stand the thought of any part of me touching a public toilet seat. I don't know how some people can just sit their butts right on the seat!
DO NOT LAUGH, but I have on occasion wiped the seat off with disinfectant (carried in diaper bag or purse with hand sanitizer). Public restrooms = ICKY!
We were at a Dairy Queen once on a pit stop and the bathroom was RAUNCHY!! There was POOP all over the toilet seat, the toilet, the floor and THE WALL!!!! What on earth!?!? C'mon, people! The wall too??? That is all just too gross!
I understand accidents happening, but there's no way you can accidentally poo on a wall! Oh, and bathrooms should be routinely checked by staff, so that shouldn't have been there for too long. By the looks of it, it didn't JUST happen recently. GROSS!
I feel sorry for the staff member who had to clean it. I'm sure cleaning poop off bathroom walls wasn't in his/her job description! :(
Wow. You all are such troopers! So glad to hear you all made it there and back unscathed. I really dislike public bathrooms as well. I always fear my daughter will touch something. ANYTHING!
Your little one is so adorable with her knitted hat.
As for the raw bum and teething, it can certainly be common together.