Our Little Vacationer

Chloe’s first vacation was…. Interesting. I think Mini Vacationer didn’t have quite as much fun as mommy & daddy but we will work on that for next time J

Ready to go!

Our plans were to leave around 5:30 on Wednesday evening so I got Little Missy loaded to run some last minute errands around 3. After the errands, we were planning to go to work and feed her there before we hopped in the car to take off. Luke called as I was snapping her in and said that he could leave as soon as I got there if we wanted. I was thrilled and we took off around 3:30. Chloe was sleeping but had eaten last at 1:30 so I knew we wouldn’t make it too far before she was hungry. At Los Banos (about 45 mins from home) we stopped for an early dinner, gas, and to feed Chloe. I knew we couldn’t put her right back in the carseat after she ate so I fed her first half the bottle in the car. After she spit up all down the back of my shirt all the way down to my sweats, we decided to walk around Target feeding and burping her…. slightly white trashy, I know! She finished her bottle and Luke was holding her while I grabbed a few things. I warned of the spit-up baby that I had grown accustom to the last couple days but this dad felt “above” that so he continued to carry her without a burp cloth. Sure enough, she spewed alllllllll down the front of his shirt. The devious side of me thought this was pretty priceless but I knew he was embarrassed so I felt bad for him. It gave us a good laugh and decided it had only taken him two months to be "that guy" with the spit up scent. After an hour and a half, we felt ready to hit the road…. Chloe was NOT ready. She cried while we got gas and spit up all down the front of her outfit. I got out her little books and she calmed down while she sucked mercilessly on her binky. Finally about 15 mins later, she was out. The next 2 hours were spent with off and on sleeping while I continued to pop her pacifier back in every 20-30 mins. We stopped at a gas station about 45 mins from San Luis Obispo and I took Chloe out in the backseat. Her back was sweaty, her front and right arm were covered in spit up, and the stench from her diaper wafted to my nose before I even had her all the way unbuckled…. It was dark and Luke was already inside so I pulled my pillow out, laid her out, and went to work. Big mistake. This was our first diaper blowout and poo was stained in the front of her sleeper. I think it was about an 8 wipe cleanup, outfit change, and back in the carseat. She immediately fell asleep and we finished the drive with no incident. Arriving at 10, we fed her and had more fussies until we put her to bed at midnight.

On Thursday, Grammy watched Chloe while the other 4 of us went to ride quads on the sand dunes in Pismo. The family always had talked about their hours and hours spent there during Luke’s childhood but I’d never been able to experience it before so I was pretty excited. We rode for about 2.5 hours and I had a great time!! Luke hadn’t ridden in over 5 years so he was quite sore but still enjoyed himself.

Dinner was tough that night. We went to a great steakhouse and I took Chloe in to change her diaper while the family was seated. She was asleep but I had smelled something foul so I knew I needed to change it. Not sure what it was, but the smell wasn’t her diaper so I got her all snapped up and headed out to sit and rock her to sleep….. well, that was against her will apparently.  It started with crying, then started the screaming. I took her out to the lobby thinking that mama’s magic touch could lull her to sleep in no time…. Boy, was I ever wrong! I held her until the appetizers came then Jill took a shift. I ate until the food came. Then I took a shift while Jill ate and then she came back to relieve me while I ate. About that same time, Luke finished and went to assist too. By the time the bill was paid, Chloe was asleep. Hmmmm. We got her strapped in the car before my tears started. I felt horrible that we had come to spend time together as a family and we couldn’t even enjoy the dinner all together. Luke did a great job reassuring me that it’s part of having a baby in the family and it was OK. She was so exhausted that she was in bed by 8:15 and Luke & I followed shortly after.

Friday dawned at 6 since Chloe Bug had gone to bed so early. We snuggled in bed as a family then snuck off to Starbucks for a morning boost. After breakfast we loaded in the car and drove up to San Simeon to see the elephant seals. 

Chloe's first trip to the beach!

It was a nice drive to chat and spend the time with hubby while Chloe snoozed in the back. About 3 hours later we got back to San Luis and we fed Chloe in a nice clothing store while G-pa and Grammy shopped. I wasn’t too interested in whipping out a dirty diaper in the man’s store so I sat in the back with Chloe on our way to dinner to keep her awake so we didn’t have a repeat of the night before. I changed her diaper as soon as we arrived at the restaurant, rocked her a little, and she was oooouuuut. 

Dinner was such a unique idea. NO plates. Just crab legs, shrimp, potatoes, and ears of corn dumped on the table to feast on. Needless to say, the family was pretty excited. The girl that grew up landlocked went for a more boring route of fish n chips :)

About 5 minutes after the first photos were taken, it began again…. I snuggled, rocked, showed books, bounced, and finally took the crying baby to the back hallway to try to calm her down. Nope, she wasn’t interested in calming down. The screaming started soon afterward. We are talking about red face, gasping for air, tight legs, head back to make the MOST POSSIBLE amount of noise kind of screaming. Once Jill finished her dinner, she once again came to hold Chloe while I ate. She had the magic touch to calm her down and get her in the car seat and outside for a walk. Just like a replica of the night before, the bill was paid and the baby was silenced. Grammy gave Chloe a bath before bed and again, these tired parents went to bed around 9.

 

Saturday morning we packed up and headed home without any problems from our little girl in the back. In retrospect, the screaming may have been parent inflicted. As Luke & I discussed what the possible cause could be, we realized that she slept most of the days while we were away. Whether it was in the car or shopping with Grammy, she was on the move which lulls her right to sleep. Therefore, by the time evening came, she hadn't been active enough to be rid of her energy. It may not be the answer but we haven't had the severe screaming at home because she keeps busy with her swing, books. activity mat, looking out the windows, etc. Soooo, we will see if that's the answer but once again, every day is a learning experience and maybe we just learned this lesson one day too late! We are thankful for an understanding family as we broke up the family meals and we are thankful that Chloe got lots of loving while being away!!

Until next time,

Crystal