Back Seat Driver

This weekend we took our first long car trip with the peanut to visit my sister and brother-in-law for his birthday. We were so excited for our daughter to see her Aunt and Uncle again and her cousins too.  They were having a BBQ and some friends who have not met our daughter yet were going to be there, so of course we were excited to show her off. They live about 3 hours away, so we knew we had the daunting task of getting there before we could enjoy all the family fun and excitement.

My husband and I always said we would not let having a baby become an excuse to stop doing the things that we love like hiking, camping, and weekend road trips. No better time to start than now, right? Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a planner and I hate being late, even when "late" means I missed my own set arrival time. Ask my husband about the look he gets when we're in the car, right on schedule, half way there, and he tells me he has to pee! Oh, no you don't! You are going to hold onto that large, iced hazelnut coffee, black with sugar that you just HAD to have on our 3 hour drive until we reach our destination! No different with a baby, I thought. I would simply include pee stops in my travel plans because, unfortunately, I can't ask a 10 week old to hold it in for just a few more hours (I thought about it, though!). As loving and sweet as my baby is, I somehow don't think she would comply.

So, Friday night we made the packing list and checked it twice, and once more for good measure and we were good to go!  That part was easier than I thought.  All we needed for the baby were diapers, wipes, pack n' play, some toys for the car (although she's not really into toys yet), and extra clothes in case she spontaneously combusts out of her diaper a few times.  I am her only food source right now, so as long as my husband didn't leave me stranded at a rest stop after hearing the wrong lyrics to every song on the radio for hours on end, we didn't have to worry about packing bottles or snacks for her. Our departure time was set at 8am. Before departure, I planned a nursing session so we had a happy, full baby on board.

First stop: drop the dog off at my in-law's, where we also scheduled a diaper change. So far, so good! Baby girl relieved her bladder right on schedule (Momma's girl!) and we were back on the road. Our ETA is 12:00, plenty of time to spend the whole day with family and friends (and right on time for my sister to have lunch ready!).

Here comes the first rest stop on the highway, 7 miles away.

"Should we stop?" my husband asks hesitantly, afraid I might think he was trying to sabotage my schedule.

"She is sound asleep right now, let's see how far we can go. The next one isn't too far ahead," I replied.

Sign: "Rest Stop 5 miles"
Baby: still sleeping...

Sign: "Rest Stop 1 mile"
Baby: "waaaaaah!"

Perfect! 

We stop, change a diaper, feed the baby, hubby uses the rest room, we buckle in the peanut, passifier in mouth, and we are on our way again. Baby girl falls asleep again! Piece of cake! In fact, she slept the rest of the ride until we literally turned onto my sister's street and we make it there by 12:15. This child was definitely made from my DNA!

We had a great weekend at my sister's, but now it was time to leave.  We made plans to visit my Aunt and Uncle on the way home to break up the trip. We got there, no problem. We had a lovely visit. Baby girl was thrilled to be smothered with lots of hugs and kisses. We had a nice lunch, dessert and even a glass of wine! Perfect way to end the weekend. But, oh wait... Our weekend wasn't over yet. We still had to get home.

I got this.  We should be home by 9:00.

6:00 pm- diaper change, jammies on, in the car seat and away we go!
6:05- stop for gas, baby needs a diaper change. Seriously? Already?
6:08- pull away from gas pump and hit the roa... "Waaaaaah!" Hold up, baby is hungry. Of course she is!
6:09- hang out at the gas station while I nurse in the back seat and change another wet diaper.
6:30- hit the road. For real this time.
6:30 - 6:45: entertain baby in the back seat with silly faces funny voices.
6:45- baby falls asleep. [sigh of relief]

Oh my god, I just realized she hasn't pooped all day! Surely we are going to have a blow out in the car. Shit! (No pun intended).

7:15- our little back seat driver wakes up and decides she wants out of her wet diaper NOW!  But the next rest stop is about 10 minutes away and our daughter has now turned into a hurricane siren. We are getting off schedule! This is definitely my husband's child.
7:30- stop at rest area, change wet diaper and feed baby. Still no poop. Uh oh!
8:00- back on the road.  A little over an hour still to go.
9:30- we finally make it home and baby is fast asleep. Yes! We did it! And not one of us is covered in baby poop! 

So, what should have been a 2 1/2 hour drive from my Uncle's house turned into 3 1/2 hours. But we made it home safe and sound. We were all unpacked and ready for bed by 10:30. Baby girl, exhausted from all the new faces she encountered throughout the weekend, and from waking up in new places every time she took a nap, went down fairly quickly.

11:00pm- everyone is sleeping.
4:30am- [loud, wet baby fart coming from the bassinet at my left]
And there it is!