We took off south for New Mexico this morning at 4:40am. Our car was packed to the gills and our sleeping baby seemed eager for the adventure. Evan had gotten all of two or three hours of sleep, as is his pre-travel custom. I hadn't done much better since Iris was up a bit for feeding.
By about 7:45 am Iris -- who still does not know how to take a bottle -- was awake and obviously ready to eat again. We stopped somewhere along the way so I could attempt to feed her in the back seat. She had been sucking her thumb and nuzzling up to her blanket. And she hadn't eaten in over three hours, so I was anxious to feed her. We stopped so I could try to nurse in the back seat and we had a terrible time getting situated so she just couldn't get comfortable. Then she decided she wanted to pull the shiny door handle and the shiny metal post holding up the head rest. Ugh. So we continued on our way.
A little while later she was sucking her thumb again and very nearly asleep. This is typically when I have the best luck at feeding her -- when she is nearly asleep. So we pulled over again and went through the whole thing again...can't get comfortable, ooh, there's some shiny things...etc.
Back on the road again I gave her some oatmeal to tide her over.
It's possible we pulled over two or three more times. I don't remember. I got very upset that she wouldn't nurse. It used to be very easy to nurse her in the back seat of the car but she has gotten so much bigger that it was just tight and uncomfortable for both of us.
I started crying and felt sure she would starve before we made it to Los Alamos. I worry so much -- and obviously too much -- about whether she is getting enough to eat (she remains steady on her growth curve). Iris has not seen me cry very often so she was a bit mystified at what was going on and Evan kept driving while reaching around behind the driver's seat to put his hand on my leg. "It's okay, Sarah, she'll be fine," he said. "She can take care of herself."
I was thinking, "Evan she's not even 9 months old, she can't take care of herself." But, realistically, she was not going to starve and was not even close to it. She was hungry and she needed her mom to be a little more creative with figuring out how to feed her and keep all the interesting shiny things out of sight.
Finally around 9:30 we pulled over again and I got into the front seat with her. She nursed for a very short time, but long enough to keep us moving. After that Evan sat in back with her and fed her sweet potatoes. Then both of them fell asleep in the backseat and we finally made it to Dad's house eight hours later.
This was Iris's first big road trip. She did very well and her mom cried more than she did. It was definitely a tiring day and we were happy to get a nap when we arrived. And I did learn a thing or two from the experience: Iris will eat when she is hungry, Iris doesn't fit in the back seat for nursing anymore, and it's probably best to plan to take a good, long break (and maybe several) when traveling with children.
By about 7:45 am Iris -- who still does not know how to take a bottle -- was awake and obviously ready to eat again. We stopped somewhere along the way so I could attempt to feed her in the back seat. She had been sucking her thumb and nuzzling up to her blanket. And she hadn't eaten in over three hours, so I was anxious to feed her. We stopped so I could try to nurse in the back seat and we had a terrible time getting situated so she just couldn't get comfortable. Then she decided she wanted to pull the shiny door handle and the shiny metal post holding up the head rest. Ugh. So we continued on our way.
A little while later she was sucking her thumb again and very nearly asleep. This is typically when I have the best luck at feeding her -- when she is nearly asleep. So we pulled over again and went through the whole thing again...can't get comfortable, ooh, there's some shiny things...etc.
Back on the road again I gave her some oatmeal to tide her over.
It's possible we pulled over two or three more times. I don't remember. I got very upset that she wouldn't nurse. It used to be very easy to nurse her in the back seat of the car but she has gotten so much bigger that it was just tight and uncomfortable for both of us.
I started crying and felt sure she would starve before we made it to Los Alamos. I worry so much -- and obviously too much -- about whether she is getting enough to eat (she remains steady on her growth curve). Iris has not seen me cry very often so she was a bit mystified at what was going on and Evan kept driving while reaching around behind the driver's seat to put his hand on my leg. "It's okay, Sarah, she'll be fine," he said. "She can take care of herself."
I was thinking, "Evan she's not even 9 months old, she can't take care of herself." But, realistically, she was not going to starve and was not even close to it. She was hungry and she needed her mom to be a little more creative with figuring out how to feed her and keep all the interesting shiny things out of sight.
Finally around 9:30 we pulled over again and I got into the front seat with her. She nursed for a very short time, but long enough to keep us moving. After that Evan sat in back with her and fed her sweet potatoes. Then both of them fell asleep in the backseat and we finally made it to Dad's house eight hours later.
This was Iris's first big road trip. She did very well and her mom cried more than she did. It was definitely a tiring day and we were happy to get a nap when we arrived. And I did learn a thing or two from the experience: Iris will eat when she is hungry, Iris doesn't fit in the back seat for nursing anymore, and it's probably best to plan to take a good, long break (and maybe several) when traveling with children.
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