Behind again...!

"Seriously mom? What else have you got to do?"

Wow! So of course, I got behind again! =(

I have a 5 month update to do (once I get those pictures on the computer, ha) but we've been a bit busy around these parts. Some of what's happened since I've been gone:

- We visited Ohio for a week and saw as much of my husband's family as possible. (Stay tuned for a full update and some adorable pics!)

- I got up to my full dose of Synthroid since my thyroid debacle at the beginning of August and I feel MUCH better! I'm about 100% I'd say. Still don't feel like working out though... ;-)

- I've started getting things together for my Etsy shop. Yay! :D I am desperate to make some extra cash since it's become extremely obvious to me that my husband and I have different money priorities and nothing will ever get purchased for the house if I'm not doing it.

- Miss Iz has started eating purees and wearing 9 month clothes. =') I cannot wait for her appointment in October so we can see how big she's gotten! I expect a hefty increase since I didn't realize she wasn't getting enough breastmilk at the time of her last appointment.

- On that note, we officially have stopped breastfeeding completely as of yesterday. =( I almost made it to six months. I feel like I did as well as I could considering the circumstances but it is somewhat depressing to know I had just a great routine only to have it completely undermined by my thyroid. I could've worked to re-lactate, it's true, but I was too disappointed and crushed to be in the right mindset about it.

I think that's the major things. I hope to get her five month update out tomorrow... =P

Road-Tripping Baby

As you may be aware, we traversed the 700 miles from Georgia, to Pennsylvania, and then back to Georgia by way of North Carolina at the beginning of the month. We had a great, if exhausting, trip. I was in absolute disbelief about how well Miss Iz did on the trip! I think mommy needed a bit more recuperation than she did afterward, in fact. ;-)

It was great to see everyone back home including most of my cousins! I guess the baby was a big draw because I honestly saw more relatives than I have in probably six or eight years. It's really a strange experience now that I'm a mom, it's like I got an official welcome into the "adult's" club. Not that I wasn't treated like an adult before, but there's a certain level of shared experience after having children that seems to be instantly relate-able to other parents.

 
I also learned a few things about taking babies on the road. In no order of significance, if you are planning a road trip with a three month old in the near future, you may do well to consider the following:

1. There is nothing more exciting for a baby than to have mom sitting in the back seat with her ready to attend to her every need. That said, it can be so exciting nap time is therefore impossible.

2. Just because your baby might sometimes make it four hours without eating doesn't mean that the best time to test the possibility is one hour outside of your destination. Sometimes it's just better to stop at three hours and feed her as anticipated, or you might have to stop anyway due to a baby meltdown.

3. Even if you don't use them, it's a good idea to have planned stops where you can stay for the night if either you or the baby just can't handle any more road. We didn't end up using ours, but it gave me peace of mind to know they existed.

4. Bring your baby monitors. Even if you're going to be staying in the room with her while she sleeps, you might want to hang out for a while with other adults after she goes to bed.

5. Bring as many things as possible to keep her bedtime routine going during the trip. It was a seamless transition for us because I had been training her to fall asleep with a certain routine and I brought everything to facilitate that.

6. Sometimes baby needs a break from people. It's okay to tell people "no" and to hold her yourself or set her down and let her have some autonomous time.

7. It's a good idea to have some essentials packed in the back seat with you. Diapers, wipes, toys, spit cloths, a change of outfit, toys, and a back-up formula bottle were in my stash. They ALL got used. Although most of this is probably in your diaper bag, a separate stash is nice so you don't have to compromise the contents of your diaper bag which will also be getting heavy use running in and out of rest stops.

That's about all I can think of right now. It really wasn't bad. We only had one car meltdown and the rest of the time she was an angel. I actually think this  is a great age for traveling since babies are only used to a little autonomy and aren't bored or frustrated by sitting still so long. =)

Neglect

I know I have been neglecting this blog hardcore but I'm in the second wave of post-baby relative visiting. We've been taking Miss Iz to my husband's hometown to visit her great-grandparents a lot recently and that has been seriously taking it out of me. I have been afraid to spend the night since I have her on such a great schedule so we've been getting up early and making the nearly two-hour drive up and then back again that evening. But I know it cheers up my in-laws to do it so I've mostly been happy to do it.

My father also came down from Pennsylvania to visit. I honestly am having a difficult time even remembering the last time I saw my father. =( It's hard since he moved about 3 hours away from all my other Pennsylvania relatives so it's difficult to visit him even when I go to Pennsylvania.

 

While my dad was here, my sister also came down from North Carolina! So Iz got to see a ton of her relatives in one long weekend. =) And I got lots of pictures, which is so important to me for her to be able to look back on.

Plus this weekend Iz, grandma, and I will be making the trek up to Pennsylvania to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. I can't even believe how many people we will be seeing while we're there! I never thought I'd see all my maternal cousins in the same place at the same time ever again since they live across the US including Michigan and Texas. I am honestly very excited!! Although I will miss my husband (and I know he will miss me and baby girl even more) and I'm nervous about driving so far with a three month old and messing up her sleep schedule, I'm still very happy to get to show her off to everything and get tons of pictures of her family "back home" that I hope she will be able to have in her life as much as possible considering the circumstances.

Hope to knock out a few more posts before I'm off though! I took her three month photos AND made some delicious chicken I need to post about. =P

Coming to Terms

I think the one of the most difficult things for me about quitting my job and becoming a mom is coming to terms with the fact that I will no longer be able to travel like I once did and wished to continue.

I was able to take some awesome trips in the past few years and had lofty ambitions of leaving the country ever year from then on out. And although I travel rather extensively around the eastern US, here are the highlights from my past few years of freedom:

Ireland 2010

Colorado 2010

St. Croix USVI 2009

Italy 2008

I was always determined to be one of these people who simply added children to their life, not changed their life as they added children. Take a three year old to Europe? Why would that be an issue?

Well, now I understand! I'm pretty sure there will be A LOT of those moments in my parenting experience as my stubbornness doesn't always allow me to accept other people's advice. =)

That said, I have also done extensive research on the realities of traveling with children and I definitely think by the time Miss Iz is about a year old, we could manage a cruise.

But then there's another reality: MONEY.

Everything was easy when I had a job, but now that I don't, how do you fund travel expeditions? I am so lucky my husband is able to find jobs easily and earn enough money to allow me to stay at home, but we are both young and we have a big house to keep up.

It's fairly depressing not only for me, but also because I want Iz to understand how truly accessible the world is. I was amazed once I got my passport of the simple power that booklet held. I could go ANYWHERE. Literally, book a ticket to anywhere, get on a plane, and go!

We went on extensive road trips when I was a kid and although those trips weren't always fun, they did instill in me a love of seeing new and interesting things. I wish more than anything that I will be able to share the world with my daughter. Not just road trips, but trips to other countries. I want her to know she can go wherever she wants. I want her to be a confident little traveler who understands the world and the different people in it. Nothing opens your mind and your heart like seeing how other people live and I feel like one of my most important responsibilities as a parent is to give her a compassionate spirit.