The back of the van had SO much baby stuff and I'm sure we didn't use it all. In an effort to remember every baby medicine, I forgot my own shoes, so I wore sandals the entire trip. (Drawn by Althea Peterson)
This drawning is inspired by the fact that before this trip, she didn't grab my hair when she nursed. Now, she waves her hand around blindly while nursing until she finds it, then her little fist clenches, and then she PULLS. Baby revenge for a 14-hour, two-day trip? (Drawn by Althea Peterson)
Two-day trip, 14 hours of driving, baby. What could possibly go wrong?
My baby loves her car seatCar rides have been fun up until now. We had an earlier start in the morning to meet mom in Bartlesville before meeting with my great-aunt in Nowata. We were going to be driving with my 6-month-old daughter up to Wisconsin for a weekend wedding and to visit family.
Because we had limited time to get up there, I prolong our initial stops by giving baby bottles, rather than removing her from the car seat to feed her.
At the end of the day, about an hour after her bedtime, we arrive at a motel. By this time, she had pooped her third diaper in a single day.
The next morning, she howled the moment that I tried to strap her into her car seat, and did the same every day after, even when we got back to Tulsa.
My baby is boredI usually passed car travel time by sleeping, but after awhile, even babies are bored with sleeping in the car. So, we try a toy. Fuss. We try a pacifier. Fuss. We try a mirror. Hey! That's me! Goo.
Then fuss.
My baby won't stop cryingYou cannot reason with an infant that you are merely 10 minutes away from the town you are going to stay in for the night. She wants milk now!
You cannot tell your baby that the laws of this country require her to be strapped into a car seat. It's hot, it's sweaty, and it's boring!
And now that it's over, we have yet to convince her that every time we put her in her car seat that it isn't for a two-day, 14-hour car trip, but just to day care or church or something much shorter. Fuss.
Baby's first road trip survival tipsDon't shortchange nursing stops.Mom said at one rest area that she wanted to keep moving, so I stopped nursing after 20 minutes instead of 30. That just meant that baby woke up sooner, and fussed for food sooner.
Don't expect your baby to put up with being in a car seat for more than 3 hours at a time.This is especially true if you have a darker-colored carseat and it's more prone to getting hot. Your baby will sweat and possibly develop rashes, including diaper rash.
Check your baby for being too hot or too cold often.Odds are that if you're wrapping yourself in a blanket in Wisconsin's 40-degree mornings, your baby needs extra warmth too. If you're sweating from the a/c not reaching the back seat, your baby is probably too hot also. I could usually tell if she had cold feet or a sweaty head.
Don't rely too much on bottles.Stopping to nurse also gives your baby time to stretch their feet, get out of their seatbelt and move around more. Plus, those nursing stops can also be used to check for dirty diapers, which might be the real reason your baby's howling.
--Althea Peterson
PS: Please leave a comment and join me again here next Monday morning!
Trimesterly tribute: I felt a bit funny during my first trimester, so I head to the Internet. I informed my husband that I appeared to have heartburn. He was shocked, not only because it appeared to be the only side effect of pregnancy at that point (no morning sickness, vomiting, etc.) but that I had never had heartburn before pregnancy.
Baby bit: As I cleaned up her bottom during the latest diaper change, I asked mom "What is that?" noticing what looked like acne between skin folds. "That's diaper rash," mom confirmed. Well, it took 6 months, and it took hours of sitting in a car sweating, fussing and diaper filling to get there, but baby finally had her first diaper rash. Poor girl.
Mommy moment: My freezer emergency reserve is almost entirely gone, so I had to make a choice: Supplement with formula, or sacrifice continuous sleep at night and try to fit in extra pumpings. So far, baby hasn't had to use formula yet! But, I'm more groggy in the mornings as a result. For baby!
Althea's previous entries:
Sept. 17: Photos: A newborn baby in her new homeSept. 10: Motherhood misconceptions and baby mythsSept. 3: When a baby can't sleep and won't stop crying (possibly due to her first cold)Aug. 27: Baby's appetite changes can make breastfeeding more difficultAug. 20: Mom's hospital stay after the baby arrivesAug. 13: Returning to work after maternity leaveAug. 6: Life as a single, working mother with a babyJuly 30: Dealing with a baby's first sick timeJuly 23: Delivering a baby by Cesarean sectionJuly 16: Introducing a new baby to your pet cat and dogsJuly 9: Breastfeeding a baby is a challenging decisionJuly 2: Baby airport travel requires patience and timeJune 28: Baby means there's never an awkward silence
Althea Peterson is the proud mother of a six-month old girl. Althea returned to work at the Tulsa World in May after two months of maternity leave. Baby advice, baby questions or baby words of encouragement can be sent to althea.peterson@tulsaworld.com. Also, follow Althea and other parents on Twitter at twitter.com/twbecauseisaid.
