APRIL SHOWERS n ROAD TRIPS

Where has April gone?!?! It was a busy month for us, that started out with lots of trips to the doctors, paediatricians, and hospital for shots and falls and an ultrasound and blood work, etc. Jesse’s gassy abdomen is being looked into, and we’ve had lots of appointments to rule things out. We have an appointment with a GI specialist in a few months and hopefully we’ll put the celiac question to rest with a scope. Likely we’ll be referred to an allergist, as well. I’m sort of suspecting milk being more of the culprit than wheat.

Anyways, I was totally thrilled to be done of all that poking and prodding and after our streak of appointments and play dates, planned a trip home to the beautiful and friendly east coast for a few weeks. During Jesse’s first year of life, we road tripped home 5 times! Three of them I took by myself, and it really was an easy and enjoyable drive. Babies that little mostly sleep in the car, and when they wake up fussing you drive until they work into a cry and then stop to feed and love them. This time around I had no reservations about Janna, but I was a bit nervous this time around having a toddler, and a passionate one at that, to deal with. So, I sent a shout out to the Facebook moms asking for suggestions to entertain a near 2 year old in the car. I was amazed by the plentiful responses and their degree of difference from one another. I basically took ALL the wealth of ideas and supplies with me on the road. New toys, books, food, DVD player, gravol, ear plugs, etc. I wanted to be prepared!

Initially I was going to drive through the night. And perhaps with another adult travel companion I would have. But knowing I’d need to stop to nurse and pee, I thought it would be safer to be stopping in the day light as opposed to by myself with the kids at random gas stations in the middle of the night. So, I strategically picked noon as our departure time. My hopes were that Jesse would take his normal 12-3 nap while I went through Montreal , then I’d only have like 4 hours to deal with him before his bed time. I could make a bunch of stops as Janna nurses most frequently at those hours, then put them in fresh jammies at 7, they’d fall asleep and I’d drive the rest of the way to Fredericton arriving by midnight. Well, apparently Jesse had other plans, none of which involved sleeping. The toys and food and media only really distracted him the first half of the trip, and the second was filled with an overtired monster whining and screaming and squirming and begging me to let him out of his seat. He acted horribly when we stopped, and even wiggled free from my grip and took a dive in a mud puddle. I finally gave in and gave him some gravol around bed time, which didn’t seem to do a whole, either. He didn’t end up crashing until about 10pm, only a few hours before we reached our destination. It was STRESSFUL.

However, 2 weeks with family quickly made up for it. Jesse stayed overnight with Dave’s parents as they have a big crib and spare room, and Sharon was able to watch him in the mornings giving me a bit of a break before I came to pick him up for the afternoon. Janna and I had a great time at my parents and got in lots of quality time involving snuggling and sleeping in. It was a real treat not to have to cook or clean or do laundry for 2 whole weeks! Mostly, it was nice to catch up with lots of family and some old friends. However, toward the end of my stay, we were all ready to get back into our own space and see Daddy Dave. Ha Ha. I was all nerves the morning of our departure and eager to just get things over with.

The first half of the trip was beautiful. It was a gorgeous day and Jesse quietly watched the TV (which was probably the best distraction for him) and ate snacks. They were so well behaved at pit stops and we had fun hanging out in the front of the car which was equipped with special toys and food and stuff to change bums. I would put Janna in the sling and take Jesse by the hand to walk around the parking lot to get some fresh air and exercise and into a washroom for myself. But about half way through the trip both kids just sort of reached their in car limit and the rest of the drive was horrible. I don’t wish to recall all the details, and I feel like I could write a full novel about our return trip. But, in point form here are a few of my “favourite memories”

Losing my cell phone off the top of my car and watching it smash to pieces then be run over

Jesse’s fingers getting crushed in the car door

Almost being hit, then stalked, by what I think must have been drunk driver

Getting stuck on the side of a highway to deal with a Jesse melt down and having no room to merge into traffic for what seemed like an hour

Baby poop everywhere

The wiggles DVD skipping and having to reach back to try and restart it every 2 minutes or else Jesse would lose it

Not being able to see as we drove through Montreal because of the light in my eyes, both kids wailing/Janna near choking, having to pee, and my legs cramping up

Jesse finally falling asleep with only 2 hours to go in our trip, and Janna waking him up 10 minutes later with gas wails

Anyways, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL TO GET HOME, and I avoided the car for a few days. Dave and Katie had the house looking spotless and Jesse was so overjoyed to see His daddy. He dove from my hold into a big bear hug and just buried his head into Dave and wouldn’t let go for the longest time. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder! We were able to enjoy the long sunny Easter weekend all together, and also got together with some friends and family from Ottawa.

We’ve been laying low the past few weeks , not making a ton of plans. The constant rain and gross weather is sort of getting to me, although I’m thankful for the nice weather that seems to briefly surface on the weekend. We finally got a double stroller and the park is so much more funn with Jesse this year. Last year he wasn’t walking yet in the summer, he actually had just started crawling , and was sort of a frustrated kid. This year he can do so much more, including pushing other kids, which has been a recent thing he does to any kid who reaches into his bubble or touches his, basically. Sigh. He is getting so good with his words though, and just pulls out these random words perfectly. I also adore that he is putting so many new combinations of words together into mini sentences. The other day as I was putting him into the car he was pleading with me, “NO PLEASE, NO PLEASE, PLEASE NO!” Perhaps he is a wee bit scarred from our adventure homeJ Janna is just a delightful little thing, and as easy going as ever. She has settled into just one night time feeding, and then is usually up once more for a quick rock back to sleep. She loves to chatter and smile at whoever gives her a little attention. She is now up to 11 pounds, and has doubled her birth weight! Still kind of petite, but it sort of matches her personality. I am just so HAPPY to have such a healthy and happy girl in the house!

Well, the hubby is going to be through the door any minute, and food will be on his mind! So, I must go and season and cook up some pork chops for supper. Thanks for reading. I will try and be more frequent as far as May posts go. I’m out.