Last week we accomplished something amazing!  We packed up the THREE of us, and took off for a week!  It took two weeks of making lists and slowly gathering everything we thought we might need, but we did it.  I'm a little worried for our future since even our huge car was packed full, and there wasn't much we took that we didn't need.

I was a bit worried about being away from all that E knows and disrupting our schedules, but it turned out wonderfully. A vacation was exactly what we needed.  We got some time to relax, and some much appreciated help, and E got to be spoiled by family.  He also got to spend some time outside, and it turns out he's a nature baby.

That's not to say everything went perfectly.  Flexibility was the name of the game, and there were wins and there were meltdowns.

An early win was throwing bedtime out the window and taking E to see Santa for the first time! Only someone as obsessed with Christmas as me would find a way for him to see Santa at two months instead of waiting until December.  We also heard some Christmas carols, saw some Christmas lights, and finished the night with some ice cream! (for everyone but E of course)

Something that falls in both columns is carrying E in the Ergo.  E hates being brought anywhere unless he gets there in someones arms. Hence why going to the Nubble to see Santa worked out so well - he was passed from arms to arms all night. Everything else becomes torture. Car seat, especially in the car? He screams. Stroller? Although he might last ten minutes, he hates that too. And up to now I've had limited success wearing him.  If he falls asleep I've gotten an hour, but more often he screams and I take him out.

However, carrying him everywhere wasn't really a option on vacation, at least not during the day.  Babies this young aren't really supposed to wear sunscreen, and even if he didn't inherit my fair skin, he would still burn quickly.  Which meant if we were going to go anywhere he would have to get used to one of them. So day one I loaded him up, and felt quite proud that I managed to get him in myself.  We headed off to the beach, and while he fussed for a while, he was asleep by the time we got there.

He actually slept the entire time we were there! We realized that at night he sleeps to a sound machine that plays waves, so the real thing made him sleepy.  I wore him as I stood in the ocean, I wore him as I read a few pages of a book, and then I wore him home.  Success!  It worked so well I decided to do it the next day too.  This time he woke up while at the beach because he was hungry.  I felt confident, because we had planned for this.  He ate on the beach under our tent, safe from the sun.

The problem came when I went to put him back in his carrier for the way home.  He wasn't having it.  He screamed and fussed and pushed back against me.  This time Nicole saved the day with a wave noise app on her phone, but this was pretty much the story of vacation.  I'd get about 45 minutes out of the carrier, and then he'd be DONE.  And there was nothing that could convince him to go back in.  And I'd be stuck somewhere wondering how to get him home while safe from the sun.

I was thankful for an SPF blanket I'd brought and lots of arms to help carry E around. I'm hoping that some day we'll figure it all out and he'll get used to going out and about.  Until then I just have to be ready for meltdowns at any time, anywhere.  Shopping trips were cut short, plans were changed, car rides took twice as long as they should have.  E doesn't care if we're only ten minutes away from where we're going, when he wants out of the car, he wants out.  Like I said, flexibility.

But still, vacation getaway with a two month old! That's definitely a win.

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