Good Friends, Good Fun

We are having fun in Nashville! Ayden ended up waking up and crying off and on for the last 40 minutes or so of our trip. We always feel so bad for him when he's strapped in. Stopping to get him out would have helped but then having to put him in again would have been torture for the little guy so I held his hand and helped him make it through. When we got to our friends' (Jess and Adam) house around 9:30 pm our time Ayden totally rallied. We were able to have dinner and visit a bit before Ayden was ready to go back to sleep for the night.

Today was a great day. We had a relaxing morning, Ayden and I took a nice morning nap together, then hung out at Jess and Adam's neighborhood pool right before lunch.

Jess is a long time friend of mine.  We danced together for as long as we can remember and were duet partners for 10 years.  She met Adam through work here in Nashville and he and David really hit it off when they met which has made it really fun.  Jess and Ayden are also birthday buddies.  My due date was January 17th and Jess always hoped he'd wait until her birthday.  After all was said and done she said to him, "I wanted you to come on my birthday but you didn't have to go through all that to make it happen!" I'm glad that he has such a great person to share his birthday with.  Jess and Adam are getting married in October, and I am one of Jess' bride's maids, so we'll be back here before we know it!

Birthday Buddies!!

Ayden got a little fussy after a while at the pool and practically gave me a hicky on my shoulder so I nursed him while lunch was being prepared only for him to fall asleep again! His afternoon nap usually isn't until around 2pm or so and it was only 12:30. The sun and pool must have tuckered him out more than I realized.  He got in another good nap and woke up in a good mood.  We all hung out, got our showers and got ready and around 4:30 he was asleep again!  That nap was shorter but traveling must really take it out of our little guy!

All tuckered out!

 We are still on top tooth watch.  His top right one looks like it will pop through at any second!  I think a tiny part of it is starting to break through the gum but it still isn't enough to feel.  Jess and Adam have been such great hosts!  They've been so patient with our strict diet and have enjoyed a few paleo meals since we've been here.  They made us one of David's favorites, chicken fajitas, tonight and it was delicious.  Ayden slept through both lunch and dinner today and has requested extra nursing sessions.  I've also noticed that his wet diapers are a bit heavier than usual which happens around a growth spurt because of all the extra milk he's drinking.

After dinner we headed to a Nashville Sounds' game.  Just like his first baseball game experience, Ayden was absolutely mesmerized by all the sights and sounds of the game.  He enjoyed looking at the lights and field as well as people watching all around.  Around 9:30 he finally started getting sleepy so I got out the nursing cover and he went right to sleep.

 The nursing cover is hit or miss these days but I think I've figured out what makes the differnce.  If he's having a nursing session that he stays awake for he tries to pull it off the whole time and getting him in and latched on is always a challenge, especially if I've waited a little too long.  On the other hand, if he's sleepy it's almost like he enjoys having the cover on.  At a place like the game it is probably a welcome escape from all of the visual and auditory stimulation that's all around once he's had enough.  He snoozed under the cover until we were ready to leave and then I just carried him to the car.  He transitioned to the car without waking and slept all the way to their house.  He did wake up for a bit when we got back, which was a good thing because he needed to be changed into his night time diaper, but agian, once he was ready he nursed right back to sleep.

I have to say that ever since we stopped our sleep training attempts and just let things fall naturally into place, Ayden rarely fights sleep.  I remember bragging about this on him as a newborn.  I'd say, "He doesn't stay asleep very long, but he's so easy to get to sleep and back to sleep whenever he does wake up.  When we started sleep training, that all changed and he would fight sleep all the time.  Now,  he lets me know when he's ready and willingly falls asleep.  I am so glad we have found our groove again and that, even while traveling, we are in sync. 

Now Ayden is in bed and we are watching a movie and enjoying some grown up time with our friends.  We always wish we lived closer to Jess and Adam but it is nice to have an excuse for a road trip and visiting such a fun place!

~Sarah