Long Ride Home

We decided to barrel through and make it home in one day. We have about 30 minutes left to go so I think it's safe to say we made it but man, it wasn't easy!

We left around 10:20am and made stops around 12:30 and 5:30. Ayden took two 40 minute naps and then fell asleep "for the night" at around 6:30. I say for the night loosely because chances are, he'll wake up when we get home and will probably stay awake for a while. We shall see...

Morning nap as we were leaving!

This whole time, he probably had an accumulative hour of being happy or content, not counting our two stops during which he was the happiest little boy in the world (thinking you are out of the car for good will do that to a baby).

Stop #1: Nursing session, wardrobe change, movement break, LUNCH!

Stop #2: Nursing session, diaper change, movement break, snuggles, apple snack

For the rest of the trip he was either sleeping, borderline screaming his head off, or screaming his head off. He cried huge tears for a good 40 minutes before our second stop. If the tears weren't heart breaking enough he'd reach for me, wanting me to take him out of his carseat. For parents who have chosen to respect the language value of their baby's cry, it took everything in us not to just pull over on the side of the road and let him know that we understood what he was trying to communicate. We just felt so bad because we can imagine how terrible it must feel to not know why you have to be strapped into a restraining device, unable to shift or change positions for hours on end. We just reassured one another that this one car ride will not scar Ayden for life and that we will all be happier with a full day at home tomorrow. Must. Keep. Driving.

Heart breaking!

While he was crying I practically put on a three ring circus in an attempt to distract Ayden from his discomforts. We read books, played peek-a-boo, played with toys, played with whatever random non-toy items that I could find around the car, and sang lots of songs (I summoned the pre-school teacher within for that one). In the end he still lost his mind but I held it off as long as I could.

The reasons we didn't stop more were because, a) we wanted to make it home at a decent hour and b) the more you get a baby out of their carseat during a road trip, the more they have to get back in. We figured breaking the 9 hour drive into thirds would be okay.

Overall, we were all troopers and now we are almost home! Our vacation was wonderful and well worth being sandwiched by stressful drives. Ayden got to put his toes in the sand (and then the sand in his mouth) and get splashed by the waves. David and I got to witness our son stare out across the horizon and ponder the mystery that is the endless ocean. Family vacations take a lot of planning, time, money, and energy but the memories made are priceless and worth every bit of it!

~Sarah