First Vacation

Every time Lauren visits from Virginia, Billy flies her back, drops her off and flies home the same day. This visit, we decided to have me and Rhea tag along and make a family vacation out of it. We left last Saturday and got back last night. I think everyone had fun and we loved getting the extra time with Lauren before we had to say our sad, tearful goodbyes.

Before we left I researched the ins and outs of flying with a baby (I know, big surprise). I learned that we could bring a car seat and stroller and check them in at the gate. I learned that we could bring a bottle or sippy cup for the baby and that they would let it through security. I learned that this bottle would help Rhea pop her ears since she would be swallowing. So, I packed everything we would need to survive the plane ride - sippy cup, snacks, toys. And wouldn't you know that Rhea slept the entire flight! In fact, she was asleep before we even took off. We of course brought a pacifier, so that helped her keep her ears from getting blocked while she slept. I have heard and read many horror stories about flying with a baby, but Rhea's first flight was really uneventful. She woke up right before we landed and spent those last 20 minutes of the flight just taking in the scenery.

After we landed, we brought Lauren to her mom's house and visited for a little while. Then we left Lauren to catch up with her mom and went to our hotel to check in. We rented a 2 bedroom suite and it was worth every penny we paid. The room had a full kitchen, living room, bathroom and 2 bedrooms. So we set up the hotel crib in one bedroom and claimed the other one for ourselves, which was great since Rhea goes to bed at 7 and we weren't quite ready to go to bed at that time as well!

The suite also gave Rhea room to explore, which she loved. She would go from room to room checking things out. She especially loved opening and closing the doors to the bedrooms (I put a towel at the top of the doors, so they didn't really close all the way and catch her little fingers) and playing on the big beds.

We tried to stick to Rhea's schedule as much as we could, but it was hard to do. We did give her a bath every night, followed by a bottle, playtime and story time before bed. We also brought her favorite stuffed animal - her doggie that she cuddles with every night. Because we flew, we weren't able to bring her little tub, so she took baths in the big tub. She did surprisingly well and seemed to enjoy the space.

Overall, she slept OK. She went down every night, except the last night, easily. We would put her in the crib, she would move around and get comfortable and fall right asleep. This may be partly because she was exhausted every night by the time she went to bed. Her nap schedule was definitely off and there were times that she was just plain cranky. So, I think she was too exhausted at night to care what crib she was in. The sleep issues came every morning around 4 in the morning when I'm guessing she would come out of a deep sleep cycle, wake up and realize she was in a strange room. I would hear her moving and starting to fuss and would scoop her up, bring her in bed with us and try to get the remaining hour or two of sleep we all needed. In the 5 mornings we woke up there, this strategy worked 3 of them. The other 2 were rough mornings and usually resulted in naps for both of us not too long after getting up.

Lauren stayed with us every night except the first night we got there. She slept in Rhea's room, which was nice, since it meant Rhea wasn't alone in a strange room...not that it helped in the morning (sigh). Our last night there, I swear Rhea sensed it was her last night with her sister for a while. She did not want to go to sleep. Before we put her down she was having a blast playing with Lauren...chasing her from room to room, laughing at the funny things she was doing and playing together with her toys. When we put her to bed, she cried and fussed for a half hour before she finally fell asleep.

In addition to Rhea's schedule being off, she was so tired every night because we kept busy on vacation. On Monday, we went to the beach - Rhea's first trek to the beach. It was fun and stressful at the same time...I now see why every other family there had 12 family members with them! Daddy was entertaining Lauren while I tried to watch Rhea. We had fun - getting used to the feeling of the sand, sitting in the sand, learning how to use the shovel, playing with the pail...I also had to stop her from eating the sand, try to feed her lunch on the beach without adding sand to the food and change her diaper (is there any real way to do this?). I think the highlight for Rhea though was the water. She loved the waves - Daddy would hold her and swoop her down as a wave would come up to us.

Tuesday we went to the aquarium. We brought Lauren's cousin Megan (who is 6 years old and an absolute doll) with us and she and Lauren had so much fun exploring. There were a lot of hands on things to do (including petting sting rays) for the older girls, which kept them busy while Daddy and I kept Rhea amused. Rhea was absolutely fascinated by the fish we would see swimming by. She would put her hand to the glass tanks and just watch the fish. It was so much fun to see the three kids, all at different ages, enjoy the same exhibits in such different ways. And Tuesday was the hottest day (90 degrees plus humidity), so were happy to have something fun to do indoors.

Wednesday we spent the day shopping and then that night we toured Lauren's new school. She starts junior high next year and it was a real treat for us to see her new school. Rhea slept the entire time we were there. We walked her around in her stroller and put her back in the car, without her noticing a thing!

The flight home yesterday was also uneventful. Rhea was awake for the plane ride, but kept herself amused and didn't make a peep the entire time. We played with toys, looked out the window, opened and closed the window shade, played hide and seek with the people behind us who were making funny faces at Rhea and played with the safety info fold up card. I think we were all happy to get home last night, even though we miss Lauren. The saying is really true, especially for us now with the baby - it's nice to get away, but it's even nicer to come home!