a princess in NYC

This past weekend we took a road trip to NYC to visit my dad and his wife. As an added bonus my oldest sister and her son were there as well. What should have taken us 4 1/2 hours ended up taking 7, and towards those last couple of hours, not even Dora the Explorer could entertain Chloë who desperately wanted out of her carseat and kept pleading with me "Mommy, peeeeas!" Once we finally arrived at the hotel, way past her dinner time and bedtime, she was SO excited to get out of the car, she forgot all about being tired and hungry. While I tried to think quick and order some dinner so we could put her to bed, Chloë made quick friends with Max, and the two of them ran all around the suite. By the end of her dinner, she was completely comfortable with everyone and slightly annoyed when we took her to bed. She crashed pretty quickly a little before 9pm (!!) and Josh and I joined everyone for a terrific dinner at the Post House.

The weekend was pretty full of activities, much of which involved Chloë constantly wanting to wear her new princess costume and crown, as Max ran around in his Star Wars get up. We went to the Central Park Zoo, and walked around, and played with ducks, and Chloë was even treated to a fancy shopping spree and made out with 4 beautiful dresses!

On Monday morning when we were getting ready to leave slightly after breakfast, she started to get moody, and I think she had a feeling that the free-for-all weekend theme of being able to do anything she wanted and get away with it all was coming to an end. She gave everyone goodbye kisses and loudly waved "byeeeeee! byeeeeee!"

Thankfully, the drive back took us the expected 4 1/2 hours, and in the evening everyone was asleep by 8pm.

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beach vacation part II

After recovering from a nasty stomach bug we thought we'd left behind, we were all ready to start enjoying the California sun by Thursday afternoon. What we ended up doing on Thurday pretty much repeated itself on all the days we were on vacation. And that's a GOOD thing. We laid out by the pool, played the sand, stood by the water's edge as the water splashed us, and had nice outside lunches, and relaxing dinners. Chloë LOVED the pool, and the ocean even more. Though getting the sand off of her took days, as we kept finding little grains of sand EVERYWHERE. How is it possible the sand got INSIDE her diaper? I will never know. What I do know is that I would be getting her dressed for lunch, and as I wiped her clean I'd look, and oh look! there's more sand near the folds of her thighs. Oh, wait! And what is THAT? Yup, sand in her ear.

Despite all the sand (eveywhere!), the California sun treated us well. That is, until Saturday evening when thinking he was in the clear, Josh was hit by...yup-you guessed it. THE STOMACH BUG. That one we thought we'd left behind, only to find it upon our arrival. That one we thought we'd finally gotten rid of on Thursday. That same one managed to give us all enough time to think we were free, allowed us some enjoyment during our vacation, and on Saturday night showed its claws, full force and took hold of Josh. It hit him at around dinner time, so thankfully by Sunday late morning he was all good. But still! We can't get over the fact that we managed to bring the bug with us from DC, and it survived for days until tagging the final member of our little pack.

Thankfully we did not infect anyone else with our special bug, and despite having been accused of bringing the plague with us to our nice family vacation, we kept it contained, and some people were even contemplating how to get our bug thinking they might use it to their advantage and lose a few pounds!

All in all, it was a trip to remember. If anything, Chloë's sheer joy at seeing the ocean for the first time, and playing with the waves and the sand totally helped me forget (am I seriously admitting this?) the hours of whining and whimpering in the plane and have me almost convinced those were just minor blips during an otherwise fantastic vacation. I could even almost be convinced to take another 5 hour flight with Chloë before she turns, oh say, 10 or 11 years old. We'll see.

Now, enjoy some pictures from our trip.


Chloë contemplating her next move at the playground by the beach.


Chloë looking all sunned out.


Us girls hanging by the pool. Chloë dressed like a nun as my mom pointed out.


Vovo with Max and Chloë.


Family picture on the beach (note the camera was propped up on a sand castle or something similar.)


Chloë very Jackie O-like.


(Mis)behaving at a fancy restaurant in Santa Monica.


Sunset in Santa Monica.

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our beach vacation (that almost wasn't) part I

staying true to form, Chloë almost managed to derail our vacation plans (again!) replaying scenes similar to those prior to our Christmas vacation. This time on Friday before our Wednesday night departure Chloë was diagnosed with an ear infection (yes, the same exact scenario as before...) but Dr. S. was confident she'd recover by Wednesday.

Keeping my fingers crossed, I went about my business over the weekend packing, planning, preparing, and getting all the STUFF we needed to bring with us together. There is an obsene mount of STUFF. I can't even begin to get into it, but if anyone is curious, I can send you my multiple packing lists which include: Diaper bag packing list, Carry-on packing list, and suitcase packing list.

Come Tuesday afternoon, Chloë got the green light to get on a plane for 5 hours, despite my increasing panic over how she'd behave. Our appointment with Dr. S. was at 4:45pm. We got home at 5:30pm and I was feeling good about getting a good night's sleep and departing the following the day. By 6:20pm Chloë started making some weird burping sounds, and as I sat her on her highchair for dinner, she spared nothing within a few feet and proceeded to projectile vomit EVERYWHERE. That lasted until about 10pm, when on an empty stomach, we put her to bed and I checked on her every half hour. The doctor on call said there was a stomach bug going around, that it would likely last 10-12 hours, and we should be fine to still make our flight. She had an uneasy night and barely slept, waking up every hour or so. She finally managed to nurse a little at 3am,and again at 5am. She woke up at 8:30am, and while she didn't seem sick anymore, she wasn't as hungry as usual, and wasn't her normal self. We called Dr. S. who said that if she managed to keep her breakfast and lunch in her tummy she was good to go.

We spent a nice leisurely day, playing and packing, and by 5pm we left for the airport. Chloë was a trooper and only got annoyed once we had boarded and she was starting to get overly tired and sleepy. She kept us busy for the first 2 1/2 hours of the flight, but surprisingly she passed out after whimpering for a while, and slept for the other 2 1/2 hours. She was happy as a clam once we landed, and even played with everyone once we arrived in LA. We got to the house at 11:30pm and by midnight I had nursed her and she was back asleep. All in all, not bad night, one would think.

Fast forward to 2:30am, less than two hours after I managed to fall asleep, and I woke up and was greeted by Chloë's stomach bug, you know, the one we thought we'd left back home. Suffice to say, it was not a fun night. My saving grace was knowing that within 10-12 hours, I'd be fine.

And thus began our vacation.

** More to come later...while we've been back for several days, things have been hectic, and hence the lack of blogging. I promise once life gets back to normal, I'll be offering more regular updates!

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in celebration (of world breastfeeding week)

August 1-7th is World Breastfeeding Week, and while I'm on vacation in California, enjoying the sun and beach with Chloë and Josh (pictures to come upon our return later this week), I'm still happy and proud to support WBW. I'm especially happy that I'm still nursing as it was an invaluable tool in helping calm Chloë during our 5 hour flight from DC to California. It has also been wonderful to be able to offer her some comfort and a link back to her daily routine while she adjusted to the time difference, the different crib, the multiple activities and the various people clamoring for her attention. She's been nursing often, and eagerly, especially when she gets uneasy, tired and confused about where she is and what we are doing so far away from home.

We go back home tonight, and there'll be lots of pictures to sort through, and stories to tell, and in between all of that, Chloë will continue to nurse.

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our christmas vacation--the abridged version

left for Brazil 3 days late because of Chloë's ear infection. enjoyed 4 good days before I got sick. Fever and everything. Chloë decides not to be left out and gets my cold. On the night of 12/27 her temperature spikes to 104.6. Two days after Christmas we make a trip to the emergency room. Countless sleepless nights followed as Chloë proceeded to have a temperature for 6 days--always in the middle of the night. A mere 6 days after she finished her dose of antibiotics for her ear infection, Chloë gets some more antibiotics. Two days after starting the antibiotics she has her first good night--sleeps through the night without a temperature. Following day we leave to come home. Immediately after landing we make a visit to Dr. S. for a myriad of tests. Results pending. On a good note, Chloë is happy to be home and hasn't had a temperature since January 2nd.

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green light

things are looking up...we leave for Brazil on Sunday (as opposed to tomorrow)--Dr. S. was happy with Chloë and wished us Happy Holidays as she announced we were clear to travel.

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lessons learned

We spent Thanksgiving in Buffalo, NY--we left on Thursday morning, and while the whole ordeal of traveling with baby takes time and is a bit of a pain in the bum, Chloë did surprisingly well during the travel portion of our trip--better than I expected anyway. It was all of the rest of the time that was tough. Traveling and meeting all of Josh's family meant Chloë's schedule was completely thrown for a loop and while it was wonderful to see everyone, poor Chloë was sooo tired, and got cranky a few times. I paid the price for all the chaos during the night when she refused to sleep as peacefully as she does back home. I probably got less than 4 hours of sleep every night that we were away. Anyway...here are some things I learned about flying with baby:

• nursing during take-off and landing REALLY is a must! Chloë didn't even notice we were doing anything out of the ordinary..
• even with two sets of hands, only one carry-on--the baby is a carry-on herself, making any additional bags just way too burdensome
• the whole take your shoes off would work better if you weren't prohibited from passing the baby back and forth between two people
• I did not need the 4 blankets, two different baby carriers, and get this...MAGAZINES for me to read!! Why, and how, I ever thought I would get some time to read is beyond me..

I'm sure there are other lessons learned lurking in the back of my mind somewhere..but for now this is it.

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first flight with baby

flying with baby is becoming very labor intensive--and we haven't even arrived at the airport. I spent many hours today getting stuff together for our first flight with Chloë. We're going to Buffalo, NY for Thanksgiving for 4 nights. We have a total of 2 bags and 2 carry ons. Out of those 4 bags, only one has stuff for Josh and I--the other three are Chloë's. Who would have thought such a little thing requires so much STUFF? Here's a glimpse of the list I prepared to make sure I didn't forget anyting:

• toys: Mr. Fish, Pink Elephant, and the Octopus
• blankets: 4 (2 are a must, 2 extra just in case)
• 2 swaddlemes
• baby monitor
• travel crib
• sleepsuits
• daytime clothes
• winter gear: bunting, hat, and mittens
• towels and washcloths
• snap and go stroller
• breast pump and accessories
• Dr. Brown bottles
• cooler with breast milk
• Chloë's toiletries: shampoo, mylecon, little noses, tylenol, desitin, A&D
• diaper bag
• sleep positioner
• print-out of TSA breast milk guidelines

And after all of that..I bet I'm going to forget something..

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Friday--the road trip begins...T-9 hours

Our first road trip with Chloë actually began for me at 11am on Friday, a full 9 hours before we were due to leave, so that I could pack and make sure I had everything we needed. After running around all day making sure all the bags and 'baby things' were in order, we got ready to feed Chloë her last feeding of the day at around 6:45pm. By 7:45pm we were ready to leave--we packed up the car, and my fears about everything not fitting ALMOST came true. Between her moses basket, and the stroller, and our bags, you could barely see out of the rearview mirror. We hit the road at 8pm and by 8:10pm Chloë was sound asleep. She slept the whole car ride, and only woke up once we brought her into the hotel room at 1am. At that point she got out of her schedule and wanted to be fed.

As Josh paced around the room eager to go out so we could meet everyone at the bar--I nursed Chloë until she was back asleep. Elery, our wonderful baby nurse, stayed with Chloë while Josh and I went to meet everyone out. By the time we arrived at the bar, everyone was already past drunk and close to calling it a night. It was still nice to see everyone before the wedding the next day.

Once we got back to the hotel at around 2:30am, Chloë was awake--apparently some late night partiers had made too much noise around the halls and woken her up. She managed to drift back to sleep by 2:45am, and slept until 6:30am. This gave me a total of 3 and half hours of sleep...

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