We're only 28 years apart, but Kaylani is growing up in a different time. A time that seems much further away than just 28 years. There's so much more available to her now than there was to me, but that's not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it's a really good thing because it means there are a lot more things for me to introduce her to.
For starters, Kaylani has been to Puerto Rico already. Daddy first went to Puerto Rico when he was 18, and that was part of a cruise. He didn't really go to Puerto Rico until he was 26. Even earlier than that, Kaylani went to Disneyworld when she was only 7 weeks old. Daddy thought he went earlier because he was around 6 months old, but again, Kaylani's ahead of him. And now that we're in Baltimore, Kaylani's got to experience a few more firsts, likely before Daddy did too.
Today, we took Kaylani to her first indoor pool. Overall it was okay. Wasn't great for her. Just okay, but that's okay. She gave us some signs and splashes to let us know that she wasn't afraid of the water, so we'll keep plugging away. Maybe some of our friends will invite us over to their pools this summer (hint hint). Either way, we're just happy she didn't cry the majority of the time because we sure do love pools.
For lunch, Kaylani got to experience her first Hooters. That's right, Mommy, Daddy, and Kaylani went to Hooters. Personally I thought it would be really funny to get a picture of Mommy nursing Kaylani while at Hooters, but that was vetoed. Instead we had a beer, ate some wings and some tater chips, and were on our way. Of course there was no changing table (I'd be more surprised if there was) so Daddy also experienced changing a diaper at Hooters for the first time (there's a joke in there somewhere, but I'm going to leave it alone). For the record, Daddy was 21 before he stepped into his first Hooters (still talking about the restaurant).
And then for dinner, Kaylani made her first trip into a steakhouse. Daddy and Mommy hadn't been to a steakhouse since well before Kaylani was born (besides Outback), so having Fleming's be right next to the hotel turned out to be too tempting to pass on. It also marked Kaylani's very first time in a public highchair. We were a little afraid of how it might turn out, but she did great! Her being able to sit in a highchair opens up a whole new world for us. Well, a whole new world as long as we are there well before 6pm. Not sure we're quite ready to take on a world of crowded restaurants yet. She was well behaved, but not WELL behaved if you know what I'm saying.
So that pretty much wraps up today. We're hoping that Kaylani gives us another 11 hour sleeping performance like she did last night. It looks like she's adjusted to hotel life just fine. We just need to keep her adjusted for one more night before we head back home. Hopefully adjusting to hotel life didn't screw up what we had going at home. But that's something we'll worry about tomorrow night. For now, we're still on vacation.
Oh, and don't forget to check out my latest Sports IllustraDad post on "Lessons I Learned From Little League" over at Dad-Blogs!
Showing posts with label baltimore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baltimore. Show all posts
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
"Live" from Baltimore - Part 2!
And now, I bring you part 2 of our "live" blog from Baltimore. If you haven't read part 1 yet, click here. Otherwise, get reading!
9:33am - Today's plan was to have breakfast, then go for a walk so Kaylani could take a nap outside. But now, room service screwed up Mommy's breakfast, and Kaylani is crying for a minute between every 5 bites of her cereal. This is what happens when you don't sleep kids. Long day, here we come!
9:58am - Mommy's breakfast finally came 95% right (close enough) so we're getting there. Kaylani's entertaining herself on the floor. Can't tell if she's laughing or crying sometimes. Tough call. Par for the course according to Mommy.
10:19am - Typing with one hand and carrying Kaylani with the other while pacing around the room. First of many stall tactics as Mommy showers and we try and get ready to leave for the day.
10:32am - Ummm...she's asleep on my shoulder. Tried to put her down twice (you smell like poop!) with no success. This would be okay if both of us weren't still in pajamas. Oh, and I have to pee again.
10:45am - Success! And by success, I mean Mommy has her now. Time to pee and shower...separately. I'm not that gross...anymore.
11:15am - Kaylani never went back to sleep with Mommy, but she is dressed, nursed, dry, and sunscreened up. We were almost out the door, but Kaylani decided to poop. Better now than later.
11:23am - And we're finally out the door! Time for her to pass out in her stroller so she can add on to the whopping 15 minutes of sleep so far.
12:05pm - So she's not asleep yet. Now we're shopping for some new clothes for Daddy because he got made fun of one too many times for wearing loose clothing to work meetings after losing 30lbs. Tough call on who needs what more: Kaylani and sleep or Daddy and clothes?
12:50pm - Walked out of the last store with 3 shirts, 3 pants, and a baby in a Bjorn. I'm stylish in so many ways right now. Oh, and she's sleeping. Better buy one more shirt to replace the soon to be drooled filled shirt I'm wearing right now.
1:15pm - Had a scare that she was about to wake up. Did the whole head back, eyes open movement but she went back down with a gentle push back towards my chest. Right now we're hoping she sleeps until 2
1:20pm - You know what they have a lot of at malls? Screaming kids. She's awake. Chalk up another 30 minute power nap for her. She's staying in the Bjorn tho. Maybe she'll fall back asleep when her neck gets tired from staring up at me.
1:41pm - Operation Nap Out has failed. Time to head back to the hotel for lunch, and maybe a trip to the pool if she'll let us.
2:05pm - Signs of sleepiness being shown just as we got to the hotel. Operation Sway in the Breeze commencing
2:20pm - Back is starting to give out, but she's finally sleeping. Debating if we can get her into a moving stroller while she stays sleeping. Sounds like a bad plan. Maybe in 15 more minutes.
2:33pm - Mommy's feeding birds with bread from her salad. Daddy's got his mouth open but she's not paying attention to me. Guess I'll just wait until Kaylani wakes up before I eat my salad...
2:47pm - She's up. 40 minutes, which was right when we walked inside to check out the pool. Oh well, good enough for now. Time for both of us to eat lunch!
3:10pm - Done eating lunch. Ummm...now what?
3:25pm - Back in the room for a regroup. Plan is to nurse, pack her dinner, then walk back to the Inner Harbor where she's going to nap before we go for dinner at grandparents/parents of kids o'clock. Ready...go!
4:37pm - Guess who's not sleeping? Oh well. We gave up on the walking through mobs of people in exchange for tapas and sangria on the 2nd floor patio at La Tasca. What? She's half tapas, I mean Latina.
5:12pm - Sangria showed up. Time to cheers and have a drink!
5:13pm - Mommy thought the sangria was a little strong and said she was only going to have 1. And then posed for a picture with Kaylani. And watched as Kaylani grabbed her 1 glass and dumped it on both of them. I think they're both wasted
5:41pm - Food is gone, Mommy is halfway through her glass of sangria, and Daddy is almost done with the rest of the pitcher. And there's a live band playing cover songs that are best characterized as "hits you may know from Guitar Hero or Rock Band." It's been a good night so far!
6:01pm - Night is winding down. Kinda hoping Kaylani doesn't fall asleep on the way to Cheesecake Factory and back home. She still has to eat dinner, bathe, and nurse before bedtime.
6:21pm - She's out. We just reached the lighthouse where we were planning on feeding her and she passed out. Sigh. Luckily there's a wedding going on here that will keep us entertained while she naps. Good possibility that this backfires on us later.
6:36pm - Just took a seat after Mommy told me to "stop spoiling her baby." Its hard not to when the alternative is locking her in a car.
6:38pm - Mommy to guy sneezing while walking by Kaylani: "Sir, have you heard of Zyrtec? Please sneeze away from the baby"
6:40pm - Duck boat cruising by on the harbor with a bunch of tourists blowing on their duck noise makers need to shut the duck up. Or I guess we could move
6:55pm - Awake at last! If I needed a timer that told me when it was between 30 or 40 minutes, Kaylani's naps would come in handy. Man that'd be a stupid thing to need. Anyways, its green bean time!
7:02pm - Apparently Kaylani eating is entertaining for people walking by. Or maybe its Mommy and Daddy with our mouths wide open going "Ahhhh....mmm!" to help her eat.
7:31pm - Bathtime! Gotta get all that sunscreen off. Soon, it'll be bedtime. What will tonight bring?
7:51pm - Bathtime went as smooth as it could. Daddy got to sit in a tub at a hotel (which isn't something he would normally do) so Kaylani could sit on top of him for her bath. Then after a quick rinse off shower, we were ready for bedtime. Right now Mommy is nursing Kaylani for hopefully the last time tonight. I know I said the same thing just about 24 hours ago, but this time, I really think it'll work. Her pack and play is now near our bed instead of out in the foyer, so it's a brand new night. Please let it be a quick one, or I guess a long one if we're talking about how Kaylani sleeps.
So that's it. I hope you had fun reading about a day in the life of our family on vacation. Next vacation is in a few months when we hit up Cape May for a week, and you can bet I'll have another "live" feed then. But until then, thanks for reading, and come back often. We'll be here!
9:33am - Today's plan was to have breakfast, then go for a walk so Kaylani could take a nap outside. But now, room service screwed up Mommy's breakfast, and Kaylani is crying for a minute between every 5 bites of her cereal. This is what happens when you don't sleep kids. Long day, here we come!
9:58am - Mommy's breakfast finally came 95% right (close enough) so we're getting there. Kaylani's entertaining herself on the floor. Can't tell if she's laughing or crying sometimes. Tough call. Par for the course according to Mommy.
10:19am - Typing with one hand and carrying Kaylani with the other while pacing around the room. First of many stall tactics as Mommy showers and we try and get ready to leave for the day.
10:32am - Ummm...she's asleep on my shoulder. Tried to put her down twice (you smell like poop!) with no success. This would be okay if both of us weren't still in pajamas. Oh, and I have to pee again.
10:45am - Success! And by success, I mean Mommy has her now. Time to pee and shower...separately. I'm not that gross...anymore.
11:15am - Kaylani never went back to sleep with Mommy, but she is dressed, nursed, dry, and sunscreened up. We were almost out the door, but Kaylani decided to poop. Better now than later.
11:23am - And we're finally out the door! Time for her to pass out in her stroller so she can add on to the whopping 15 minutes of sleep so far.
12:05pm - So she's not asleep yet. Now we're shopping for some new clothes for Daddy because he got made fun of one too many times for wearing loose clothing to work meetings after losing 30lbs. Tough call on who needs what more: Kaylani and sleep or Daddy and clothes?
12:50pm - Walked out of the last store with 3 shirts, 3 pants, and a baby in a Bjorn. I'm stylish in so many ways right now. Oh, and she's sleeping. Better buy one more shirt to replace the soon to be drooled filled shirt I'm wearing right now.
1:15pm - Had a scare that she was about to wake up. Did the whole head back, eyes open movement but she went back down with a gentle push back towards my chest. Right now we're hoping she sleeps until 2
1:20pm - You know what they have a lot of at malls? Screaming kids. She's awake. Chalk up another 30 minute power nap for her. She's staying in the Bjorn tho. Maybe she'll fall back asleep when her neck gets tired from staring up at me.
1:41pm - Operation Nap Out has failed. Time to head back to the hotel for lunch, and maybe a trip to the pool if she'll let us.
2:05pm - Signs of sleepiness being shown just as we got to the hotel. Operation Sway in the Breeze commencing
2:20pm - Back is starting to give out, but she's finally sleeping. Debating if we can get her into a moving stroller while she stays sleeping. Sounds like a bad plan. Maybe in 15 more minutes.
2:33pm - Mommy's feeding birds with bread from her salad. Daddy's got his mouth open but she's not paying attention to me. Guess I'll just wait until Kaylani wakes up before I eat my salad...
2:47pm - She's up. 40 minutes, which was right when we walked inside to check out the pool. Oh well, good enough for now. Time for both of us to eat lunch!
3:10pm - Done eating lunch. Ummm...now what?
3:25pm - Back in the room for a regroup. Plan is to nurse, pack her dinner, then walk back to the Inner Harbor where she's going to nap before we go for dinner at grandparents/parents of kids o'clock. Ready...go!
4:37pm - Guess who's not sleeping? Oh well. We gave up on the walking through mobs of people in exchange for tapas and sangria on the 2nd floor patio at La Tasca. What? She's half tapas, I mean Latina.
5:12pm - Sangria showed up. Time to cheers and have a drink!
5:13pm - Mommy thought the sangria was a little strong and said she was only going to have 1. And then posed for a picture with Kaylani. And watched as Kaylani grabbed her 1 glass and dumped it on both of them. I think they're both wasted
5:41pm - Food is gone, Mommy is halfway through her glass of sangria, and Daddy is almost done with the rest of the pitcher. And there's a live band playing cover songs that are best characterized as "hits you may know from Guitar Hero or Rock Band." It's been a good night so far!
6:01pm - Night is winding down. Kinda hoping Kaylani doesn't fall asleep on the way to Cheesecake Factory and back home. She still has to eat dinner, bathe, and nurse before bedtime.
6:21pm - She's out. We just reached the lighthouse where we were planning on feeding her and she passed out. Sigh. Luckily there's a wedding going on here that will keep us entertained while she naps. Good possibility that this backfires on us later.
6:36pm - Just took a seat after Mommy told me to "stop spoiling her baby." Its hard not to when the alternative is locking her in a car.
6:38pm - Mommy to guy sneezing while walking by Kaylani: "Sir, have you heard of Zyrtec? Please sneeze away from the baby"
6:40pm - Duck boat cruising by on the harbor with a bunch of tourists blowing on their duck noise makers need to shut the duck up. Or I guess we could move
6:55pm - Awake at last! If I needed a timer that told me when it was between 30 or 40 minutes, Kaylani's naps would come in handy. Man that'd be a stupid thing to need. Anyways, its green bean time!
7:02pm - Apparently Kaylani eating is entertaining for people walking by. Or maybe its Mommy and Daddy with our mouths wide open going "Ahhhh....mmm!" to help her eat.
7:31pm - Bathtime! Gotta get all that sunscreen off. Soon, it'll be bedtime. What will tonight bring?
7:51pm - Bathtime went as smooth as it could. Daddy got to sit in a tub at a hotel (which isn't something he would normally do) so Kaylani could sit on top of him for her bath. Then after a quick rinse off shower, we were ready for bedtime. Right now Mommy is nursing Kaylani for hopefully the last time tonight. I know I said the same thing just about 24 hours ago, but this time, I really think it'll work. Her pack and play is now near our bed instead of out in the foyer, so it's a brand new night. Please let it be a quick one, or I guess a long one if we're talking about how Kaylani sleeps.
So that's it. I hope you had fun reading about a day in the life of our family on vacation. Next vacation is in a few months when we hit up Cape May for a week, and you can bet I'll have another "live" feed then. But until then, thanks for reading, and come back often. We'll be here!
"Live" from Baltimore - Part 1!
Last time we went to PR I kept a running blog of the days events. Since it's been awhile and I'm on vacation again, I might as well do it again! So let's get things started. Follow along on another day in the life of our family, and enjoy the Daddy Diaries 2nd ever "live" blog, from Baltimore this time! Editor's note: Nighttime ended up being so long that I've split this into two parts, so this is part 1 of 2. Don't forget to click the link at the end to read the rest (unless you did that already...cheater).
Saturday, May 23:
8:48pm - After Kaylani cried enough to earn another round of nursing, she's finally asleep. All it took was 15 minutes of nursing and 10 minutes of rubbing her forehead and eyes before she would call it a night. Let's hope this lasts. Speaking of lasting, not sure how much longer we're gonna last.
8:56pm - Finally gave in and risked turning on the TV. Mommy threatened my life if I woke "her daughter" up, but I'm fairly confident the sheets and white noise maker will do their job. My choices on TV are O's/Nats (blah), Lakers/Nuggets (eh), and Mean Girls or What Women Want (yes!). Maybe we should go back to darkness before I lose more man points...
9:08pm - The water taxi in the harbor just sounded its horn again (happens every 30 minutes or so). Mommy's response: "Seriously? If you wake up my daughter, I'm going to kill you."
9:10pm - There are scratching noises coming from the foyer. Either there's a mouse over there, or Kaylani's moving. If it's a mouse, I'd watch out because if it wakes up our daughter, Mommy's going to kill it.
9:28pm - My first ever Facebook/blog integration comes courtesy of Doug who commented on Facebook just now: "Once mommy and baby are asleep, you can always sneak down to the bar and watch a game." Mommy's response to me: "That's why I positioned the crib by the door. You sneak out and wake up my daughter and I'll kill you. But if you do sneak out, get me a fruit tart."
9:43pm - Just checked on the little one. She looks peacefully asleep on her side. I have to pee but I'm afraid to use the bathroom since it's right next to her sleeping area. Guess I'll go to sleep instead.
10:40pm - Mommy and Kaylani are both asleep, and I'm wide awake (why did I take that 30 minute power nap earlier?). Maybe I should sneak out now. Nah, not worth it. I still have to pee...
11:09pm - And she's awake. Two hours and 20 minutes is almost like sleeping through the night. Mommy and I are debating how long to let her cry for. Considerations include a) she's really tired, b) she's in a new place, and c) our neighbors probably hate us. 3 minutes apparently is the limit since I'm headed over now.
11:35pm - After unsuccesfully getting her to sleep by rubbing her forehead and eyes, I got her to sleep for a few minutes in my arms, but only for 30 seconds in her bed. Second attempt went even worse and led to her tossing and turning in my arms, likely looking for Mommy. So now Mommy is nursing her. At least I got to pee since she's awake.
11:53pm - Nursing didn't work. Now we're in trouble. Sure wish we had a plan C in our back pocket.
Sunday, May 24:
12:05am - I take it back. 3rd attempt at nursing seems to have done the trick. Sometimes I wish I could nurse, but most times I'm glad I can't. But that's why Mommy's my hero. Seriously. Time to get some sleep. All of us. Ah crap, she's crying.
12:17am - I just made it back to bed after getting her to sleep in my arms for 5 minutes then in her crib for 2 minutes. And now she's crying again. Time to let her cry it out for a little bit. Sorry neighbors. If this doesn't work, home is only 2.5 hours away....
12:44am - She's still crying. We even drugged her with Tylenol in case it was teething pain, and changed her diaper in case it was wetness uncomfortability. Let's give it a few more minutes before we try plan Q.
1:18pm - Change of scenery maybe? Pack and play was moved into the main room, and now she has a doll to eat/sleep with. She's looking pretty awake. We're not.
1:47am - She's asleep! After 10 min in my arms, she's down. Goodnight
4:54am - The alarm clock just went off for no reason. Luckily I've had years to perfect the "smack the snooze button within the first sign of an alarm" move. Mommy threatened my life for making so much noise. Apparently she didn't hear the alarm and thought I was just playing.
7:22am - She's awake, but not crying for a change. Looks like she found that doll. Hard to say if she would have slept more without it, or will stay quiet with it.
8:10am - And now we're awake. She's flipped herself onto her belly and is stuck. Mommy's on the move. I love Mommy.
8:48am - Whole family is up, but I wouldn't say we're awake. Funny enough Kaylani looks the most tired. Poor baby. She's moving in slow motion right now. Hard to say why she ended up sleeping. Tylenol? Doll? Crib move? And actually, I really don't care.
And that concludes part 1 of our "live" blog from Baltimore. Click here to read part 2: daytime!
Saturday, May 23:
8:48pm - After Kaylani cried enough to earn another round of nursing, she's finally asleep. All it took was 15 minutes of nursing and 10 minutes of rubbing her forehead and eyes before she would call it a night. Let's hope this lasts. Speaking of lasting, not sure how much longer we're gonna last.
8:56pm - Finally gave in and risked turning on the TV. Mommy threatened my life if I woke "her daughter" up, but I'm fairly confident the sheets and white noise maker will do their job. My choices on TV are O's/Nats (blah), Lakers/Nuggets (eh), and Mean Girls or What Women Want (yes!). Maybe we should go back to darkness before I lose more man points...
9:08pm - The water taxi in the harbor just sounded its horn again (happens every 30 minutes or so). Mommy's response: "Seriously? If you wake up my daughter, I'm going to kill you."
9:10pm - There are scratching noises coming from the foyer. Either there's a mouse over there, or Kaylani's moving. If it's a mouse, I'd watch out because if it wakes up our daughter, Mommy's going to kill it.
9:28pm - My first ever Facebook/blog integration comes courtesy of Doug who commented on Facebook just now: "Once mommy and baby are asleep, you can always sneak down to the bar and watch a game." Mommy's response to me: "That's why I positioned the crib by the door. You sneak out and wake up my daughter and I'll kill you. But if you do sneak out, get me a fruit tart."
9:43pm - Just checked on the little one. She looks peacefully asleep on her side. I have to pee but I'm afraid to use the bathroom since it's right next to her sleeping area. Guess I'll go to sleep instead.
10:40pm - Mommy and Kaylani are both asleep, and I'm wide awake (why did I take that 30 minute power nap earlier?). Maybe I should sneak out now. Nah, not worth it. I still have to pee...
11:09pm - And she's awake. Two hours and 20 minutes is almost like sleeping through the night. Mommy and I are debating how long to let her cry for. Considerations include a) she's really tired, b) she's in a new place, and c) our neighbors probably hate us. 3 minutes apparently is the limit since I'm headed over now.
11:35pm - After unsuccesfully getting her to sleep by rubbing her forehead and eyes, I got her to sleep for a few minutes in my arms, but only for 30 seconds in her bed. Second attempt went even worse and led to her tossing and turning in my arms, likely looking for Mommy. So now Mommy is nursing her. At least I got to pee since she's awake.
11:53pm - Nursing didn't work. Now we're in trouble. Sure wish we had a plan C in our back pocket.
Sunday, May 24:
12:05am - I take it back. 3rd attempt at nursing seems to have done the trick. Sometimes I wish I could nurse, but most times I'm glad I can't. But that's why Mommy's my hero. Seriously. Time to get some sleep. All of us. Ah crap, she's crying.
12:17am - I just made it back to bed after getting her to sleep in my arms for 5 minutes then in her crib for 2 minutes. And now she's crying again. Time to let her cry it out for a little bit. Sorry neighbors. If this doesn't work, home is only 2.5 hours away....
12:44am - She's still crying. We even drugged her with Tylenol in case it was teething pain, and changed her diaper in case it was wetness uncomfortability. Let's give it a few more minutes before we try plan Q.
1:18pm - Change of scenery maybe? Pack and play was moved into the main room, and now she has a doll to eat/sleep with. She's looking pretty awake. We're not.
1:47am - She's asleep! After 10 min in my arms, she's down. Goodnight
4:54am - The alarm clock just went off for no reason. Luckily I've had years to perfect the "smack the snooze button within the first sign of an alarm" move. Mommy threatened my life for making so much noise. Apparently she didn't hear the alarm and thought I was just playing.
7:22am - She's awake, but not crying for a change. Looks like she found that doll. Hard to say if she would have slept more without it, or will stay quiet with it.
8:10am - And now we're awake. She's flipped herself onto her belly and is stuck. Mommy's on the move. I love Mommy.
8:48am - Whole family is up, but I wouldn't say we're awake. Funny enough Kaylani looks the most tired. Poor baby. She's moving in slow motion right now. Hard to say why she ended up sleeping. Tylenol? Doll? Crib move? And actually, I really don't care.
And that concludes part 1 of our "live" blog from Baltimore. Click here to read part 2: daytime!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Down, but not out
Hi, we're in Delaware. Oh wait, that was us 10 hours ago. Now we're in Baltimore and getting ready to wrap up the day. It's just about 8pm and all is dark in our room. Kaylani is nursing for what we hope is her final time tonight, and then we'll see how the rest of the night goes. Luckily we were upgraded to a corner deluxe king room when we got here (thank you Bill Marriott!) so we have a little hallway/foyer that Kaylani will spend the night in (in her pack and play of course). We also have a white noise maker going, a bunch of sheets to block out some of the light, and we're really hoping that's enough. And frankly, it should be since she must be completely exhausted today.
She woke up around 6:30am. After getting her ready to go and putting the finishing touches on our luggage, we hit the road right around 8:30am. GPS had us arriving in Baltimore at 11am which was fine by us. The plan was to have Kaylani sleep for a solid 2 hours in the car and we'd be set for the rest of the day. And at 9am when she finally fell asleep, the plan looked like it was going to work...all the way until she woke up 40 minutes later. The odd part was that she was quiet for the next hour and a half. We stopped at a rest stop just 20 minutes outside Baltimore just to make sure we didn't have a car freak-out, but thankfully it never materialized.
After getting settled in our hotel room we walked out to the Inner Harbor around 12:30pm. Within 15 minutes Kaylani was out again which we again thought was perfect. And again, 40 minutes later, she was awake (timed inconveniently with our food showing up at lunch). And again, she lay silently in her stroller for a good 30 minutes before making a peep. That brought us up to 1:10 minutes of naps and 2 hours of quiet time. Odd ratio, but we'll take it.
We finished off the day with some time in a grassy knoll (which reaffirmed for us her hatred of grass), a walk around the rest of the Inner Harbor, a quick nursing/Starbucks break, and then back to the hotel. On the way back, Kaylani passed out in her Bjorn, which we thought was going to be good again. But this time, after only 30 minutes, she was back up.
Now it's 8:10pm and she's crying in her pack and play. She passed out after only nursing for 10 minutes so maybe she's hungry, or more likely, she's over tired. It's been a long day of her going down, but never quite passing out. And all of that means we're entering a night of a lot of unknowns, which is never a good thing. But what else would we expect from our first family vacation? Guess we'll just wait and see how tomorrow goes.
She woke up around 6:30am. After getting her ready to go and putting the finishing touches on our luggage, we hit the road right around 8:30am. GPS had us arriving in Baltimore at 11am which was fine by us. The plan was to have Kaylani sleep for a solid 2 hours in the car and we'd be set for the rest of the day. And at 9am when she finally fell asleep, the plan looked like it was going to work...all the way until she woke up 40 minutes later. The odd part was that she was quiet for the next hour and a half. We stopped at a rest stop just 20 minutes outside Baltimore just to make sure we didn't have a car freak-out, but thankfully it never materialized.
After getting settled in our hotel room we walked out to the Inner Harbor around 12:30pm. Within 15 minutes Kaylani was out again which we again thought was perfect. And again, 40 minutes later, she was awake (timed inconveniently with our food showing up at lunch). And again, she lay silently in her stroller for a good 30 minutes before making a peep. That brought us up to 1:10 minutes of naps and 2 hours of quiet time. Odd ratio, but we'll take it.
We finished off the day with some time in a grassy knoll (which reaffirmed for us her hatred of grass), a walk around the rest of the Inner Harbor, a quick nursing/Starbucks break, and then back to the hotel. On the way back, Kaylani passed out in her Bjorn, which we thought was going to be good again. But this time, after only 30 minutes, she was back up.
Now it's 8:10pm and she's crying in her pack and play. She passed out after only nursing for 10 minutes so maybe she's hungry, or more likely, she's over tired. It's been a long day of her going down, but never quite passing out. And all of that means we're entering a night of a lot of unknowns, which is never a good thing. But what else would we expect from our first family vacation? Guess we'll just wait and see how tomorrow goes.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Gearing up for vacation
In 3 days, Mommy, Daddy, and Kaylani will take our first family vacation. Sure we've already been to Orlando, Puerto Rico, and Boston, but this will be our first family vacation alone. Picking our vacation took a little bit, but we finally settled on a place. We wanted somewhere nice like Hawaii or maybe even San Diego to save a few hours of travel, but decided that was too far for a 4 day excursion so we looked a little closer. We wanted somewhere warm, but we've been to Orlando already so we looked a little Norther. And we wanted somewhere family friendly, so we ruled out a casino trip to Atlantic City. Finally, we settled on Baltimore.
Now many of you might say, "Baltimore? What's in Baltimore besides some crab cakes and a losing baseball team? Are they playing anyone good at least? And Mommy doesn't even eat crab cakes!" While those are valid points and questions (to which the answer is no, they're not playing anyone good or even anyone at home), we decided that Baltimore was the perfect place for our first getaway. We'll be staying right in the Inner Harbor and will be walking distance to things like the aquarium, the shops at the Inner Harbor, and even the National Museum of Dentistry (which we will not be going to...sorry Steve) so we're sure we'll have enough to keep us busy during the day. It's the nights we're worried about.
Daddy spent almost 2 years of his life living out of a hotel as a traveling consultant, and Mommy spent a significant amount of time doing the same by herself while she worked trade shows and also with me. But we haven't stayed in a hotel since Kaylani was born, and there are significantly more challenges to deal with now. For example, Kaylani will spend her nights in her pack and play. Sure she's spent a few nights in a pack and play before, but never in a confined hotel room. Luckily they've upgraded us to a king studio room so we'll have a little bit more room to move around.
So the room size issue isn't a big deal, but there is the part where Kaylani is usually asleep in her crib in her room by 8pm. At home, we walk out of the room and go downstairs to watch TV for awhile before going to bed. But in a hotel, we can't exactly walk out of the room. Well, we could, but I'm pretty sure our monitors won't work if we try and go down to the hotel bars or lounges. And if we can't hit up the bar, that means we'll be in the room. And if we're in the room while Kaylani is trying to sleep, that probably means we can't watch TV either. And it probably also means that we can't have any lights on, or move around, or do anything besides sleep.
Maybe this is what vacation as a parent of an infant is all about. Lots of daytime activity, followed by family bedtime at 8pm. Maybe it's not such a bad thing anyways. Maybe we'll get 10 hours of sleep with Kaylani and we'll all wake up early in the morning refreshed and ready to go. Or maybe it won't be much of a vacation for Mommy and Daddy and we'll sit in the dark trying to be as quiet as possible so we don't disturb her and hope that she sleeps. If you've got any advice, hit me. Otherwise, wish me luck. Whatever vacation turns out to be like, it couldn't come soon enough. Is it Saturday yet?
Now many of you might say, "Baltimore? What's in Baltimore besides some crab cakes and a losing baseball team? Are they playing anyone good at least? And Mommy doesn't even eat crab cakes!" While those are valid points and questions (to which the answer is no, they're not playing anyone good or even anyone at home), we decided that Baltimore was the perfect place for our first getaway. We'll be staying right in the Inner Harbor and will be walking distance to things like the aquarium, the shops at the Inner Harbor, and even the National Museum of Dentistry (which we will not be going to...sorry Steve) so we're sure we'll have enough to keep us busy during the day. It's the nights we're worried about.
Daddy spent almost 2 years of his life living out of a hotel as a traveling consultant, and Mommy spent a significant amount of time doing the same by herself while she worked trade shows and also with me. But we haven't stayed in a hotel since Kaylani was born, and there are significantly more challenges to deal with now. For example, Kaylani will spend her nights in her pack and play. Sure she's spent a few nights in a pack and play before, but never in a confined hotel room. Luckily they've upgraded us to a king studio room so we'll have a little bit more room to move around.
So the room size issue isn't a big deal, but there is the part where Kaylani is usually asleep in her crib in her room by 8pm. At home, we walk out of the room and go downstairs to watch TV for awhile before going to bed. But in a hotel, we can't exactly walk out of the room. Well, we could, but I'm pretty sure our monitors won't work if we try and go down to the hotel bars or lounges. And if we can't hit up the bar, that means we'll be in the room. And if we're in the room while Kaylani is trying to sleep, that probably means we can't watch TV either. And it probably also means that we can't have any lights on, or move around, or do anything besides sleep.
Maybe this is what vacation as a parent of an infant is all about. Lots of daytime activity, followed by family bedtime at 8pm. Maybe it's not such a bad thing anyways. Maybe we'll get 10 hours of sleep with Kaylani and we'll all wake up early in the morning refreshed and ready to go. Or maybe it won't be much of a vacation for Mommy and Daddy and we'll sit in the dark trying to be as quiet as possible so we don't disturb her and hope that she sleeps. If you've got any advice, hit me. Otherwise, wish me luck. Whatever vacation turns out to be like, it couldn't come soon enough. Is it Saturday yet?
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