A Day Away

Saturday marked the first official day away from Kaylani. We didn't pull one of those Daddy leaves like he always does for work. This time it was a legit Mommy and Daddy are BOTH leaving for a few hours so you're on your own Kaylani.

Daddy left for Tommy and Gretchen's wedding at right around 11:50am. Before I left, I drove Kaylani through town for her first nap of the day just to make sure she was on the right track for the day. Due to some morning timing issues (due to a very relaxed breakfast buffet), Daddy and Kaylani drove around until 11:15am, even though Daddy wasn't showered or ready to meet Tommy and the gang at 12:00pm.

Shortly after Daddy left, Yin Yin and Yea Yea arrived and took Kaylani to lunch so Mommy could get ready for the day. That's when the separation anxiety kicked in...for Mommy. It can be summed up by a short phone call to Daddy where Mommy fought through some tears and got out one simple question:

"How do you leave every day for work?"

Daddy often hears about how I don't understand what its like to be home with her all day (which I don't), and how its easier for me to be at work (which it is). But the one thing Mommy never understood was the pain I felt inside when I had to leave Kaylani each morning until now. Just like Daddy did, after a little bit, Mommy adjusted okay. When Kaylani got back from lunch, Mommy nursed her one last time and then was off to meet Daddy at the wedding.

The wedding itself was gorgeous and it turned out to be a nice, sunny day after raining for the previous three. Ceremony was beautiful, music was great, drinks were flowing, and Mommy and Daddy enjoyed Tommy and Gretchen's wedding thoroughly for the first 5 hours. After that, Mommy started to get a little anxious to go home and see our little girl, so we made our exit right near the end.

When we got back to the hotel, Kaylani was about to take her 2nd bottle (2oz) of milk. She ate her lunch and dinner with Yin Yin and Yea Yea, took 2 naps (totalling 3 hours), and had a great time with them. And to make sure that Mommy and Daddy wouldn't think twice about leaving her again, she nursed for 15 minutes and then went right to sleep without a peep.

All in all, our first day away went as smoothly as we could have hoped. We got to enjoy Tommy and Gretchen's wedding, and Kaylani got to enjoy spending time with Yin Yin and Yea Yea. Who could ask for anything more? Or the better question is, when can we do it again?

Best Baby EVER!

I may be slightly biased, but I have the best baby EVER. Sure most parents say that about their baby, but I really mean it. Kaylani's pretty easy most of the time, but yesterday, she solidified herself as best baby EVER. Just how do you earn the title of best baby EVER you ask? Well, it starts with sleep, but encompasses much, much more than that.

After only crying for 20 minutes in a metal, narrow crib in a brand new place for her, she slept for 9 hours. Then, she took a 1 hour nap in her carseat after breakfast, a 1 hour nap in her carseat after lunch, and then a 30 minute nap in her carseat (sensing a pattern here yet?) before we headed to the wedding rehearsal/welcome party dinner. Those naps were the perfect length (well, maybe the 30 minute one could have been longer if Doug hadn't woken her up and scared the living bejeezus out of her when he got in the car) and helped us make it through a long day, but we were only getting started.

The welcome party was held at Swan River in Denisport, MA and started at 7pm. Now, everyone knows that Kaylani's usually in bed by 8pm, so you can bet we were a little worried to be just arriving at a restaurant when normally it would be Kaylani who was sitting down for dinner at that time (and by dinner, I mean nursing). And when you add the fact that there were ~100 people with ~40 of them wanting to say hi to and possibly hold Kaylani, you've got yourself a potentially scary situation, especially with this whole separation anxiety thing. THIS is where Kaylani earned the title of best baby EVER.

Not only did she smile and go with people (after 10 minutes), but she ate her dinner, she nursed, and most importantly, she fell asleep (in her carseat). At around 8:30pm, our time was up. As expected, it was right when the food came out. So Daddy downed his cup of chowdah in one gulp and took Kaylani and her carseat out to another room. After about 10 minutes of playing "human swing" or what I like to call "ow my arm and my back", she was asleep. ASLEEP! With ~100 people talking, music, and waiters/waitresses buzzing by. Not only that, but she stayed asleep all the way until we got home around midnight. Sure she missed out on hanging out with our friends, and she even missed my awesome wedding speech, but it's okay because she was ASLEEP!

To top it all off, she went right back to sleep when we got home after we changed her and nursed her. And the really amazing part? She woke up at her usual 5:30am time, played by herself in our bed for an hour, and then nursed herself back to sleep. It's 7:15am right now and my baby is sleeping. Best...baby...EVER!

Oh, and when I said its about more than just sleep, I was lying. I mean, it is, but the fact that she played nicely, was quiet, cute, cuddly, smiley, and everything else just doesn't matter when she naps well, sleeps in public places, and goes to sleep quietly and by herself at night and in the morning. The real question is...what the heck am I doing awake if everyone else is sleeping? Oh well, guess it's time to get ready for the wedding. T-minus 4.5 hours before I leave, and 6.5 hours before Mommy leaves Kaylani with Yin Yin and Yea Yea for 8 hours so we can enjoy the wedding. It'll be Mommy's first time away for that long, and Kaylani's first time alone without both of us. Sure hope she's still the best baby EVER today...for Yin Yin and Yea Yea's sake!