Pictures of the Week *We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!*

Life is about little journeys. Sometimes the best part of the journey is arriving at your destination (and hanging out with great friends), yet other times you don’t even get close to the destination but you still gain a little wisdom from the ride.

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This weekend, Makenzie and I took a little road trip to Ohio to visit my family and some friends (pics below, we had a wonderful time!) Denny worked Friday, so the baby girl and I were on our own. The short three-hour ride is something I once did by myself on a regular basis but I knew a bringing along an almost five-month old could add a fun new dimension to it so I was slightly nervous. Luckily it went great! Six hours round-trip and no major meltdowns, injuries, spit-ups or blowouts… total Score! Granted some women are flying internationally with their kids by this age, so it seems silly to feel so proud that we did it, but I do.

While on the way to Ohio, I started thinking about another journey not too long ago that didn’t go as well…

It was mid-October, and Kenzie was about 10 days old. Denny had just gone back to work so I was very much looking forward to a fun night out at a neighborhood jewelry party. The party was literally one house away so it seemed simple to bring Makenzie for a night with some great ladies. But when it comes to life with a brand new baby (and a brand new mom) simple does not exist.

The party was at 6 pm, and we were up by 5 am so I figured we had ample time to get ready to go. It literally took 8 hours for me to get showered and dressed while getting the baby fed, dressed, fed, changed, fed, and fed again, but I was still determined to go. Three more hours later, I had the diaper bag packed (new mom=clueless) and we were ready to walk out the door.

Then the day took a turn for the worst. Kenzie had a blowout, followed by a pee that went up her back and into her hair. Uh-oh. I was getting nervous. We only had 15 more minutes and I knew she needed another bath and was likely getting hungry, yet again. Suddenly, my new mom confidence started to waver. My mind was racing and I was starting to question myself “Was I really ready to take the baby out during the witching hour?” “What if she starts to cry and I don’t know what she wants?” “What if she screams and everyone looks at me?” And then my lack of mom-fidence completely took over all my common sense… “What if she goes through all the (14) diapers I packed for her?” “How do I carry her across the yard – a car seat, a carrier or in my arms?” Yep, I was spiraling into an epic new Mom meltdown. Tears + puffy eyes + smeared make-up = no way I was making it out the door. Fail!

Perhaps it was the hormones, perhaps it was the sleep deprivation, or perhaps it was just me trying to do too much, but I had to do what any overwhelmed, over emotional Mom would do… text the neighbors and tell them I couldn’t make it because the baby wasn’t feeling good. Ugh, a lie! Double Fail!

In the matter of 22 minutes, my 13 hours of prep was undone. The baby was back in a onesie, I was back in sweats and we were both back in bed.

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Luckily I can look back and laugh now. And although I didn’t make it to the party 180 feet away a few months ago, I was able to learn a thing or two since then and make it to the playdate 180 miles away.

We’ve come a long way baby, and it was worth the ride!