trip to the tah, the caboose

She made sure she evenly distributed her treats, one for Gertiedog, one for Elliedog. Her little face was so cute, her mouth open in surprise like “Hey! They are eating these out of my hand! They love me!”

And of course, a little theatrical production was necessary. We all laughed until we cried.

And here is our sweet hostess, my very petite Aunt Tami. Makes me feel like shrekess.

 Yes, I am aware of the terrible lighting. It was dark at 8 pm when we left for the airport. I think we pulled into my house about 3 AM utah time.

This trip was SO fun and SO worth it and I’m so glad we went. I’ve said before that Isabelle loves to go and she really does love to go everywhere and anywhere. She was so flexible and awesome with her naps, extremely smiley and cute for friends and family. She even did all her tricks like clapping and identifying face parts and blowing kisses. She’s a charmer.

HOWEVER. Bless her tiny baby soul because the nights were absolute misery. I don’t claim miserable nights often because Isabelle has NEVER been a great sleeper. We’ve discussed here before the woes of getting a baby to sleep through the night and while some nights are better than others, Isabelle is not consistent in this department.  The first night she was up constantly, wanted to be held, so I obliged her and chalked it up to an unfamiliar bed and sharing a room with me, she totally knew I was there.

The second night we moved her into to the office- close enough for me to hear when she was making noise but not so close she could sense when I flipped over my body like a rotisserie chicken. She woke up at ten. And midnight. And then, at two am, I could not get her back to sleep to save my life. I changed her and fed her and gave her orajel for her two teeth that were squishing though her gums. I sang to her and rocked her until my arms were literally numb. Finally, at 6 am, I raised my white flag and went to find my mom. My mom, who can fix anything. My mom, the baby whisperer. I felt like a little kid again, tip toeing into her room in the middle of the night to tell her I was sick or had a bad dream. Of course, this time I was sobbing and said, “Moommmm? Can you hellllp me? I caaaan’t get *sniff* Isabelle to sleeeeeeeep.”

My mom took out her earplugs and donned her supermom cape and took Isabelle as I collapsed in her bed, exhausted and feeling so defeated. So, so, defeated. Within a half hour, she had Isabelle peacefully sleeping and went back to bed herself. My mother, the magician.

The next day, my mom noticed Isabelle acting a little dizzy and off balance. I did not notice, mostly because my brain was functioning at 10% due to lack of sleep and my eyes were shut most of the day. She asked Isabelle if her ears hurt, and Isabelle nodded yes. AN EAR INFECTION! Her first one! Is it terrible that I was relieved to know that there was a reason why Isabelle was not sleeping? I was so relieved! She loved me after all! Everything was ok! We got her some antibiotics and for the remaining nights spent in Utah, Isabelle set Olympic sleeping records. Phew.

Since we’ve been home, Isabelle had felt so much better and it has showed in her sleep patterns- long naps and successful nights. Really makes me grateful for 1) my husband, who I can ‘tag in’ when we have rough nights 2) modern medicine and 3) my mom, who continues to show me that being a parent is never truly finished.