Going into the weekend, everything sounded fun, relaxing, and a bit intimidating with a newborn. Tim and I are still learning about the "new normal" of being parents. What time could we leave so that E didn't wake up hungry while we were still driving? (Answer: Feed him then hit the road immediately!) Did we pack cloth diapers or take disposables? (Disposables. We already have some, might as well use them and not have to carry his poo back home with us...) To complicate things, E has been having a fussy attitude for the last four or five days. (Which did not change...)
Here's how the weekend went: It went GREAT!
E slept the whole way to Tulsa. When we got to my parents' house, the first hurdle was introducing E to the dogs. My parents own four - two big dogs, two little dogs. We were a little curious as to how they would do, but they didn't get pushy. They just sniffed a bit, if any at all. Bella the German Shepherd liked to lick his feet if we gave her the opportunity. I'm pretty sure one of the little ones is still jealous that E meant she couldn't sit in my mom's lap. Poor, Annabell!
Friday night through dinner E did pretty well. Even when he did fuss later, having grandma around really took some of the stress off my shoulders. I learn something new about how to soothe a baby almost every time we visit the grandparents. Granny Mac even took him to see her vegetable garden. Well, that's not quite true. We ventured out so she could show off her grandson to the neighbor. Said neighbor wasn't home at the time, so she and I looked at the vegetable garden.
And for the record: Babies are noisy sleepers. E can grunt and groan for an hour and still be sleeping. Daddy sleeps through most of it, but not this rookie mom. Baby boy, I love you, but that is why you get to sleep in your own room at home!
Saturday we grabbed lunch with Tim's family at one of our favorite restaurants and then headed to B-ville. This was the second road trip of the weekend. Again, E slept the whole way! It was fun to see friends and it gave me a chance to practice breastfeeding out and about. (Which means at my friend's house, not at a store.) For me, this is still a bit intimidating. I'm not okay nursing without a cover and I want to be respectful of those around me, but I know that I can't run home to feed E every three hours.
Here's a picture of Lacey, her niece, and E:
At Lacey's, her niece started playing with temporary tattoos. It's kind of fun having a 9 year old around, you know?
We also got to see a sweet friend named Julia. I love this picture because it was taken while she was laughing and when I look at it I can still hear her chuckle. Friends that warm the heart are a requirement for a great weekend!
There was also another purpose for the weekend: My dad's Father's Day/Birthday. Dad said his gift was Emmitt. Can I just say that melted my heart! It's fun to watch him love E and ask to hold him.
We ended the weekend with homemade vanilla ice cream and grilled pork and veggie kabobs. Delicious!!
Here's a glimpse of our festivities:
It was so nice to go home and see my folks while bringing my son (still so weird!!) along. It was such a good trip that I may have asked my husband if we could move back to Tulsa. When he asked what part of town, I may have sheepishly responded with, "My parents' neighborhood is nice."
The truth is that we are happy where we are now, but it was just so good to see my family and friends. Being so busy with baby, I didn't realize how much I missed everybody.
There and back again,
Stephanie
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