Ember and I are currently away, visiting my very best friend (Kel). Kate is home with daddy. This is the first extended trip I’ve ever taken away from her – being in the hospital when Ember was born was the first time I’ve been away, but even then I still saw her daily. But at least Den had that experience being the primary caretaker for her so I really wasn’t nervous about going. She’s apparently having a great time swimming and going to the park with daddy, she’s sleeping great.

This was Ember’s very first flight and it went really well! The biggest mistake I made was bringing the stroller through the airport with me. I also borrowed a friend’s Beco to wear her, and she either wanted to be worn or held facing out. I ended up wearing the Beco, holding the baby on my shoulder, and pushing the stroller with my other hand. Yeah. Much more of a pain than it was worth! The first short flight was fine, the transfer was fine, then we had a 2 hour flight. I get on it and discover that I’m at the very front of the plane with a wall in front of me. Good thing for leg room, bad thing for my bag which ended up being put in the overhead bin. I didn’t have time to get settled so I ended up stranded in my seat with a hungry baby and no bag. I of course had my boobs with me, so I could and did feed her. But then she fell asleep…. and slept for the entire 2 hour flight. Great! Wonderful! Too bad my book was in my bag. 2 freaking hours stuck in one position holding the baby without a single damn thing to do but look out the window at clouds while my arm went numb and my back got terribly sore from being stuck like that. As a bonus, though, as we were de-planing I got a lot of compliments about how great my baby did. (I wanted to tell them all it was my boob’s good job.)

Since then Ember has had a little bit of an adjustment being away from home. I didn’t expect that because she is so young, but she seems to take it all in and she’s getting overstimulated really easily. The first day we were here she was very fussy and wouldn’t let me really put her down at all. Today has been better, she seems more relaxed to me.

Unfortunately since arriving she has had 3 total poop blowouts. Perhaps the Huggies are not working for her. I have been using huggies for a few weeks, but only when I leave the house (she’s in cloth at home), so I can’t say I’ve ever seen a big poop in one. But holy smokes, I have never seen such horror! Up the bag, covering her onesie, just poop everywhere! I went to the store and bought some Pampers, hoping that works better.

I am really enjoying spending this time one on one with Ember. I’m home all day with her but I split my time between her and Kate and it seems I deal with all the needs and never get to really just sit down and enjoy her. She’s being a big sweetie and I’ve been even getting some brief cuddles (which are rare from this baby!). Lots of smiles, as usual, and time spent just hanging out holding her. Spending time with another baby of similar age (Kel’s youngest is 5 months old) is also giving me an appreciation for her personality, her individuality.

It’s great spending time with my friend, watching her kids run around, just enjoying life as a mother. Sometimes I do find myself thinking I wish Kate were here, she’d have a good time… and then I will think about how much more work it out be with both kids and am glad I only have one!