Long Trips

When Ayden Jane was still in her first year or so I dreaded traveling. It was just so stressful. Too much car seat time seemed to make Ayden Jane lose the little muscle tone she was developing, keeping her from over heating in her car seat was a struggle, portable food for her was difficult, not wanting the other kids to eat stuff around her in the car was hard on them, having to pack all the supplements and foods she eats, worrying about the 'wasted' therapy time sitting in the car seat... Uggg. Just easier to stay home.


Well, staying home is not really an option with my active 'big' kids. I did manage to perfect the day trips of 2 to 3 hours away from home for soccer or doctors appointments. I found little systems that worked for us and Ayden Jane was less affected by the car seat time. Now I would say that these sorts of trips are routine.

Last weekends trip to Baltimore for my brother's wedding was definitely pushing me into new territory. I must say, BIG success. I had a great time with Ayden Jane, she slept very little in the car thanks to the undivided attention of Grandma and seemed to return to PI unaffected by the whole thing. One thing that has made it easier is that I now only 'do' supplements morning and night and if she misses a dose she seems not to be phased by it. That takes lots of pressure off. The other thing is that new places, sights and sounds do not seem to 'shut her down' as they used to. When younger, it seemed like she just could not process all the newness and still have movement and personality... let alone language. This weekend I think she did great! She was right at home in the hotel, loved the boats and things in the inner harbor, played a little in the fountain, made fast friends with David and Daniel and generally just was not thrown by the whole experience. Not that I am planning to travel across country any time soon, but it is nice to feel confident that I could do it if I felt like it!