So, our first family vacation has come and gone and good news: WE SURVIVED.
To those of my bloggy friends who are new parents or expecting, let me just bust your bubble and tell you that vacations are vastly different with a little one. (Just add that to the ever-growing list of things that just aren't the same as before having your babe!) It's funny, you plan all these family outings and fun adventures (such as going to the zoo) and your baby could CARE LESS! Not to mention, they have no idea what's really going on.
I think Presley had the most fun when we were at the hotel just relaxing in the room... aka, something we could just do at home!!! :) Included in the things I thought Presley would be psyched about was swimming. Here is part of her first experience swimming in our hotel's pool:
She didn't love it but after the first few dips she didn't totally hate it, either! It was a little tough at first to get Presley readjusted to our new surroundings, but after the first day she did really well, which even included sleeping through the night! This was MUCH needed because for 4-5 days preceding our trip, Presley was waking up every 2-4 hours to eat. It was tough going back to getting no sleep and being half awake while feeding her, but thankfully it was just a growth spurt after all. And now we have her sleeping in her crib in her own room which is another big change. She's getting through it and so are we but it's a little bit of a struggle but nothing out of the ordinary and some nights are better than others. Lately she's been getting up at 2:30am every morning.
And then again at about 3:30am.
And then again at about 4:30am.
And then, finally at about 5:30am she gets up and I feed her.
But really, it could be worse! And it WAS just worse a few weeks ago so I guess I just need to suck it up and learn to love the sleep I get.
And now something I worry about is whether or not we're putting her to bed at a decent time or not since she's not really showing clear signs of her being ready to go to bed. I'm pretty sure that I'm never going to sleep soundly for a very long time or maybe ever again. I feel like no matter what stage Presley is at there is always going to be something for me to stress out about and even more things that I don't quite understand about her. But thankfully I'm not alone in it all! Very glad to have my hubby to balance me out and to lean back on.
So, we're back to everyday life and it's a mix of great moments and not so great moments. I am somewhere between loving where we are at and wishing for better days with an older child. Again, I know myself and I know I will miss the stage that Presley is at but I just feel like I still have no idea what I'm doing with all these "firsts." I think that's why parents decide to have another child and willingly put themselves through all this stuff all over again -- because hindsight is 20/20 and they want to see how well they can do it the second time around! I can definitely understand that and sometimes catch myself thinking the same thing... but then after those bad days I look at Tony and tell him I'm never going through this again!!! But when you look at this sweet, silly baby face... it really melts away EVERY stress....
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| And we got to be with some awesome family members! L to R: Selena (my MIL), Judy (Papaw's wife), Tony (the hubby), Me & Presley, & Papaw Gordon (Tony's grandfather, Selena's dad) |
To those of my bloggy friends who are new parents or expecting, let me just bust your bubble and tell you that vacations are vastly different with a little one. (Just add that to the ever-growing list of things that just aren't the same as before having your babe!) It's funny, you plan all these family outings and fun adventures (such as going to the zoo) and your baby could CARE LESS! Not to mention, they have no idea what's really going on.
 |
| Presley at the zoo, probably thinking, "I am so bored! It's so hot out here! Where am I? I'm so confused..." |
I think Presley had the most fun when we were at the hotel just relaxing in the room... aka, something we could just do at home!!! :) Included in the things I thought Presley would be psyched about was swimming. Here is part of her first experience swimming in our hotel's pool:
Presley's first swim experience!
She didn't love it but after the first few dips she didn't totally hate it, either! It was a little tough at first to get Presley readjusted to our new surroundings, but after the first day she did really well, which even included sleeping through the night! This was MUCH needed because for 4-5 days preceding our trip, Presley was waking up every 2-4 hours to eat. It was tough going back to getting no sleep and being half awake while feeding her, but thankfully it was just a growth spurt after all. And now we have her sleeping in her crib in her own room which is another big change. She's getting through it and so are we but it's a little bit of a struggle but nothing out of the ordinary and some nights are better than others. Lately she's been getting up at 2:30am every morning.
And then again at about 3:30am.
And then again at about 4:30am.
And then, finally at about 5:30am she gets up and I feed her.
But really, it could be worse! And it WAS just worse a few weeks ago so I guess I just need to suck it up and learn to love the sleep I get.
And now something I worry about is whether or not we're putting her to bed at a decent time or not since she's not really showing clear signs of her being ready to go to bed. I'm pretty sure that I'm never going to sleep soundly for a very long time or maybe ever again. I feel like no matter what stage Presley is at there is always going to be something for me to stress out about and even more things that I don't quite understand about her. But thankfully I'm not alone in it all! Very glad to have my hubby to balance me out and to lean back on.
 |
| Look at that great daddy :) |
So, we're back to everyday life and it's a mix of great moments and not so great moments. I am somewhere between loving where we are at and wishing for better days with an older child. Again, I know myself and I know I will miss the stage that Presley is at but I just feel like I still have no idea what I'm doing with all these "firsts." I think that's why parents decide to have another child and willingly put themselves through all this stuff all over again -- because hindsight is 20/20 and they want to see how well they can do it the second time around! I can definitely understand that and sometimes catch myself thinking the same thing... but then after those bad days I look at Tony and tell him I'm never going through this again!!! But when you look at this sweet, silly baby face... it really melts away EVERY stress....
Ha! That is weird that we had such a similar experience. Natalie was pretty indifferent to the animals and most the trip too. As far as the sleep goes, it will eventually get better... then worse... then better. Babies sleep habits change so damn much. That last pictures is adorable, btw. :)
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