Mourning the Loss of Traveling Simplicity aka Isla's First Trip to St. Louis

We had our first flying adventure with Isla over the 3rd weekend in June. I never knew that flying without a baby was actually an enjoyable experience until I had 'flying with a baby' to compare it to. But now I know- 'flying without a baby' is awesome. If you ever fly without a baby, you should take a moment to acknowledge how good you've got it. My days of relaxing and enjoying a movie on Jason's laptop with noise-cancellation headphones are over.

Isla was great on the airplane and only really cried when we got stuck for an hour in Dallas with no AC. And really, everyone wanted to cry. The biggest pain was all the stuff. The lugging around of baby, carseat, stroller, milk bag, camera bag, diaper bag, and laptop bag. This was truly a backbreaking experience. Meanwhile, Isla gets carried around in a cozy portable bed, and takes naps whenever she feels like a little snooze. On the trip to St. Louis, I was deliriously exhausted from not sleeping the 2 nights before the trip because of 'flying with baby' and packing anxiety (nightmares of airport security taking my milk away). I wanted so bad to have someone carry me around in a portable bed.

But it was great to be back in St. Louis, and we enjoyed visiting with our family and friends. I just need a BIG break before I do that again. The picture above is my little family, plus GP's on the both sides. Isla is holding her arms out as if to say, "these are my people." Below left is Isla and 5 week-old twin cousins, Connor and Abigail, via Jason's cousin Diana. Below right is Isla and friends' babies. We've doubled ourselves- from 6 adults, 6 children. Matt and Molly are in the lead with 3 beautiful babes (center 3), followed by Steve and Maria with 2 (bookends), Jason and I trailing behind with one baby Isla in the car seat.

Isla Rose, 3 months old

Well, since she arrived, Isla has doubled in size. Not only have the itty-bity clothes been put away, the 0-3 month clothes have also made their way to the box of too-small Isla clothes. I have a little sad moment every time I put away a little outfit and think to myself, "She'll never be that small again." This little girl is very fiesty, and much to our dismay, one of her biggest dislikes is being hot. I told her- "You live in Texas- get used to it!" But no, I'm the only mom in Stoller Strides carrying my baby and blowing on her, while pushing my stroller. (I just purchased a stroller fan, so hopefully that'll solve that problem)

What's Isla up to these days? She rocks tummy time, and can push her chest up and hang out for more than 5 minutes at a time. We're working on the roll, but it's still not consistent or purposeful. Just one time, she woke up on the flip side, and was not happy about it. Never since have this event been repeated. She loves to be read to, and does the happy wiggle during her favorite books. She also knows what the bottle means, and gets very excited when you hold it up for her. She found her hands, and likes to suck on them. Isla started targeting at batting at toys on the right and left, and now she's starting to work in the midline too. She has a favorite toy- the pink kitty, and Kitty can cheer her up when Isla gets upset on car rides. Isla loves her daddy, and smiles and giggles when he appears, except when she's hungry, then she wants the mommy. Isla has a very loud hunger bell, and she will let you know if you are late for feeding time.

We still don't have a daily napping/ eating schedule and I long for one. I don't know how to accomplish this when the time she wakes up varies by 2 hours, without rhyme or reason. Still lots of short naps throughout the afternoon. We're up to 3 months of only mommy milk, and I'm exhausted.

3 Carseats = Minivan Rental

Our dear friends from St. Louis came to visit us last weekend- Steve, Maria, 3 y/o Emma, and 15 month old Sammy. In planning for their visit, we realized that in order for us all to go places together, we would need a bigger car. So, we rented a minivan and 2 car seats for the occasion. And, we managed to load up all 3 children in the van + 4 adults and go all around town. This was a feat. One feat we did not accomplish was a group photo. So, here are a few photos that capture some moments from the weekend.

I still have Sammy's sweet voice in my head, impatiently demanding his "binka" or "more" or "bite" or "dinka" (that one is a request for a 'drink', duh) or "shishy" (goldfish cracker). I got him to say "Manda" just once, and was offended that he seemed to get "Anjoe" (our dog Angel) down right away. He also learned to say "Isla." That sweet boy is a handful, no wonder Maria is so skinny.

Little Emma, too smart for her own good. She continuously impresses me. After working with kids for most of my OT career, I am forever amazed when I get to interact with an above-average kid. She was pulling out quick math in the kitchen- adding 4+2 in her head. I remember baby Emma when her only mode of transportation was rolling, and Maria put her down on a blanket on the floor. Emma rolled across the floor to get closer to her favorite person in the whole world- her mom. She rolled all the way across the room, and smiled. I must have taken a mental snapshot, because I can still see that adorable face smiling up at us from the floor. Emma asked me this weekend, "Can I be Isla's big sister?"

Steve and Maria- Thank you so much for packing up 2 small kids and loading them on an airplane to visit us in Texas!!!

Uncle Joe and Aunt Michelle

Joe and Michelle made the long trek to San Antonio over Memorial Day weekend to meet their new niece. Joe left with an Isla addiction, a syndrome to which there is no cure. At first Isla squawked when I handed her over. I told them they needed to work on their holding technique. They got their Isla "hold" down. Michelle described it best when she said, "She just wants you to be her human park bench."