Traveling to Oregon

First of all , let me start by explaining the situation in our home for the past 6 weeks since Parker has made his presence into our lives (this is mostly for me, to help me remember what Parker was doing and how i fixed it when i have another one if the same problem arises, so i apologize if it seems like a bunch of complaining). I was completely shocked, and still am sometimes, that I'm able to sooth him when he's tired and have him fall asleep so easily because Colby never did this. With Colby there was no soothing. I was quick to realize that being able to sooth him came with a price, that is he ONLY way he will sleep. He wants to be held. Thankfully I can put him in a swing after he's asleep though.

Parker is also a fairly unhappy baby. He came a month early and he's making it known that he wasn't happy about it. When he is awake, he's usually crying unless being held up against your chest (you can see how difficult it may be to hold a baby all the time while chasing after a toddler, especially in the position he wants to be held). Every now and then he will be content for a few minutes in the bouncer, he is hardly ever content on his back, and his swing works sometimes. Parker just wants to be close to someone, maybe he'll continue to be my little cuddle bug when he gets older, I would love that.

With that being said, the days are the easy times. I guess that's how it seems when the nights come. I believe he has figured out that people sleep at night and we don't play, but he is still awake a lot...or at least I am. I start getting him ready for bed at 8 and he falls asleep fine usually around 8:30, in our arms of course. The tricky part comes when we go to lay him down. He will stay asleep for 5-10 minutes and then wake up and freak out that he's not still being held, so we start he whole process over. Usually around 930-10 we can finally get him down. I then wake him at 11 to feed him and as long as I put him down within 30 sec or so of feeding him he seems to do alright, he still grunts constantly and is always trying to clear his throat so he can breathe. I basically camp out by his crib/bassinet for the next 30-45 min making sure he stays asleep (because of this reason, I have kicked myself out of our room and have been sleeping on the couch because it's much easier for me to get off the couch, than to get out of that comfy bed of mine). Those times he doesn't fall asleep I know I'm in for it. He begins to freak out with choking and spitting up constantly followed by me holding and rocking him for another hour or so until he is passed out enough for me to put him down.... Just for him to get up in an hour or so for another feeding. He's been making it about every 2.5-3 hours between being fed. I catch about 3 hours of sleep at night and take about an hour nap during the day. I'm completely drained and have no idea how I've been getting by.

That brings me to how I came to be up in Oregon. Andrew helps when he can at night, but I hate waking him because he has to go to work and is studying for the CPA. He took a test last Wednesday that he said he'd be surprised if he passed, and has another test next Wednesday. To give him time to study and the sleep he needs I took my mom up on her idea to get us up to Oregon (this way I can get the help and break I need- I say this as I'm sitting here blogging while my dad is comforting a grumpy Parker, it's great). Our trip was overall a success, although very stressful. My flight was at 1:00, so I left Bakersfield a 830 and got to the airport around 11 (thanks to traffic). I then had to feed Parker in the car while Colby began to have a break down. We finally made it so the shuttle, I have Parker strapped to me in a mobi wrap, a backpack, a shoulder bag, a suitcase, and Colby on a leash (yes, a leash). The shuttle comes and I lift Colby up in it, and proceed to struggle juggling the other bags while trying to get the suitcase on the shuttle. All while the driver is staring at me instead of helping. After the bag hit Parker because I didn't lift it high enough, the driver decided to help. Thanks. We get to the airport at 1130 and had an hour and a half to wait in all the lines. We finally made it to the gate a couple minutes before they boarded. Now came the time to entertain. Colby loves to fly, if he could only play with anything and annoy anyone by putting the window shade up and down, the tray up and down, and jumping up and down.  He really does very well on planes, the issue that came up with this one is that we made a stop in Oakland, CA. He did NOT do well on that landing. Let me just put this out there, if you hear a toddler or baby screaming on the plane, just know that the parent is doing EVERYTHING they can to get their child to calm down. They do NOT need stares to remind them that they have a screaming child next to them. Trust me, they know. I refused to look at anyone, I was so embarrassed that i had "that child" that cries.  Luckily the people around me were sympathetic and told me they understood. The second half of the flight went much better, all because i did not turn off my electronic device. I kept entertaining him with my IPad. Good news though, I didn't cause the plane to crash by doing that.  Finally the dreaded trip was over, I had survived, and more importantly so did my kids.

Parkers first flight



The beginning of the flight 

Yeah i wish this worked, no way did he keep those on, nor did he watch the movie i downloaded

So now here we are in Oregon, it's cold and rainy and I absolutely love it. I'm so blessed to be able to come and just visit with my parents and have them help me with the kids for a week and a half so that I can rest and regroup enough to be a better mother to them.