Owen's cousin Audrey is 230 miles away right now with Kelly's family in the Tri-Cities (oh, and Kelly and Michael are there too). In November, the idea was thrown out there to possibly drive down to visit them for a quick 24 hour visit. In theory, it seemed doable at the time. Mainly because kids change from week to week and a whole month away could bring all sorts of changes like, enjoying the car, for example.
We started getting prepared for the trip, vacation time approved, getting Charlie vaccinated and booked into a kennel, hotel reservations, and then it came time to create a mental game plan for Owen. This is where I hit an unexpected road block that I could not resolve. If Owen only takes one nap a day - currently hates the car and won't sleep in it - doesn't easily sleep in a strange place - how are we going to have time to drive, get Owen settled enough to take a long enough nap to recoup from the journey and still have time to visit? And if the first day was hard on him, how do we make the 2nd day easier? The answer seemed to be, "oh well - it's going to be hard, but you just deal."
I'm learning that you make daily hard decisions when you have a child. You are the parent and sometimes you have to do what's best for you, sometimes the family and sometimes you have to do what's best for your child. In this case, it did not feel right to push Owen that hard without enough down time in between. It sucks, because there is nothing more that I would like than to be in the Tri-Cities with my family and extended family and to see my niece for the 2nd time. But I have to remind myself that we can visit them soon in a way that would be easier on Owen and that in not too long of a time from now, Owen will be at an age that a missed nap is not the end of the world. But right now, it's pretty damn important.
Two things make me feel ok with my decision. Well, maybe 3.
1. The day after I made this decision (yesterday), Owen had a horrible day at daycare. He didn't take a nap and he was a mess when I picked him up. I stopped to get nuggets at a drive through on the way home because I thought it would be a good idea to get some food in him as quickly as possible so we could go immediately to bath/bottle/bed when we got home. Everything went fine until bed. 10 minutes after I put him down, he started screaming. I went up to check on him and he had thrown up all over his bed, himself, his upstairs bunny, everything. He has never thrown up solid food before. He was so overtired and combined with the greasy food, I'm sure his system just rejected it all.
2. This was going to be my 3rd reason, but it seems better placed at the 2nd position. Mama knows best. Almost every time I doubt my instincts they prove to be right. I realize everyone has an opinion, but nobody else is Owen's mom. I have to remind myself that no matter when I make a decision that I feel is in O's best interest - it's the right thing to do.
3. I know my family understands that a little one changes things dramatically and I know they support me and love Owen.
4. Ok, I thought of a 4th one. This isn't the only time I can see little Audrey! Hopefully there will be lots of visits this coming year when Steve is based in SLC. We're already trying to figure out a weekend in January that will work!
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