Visiting with family...

Well, after the nutso weekend we had, I thought I'd add to the fun and take Seth to Pennsylvania. =) I know, I'm crazy, but Dan and Kelli and the girls were going to be up there for the week, and we haven't seen them in, oh, about a year and a half, since before they moved to Texas. It was easier for me to pack up my one that it would be for them to pack up their three, so off we went again. This trip, I went solo. Fortunately, it was only about 2 1/2 hours to the camp where they used to live and work. I only had to stop once to feed him right before we got there. It was so nice to see everyone again. The girls have gotten so big! While I was there, Dan and Kelli got everyone gussied up to take a family photo, so I had them let me take one with the little tyke before they went off to do that. I wish he'd look that happy for my photos!

Hmm, I'm not sure if Grandma would want a framed copy of this one or not, but I was amused. It is the first picture taken of all of her grandchildren. Nobody's missing. On the far left, we have Olivia, the baby of the family. Faithlyn, the oldest, is in the middle. And Elise is on the end. The little screamer in the middle seems like he's already thinking about how his older cousins will try to play dress up with him later on. =)

I love this shot. I call it "three beautiful girls getting ready for bed." Aren't they adorable? And they're as well behaved as they are cute. It's pretty awe inspiring.

This visit was a pretty big deal for me. It was the first time I've had to do nighttime with Seth by myself. Hands down, nights are my least favorite thing about being a new mom. Sometimes Seth goes down for bed easily, and sometimes he fusses for over an hour. I usually cave and wake David up to help me if he goes too long. It's the worst if he wants to stay up after the middle of the night feeding. That's when I feel my sanity start to go. So I was pretty nervous right before Seth's bedtime. My stomach was in knots for about an hour before. But God was gracious, and Seth went down after only a few minutes of crying. So I went to bed, and he woke me up to eat at 1:40. No problem, so far so good. I fed him, and he went down again pretty easily. Only to wake up a few minutes later and begin low level whining that would start and stop. I lay there for an 1/2 an hour, thinking, "Should I get up? He's soo close." No luck. So I re-swaddled him, rocked him, and tried again. 20 minutes later...he started crying pretty hard. This started a routine that lasted for about 3 hours. I'd rock him, put him down, and he'd be awake again in about 20 minutes. I had no idea what to do, and I was about to start pulling out my hair. He'd never done this before. I called David at 4:40 a.m., begging for advice. Right before I called him, though, I swaddled Seth in an extra blanket. All of a sudden, he was calm. I laid him down, and even though his eyes were open, he was quiet anyway. I didn't hear another peep out of him until I woke him at 8:00. I get the Numbskull Mommy of the Year award. My baby was cold, and I was too dumb to figure it out. In our apartment, we have to keep one window open, even if it's below freezing outside, just to keep him from getting too hot. I didn't even think about the fact that I kept wanting extra blankets every time I got up with him. So he kept waking up because he was cold. Hopefully he'll survive being raised by me... But it was a big deal for me to make it through this alone. It made me feel like I do have the ability to handle the nights on my own if I have to. The thing I feared actually happened, and I made it through. I even figured out how to fix the problem, eventually. It was a good learning experience, but I'm tired, folks. I can't be Super Traveling Mom all the time. I'll travel with him again, alone, but it's going to be at least a month. I'm ready to stay home and let all Seth's adoring fans come to him for awhile. =)