Sara's first vacation

We just returned from our first family vacation, to the cottage on Mackie Lake, and it was a success! Sara slept for most of the 3 1/2 hour car ride up, and though she was not a fan of having her life jacket put on for the boat ride over, the lull of the ride calmed her down. The first day was an adjustment period for her, and for us too! Babies do not travel light... our Rav4 was packed, how do people travel with small cars?? It was a bit cool and I had packed mostly summer clothes for her - oops - but less sun meant more time outdoors for Sara.

We were lucky to get a good sized bedroom in the cottage addition, quiet and removed from all the action (a portable fan is also key for the noise factor!) We stayed up until 1:30am the first night, pretty rare for us these days, and Sara woke up at 4am... yikes! She slept right through the other nights though, which was great. She had a good time, smiling and laughing a lot with her new friends, and enjoyed looking at all the trees and the lake. It was great to hang out with everyone -- we had delicious food, played some 'cottage Olympics' (BB gun target shooting, water balloon toss, bocce, etc...), poker, and even late night dancing after some drinks.

Sara was especially good during an international beer and appetizer tasting on Saturday afternoon (yum), when there were about 20 people there. She was very happy socializing, I just took her away for some quiet time once or twice. Her little friend Kathleen (2) cracked me up on Sunday morning... K was trying to read her a book but she just kept repeating "Baby Sara is so cute".

We were sad to leave, but Sara liked her life jacket on the way back and fell asleep in the boat. It feels like a huge accomplishment for us, and really boosted my confidence too!

spit happens

We've had a busy week so I've got some catching up to do in a longer post!

I've wondered for a while about the possibility that Sara has some infant reflux, so over the past few days I've done some research...and I'm thinking my instinct is right. She is a happy baby overall but has many of the signs, such as frequent spit up (the last couple of days she has been a little fountain, especially while burping - oh, the laundry!), persistent hiccuping, arching back and crying after eating, some gagging/sputtering episodes while lying on her back -- but she doesn't have any trouble sleeping or eating or gaining weight, so there are no complications.

I've been surprised to learn how common it is in babies, and the vast majority get over it between six and 12 months. Until then, I'm going to speak to the doc at our three month checkup next week about maybe trying her on the version of her formula that is thickened with rice starch, which may help, as we already keep her upright during and after eating. If I'm right, talk about like mommy like daughter... fortunately she won't remember it to blame me when she grows up!

Speaking of eating, Sara is starting to put things in her mouth -- and she doesn't mess around! Today she decided that at least one of her toys must taste good. One by one she grabbed whatever I handed her and promptly smushed it into her face with a little snort. A few seconds later came "the face" - and she spat it out realizing it didn't taste quite as good as she thought it would! She was determined though, and this went on for a while before she settled back down with Soos (her pacifier). Maybe her discriminating taste will continue, so that I don't turn around one day to see my child happily sucking on a dust bunny off the floor....

Also, last weekend we had our first milestone as parents... our first night away from our baby! We went up north to a cottage, and we were originally planning to bring Sara until Ian's parents offered to babysit at their house. Thank goodness! I had never been to this cottage, and it's very tight quarters plus it had been cold so all 9 people were hanging out and sleeping inside instead of in tents... combine that with poker and loud music on until 3am, and we would have had one screaming baby. We didn't get much sleep either, ironically, but we had fun. It was great to let our guard down and just hang out chatting, swimming, dancing on the deck with the girls, and playing a round of 'frolf' - a makeshift golf course played with frisbees. I was ok until I was lying in bed, unable to sleep through the noise, and then I started really missing Sara. I would have given anything at that moment to see her and give her a kiss. It's funny how you look forward to a taste of your old life, but then you can't wait to get back to your baby. For me, it was reassuring that we really do want to be parents and that it has added so much more to our lives. Sara had a great time and slept well, which was also reassuring because she has two more nights with Grandma and Grandpa coming up for M&D's Jack & Jill and their wedding!