Traveling with a Toddler

June 17, 2016 nk330Leave a comment

In March we took back to back trips to see family. The first one was to Reno (via plane) and the second one was to Chattanooga (via car). We hadn’t flown with Gerrit since he was 3 months old. Needless to say, I was worried about it! So I thought I would blog about what worked for us, what went poorly, and what I would have done differently.

Reno

First up was our trip to Reno! I was very apprehensive about this trip, despite Andrew telling me I had to just relax. He likes to remind me that “we can’t just stay at home forever.” I am horrible about worrying things to death before they even happen.

I packed for Reno without a list. That’s a big deal for me! I think as Gerrit gets older, there are fewer things to pack, and obviously space is limited with air travel. And Andrew always tells me that “if we forget something, we can buy it there.” And it’s true… there are few things that we pack that can’t easily be purchased at our destination. So that’s #1: If you forget something, you can almost always buy it at your destination!

Thankfully we had an afternoon flight, so there was no major rushing around the day of our trip. We had to drive to Raleigh for our flight, which is about an hour away. I was hoping Gerrit would take a little nap, and he did… 15 minutes before we got to the airport. So typical of him, haha. He was awesome for everything leading up to the flight though: taking the shuttle to the airport, standing in line, going through security… anytime there’s a lot going on, Gerrit just wants to sit and watch everything and everyone.

Gerrit loved watching the planes! That was the best distraction while we waited for our flight.

Andrew is adamant about safety, especially on planes, so Gerrit had his own seat on the flight so he could use his car seat.

We tried to keep him entertained in there as long as he could, but he wanted to get out, so Andrew and I switched off holding him in our laps for most of the flight. We brought quite a few books to entertain him, since he usually likes books more than toys. My #2: Bring things they like! They worked for awhile, but a 5 hour flight is REALLY long for a 1-year-old. He wanted to nurse on and off, which wasn’t a big deal when he was a newborn. But at 16 months? Either his head or his feet were sticking out in the aisle, so we sat pretty scrunched up most of the time.

We had a layover in Vegas, I think, which was great for Gerrit to stretch his legs. Being in such a confined spot was hard for all of us! The last flight was short, and Gerrit slept for about 45 minutes of it. By the time we arrived in Reno, it was about 7pm there… which was 10pm back home. So Gerrit was going on about an hour total of sleep, poor kid.

You’d think that minimal sleep would mean more sleep at night, but that’s not how Gerrit rolls. That first night in Reno he only got 8-1/2 hours of sleep. We tried to keep him on a consistent schedule, but I really feel like any major disturbance for Gerrit shows up in his sleep. We did our best to do #3: Try to replicate home for sleep. We packed sleep sacks, our sound machine, a night light, his blankets, and Lamby. I don’t know if it’s just a different location or if he truly hates the Pack N Play, but sleep was still crap while we were in Reno. Maybe all the stuff we packed would have been enough to help the average kid, which is why I recommend trying to replicate home.Our flight back to North Carolina was early in the morning. Gerrit and I had had a particularly bad night with minimal sleep the night before, but he did sleep for a bit in the guest room bed while Andrew & I packed up. It was a long day though. My exhaustion did not make me a very happy traveler. I was literally falling asleep while reading books to Gerrit on the plane! I think he took two 45 minute naps all day (one of them being in the car on the way home from the airport). We had a really rough night that night too. This is why I hate traveling! I love seeing family & friends; I love having fun with them. I hate that it affects Gerrit’s sleep so much.

So the next day, I did a bunch of laundry, then we repacked our suitcases for our road trip to Tennessee! The thing I like about road trips over plane trips is 1) flexibility with time, 2) no limits on what you can pack (you know… within reason!), and 3) you can stop as much as you want! But car trips are l-o-o-o-o-n-g. I usually end up in the backseat with Gerrit at some point to entertain him, so we pack a lot of books! Toys are great, but there’s only so much a kid can do in a car seat. I spent most of my time entertaining Gerrit with books and songs. I was SO ready to arrive at our destination.

So one of the biggest perks for us at the house my parents rented was that my little family got the master bedroom. And it had a king size bed. If you have never shared the bed with your toddler, you won’t really appreciate the space in a king size bed. But with Gerrit sleeping so poorly, I opted to bring him to bed with me when he just wouldn’t settle back to sleep in the Pack n Play. King size bed = enough space for us all!! I actually got some sleep with Gerrit cuddled up next to me. So here’s #4: If you tend to bed share, make sure you get a king size bed! It made nights so much easier for me, even when Gerrit didn’t want to sleep.

#5: Try to keep to your child’s normal schedule. When we were in Reno, this was tricky, because there was a 3 hour time difference. But Chattanooga was the same time zone as us, so that made it a bit easier to stick to our normal time frame for things.

It didn’t always work for us. For example, Gerrit napped on the way home from church on Easter, and he wouldn’t go down for an additional nap because of that. We also left the zoo early when we went with my family, hoping to get back to the house for Gerrit’s nap.

Unfortunately, he fell asleep in the car for 45 minutes and, once again, wouldn’t go down for an additional nap. Ugh… car naps! But a short nap meant that he had a good stretch of sleep first thing that night, so that was nice!

The trip back to North Carolina was really pretty: so many flowers and trees in bloom!
Gerrit took a good hour-and-a-half nap on the way home, but I still had a long afternoon of trying to entertain him in the car. I don’t feel like Gerrit eats like the average toddler (he doesn’t eat a lot and likes to nurse frequently), so do what you want with my #6: Try to keep his/her belly happy. For me, that meant nursing Gerrit while we drove. It’s kind of uncomfortable for me (you know, leaning over the car seat), but it keeps him happy and assures me that he’s getting something in his stomach. We tried Cracker Barrel (no luck with dinner) and Jimmy John’s (I think he ate a tiny bit), but Gerrit is just not a good eater, especially when we’re traveling. My recommendation would be to have favorite snacks packed and ready, and give them a cup of water to have available.

When we got home, we had a rough night! Gerrit fell asleep for 45 minutes in the car, and after we got home we hurried him through a bath and our normal bedtime routine. He had almost a 4-hour stretch to start, but lots of wakings after that. He had another rough night following that, but then settled back into a 3-4 wakings a night trend (which was good at the time).

What do I wish I had done differently? I wish I had just relaxed and been able to “go with the flow” a bit more. I get so worked up about Gerrit’s sleep that I miss out on fun things. I will always look back and wish I had not obsessed over this or that so much though. That just seems to be part of my personality, and it’s something I will probably always have to work on.

So good luck to you if you plan on traveling with your toddler. For us it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but traveling with kids never seems to be easy. I feel like it gets a bit easier as Gerrit gets older, but it’s never my favorite thing to do. It certainly hasn’t kept us from traveling all over and seeing family & friends though! 🙂

Gerrit: 15 Months

March 2, 2016March 2, 2016 nk3302 Comments

Well, this is going up a little late, but photos at 15 months are mostly blurs haha. I finally gave up and just used one that looked good enough.

This was the best photo smile-wise, but the only way I could get him to smile like that was to ask him to sign “happy” haha.

Bear with me… this is covering 3 months, so it’s a long update. I just don’t want to forget anything for when I read this when I’m old(er) and have an even worse memory. Plus, sorry, I’m long-winded!

Age: 15 months on 27 January 2016
Weight: 24.27 lbs
Height: 31-1/2 inches
Teeth: 6
Clothing Size: 18 months
Diaper Size: size 4
Milestones: more signing (more & please), he makes so many animal sounds (cat, bear/lion/tiger, fish, snake, bunny, octopus, horse, cow, sheep, goat, bug, duck, elephant, monkey) plus sounds for an airplane & helicopter, standing independently from being seated (without using furniture), walking backwards, recognizing colors, can stack items, can scribble, learning to use his spoon & fork, can take his clothes off… especially socks (all the time)

Sleeping: No major improvements. We officially dropped from 2 naps to 1 nap around 14 months. I really wanted to push 2 naps longer, but it was such a struggle, and it wasn’t benefiting anyone. I think the hardest part of dropping from 2 naps to 1 was Gerrit’s body getting used to only one nap. When I made the conscious decision to drop to one nap, I think his body was used to sleeping for fewer hours. So the transition was a little tough: he was overtired a lot, which probably contributed to night wakings…

From 12 to 15 months, we never had fewer than 3 night wakings in a night. It was far more common to have 6 or more night wakings, actually! January was particularly rough; I’m blaming it on teething and Wonder Week #9. I have to wonder, as frustrating as it is for me to deal with Gerrit’s frequent waking, how frustrating is it for him? I tried giving pain reliever at night when I realized his 1 year molars were coming in, but it didn’t improve his sleep, so I figured the teeth couldn’t be bothering him too much. And I hate the idea of regularly medicating him for no reason.

On average, Gerrit got mostly 10-11 hours of sleep a night at 12 months, but dropped to 9-10 hours a night at 13 & 14 months. Total sleep was at about 12-13 hours a day in November & December, but it dropped to 11-12 hours a day in January. Of course, I worry that he doesn’t get enough of sleep, but the older Gerrit gets, the more I realize that he just doesn’t need as much sleep as the average baby or toddler.

^ This kid took a 4 hour nap one day! It was crazy, and I feel like it will never happen again! It may have been a growth spurt.

And yes, as you probably guessed, I’m still tracking Gerrit’s sleep. It’s mostly habit now, but I love knowing all about Gerrit’s sleep patterns. I feel like I don’t have a good memory of his sleep because I haven’t gotten a solid night of sleep in so long. So I like to track it so I can look back and see changes. Call me crazy… you won’t be the first! 🙂

Eating: Around 14 months, Gerrit turned a corner with solids. He started eating more, eating more variety, and eating more consistently. I was thrilled! I had to get used to spending a lot more time at the table. Usually Gerrit would move his food around, maybe take a few nibbles, then sign “all done.” Now we are sometimes at the table for half an hour!

Gerrit used to only eat Cheerios and some strawberries at breakfast. Now he’ll eat pancakes, scrambled eggs with salsa, and even oatmeal! He still loves strawberries, but he’ll also eat blueberries, raspberries (he loves ’em!), bananas, oranges, grapefruit, and pomelo. I’m not a big fan of citrus fruits, but Gerrit loves sharing them with his Dada. 🙂

Gerrit is still a big fan of chicken, but he eats almost everything I make now. His favorite vegetables are broccoli and peas. He still loves spaghetti & meatballs. He loves cheddar cheese! If I’m cooking something that has shredded cheddar cheese as an ingredient, I end up giving quite a few of the shreds to Gerrit while I’m cooking, haha. It keeps him happy while I cook, and I figure there are much worse things he could be snacking on. And speaking of snacks, this kid loves Goldfish crackers. He wants them anytime he sees them in the cupboard!

Gerrit still nurses a lot though. Mostly comfort nursing, but he always nurses first thing in the morning, before his nap, right after his nap, and before bedtime. Some days he nurses more often than other days, but the bottom line is that I don’t see him weaning anytime soon. And, as you can see below, he always wants to have Lamby with him when he nurses!
He still nurses every 2-3 hours at night, if not more often. Sometimes I feel really concerned about how often he nurses. And then I read something or talk to someone that makes me realize how very normal Gerrit is! And I feel like I’m really doing a good thing by not forcing him to wean.

Mommy Update: Generally, I’m good. I’m tired most mornings, but if it was a particularly rough night, I nap when Gerrit does. I really love this age! Gerrit is a lot of fun, he’s learning new things constantly, and he’s just so cute.

He’s also starting to test us: throwing things, scratching, crying when he doesn’t get his way. It’s the switch from baby sweetness to toddler tyranny! I really don’t like it… I love being fun and silly, and I don’t like switching gears to being stern and being the disciplinarian. But I feel like that really is parenthood, isn’t it? Finding that balance between being a playmate to your child and teaching them what is right and wrong.

I have to say, with Gerrit’s longer single nap, I’ve gotten more time to myself at that time of day! That’s when I watch “my” shows (ones Andrew really doesn’t want to watch haha!), scrapbook, crochet, catch up on emails… it’s a great time for me to just relax and do things that make me happy. I do that after Gerrit goes to bed too, but nap time is truly Nicole Time. Except I don’t drink any wine at nap time. 😛

Best Moments: I think the biggest one was Christmas. Gerrit’s first Christmas was such a crazy blur… this year was much better! We did a little lifestyle photo shoot with my sister Becki, which was fun! I loved getting some photos done of just the two of us, and it was just a nice way to remember a less stressful Christmas.

I don’t care how tired we look… we had a happy little Christmas! That little guy brings so much joy to us, it makes sleepless nights a little more worth it.

We also traveled up to Wisconsin for Christmas with my family. I was very excited about this! I hadn’t spent Christmas with my family since 2010, and I was looking forward to getting all the kidlets together.

I wish I had a super cute picture of all of the cousins playing together, but I’m sure you all know that that is just not possible. So here’s one with 4 of the 5 cousins, haha. And this is the best one I had on my camera of the 5 of them by the Christmas tree:

Haha… no smiles…but most of them are looking at the camera, and Gerrit is getting a smooch from Braxton. Cute!

At the end of January, my mom came to spend some time with us, and we loved having her!

Gerrit & I had so much fun with her, and it was so helpful to have an extra pair of hands. Seriously, how does one kid need 3 adults?! Anyway, we had so much fun, and Andrew & I even got an afternoon sushi date out of it! Now I just need to convince my mom to move in… 🙂

Besides the big moments, it has been so much fun seeing Gerrit learn and do new things. I know I’m biased, but I’m always thinking, My kid is so smart! But whenever he tries to say something new, or he signs something new, or I just see him do something like helping me unload the dishwasher or clean up the floor with a rag… I’m just so impressed and proud of him.

Likes & Dislikes: Gerrit likes keeping busy. All the time. His favorite thing to do is still reading books. He seriously loves his books. And we read the same books all the time… no matter how many we have, he seems to zero in on 2 or 3 per day. Some of his favorites:
Planes Go (and the rest in the series by Steve Light)

Down by the Station

If Animals Kissed Goodnight

Where is Baby’s Belly Button?

Mommy! Mommy!

Curious George Rides

Dear Zoo

Guess How Much I Love You

There are so many more that he really enjoys, but I could write a whole post just on that! We have so many books that I’ve divided them into 4 rotation groups just to keep Gerrit from getting overwhelmed by all of them. And to keep Andrew and I sane! My limit is reading the same book 3 times in a row. Then I make Gerrit find a new one. Andrew is not that patient, haha!

Gerrit also has really started enjoying “cooking.” He has some plastic pots and pans, I have given him some plastic containers (i.e. garbage), and he cooks his pompons (we call them puff balls). And he loves helping me cook too. I bought a ring sling, hoping it would help me at dinner time… and he loves it! When I put it on, he starts giggling, because he’s excited to be a part of the action in the kitchen.

I let him stir some things on the stove, and I think he just loves watching me measure things and tell him everything I’m doing. I so look forward to when he can actually help me in the kitchen. I think it will be a great bonding experience for both of us.

Gerrit loves animals! I don’t even know what his favorite would be… monkeys, elephants, tigers… he likes so many! And cats. He loves meowing like a cat, he loves any books with cats or kittens, and he loves YouTube videos of cats. I think if his love of cats continues, we’ll have to consider getting him one as a pet in a couple of years. 🙂

Gerrit also has started really enjoying being tossed around by Andrew. Andrew will toss him in the air, toss him on the bed, flip him on the couch… Gerrit loves it! He likes being silly and crawling around on us, but he often gets too wound up and starts scratching us or will bite. I can’t wait til he gets over that, because I am sick of looking like I got in a fight with a cat.

Gerrit still likes bath time, and it can be hard to get him out of the tub. He will stay in there playing until his teeth are chattering! I’ve gotten him some cups that he can stack and pour, and he loves them. Between those and his books that change color in water, he is a happy kid in the bath.

And of course, Gerrit loves Lamby. He has started always wanting Lamby while he nurses. If he asks to nurse and doesn’t have Lamby, he’ll stop and ask for “Mam” (Lamb), and then I’m expected to go help him find Lamby. He always sleeps with Lamby. We haven’t gotten to the point where he needs to take Lamby with him when we leave the house, and I’m hoping we can avoid it! Heaven forbid we would lose that lamb.

Gerrit does not dislike sleep as much as he used to! I can actually say, “Are you ready for a nap?” and he will look for Lamby and willingly go to his room. I will close the blinds, and he closes the door. I think part of the reason he’s okay with going to sleep is because he loves nursing so much, and he always nurses to sleep.

Gerrit dislikes waiting. If he is done with dinner before us, he gets very upset about being made to wait. He hates waiting to nurse, and gets really frustrated and angry with me if I’m not ready to nurse when he is.

Gerrit still dislikes me cooking or doing anything in the kitchen. It’s really frustrating having him whine and cry and push me away from the cutting board or the stove. Dinner often happens later than I want because Gerrit slows me down. Either I’m trying to cook with him in the ring sling, or I’m taking frequent breaks to read him a book or try to get him involved in an activity. Thankfully, Andrew has been pretty good about keeping him entertained while I cook, except for when he’s trying to study for his tech test.

Memorable Events: Everything Christmas! Picking out a tree with Gerrit, decorating that tree with Gerrit, opening presents… It was all a new experience for him, and it was fun seeing him have fun with it all.

I wish this one wasn’t blurry. 😦 But it’s really cute anyway!

I have all these traditions that I want to do with him, and I’m excited for when he’s old enough to be involved in them and enjoy them.

One tradition is the stockings. When I was growing up, the stockings got filled on Christmas Eve by Santa. And I’m continuing that tradition with Gerrit. With all the little gifts from Santa, we also got a new ornament for the tree. Here’s Gerrit getting his first ornament for the tree:

A little stuffed penguin ornament! He loved it, and did not want to leave it hanging on the tree, haha.

Gerrit also went sledding for the first time while we were up in Wisconsin. A few of us drove to the big hill in town that I went sledding on as a kid. I can’t remember the last time I went sledding down that hill, but it was so fun!

Look at my little snow bunny! Haha, the poor kid could barely walk in that get-up. But isn’t he adorable? I’m so glad my sister had stuff for Gerrit to borrow so he could go sledding with the big kids. 🙂

Whee! Going down the hill with Dada!

I can’t believe I almost didn’t go! I decided to go at the last minute, and I know I would have been so sad to have missed out on this with my boys. We didn’t keep Gerrit outside for very long because it was pretty cold. But I know he had fun too!

Well, that’s it for November through January. It was a fun three months with holidays, family, and some winter fun. This momma is still not getting much sleep, but it’s been wonderful seeing Gerrit continue to grow, learn, and develop into his own little person. He’s such a great kid, and we love him so much!

Happy 15 months, sweet boy! I am so proud of you and love you to the moon and back!

Daily living · Parenting · Travel

Gerrit: 10 Months

September 2, 2015September 29, 2015 nk3302 Comments

Age: 10 months on 27 August 2015
Weight: 22.5 lbs
Height: 28.75 inches
Teeth: 4
Clothing Size: 12 months
Diaper Size: size 3
Milestones: pulling up to standing, taking steps

Sleeping: Right after Gerrit turned 9 months old, we were still going through a Wonder Week (#6 – Categories), so sleep was not great. And pretty much as soon as he was out of the leap, we were on a trip to Michigan. I think this trip and sleeping in several different places kind of messed him up too. He was just a restless sleeper. Sharing a room with him meant that I heard him tossing and turning throughout the night… so I didn’t sleep great either!

Once we got home from our trip, sleep started getting back on track. Naps became a little better (but still irregular) and night wakings decreased quite a bit. But that only lasted a few days. Things got pretty rough for the rest of the month in terms of night sleep. I have decided I’m blaming it on those 2 top front teeth. They were much worse than the bottom 2 teeth!

Naps seemed unaffected by it, but night sleep was brutal. There’s supposed to be another sleep regression between 8 and 10 months as well, so maybe we were dealing with all of that together… who knows. Most nights in August had 4 or more night wakings. I am happy to say that most of those wakings were brief: I’d nurse him back to sleep within 10 minutes. But there were a few nights where I was back and forth and back and forth trying to get him to settle back down to sleep. Hopefully things improve in month 11!

Eating: I feel like almost to to day, eating solids improved when Gerrit turned 9 months old. I suddenly realized that the food on his tray was disappearing… and not into the recesses of his high chair or the floor! It didn’t appear that he was consuming a lot, but he obviously was. It was pretty exciting!

20150818_085250 — Eating breakfast: French toast and nectarines

Some favorite foods? Blueberries and nectarines are probably his favorite fruits. He still enjoys green veggies, especially broccoli. Although Gerrit will sample any meat, I think he still prefers having a slice of steak or pork to gnaw on. Chicken seems to be a bit dry for him yet, and he’s not impressed with ground beef. Carbs are hit or miss: sometimes he really seems to enjoy pasta and bread and other days it gets swiped to the side for fruit or veg instead. He also LOVES these:

I’ve tried them, and I like them too! I think he probably likes that they have a yummy fruit flavor and that they melt in his mouth pretty quickly. He doesn’t have to work too hard to ingest those!

Breastfeeding is going great! I feel like after Leap #6 (Wonder Week), he started nursing better during the day. I also think Gerrit is getting better at letting me know that he wants to nurse. He either smashes his face into my boob or starts fiddling with my straps. But he still nurses the best right before he sleeps. I’m really starting to cling to these moments of breastfeeding. I can tell that I’m going to be sad to see it end, and I hope he doesn’t rush the weaning process.

Nursing really increased during those weeks of teething with those top teeth. I now know it was comfort nursing, and I’m so glad it was something that comforted Gerrit. I am really hesitant to give pain meds to him since he’s so little, so if he could be comforted by nursing, that is much better in my opinion.

Mommy Update: I feel like I need to do a separate post on Wonder Weeks, because my mood during those times versus “sunny” weeks is very different. As soon as a Wonder Week ends, I absolutely love being with Gerrit. Not that I don’t love being with him all the time, he’s just a lot more demanding during Wonder Weeks. So Wonder Week = stressed out, tired, grumpy Momma. And after it passes, I love my days with my little guy.

We have so much fun together during the day! Sometimes I feel like we really didn’t do anything at all, but we both enjoyed lots of smiles and cuddles, so it must have been a good day, right? 🙂 I will really miss our time together when I have to go back to work.

I was pretty sleep-deprived during this month. I started drinking coffee again (which I hadn’t done regularly since early in my pregnancy) to get through the afternoons. I also took a nap during Gerrit’s morning nap most days — I would barely make it back to my bed sometimes before I passed out!

Best Moments: Gerrit meeting more of my extended family. Everyone was completely smitten with him! He was so friendly and easygoing… I was pleasantly surprised! I was afraid he would have some stranger anxiety, but he did so well.

20150807_134007 — Spending time with Grandma Great

It was great for ALL of us to spend time with family! We had so much fun with my family, and I’m so glad that so many of us were able to get together.

Likes & Dislikes: Gerrit still enjoys being on the move! He crawls all over the place now, although he still does the army crawl when he’s frustrated or tired. He still likes us to walk him around, but he’s pulling up on furniture now (and me when I’m standing in the kitchen!) and walking along. He is still not sure about turning around corners though!

He also enjoys nursing in crazy positions now. He’s rarely content to let me just hold him to nurse unless he’s going to sleep. He likes to stand and bend over to nurse, lay across me, grab his feet and swing his arms around… it’s like breastfeeding a monkey.

Gerrit also loves getting into things! The biggest issue is keeping him away from cords. I’ve had to block off lamp cords in the living room and the cords in our bedroom too. He also likes going into the bathroom and pulling up on the bathtub so he can push his bath toys in.

He still loves books, and his favorites now are lift-the-flap books. This is his absolute favorite. I’ve had to use tape to fix this book several times already. I have started rotating his books and toys to help keep him interested in his toys, minimize wear and tear, and help cut down on clutter and clean up time. Every Monday (“New” Toy Day), Gerrit quickly digs out his favorite books and toys that he hasn’t seen in a few weeks!

Gerrit is playing with one of his favorite toys in the photo above with his cousin Kaiden. Here’s a link to it on Amazon. He started out just enjoying looking at the different sized cups, but he’s starting to try to stack them now. My favorite thing about this toy is that there are several ways to play with it, and I think he will be able to enjoy it for a good amount of time.

Gerrit dislikes being left behind or not being included in things. He hates it when I walk away from him since he can’t keep up with me yet. He’ll normally just crawl after me while vocally complaining, but if he’s tired or cranky, he starts crying, wanting me to pick him up. He doesn’t like it when I’m cooking because he can’t be a part of that. I tried carrying him in the Ergo on my back while cooking, but that just wasn’t good enough for him! All chores include Gerrit: he needs to unfold clothes as I fold them and he tries to crawl into the dishwasher when I load and unload it.

Gerrit also dislikes getting ready for bed. He has never particularly enjoyed getting ready to sleep, but toward the end of the month he really started fighting it. It’s really tough to get a diaper on him as he’s trying to flip himself over the whole time. It’s pretty much a two-man job to get his pajamas on him now. And he gets so upset when he realizes that his fun his over and the parents are going to win again. I seriously need to try to get a video of his shenanigans!

Memorable Events: I think the biggest event for this month was our road trip to Michigan! After a lot of thought, we decided to split the 15 hour drive into two days with a stop near Columbus, OH (we stayed with friends there) to get the best result from Gerrit. He is a very busy little boy, and being stuck in his car seat for hours and hours is really hard on him. He is not the type of baby to just conk out for a nap or two while traveling, which means he needs lots of interaction and entertainment. Because he is not guaranteed to sleep in the car, I felt pretty wary about trying to drive through the night. Especially because that meant minimal sleep for Mommy & Daddy too. Not good!

We planned both driving days to begin shortly before Gerrit’s morning nap. Yes, that meant a later start than we may have wanted, but it also meant we got some relaxation and play time between breakfast and driving. And giving Gerrit the opportunity to burn some energy is always a plus! So he got a morning nap on our driving days, but he refused his afternoon nap those days too. That’s a LONG time for him to be awake, but he also wasn’t able to burn any energy either.

I spent the first part of the driving days in the front seat. It gave Gerrit less distraction when trying to fall asleep for that morning nap, plus I got some time to crochet or just rest. But once he was awake, I moved to the back seat to begin my entertainment routine! I packed a big bag of Gerrit’s favorite books and toys, plus we had his kid music playing on Pandora so I could sing for him too. It worked pretty well, although it was pretty tiring for me.

20150811_163416 — Hello, North Carolina! We’re back!

But it paid off: Gerrit really did quite well on the road trip. I was so anxious about the trip because of our last big road trip (back in February). But I knew he was older and more easily entertained now, so I tried to be optimistic. The trip back down to North Carolina was not as great, because he was over all the driving by that point. In desperation, I actually breastfed while we were driving! I buckled myself into the middle seat, then leaned over into the car seat for Gerrit to nurse. It really helped out Gerrit, and I only got a few weird bruises from it, haha. I avoided looking out the window, because I wasn’t sure what kind of looks I would get from other drivers!

Overall, month #10 was pretty good. Despite the crappy sleep Gerrit and I got, we had so much fun seeing family and friends! This is such a great age, and I love playing and interacting with Gerrit. I love watching him discover new things, and his personality just makes me smile. There is no better feeling than being loved by this little boy!

Here are some more photos from his 10 month photo shoot: