Still Running On Fumes

Our weekend trip to Chicago was fun, but I’m glad to be home. While my agenda was very free and open, Mira made sure that I got as little sleep as possible. After this weekend, I now understand why sleep deprivation is banned by the Geneva Convention. During the drive home I was so tired I began to hear voices in my head. They were carrying on a conversation, but I was too focused on driving to listen in. They were probably saying something like, “Stop driving and get some sleep!”

I’m still too tired for a full narrative, so here are the highlights:

– Traveling with a baby is great! Mira slept for most of the drive up to Chicago, and the entire way back. This was in stark contrast to traveling with a toddler two years ago who decided to stay awake most of the trip.

– But traveling with a baby sucks, too. Although she was the perfect driving partner, Mira wasn’t so happy about sleeping in a hotel room. Or sitting in a hotel room. Or doing anything in a hotel room that doesn’t involve being held and comforted the entire time. As a result, I spent little time in the room, and suffered through only three hours of sleep each night.

– There are things you don’t anticipate when traveling alone with a baby. Aaron left for Chicago a day before me, so I drove with only Mira in the car. About three hours into the drive it dawned on me that maybe drinking lots of water and tea wasn’t a good idea. I had to pee, but Mira was sleeping peacefully, and I couldn’t leave her in the car. Tough situation. I can tell you that holding an unhappily awake baby while trying to pull your pants down in a narrow public bathroom stall is a feat that should be included in the Mommy Olympics.

– Meeting other bloggers is fun! Last year I met up with Mrs. Fortune (who has since moved away from Chicago), and this year I had the pleasure of meeting Tracey from Just Another Mommy Blog and her three kids for lunch, shopping, and ice cream. They were very patient with me as I dragged them into store after store. Tracey made wrangling three kids look easy – I have no idea how she does it! Of course, I forgot my camera was in my purse until the end, and then I couldn’t get it powered on until after they left. Mira loved seeing the older kids, although all of the excitement (and ice cream!) finally took its toll:

– Babies love to see other babies. Sunday was spent at Ikea (of course!) and also visiting my old college roommate and her husband. She had her first baby in September – I saw her very pregnant when I was in town for BlogHer in July, but had yet to meet little Julia. She’s a beautiful four month old with an amazing head of hair. She also weighs the same as Mira, despite Mira being three and a half months older. Mira and Julia sized each other up, probably using baby telepathy to plan out the havoc they will cause next year when we get together again and take them to the children’s museum.

Still not quite sitting up on your own yet?

It’s OK, you’ll get it soon. Once we walk, we’ll own this town.

– Leaving Chicago at 8:30pm is stoooopid. I wanted to be on the road by 6:00 or so, but outside forces (as in, the workshop Aaron was attending) prevented that. We were both tired, it was already late, and we were too poor to pay for another night at the hotel. Bad combination. But we struggled through it and somehow arrived safely at home by 5:00am, just as Cordy was waking up for the day. I faded in and out of consciousness when I wasn’t driving, vowing quietly to never do this late night drive ever again. (and this time, I mean it)

Now I must attempt to catch up on the 500 or so posts waiting on me from the weekend. Oh, and thank you all for delurking last week! Did you see I had 100 comments? I’ve never hit triple digits before. And it was good to see so many other moms would hide and eat the cookie, too. I love my kids, but I won’t share my fudge stripes.