Last week, Pat's grandfather passed away. We received the news early Monday morning. Pat came right home from working his shift and asked if we could leave right at that moment. Without hesitation or thinking, I said of course. When there is somebody in our family that is hurting or needs us, we are there, no matter how much of an obstacle it will be. That is one of the reasons I fell in love with Pat. Family is his #1 priority. If family calls, he goes. He has the biggest heart. As soon as we knew we were leaving, I started to pack the girls. It took me 2 hours!!!! haha!! 6:30-8:30am! Yes, 2 hours! haha! I had no idea packing for two infants entailed so much! Anyways, we got the car packed with the baby stuff and our one small bag. The babies had 3 suitcases and Pat and I shared one duffel bag. (Side note: I was so busy packing the girls, I forgot to pack Pat shirts! oops!!) By 9:15am we were on the road to Youngstown, OH! This was the start of our first roadtrip with the girls. We had no idea what was in store for the next 6-days we were there...
We arrived and the 7-hour trip was not too bad. We had a 1-hour stop and ate lunch. The girls were the celebrities of the rest stop on the Ohio turnpike! We made it to Youngstown and we were so happy to be surrounding family at this difficult time. Babies can help to make these moments a little lighter. Plus, the entire family would get to meet Avery and Hannah!
The girls stayed on their routine. They slept through the night. Boy was I relieved!!! We did learn that with all the people and fun activities the girls were stimulated all day and naps were minimized. Pat and I learned the necessity of naps! Baby Einstein in the hotel room was a must! The girls got to meet the entire Davis Family!!!! We were so happy the girls got to meet everybody, even though it was under the saddest of circumstances...
We had a great weekend honoring the memory of Pat's grandpa.
However, the worst part of the trip was still ahead of us....the ride home! We thought at this point it was smooth sailing and soon enough would be back at home and in the daily routine the girls know so well. We were so wrong! We stopped in Fort Wayne, IN at a gas station to fill up and of course I think the efficient thing to do would be to eat at the connected italian restaurant and get the girls out of their car seats for their feeding. Pat wanted me to check out the restaurant to see if there were any open seats. There was ONE table left and there were only about 10 tables in the whole restaurant. I think Perfect! We walk in with two crying babies and the whole restuarant which consists of 20 people are staring at us. (Yes, we were THOSE People. Mind you the girls have always been angels up to this point!) Anyways so I grab Avery and head straight to the bathroom for a diaper change. I find no changing table so I go back out to the car and change her in the front seat. No big deal she was no less fussy and was put back in her seat. Pat was holding Hannah and he says to me she just had a massive explosion in her diaper. I start laughing. Then he hands her to me and he sees she has poop running down her leg, on his pants, and all over his hand! I take the poop monster to the car and think omg! this never happens at home! She has never had THIS much! so I change her and find I have no onesies readily available. They are all packed in the truck in a suitcase. SO I put a new diaper on her and swaddle her in a sleep sack naked and went back in the restaurant. I sit back down and Pat is now consoling Avery who now has projectile spit up all over herself and Pat. Mind you he has poop in his other hand still from Hannah. I tell him to go wash up and I will take over. As soon as Pat washed up, he sat back down and the waitress comes over for the third time and asks are you ready to order now???? haha! She was very nice about it. I think everybody felt sorry for us because everybody got dinner and a show! As soon as we ordered and the chaos slowed down. Pat and I looked at each other and just laughed...we could not believe this just happened! BTW the restaurant was the BEST italian food we have had in months!!!!! We actually want to go back!
As soon as we got back in the car, the girls did not make a peep all the way back to Chicago. I think our 2-hour pit stop tired them out...it tired us out for sure!
Nonetheless, we survived our first family roadtrip. Their were times where things went smoothly, and others where they did not. I am so glad we went and didnt hesitate to think of all the obstacles we would face. I think my best advice to anybody thinking of traveling with two-month olds is to just go with the flow. Laugh, dont cry. :)
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