Our first day trip
The best part of my day - the fabric I found!
This week, we took our first day trip with Joshua. And by we, I mean Nathan, Emily, and I took our first day trip with Joshua. Chad was at work that day – lucky duck. I had been ignoring the recall notice on our car for several months, but when my seatbelt started becoming difficult to unbuckle, the time had come to make the trip to the dealership in Wilmington.
I can’t say that I was excited about the trip. Normally, the kids and I like going to Wilmington – well-stocked fabric shops, great parks, and lunch options beyond McDonald’s. This trip, though, Joshua was joining us. A nursing, two-month-old for a day trip with no other adult. Yay.
So, we got up early and were on the road by 7:30. The trip down was fine – Nathan and Emily are great in the car, and Joshua had a full tummy so he slept well. We got to the dealership and settled into the playroom to hang out until the repair was completed. A loaner car was available, but taking all three car seats out of our car, installing them in the loaner, and then repeating the process when we returned was more work than staying.
The dealership actually has a really nice little playroom, and Nathan and Emily had a great time playing the almost three hours we were there. Joshua and I did not fare so well. I am not a public nurser, and the toy room had glass for three of the four walls and salespeople and shoppers walking by regularly. I’ll confess I probably cut both of Joshua’s feedings off before he was completely done because I wasn’t comfortable feeding him there. The noise of Nathan and Emily playing, while at a normal, well-behaved level, was still more than Joshua was used to for naps, so he didn’t sleep well either. I was relieved to leave.
Other than the fender bender outside the toy store, the rest of the day went fairly smoothly. At the fabric shop, I found some fabric I had wanted, Nathan and Emily had a great time at the toy store, and everyone enjoyed their lunches. This time, I just fed Joshua a bottle. He didn’t care, and it was just so much simpler in a restaurant.
I was thrilled when everyone fell asleep about five minutes into the drive home. While the day hadn’t been horrible, it had been quite stressful trying to keep all three of them quiet, well behaved, and entertained. Throw in feeding Joshua, and it was a long day. I now know we can successfully leave Jacksonville for a day trip on our own, but I’m just not sure I want to do it regularly with a nursing infant.
Have you ventured out much with your baby yet? How did it go?
