Trip to Vermont, Meeting Uncle Greg, Epic Fail Moment & Some Bad Nights

Last Friday Caleb had a good day with Grammy and Auntie Jen & Uncle Rad. I got more pictures than usual from them, so here they are.

Right after he woke up for Grammy

Love this picture so much!

 

Friday night we had a supper of waffles at my parents' house. It seems like it has been forever since we have had Friday night supper together, so it was very nice. We had brought a high chair that attaches to a chair to give to my mom so we set it up and Caleb really liked it. It is a rocket chair and it even has a lever that you can pull and it makes a rocket noise. Caleb enjoyed eating his puffs in the chair.

 



Friday night Caleb had a bad night for some reason. He had a runny nose, so that might have been bothering him. Anyway, he woke up around 12:30 and had a hard time falling back asleep and was very fussy, so I ended up nursing him around 1:30, which I never do, but I knew it was a sure way to get him to sleep and to calm him down. He then slept until 7:00, which was helpful. We were leaving to go up to Steve's parents' house that morning, so after I fed Caleb, instead of putting him back to bed, we packed up and left to make it in time for church. He slept about 30 minutes in the car, which is about what I expected, so I wasn't too disappointed.

Playing with his new toy from my friend Amara

 

We got to church and I needed to feed Caleb, so we spent the time in the mother's room. Shannon & Sean and the kids were there, so Shannon was in the mother's room with them as well. I was kind of hoping Caleb would fall asleep while nursing, but I think because I was talking with Shannon it was distracting, so he didn't.

 

After church we went to Steve's parents' house for lunch and Shannon & Sean came as well. I knew that Caleb needed a nap right when we got there, so Steve started to get the pack and play out and I was going to get Caleb out of his church clothes and all of a sudden I discovered something. I call this my first epic fail moment as a mother. I realized that I had left Caleb's duffel bag with his clothes, extra diapers, sleep sack, swaddle, sound machine, monitor, etc. at home in his room. When I had finished feeding him that morning, I had gathered up the loose items and was supposed to go back in and get the bag but I got distracted and never went back in. So, when I discovered that, of course I was so upset and started to cry. I quickly pulled it together, though and decided we would just make it work. I had his diaper bag, so I did have a few diapers, wipes, and burp cloths, but unfortunately, I didn't have any extra clothes in there except for a onesie and since it was a chilly day, that wasn't going to be too much help. Luckily, Mary Ann had gotten some clothes at a thrift store for Caleb and one item happened to be a long sleeve shirt, so that was helpful. Shannon and Sean also gave us some of Finley's diapers (she wears size 4 and Caleb wears size 3, but it wasn't too bad) and then we decided we would take a trip to Walmart after sundown to get some pajamas and another shirt and to try to find a sleep sack. Meanwhile, it was time for Caleb's nap, so Steve wrapped him in a fleece blanket and he actually slept very well! He took a 1 hour and 45 minute nap (probably still making up for his bad night) and only got one arm out of the blanket. Here are the before and after pictures.

 



 

We had a nice lunch and a lovely afternoon visiting with Steve's family and Shannon & Sean. Here are several pictures.

 

Griffin is getting so big!



We were at Walmart basically right at sundown and did get some pajamas and a shirt, but couldn't find a sleep sack.

At Walmart

 

Unfortunately, Caleb had another bad night. I think part of it might have been because he wasn't in a sleep sack, because he seemed much more restless than normal. He woke up around 1:00 and had a hard time going back to sleep and then he woke up again around 2:30 or 3:00 and was very restless and fussy, so we actually brought him into the bed with us, which we NEVER do. And we were in a double bed at Steve's parents' house, so it wasn't really the best situation. I actually slept ok after that and so did Caleb, but Steve didn't, so that was too bad. Caleb slept until 6:30, which wasn't bad. I then fed him and stayed up to work and Caleb and Steve went back to sleep until around 9:00.

 

The main reason we went to Vermont this particular weekend was because Greg was going to be coming to visit for a couple of days after some meetings he was at in New York. So, he arrived at 2:00 in the morning and was there when we woke up. It was very nice to see him and I was so happy that he finally got to meet Caleb. We were just disappointed that Amy and the rest of the family weren't with him. We will get to see them at Christmas, though, so that is something to look forward to. Here are some pictures of Caleb with Uncle Greg!

 

The first meeting (in his Walmart pajamas)



I worked for a few hours in the morning and Caleb played with Daddy and his uncles and aunt.

The shirt we got from Walmart

 

Grandma also got to give him a bottle which was a special treat since that doesn't happen very often.

 

 

I put Caleb down for a nap and Steve went with the rest of his family (except his mom) up to see the progress on his dad's cabins. Caleb took another great nap of almost 2 hours and then it was time to feed him again and get ready to go home. Originally we were going to stay until Caleb's bedtime and then drive the 3 hours home, but since Caleb had had 3 bad nights in the last 4 nights, we didn't want to take the chance that he would not sleep in the car (like on the way home from Nova Scotia) and Steve and I were both tired and didn't want to get home at midnight. So, we decided to leave around 3:30 instead to be home to get Caleb ready for bed. That was a much better plan.

 

Thankfully Caleb had a good night on Sunday night and actually has ever since! So, I'm not sure what his problem was, but I'm glad that appears to be past us.

 

Monday we spent a couple of hours with Grammy going shopping. We went to a produce place and then to the mall. We had fun and I bought a new pair of shoes for work and Grammy bought some shoes too, so it was a successful trip.

 

Checking out the shoes in Payless

 

Monday afternoon Caleb took an 1 1/2 hour nap, so I was pleased with that. However, something happened to keep him awake at bedtime and it took him about an hour to fall asleep in his crib, which never happens, so I don't know if he got too much sleep or if it was something else.

 

He loves his puffs!

Playing with Mommy's shoes in her closet while she put away laundry

 

Tuesday we had a very busy day. Caleb woke up around 8:45 and after he played and ate again, it was time for our play group. The same babies were there as last week, so we were still missing one of the girls from the first week. He enjoyed himself very much (and so did I).

 

 

I had an appointment to pick up and identification card for work at 3:30 in Carver, which is about 40 minutes away. I decided to take a trip to Wareham to go to Target and JC Penney since we never make it up there (and since I was getting mileage to drive anyway). So, we left right after playgroup. I was hoping that Caleb would nap in the car, but usually when I hope for something it doesn't happen, so I was prepared for the fact that he might need a nap once we got there, so I had brought his big stroller, but thankfully he did sleep in the car, so I was really happy about that! We went to Target first and had fun browsing and did buy a few things (including a couple new flavors of puffs), but I didn't come out of there really wishing that Target was closer to us (although I know I would go if it was there).

 







Checking out the new puffs

 

Then we went to JC Penney and I got a few things for Caleb on clearance and a few Christmas gifts as well. Then we had to drive to my appointment, which didn't take too long. Caleb was very good in all of these places (I should mention that I did have to feed him in the car in between Target and JC Penney, which wasn't ideal, but we made it work). Caleb then napped again on the way home, which I was really happy about as well, because his earlier nap was not enough for the day, but I wasn't convinced he would nap in the car again.

 

We got home around 4:40 and then made supper and waited for Steve to get home. Here are a couple of pictures of Steve and Caleb when Steve got home from work.

 

 

 

Wednesday morning I actually had to wake Caleb up at 6:00 to feed him, which is good. He also went right back to sleep and slept until 8:30 for Grammy (she is still coming over to our house in the mornings to let him sleep). Grammy sent me several cute pictures throughout the day yesterday and it appears they had a busy day!

 

Picture I took when I went in to wake him up

Sticking his tongue out while concentrating like Grampy

Showing Grammy how he can pull his socks off

Mr. Nosy in Staples

 

When we got home, I had to make supper and Caleb enjoyed getting into the fridge in his walker while I was making supper. He really gets around in that thing and definitely knows how to get where he wants to go!

 

 

When we fed Caleb pears last night, he was very hungry and ate them all up, so I was really excited about that. This morning he did well too, although he is not always doing well yet. I think we are making progress, so that is good.

 







 



Well, that is it for now. Here are just a couple more pictures!