It was all going surprisingly well when it changed

So we went to a friend's house last weekend and it went surprisingly well with Carolina. She napped, TWICE!, for an hour each time in a room she'd never been in before. Man that was great. She was pleasant and enjoyed being around people. I left, surprised and hopeful, that meant our flight on Friday morning would go swimmingly well. Or at least better than I had previously expected.

Then last night happened. Poor thing is really in pain from teething. Those blasted teeth just won't pop through the skin. They keep threatening. She's been basically moaning in pain (and yes, I've given her everything I can aside from a baby-sized shot of whiskey) since last night. She slept for 3 hours, then 2 then up every 90 minutes. Then about 4am and before 5am, got up twice.

Ismael tried to calm her down, I tried to boob-calm her. Yeah, not much. More pain medicine. Yeah...

So about 5.30am I stayed in her room with her on the spare bed in there. I got her to relax and fall asleep and kept popping the chupon in her mouth when it would fall out and she'd try to crawl away. Until it fell out for good and she was asleep. She woke up about 7.30am and looked worse for wear -- but as always, did her best to smile.

She was up for almost 2 hours, as usual, then an almost 2 hour nap. Had trouble with falling asleep for nap #2 and is still sleeping but for only about 20 minutes so far. She already yelled out in a bit of pain since falling asleep.

So we're nearly done packing. Weighed the suitcases and aren't in danger of exceeding the 1 checked bag of 50lbs or less. And I'll be armed with everything I can think of to help her get through the flight.

I've already had one nightmare about the TSA person telling me I can't keep the bottle of Tylenol I have. And I have some good telling off lines in my dream, of course I can't remember the snappy comebacks while awake. But I'll throw out everything we have that remotely resembles liquid as long as I keep the infant Tylenol. Because, seriously, the homeopathic stuff is helpful to a point but I'm not sure it isn't the cause of some recent bouts of "constipation" she's had. And when she's really going for it, the stuff she likes least (Tylenol and baby Orajel) are the things that make her stop hurting fastest. Or at least stop crying, screaming or moaning.

I keep thinking she's experienced the worst of it, and it'll pass soon. And then another day comes and she gets pain she hasn't had before.

At least I'm over my cold. If I was sick AND she was teething AND we were on a flight when she was at her worst, I don't think I could handle it as well as not being sick.

All that aside, I think as usual she will surprise me on how she does on the flights. It might be better or worse, but it'll certainly be different than I can imagine. It always is...

Now I just have to remember to pack the passports and we'll be all set.

But on a happier note, my little Carolina was having a wonderful time yesterday afternoon with some other babies in the neighborhood at a mom's house near us. There were about 6 of them at a playdate. She was the smallest and youngest, but she sat up for about 15 minutes (first time ever!) because the other ones were sitting and crawling and I could tell she was very calmly showing them she could do it too.

As you can see in the photo, she was really sitting in a 'good girl' pose. Super cute! Sometimes she REALLY reminds me of my sister. This photo is one of those times.

After this picture, she let me know she wanted to stand up. So I helped her. She then "walked" towards one of the other little boys who was standing on his own. He leaned towards her, she put out her hand, he put out his hand and then they held hands in mid air for a second. He started 'talking' to her and she made just one little noise. But otherwise, she was totally silent. She's really more of an observer, so I was impressed that she was making 'contact'.

Vacation went surprisingly well, being home however...

One day and night at grandpa's apartment followed by three days and two nights at the beach went surprisingly well. Gratefully the hotel room had very dark curtains so Carolina was able to sleep well. And we were mostly able to keep her nap and sleep schedule. She basically slept all day on Monday at home as she recovered from being tired from the weekend.

I just hope she forgives me for her first experience with ocean water. Which was freezing. And I asked her dad to put her feet in. And she sooner than immediately screamed. Screamed!! And didn't stop for about 10 minutes. See the photo (on the left) I took thinking she'd be smiling. Stupid mommy, really. And then later that day when she's tired but not having a fit. Notice the pink sweatshirt. It's from 1976. It was mommy's. Aunt Diana found it in our old closet and Grandma Carmela brought it to the beach. Hooray! That plus socks made Carolina's cold feet much happier!

The car ride there and back was okay. She wasn't a fan of the car seat, 'natch. She fussed and we made a few, brief stops along the way to stretch, change diaper, feed and walk around outside. But 3+ hours in the car is definitely her max. The whole trip was about 4+ hours with all the stops. and the traffic we hit on the way home took am extra hour that I would have gladly paid to avoid. Let's just say we ran out of milk in a bottle and when going over the GWB, she woke up with 10-20 mins left until Queens without traffic, more traffic on the FDR and I bought us about 10 mins of not crying by giving her a bottle of cold water. This distracted her but she was still crying when we pulled up and I rushed inside to feed her.


All in all it made me VERY hopeful for our two week trip to Mexico at Christmas.

Yesterday, however, was a different matter. She hardly napped. Nursed for a few minutes every hour but it felt like constantly. I was exhausted by 3pm. I had to keep walking outside around 2pm so she would (finally) sleep a little. She slept for only 30 mins but that's better than nothing. I ended up walking for 90 minutes outside. Mostly up and down our block wher the light breeze hit her head just as she likes it. I even had to ask Ismael to come home early since I was worn out by her. She was very clingy too. Maybe just one of her 'crazy' days.

Her poop has been greenish and on the sticky side for nearly a week. I'd be more worried except mine is too. I think it's the lack of fruit and veg while on vacation. Or maybe I'm a bit sick. I ate granola last week. Found a new one without nuts. Very yummy. But sometimes oats tear up my stomach. So that could be a contributing factor.

I'd call her pediatricians office but the doctor that does the callbacks usually is glib and gives me no information I couldn't get online or figure out myself. She really irritates me. Next month we start with a new doctor who is in network. I hope it works out since paying $200-500 per visit is murder on the wallet. Especially since insurance reimburses what amounts to around 30%. So many pediatricians in the city don't take insuranace. Not sure if the Obama plan would make a difference but having a baby is bloody expensive.

I hope today is a better nap day for my shorty.