After the successful trip to Pigeon Forge on Sunday, Logan and I were feeling brave and decided to make a trip to Tullahoma, my hometown. I usually make a trip to my parent’s house about once a month, but since I was so late in pregnancy I had not traveled more than an hour from my hospital since February.
We packed our bags Sunday night and Monday morning I put everything that Elliot could fit into in a suitcase as wells extra receiving blankets and the spare Boppy cover. We loaded Elliot and all of his accoutrements into the car and headed out at about 11AM eastern time (we thought we would be able to leave at like 6AM). Elliot did well until we pulled off the interstate in Crossville. We stopped at Sonic and ordered lunch while we ran our “Crying Baby” protocol. I have a new appreciation for Sonic and any other drive-in. It’s much easier to breastfeed in the comfort of your own car…
The remainder of the drive was uneventful except that Logan had Desitin on his sunglasses. We arrived in Tullahoma. Gingy held Elliot for awhile, and when my dad came home we took Elliot to his parent’s house to surprise them. My dad called ahead and told them that he wanted to show them something. We took our car since it has the carseat base and when we arrived, my grandad thought that my dad had bought a new car! They were pleased to meet Elliot in spite of his late afternoon fussiness. I told my grandmother that I must have inherited her uterus since she is the only other person in my family to have 9+ lbs. babies.
That evening we got to surprise my mom’s mother with Elliot. She was pleased with him as well. My Aunt Suzanne, Uncle Craig, and Cousin Matthew came over for dinner and to see the baby. They brought him several books, including one called Little Gorilla, which seemed appropriate given his size.
That night Logan set up the Pack ‘N Play bassinet that my mom bought next to our bed. We put Elliot in it twice but he cried immediately. So we let him sleep in the middle of the queen size bed with Logan and me as far to either side as possible. The next morning, Logan got up at about 6AM and took Elliot so I could sleep. However, Elliot had other plans and decided he was hungry at 6:30. Logan brought him back and I fed him piglet style and then he took him back when we were done. I must have been pretty fast asleep because I didn’t remember Logan taking him away. When I did wake up, I panicked! I dug through the bed sheets but I could not find my baby anywhere. I ran downstairs and found Elliot fast asleep in the rocking chair with my mother.
We got a visit from Marianne, Suzanne’s mom, who commented that Elliot “felt good.” We also got a visit from my childhood friend Sarah and her adorable daughter Claudie, who is 3 and thrilled that Elliot has the same name as the boy from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. She even had Sarah’s 20 something year old E.T. doll! Sarah and I swapped our horrible birth experiences. Sarah advised me follow the direction on Elliot’s new toothbrush, in spite of the fact that he won’t have teeth yet. It’ll be easier to get him in the habit of brushing earlier.
Grandpa’s parents came over for a pleasant dinner of chicken pockets and we finished watching The Sound of Music on Blue Ray. Conveniently, Elliot was 16 days going on 17. Elliot’s Great Grandpa finally got up the guts to hold him a bit, which went well.
Logan and Grandpa finished watching the Orange and White game while I breastfed and worked on physics modules. We went to bed with Elliot between us again and used the bassinet to store the diaper bag “at arm’s reach.” The next morning we packed up and met Gingy at Red Lobster. We were going to meet Great Gingy as well, but the lines of communication failed and Great Gingy ended up at Cracker Barrel in Manchester. As we were leaving, my mom kissed me and Elliot good bye and told me, “You’re a good mommy,” which choked me up briefly. We headed out after that and made a quick stop at the Sonic in Manchester for a diaper change and breast milk and route 44 refreshments. Elliot cried a bit near Harriman, which is the part of the trip where I used to cry as a baby. I got my first “sleep when the baby sleeps” nap the rest of the way. Now we are home and taking care of poopie diapers and empty bellies.
Love this photo of you and Sarah.