....and yes, I know that's a long blog title. But it makes me laugh because it's so true of our family!
Every year the same thing seems to happen: Brett and I pledge to have a less stressful holiday season. We say we're not going to travel as much, that we won't attempt the impossible- pleasing everyone. Then- you guessed it- we do it anyway. In the end, Brett and I are both too close to our families to stomach not spending Christmas Day with everyone. This year was even MORE crazy than usual because we had Lucy with us. Here's how it all went down.
The Saturday before Christmas we headed to Florence, SC to celebrate Brett's great-granddaddy's 101st birthday. That makes him Lucy's great-great granddaddy, and we really wanted to make sure they got to meet each other (and of course to take the 5-generation photo). We had a lot of fun catching up with everyone on Brett's side of the family, and of course stuffing ourselves on oysters, pig, and desserts. We were also able to go to church with Great-Granddaddy on Sunday, which was really great.
After the service, we headed to Charleston to visit with our friends Scott and Millie and their new baby, Mayson. It was our first time meeting Mayson, and boy, is she beautiful! We had a blast hanging out with them and getting our daughters acquainted. We've already decided that Mayson and Lucy will be roommates when they go to Clemson together, in about 18 years or so. I'll have to remember to post pictures of them together, as soon as I get them from Scott. We're planning on sending one in to Clemson World, so hopefully it will be published.
On Monday morning we drove back to the airport in Florence and caught a flight to OH. Despite the awful weather, we were only delayed by a few hours, and eventually got our rental car and drove to my mom's house. We spent the week with my family, and even though I never got around to visiting everyone I planned to, it was still fun. I miss my mama and siblings a ton already, and I know they miss Lucy, too. We stayed until Christmas morning, and were able to open presents with everyone and relax a little before heading back to the airport.
That's right- we flew on Christmas. We've actually done this twice before (we drove last year), and it works really well, as there aren't that many other people traveling. We were rewarded for our efforts with breakfast with my family in PA and dinner with Brett's in SC. The rest of the weekend was spent in Myrtle Beach.
Whew! What a whirlwind week! Lucy did great- she did have a few meltdowns that I chalk up to over-stimulation from constantly being picked up by strange (to her) people, and being in so many different places, but overall she is a dream to travel with. She even slept through all our flights. I'm pretty sure the noise from the plane is relaxing to her- she falls asleep as soon as we start the car, too.
Such a good girl! Sleeping in the airport.
I also nursed without my nursing cover on the trip-
she won't eat if her head's covered. But that's another post.
I can't express how much easier traveling is when you practice co-sleeping and breastfeeding. We didn't have to worry about packing a crib or pack-and-play, and we didn't have to pack bottles or formula. I was definitely glad to have a week off from pumping, too. It was so nice to be able to nurse Lucy on demand, and not be a slave to the clock (like I am with the pump). I also want to note that we used cloth diapers the entire time, with very little hassle. I happen to think that cloth diapering is even easier than using disposables while traveling- you don't have to worry about finding a trash can! I think I only did laundry like 3 times during the entire trip, too.
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