Adventures of a Nursing Mom!

So my husband was selected to go to a course in Washington D.C. for work, and since a week of no Addy just didn’t sound like a good time to him we tagged along.  It was also a super cheap vacation, since our hotel and his meals were all paid for.  He was only in class until around 3:30 each day so we were able to hit up the sights at night, and got to have lunch together each day. 

We booked an insanely early flight out so that we would have most of Monday to see the museums that close early and get settled in.  Flying out of Austin is not the easiest since everywhere you go you have at least one layover, and if your first flight is delayed you are almost guaranteed to not make your next flight, add a baby to the mix and it makes your chances zero.  We did however learn to never try to make the next flight, just go directly to the desk at the gate you are arriving at and get on the earliest flight you can.

Anyways baby girl did so well on the flight.  She nursed during take-off and slept the entire flight! We landed in Dallas way behind schedule and not knowing the above raced to our next gate with no luck.  The next plane we could officially be booked on was in 6 hours.  6 hours in an airport with a 5 month old?!?!?  Are you kidding me?  We were on the stand by list for about 5 flight before we were guaranteed a spot.  No luck on the stand by flights.  We were actually taken off the list at one point, and when we asked if there was anything they could do for us, we were told it was our fault that we didn’t make our connecting flight!  WTF?!?!?! American Airlines sucks!!  We did finally make it to D.C., but it was too late to do anything but go to the hotel and get the baby down. Luckily I have the most amazing 5 month old on the planet and she was amazing the entire day!! Here is a picture of Addy nursing on her first airplane ride.

It was such an amazing trip though, even if it started out a bit rocky.  The hotel had a covered pool on the roof so Addy and I went swimming everyday.  She loved being in the water and also enjoyed the float we bought her.  Here is a pic of her swimming

We got to meet up with Tony everyday for lunch and one day I took Addy to the National Zoo in the morning.  We saw some really cool animals.  Adelai really like the Bear Sloth, she followed it walking back and forth with her head, it was super cute!  We also saw Pandas, Lions, Tigers, Gorillas, and my favorite, Otters!  Here’s a pic of us nursing in front of the Gorilla pit:)  Obviously the cover does nothing, but I wasn’t sure what the public breastfeeding atmosphere was like in D.C..  Being from Austin, where you never need to cover up, I just wanted to be sure.

Nur

We saw all of the big Smithsonian Museums I found a couple of cool breastfeeding exhibits.  This one at the Natural History Museum which talked about how mammal mothers make milk specifically for their children. I love how it says “It’s portable and convenient”.

There there was this picture that was part of a painting from a town hall meeting.  To think that women used to feel this comfortable nursing in public.  I wish all women could live in a place like Austin where it is totally acceptable to feed your child wherever and whenever you want.

So we got to see some really cool history stuff and Addy got to add to her repertoire of places she had nursed in public. Here is the list from the trip:

On an Airplane, at the airport, on the Metro, waiting for the Metro, in front of some bones, next to the Wright Brothers Plane, in front of the American Flag that inspired the National Anthem, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, lots of restaurants, and of course at a hotel.  

Here is a pic of us nursing at the Natural History Museum.

I couldn’t imagine traveling and not being a nursing mom, it would be so much more involved.  We were able to take a vacation with a 5 month old thanks to the fact that I am able to nurse her.  I am so blessed!

Our trip was a success!  We did have one scare, when our plane back to Austin was escorted to the gate by an entourage of fire trucks, but it ended up being ok.

Special shout out to MiaModa strollers for making this trip super easy!!

My sister-in-law got married a couple weeks ago, so we had our first weekend away from the house since the baby was born. There were a lot of firsts on this trip; first time with the dogs in the car with the baby, first time I considered getting rid of the dogs since the baby was born, first time nursing in a church, and I assume there were more , but I can’t remember them all right now.

Once we got the car packed and were on our way, dog number one jumped into the car seat, I pulled her off after yelling some choice words, then she did it again along with dog number two. We realized that they were afraid of the stroller frame that was balancing behind the front seats. After some shuffling we got on our way again and the dogs settled in. I swore I would never be someone who got rid of the dogs after the baby was born, but that all flew out the window when I saw them in her car seat. The rest of the car ride was uneventful, luckily it was only a 1 and a half hour drive.

The rehersal was on Friday and due to the timing of everything I ended up having to feed Addy at the church in the sanctuary since it was the one place open. So now I can say that I have breastfed in the oldst catholic cathedral in the U.S. Then of course she had to have a blowout diaper when I forgot to put a spare set of clothes in the bag. We took her in the bathroom and cleaned her onesie the best we could, then made our way to dinner. By this time it was already about 9, which is usually bed time for us.we almost made it through the whole night without a meltdown, but just as daddy was on his way to get the car it happened. Luckily she fell asleep in the car.

We had the whole next day to just hang out. I am so thankful for nursing, because it gave Addy and I some quite time here and there. I think it really helped her with being in a different place and all. She did so well and kept up with her usual schedule of eat, play, sleep, that is after we woke up at 11am.

Tony was photographing the wedding so he left early and it was my job to get his Mom out of the house on time. I made sure to have a couple changes of clothes for the baby and lots of blankets, since it was unseasonably cold, nursed Addy so I wouldn’t have to do it during the wedding, and got myself ready. We all made it out of the house on time. I think this is the first time I have been on time since the baby was born, so another first!

The wedding was beautiful! I sat in the back just in case I had to make a run for it. Every sound seemed to reverberate through the church. I sat there thinking; please don’t poop, because she grunts really loudly when she does. Thankfully she didn’t.

She did really well nursing at the reception, then got passed around amongst the family members. Not sure how long this is going to last, but i love that she goes to other people easily. Something else that was awesome was that I was not the only nursing mom at the wedding, another woman was nursing her daughter there too.

When the band started playing it got really loud and I knew that was our time to leave. We lasted until about 10:30PM, so we did really well. Tony made sure I got in the car okay, but he had to stay to take pictures, so I went back to my sister-in-law’s house alone.

I got Addy all ready to go to sleep, but I think she realized that daddy wasn’t there, so she faught going to sleep with all her might. I finally got her down around 11:45pm. Everyone got home at midnight and Tony’s mom had made pozole. It was fun getting to hang put with his family, I love all of them so much.

The next morning we made our way home. So our first trip was a success! We may have been a little stressed but I assume that is normal. It took a couple days to get Addy back to her normal schedule, but she did really well.