It might come as no surprise that Sophie dislikes the car seat. In fact, she dislikes the car seat AND the car, unlike most babies. It's gotta be something about being confined for too long...or at least that's the theory. Prior to little Sophie's arrival, I (ignorantly) thought I'd be able to pack up the car with babe and hit the road to visit my mom in Kitchener whenever...was I ever wrong! Roadtrips with Sophie really have become dreaded. Now, I must give my daughter credit, because she has surprised me with two peaceful trips in the past 6 months, but her track record still isn't good. Here's some details on a couple of our beloved trips...
My mom and I now laughingly recall one such nightmare-ish road trip from Tillsonburg to Kitchener on our way back from visiting Great Grandma. Sophie was nearly 4 months old, it was late evening and, much to our disappointment, Sophie didn't want to fall asleep during the car ride. Instead, she felt it necessary to loudly voice her discontent. So much so that she was sweating and turning rather red in the face. Then...it happened...we started seeing break lights. Yup, caught in traffic as a result of construction...YAY! The construction delayed our trip by 30 minutes...some of the most trying 30 minutes of my life. No amount of rocking, singing, forced soother useage or white noise was calming this kid down. Thank goodness my mother is one of those patient, calm types. :)
My most memorable trip was one where I was driving back from Kitchener in mid-July...yeah, you can probably guess what happened. It was reportedly the hottest day of the year so far, and I was driving alone with Sophie, so many stops (3...to be exact) had to be made. It took me a whole three hours to arrive back in Barrie when the trip should have only taken me an hour and 45 minutes. Good thing the radio cranks up loud, and the local Christian stations in Kitchener and Barrie kept me sane and focused!
During those trips I really thought I was going to go nuts! However, lots of prayer, calming telephone calls to my husband, and patience got me through. Now, I can look back and laugh (sorta...) at those trips because Sophie has calmed down significantly while on route (thanks to homeopathics http://www.kids0-9.ca/calm_syrup.html...) and our road trips have become much more peaceful (for the most part...)
Ever been on a trying road trip with a little one? What kept you calm and focused on the road?
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