On the Road!

This weekend, we took Henry on our first road trip! We drove up to Sandusky, OH, where Matt's (maternal) grandparents live. It's a 7 hour drive normally, but we figured it would take *a bit* longer with a baby! We left at 5:30am on Saturday and arrived at about 1pm, so it really only took us 7.5 hrs to get there. Henry was such a good boy! And by that I mean that he slept most of the way and was quick about his feeding breaks. I sat in the back with him so that I could help him if necessary, but it turns out he didn't need me too much until the very end of the trip.

In Sandusky, we stayed at Matt's grandparents house and visited with them for the weekend. While we were there, Matt's parents and sister, and several of his relatives who live nearby, came over as well. It was great to be able to introduce our little munchkin to all of them. Special thanks to Aunt Katie for bringing her hair expertise to help out the new parents!!! Henry was pretty well-behaved the whole time, although he did make me work a bit to keep him happy at Mass and dinner out on Saturday. What would life with a baby be like without some of that, though? That night we broke out the pack 'n' play for the first time for Henry to sleep in. No problems there, thankfully.

We left for home around 8:30am on Sunday so that we could make it home in time for LifeTeen. After a couple of not-so-quick rest stops, we were already behind schedule. Waaay behind. So when Henry needed to eat the next time... we tried something new. I had a breast pump that a friend had given me, but that I hadn't used much. So I pumped a bit and gave it to Henry in a bottle. We had tried this once before in anticipation of the road trip, but it did not go well that time. This time, however, it worked great! So I pumped a full bottle for him and kept him happy the rest of the way without having to stop again. Praise the Lord! Now let's just hope I haven't done any permanent damage to our breastfeeding relationship.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

In other news...

I have been going to a new moms group here in Ashburn the last few weeks. I'm enjoying meeting some other newbies (and having a reason to get up in the morning and go out!). We've even been going walking together on something of a regular basis. Hooray! Between these ladies and my other mommy friends, I'm in pretty good shape, socially speaking. Excellent.

Henry is growing and changing all the time as well. He is holding his head up pretty well most of the time, which has opened a new world of possibilities for his entertainment. He is also alert MUCH more during the day, so we're able to play with him and have some fun. Some of his new toys: a swing (that we are borrowing from a friend- thanks, Lacy!)and a Bumbo seat. And even though it's not new, I'll count his "car" mirror as a new toy, since I just discovered a new use for it. For your viewing enjoyment...

P.S. Matt is really good at putting Henry to sleep after his bath! Much better than I am, in any case. :-)