Victoria's First Roadtrip

I must be crazy.  Traveling with a newborn, by myself, for a VERY quick, 24 hour road trip to Mobile, AL and back to home in Birmingham.  What spurs on these inclinations I have is the sense of "this may be the only time I have to do this."  This has been a leading thought in my mind and heart with almost every big decision I've ever made, I think.  All of the overseas trips I've taken, exciting adventures on which I've partook, and then sometimes, even day to day events have often been guided by the notion that it may be the last time I get a chance to do "this" or "see" this person, or say "I love you".  On that note, it is very important to me that I make sure I hug and kiss my husband every morning before he leaves for work just in case.  I know that may sound morbid, but you never know what will happen day to day, and I want to make sure I have no regrets.  Now, can I cover everything? No. But I try :)

Ok, back to the road trip.  My 90+ year old grandmother was about to undergo her THIRD hip surgery in less than a year.  In the medical field, we know the odds for success are slim.  Most of the time, after the first surgery, the patient "goes down hill".  However, she's a fighter and has great strength of heart and mind.  When my mom called, though, and told me about the third surgery, I knew I must get down there to see her at least one more time and let her meet Victoria while there is still time.  Thankfully, my Meme came through surgery wonderfully!  I still feel the trip was worth every painstaking stop along that 202 mile stretch of highway.

Let me say, I tried to start off the trip as Victoria went down for her morning nap, just after feeding.  Well, an hour into her nap, I finally get to leave the house!  One hour into our drive, the cries begin…which quickly turn into wailing, and then I'm pretty sure I heard her say, "You're going to let me starve to death, aren't you?" :)  We stop at a gas station in Prattville, AL and end up sitting there for AN HOUR after changing her diaper and feeding.  Hmph.

However, the last 2 hours and 40 minutes of that trip, she slept like a baby…:)

Here are some pictures we took while visiting:

Meme immediately started singing lullabies to Victoria and kissing her.  

She kept saying, "what a beautiful baby!" and if anyone took Victoria away from her, she was quick to say, "Hey! I'm pretty sure that baby came to see me! Give her back!"

She was in love at first sight.

This grand lady is whom Victoria Louise is named after.  My meme, her great grandmother, 

Marie Louise (Burke) Turner. 

Then we even got to stop by and see my PawPaw Billy, Victoria's Great Grandfather.

What pure joy. I'm so glad we'll have these pictures (and video) to show Victoria one day. 

She is much loved.

She also met her PawPaw Gary for the first time!  Upon arriving to Mobile, Nana quickly changed her diaper to give me a break and PawPaw fed her.  And, of course, she fell asleep on him right after eating :)

Her Great Aunt Barbara - my dad's sister.

And as an extra special treat, we also got to stop by Pollard on the way back to Birmingham so Victoria could meet her other great grandmother, Grams Ruth. 

I will say as we were leaving Mobile, I once again tried to time it by leaving once Victoria went down for her morning nap, and ONCE AGAIN, left about 1 hour later…sigh.  We ended up having to stop in the worst area surrounding Mobile, Prichard.  We stopped at what I thought was a closed down gas station right off the interstate because all of its windows were boarded up…but people kept pulling in and looking at us.  Then I saw a couple people enter the old building.  I realized, it's not closed..it's windows must have been broken out (or possibly shot out) and it now has boards for windows.  I realized this as I looked across the street to another gas station with iron bars for windows, and the Burger King next door with iron bars for windows.  Needless to say, I prayed, locked the car doors, and fed my baby.

After leaving Pollard, this sweet little punkin' face felt like it was high time to be fed again :)  After a quicker 30 minute stop to take 3 ounces of formula, and one additional 3 minute stop to put her paci back in her mouth…we were on the road again.  Thank you, Alabama :)

Needless to say, once we got home, we switched to level 2 nipples for faster feeding :) She's done wonderfully!

Side note: One of Matt's coworkers brought this diet coke to him the other day - sweet. 

You may ask if I will ever take a newborn on a road trip by myself again?  A resounding "NO" would be the answer…unless it's an emergency, of course :)