Adventure #4

We got a call at the beginning of June from the guy who bought Adam’s business, asking him if he’d come back for a few days mid-month to help out with a year end audit. I was surprised at how quickly I answered “Yes!”, I guess I missed our old town a little more than I realized, and the opportunity to say hi to old friends and neighbours and mom groups sounded amazing. Having it all paid for sounded even better!

So we left yesterday morning and spent Father’s Day driving and taking ferries, finally checking in to our hotel around 3. I had planned to take Adam for dinner, but I took my cue from him and we ended up just laying around the hotel room like a bunch of slugs.

Later on in the evening, Adam went to go hang out with one of his old friends while I supervised Olive in her new favourite activity: holding on to the luggage rack.

I will take a picture later today, but this luggage rack is seriously the best thing that has ever happened to her. It’s just the right height for her, and has round metal posts on the sides that are pefect for her hands to grip. She stood there, bouncing and swaying and jumping and grunting, for a good half hour.

There was a brief interlude where she (open mouthed and gasping with excitement) let go of the luggage rack and grabbed into the adjacent table leg, but that was short-lived and she returned back to the rack within minutes.

In other excitement, she held an intense, fifteen minute conversation with herself in the mirrored closet doors – grunting and coughing, and even some open mouth kissing- Olive Grace!

I tried to get in on the conversation at one point, and she smiled politely at me before quickly turning back to the baby in the mirror, grunting and gesticulating wildly. 

Guys, I think she was talking about me?

If I haven’t left you in the dust yet with all of these wild tales, let me blow you away with THIS juicy tidbit: Olive has fallen asleep by herself twice now. 

As in, gone into her playpen fully awake, and then fallen fully asleep within 5-7 minutes. No crying, no fussing, no drama. 

Would you like to know how? (Are you kidding me? Parents would [and do] pay handsomely for that sort of information!). I’ll tell you, obviously. But first let me say that prior to going on this trip, I resigned myself to shitty sleeps. I said to myself, “Madeleine. We are going on a trip. And whenever we go on trips, schedules get thrown off and naps get missed and night-sleeps are never as good as they are at home. SO just be aware of that, and don’t turn into a crazy lady, okay?”

I gave myself this little pep talk because around here we have two types of days: days where we go out and do fun stuff and have adventures and see things; and days where Olive sleeps well. The two do not overlap. The less she sleeps, the less she sleeps, and there are no Venn diagrams in this scenario, just two lonely circles and one crazy mom.

So. She napped a bit in the car yesterday on the ride down, and napped briefly in the hotel room during slug-fest. But then it came time for bedtime, which is her most loathed time of the day. While she usually goes down like a dream for naps, she fights bedtime tooth and nail until one of us finally wears the other down and emerges victorious – and oftentimes it’s her. 

To complicate things a little more, the only place in our hotel room where her playpen would fit without being tripped over the entire time, was right by the window. But I had vowed not to be crazy, so I didn’t rearrange furniture or jam it between the dresser and the wall. I wasn’t being crazy, I just set it up under the window.

Then I gave little O a bath, got her into her jammies, nursed her, and the fight was on. 

She didn’t want to nurse anymore, so I rocked her for a few moments, and as I was rocking her I started getting hot, because Olive is a hot person just like Adam – if you ever have to sleep with either of them you are guaranteed to roll into a sweat puddle at some point. 

So, while still rocking her, I walked over and turned on the fan in our room, which was one of those air-conditioner fan deals, right under the window. Which was right beside her crib (don’t be crazy don’t be crazy don’t be crazy!).

The rocking continued for a few minutes more (and when I say “rocking”, what I really mean is “trying to contain a wild animal in my arms as she arches and coos and kicks midair”) and then I had to pee so I set her down in her crib – the one right under the window, right under the loud fan blowing cool air – and I went to the bathroom.

Now, pay attention. When I came back, things were quiet. Too quiet. Suspiciously quiet! Naturally, I assumed she had suffocated on the nothingatalltosuffocateon in her crib and rushed over, but what I saw was not (thanks god) a suffocating baby at all, but a baby who had rolled herself onto her stomach, pulled her knees up and fallen asleep, 

WHUT?

Yes. Exactly my reaction. I hovered for a few moments, like “What do I do? Am I…free? Is that it? Am I done? Is it….over?” 

Fucking brilliant!

I did a silent victory dance and then sat very quietly in the dark until Adam got home and then recounted the thrilling tale to him in whispers before we, too went to bed. 

And then she slept all night! Which she hasn’t really been doing consistently for a month or so.

This morning Adam went to work, Olive and I got up and got dressed and went for breakfast, then came home for a nap. I nursed her, rocked her, turned on the magic fan and decided to push my luck.

Into the playpen she went. She rolled around for a few minutes, shimmied onto her tummy, pulled her knees up, and was ASLEEP.

Her morning naps are usually between one to two hours, and we’re now approaching the two hour mark with no sign of waking.

WHAT IS THIS?

Clearly this can only mean one of two things:

1.  We are living in this hotel forever and ever and ever 

   OR

2.  Adam will have to tear this magic air-conditoner/fan thing out of the wall with his bare hands and smuggle it home with us (“What? No no that’s just a…um..a breast pump. It’s my wife’s breast pump, She needs a big one! What?!….No, really, we…we brought it with us so it’s not yours its ours OK BYE Madeleine start the car!”

After Olive wakes up from her mega-magic-fan-nap we’re going to walk downtown and have a picnic in the park with three or four of my old friends, and then a quick trip to Vancouver tonight to see another, and also just to breathe in the smell of a city. 

People! Activities! Shopping! People!

Wishing you all magic-fan naps.

xo