Gen X Mama

My b-school buddy Amanda is getting married soon, and her bachelorette was a great reason for all of us girls to get together again. I miss these friends terribly since many live far away! The weekend was especially significant because this was only the second time that I've been away from Isabella all day all night. (It was Zinnia's first time away from Zoe; Quyen spent an entire weekend without Madison although not the first time). What a great break for us new Moms!

At first, she really enjoyed herself because I was there with her, and it was like another Gymboree class. She observed the other kids, played with the toys, ate the snacks and especially liked watching the kids in the potty area pee. But then eventually I had to leave her... on her 3rd day, I left for a couple of hours. And the separation was hard... with Isabella crying for over an hour. Oh dear. After that, right when we got to the school, she immediately clung to me and started crying, as if she knew that this was The Place Where Mommy Leaves Her. She is getting better, I think, and only cries about 5 minutes before giving up. It's still hard though... she cries like she's dying when I leave, and cries when I return. But I've been told that once I'm gone, she is fine.

Anyway, check it out - Isabella's first art project. A growing Matisse I believe!

When we went to Yosemite, we got caught in traffic so the ride took ~6+ hours (yikes!). From that experience, I learned about how to handle long road trips with a baby. Leaving during their nap or bed time is key so they're asleep a big chunk of the ride. When Isabella woke up, she enjoyed looking out the window at the scenary for a bit. Then we sang songs (esp. from Music Together CD), read a new book, watched and played with the portable DVD player, had lots of different snacks. Taking a stretch break every ~2 hours or so is also important. Rich or I usually sit in back to keep Isabella company too so we play with her, e.g. play with the interior car lights. On the airplane, she really enjoyed played Barf Bag Hand Puppet so you can do something similar in the car.