Car rides & homemades

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about making the trip to and from Oregon yet again this month. I'm looking forward to being there, but the thought of making the trip with Amelia again makes my neck start itching and puts my sweat glands into overdrive. She was just so miserable last time. We've made a few changes since then, though, and she seems to be (knock on wood) doing better in the car. First, we moved her car seat so that it's behind the passenger seat. I would imagine that if I were a rear-facing baby I'd want to see out the window and where she was before she was pretty much staring at a boring seat back - it can only get better from there and already we've caught her staring at the lights out the window. Second, I stopped sitting in the backseat next to her. Initially I thought sitting back there with her was a great idea because I could stick her pacifier back in when it slipped out and made her mad and I could "calm her down" when she was having a spastic moment. Doesn't work that way. She seems to calm down faster when I'm not back there, probably because if she's crying and I'm sitting back there she's thinking "Hey, lady, pick me up already. What kind of heartless person are you?" That's what I'd be thinking if I was a baby in a rear-facing car seat staring at my mom when I'm overstimulated wondering why she won't just pick me up already. Being in the back seat with a screaming baby is no picnic. It's hard work. I could practically feel minutes of my life melting away.

On the way down to Oregon last time we stopped twice because Miss Amelia was having a full blown temper tantrum. Now, I realize that, generally speaking, 3 month old babies don't have temper tantrums but in order for you to get the best mental picture that's how I need to describe it. The trip should have lasted 3 hours yet it was over 4. On the way back we also stopped twice but the first time she had a good reason to cry because she had a full, nasty diaper and I took that opportunity to feed her as well. This time I sat in the front passenger seat and as we got on the road from the first stop (about an hour in) she started crying. Then screaming. We stopped again and I tried to calm her down but it really wasn't working. I finally got her to sleep and, since it's impossible to put her in her car seat without waking her up, she woke up and wasn't all too happy about it. But, she stayed in her car seat and we got on the road, determined to let her "cry it out" since there was nothing wrong with her! I'll tell you that being in the passenger seat of a car with a screaming baby in the back seat is ten times easier than being in the back seat with said kid. Ten times. Maybe even one hundred times easier. After about 5-8 minutes she was asleep.

So, tomorrow night makes me nervous. Pray for us.

On to more fun things. First, I have very crafty friends. I have a very sweet friend named Megan who taught me how to knit about a year and a half ago and, as you may remember from this post, Megan sent me an adorable sweater for Amelia before she was born. I can't believe it's already time for me to show you my baby in the sweater because it looked so big when Megan first sent it! I'm attaching two pictures because I think her expression in the second picture is so cute. I think Millie looks a lot like her Grandma Baldwin in that second picture!

Finally, here's a vest I made for Anna or Kate or Amelia (whoever fits in it in the correct season, I guess!). My mom and granny helped me pick out the fabric and supplies which I really appreciated since it was my first ever sewing project (unless you count the whale-shaped pillow I made in Home Ec in 7th grade). My mother-in-law was sweet enough to come over a couple of times and help me read the pattern and teach me a thing or two about how to thread my machine and how to get the seams sewn properly. The courderoy flowers are not sewn on yet. I still can't decide if I like them there. What do you think?



It's way past Amelia's bedtime and probably past mine, too. She's in her swing and fell asleep maybe 10 minutes ago so I need to move her to bed.

Have a great Halloween weekend!