Adventures with a baby

Last weekend, my dad ended up unable to use a non refundable room in Vegas and offered it to us. (the sly dog also left fun money in an envelope at the check-in desk-we felt like little kids on Christmas! Thanks, dad!) 
We up and went, and I'm so so glad we did. I love adventuring with my people.
And earlier in the summer, we went camping with Rory, and I'm glad we did that too!
The moral of the story is that I'm always glad we we get outside of our routine to adventure.
However, it's totally different adventuring with a tiny human in tow.
I'm slowly learning how to make it easier, and I've learned a couple of things.

1. Know your babies needs. You can't blame them for being grumpy if they are getting half the allotted hours for nap time they typically do, or sleeping in a different bed. I mean, heck I am a little more grumpy when I don't sleep with my own pillow or get as much sleep as I am accustomed to. But we've learned that there are some things we can do with Rory to mitigate those issues. For one, Rory naps better in her SollyBaby wrap then her stroller, especially for afternoon naps. So if we are out and about, we bring it along and Jay and I take turns. Plan to be in a place where you can sit down and feed them when they need it, etc. etc.

2. Work in their schedule when you can, and let it go when you can't. On our weekend trip to Vegas, we wanted to go out to dinner, and we'd been out and about all day, so we went back to the hotel room to let Rory take a nap (and we rested too!) before dinner. We took a little break, and made it so that it corresponded with her nap- win win all around. When we went camping, we tried to leave at a time where she could nap on the way to the campsite and I could feed her when we got there. Don't plan a dinner at the exact time they are going to need to eat, or when they will need a nap if you can help it. Sometimes it doesn't work out perfectly, but just do as much as you can.

3. Be flexible. For us, we know we are going to have to get back on schedule when we get home regardless of what we do, so we do whatever works for us in the moment when we are out adventuring. I might even let Rory nap in bed with us if it means she'll get in some extra sleep before a later night.

4. Leave time to take it slow. Don't overbook so you have no downtime. Leave some wiggle room where you can just hang out and let baby take a nap or just chill for a little bit. Sometimes if we've been really busy, Rory just likes to lie on her back and move around. It's not hard to let her do that, but if I have everything packed down to the second it sure makes it tough.

5. It's not going to be perfect, but it will be worth it. The adventures we have taken these past four months have been some of my favorite memories we've made so far as a family of three.

Try to be patient with yourself and your little. I am not perfect at all this, but I don't want my life to stop because I have Rory with me. It's a delicate balance of making sure your baby has what they need, and finding on-the-go options for the things that are a little less black and white. And always pack extra clothes and diapers. No joke.

*Oh, and that portable crib is by Brica and we bought it on amazon before Rory was born so she could have a makeshift bed during the craziness of our move. It was so handy to have those first few months.