Tomorrow I'm leaving for Omaha to attend the launch of the Livinity Going Blue Revolution. This will be the Birdie's first long car trip. Its only going to be a five hour trip, but thats almost three times as long as she's ever been in a car. Because this is my first car trip with a baby, I'm having a hard time deciding what all I need. We'll be travelling with one of my favorite mommy units and she has been a big help. She even offered to rent me a UHaul to bring along all the stuff I think I need. It will be me, DH, Birdie and Terri all in one room at the Omaha Hilton for the weekend.
A couple of things have me concerned about the trip. First, DH will be in charge of the Birdie all day Saturday while Terri and I are in training and then Saturday night when we attend the formal awards ceremony. DH and Birdie kind of stress one another out. DH is still a nervous father. Because he works 60+ hours a week, they don't get alot of one-on-one time together. That means when Birdie cries, DH thinks to himself "Oh no! She's crying! What do I do?" Birdie picks up on this and thinks, "Oh no! He doesn't know what to do!" This creates a vicious cycle. Birdie has learned that if she yells long enough at dad, he will find a way to produce mom.
Another issue is that Birdie still isn't keen on the bottle. She will take one from my dad, but thats it. She thinks women are holding out on her because they have breasts. She will not take a bottle from a woman She knows that if she keeps yelling at dad, mom will show up, so she doesn't take a bottle from him. Even so, we did get her to take a sippy cup the other night. We were all sitting on the couch and DH gave her pumped milk from the cup. The cup has a soft spout that she has to bite on to get the flow of milk going. She did really well, but the milk was everywhere. She doesn't quite have the hang of swallowing it yet. Hopefully the necessity of the situation will cause them to figure one another out.
The third major thing that freaks me out is that we're going to Nebraska. Nebraska is one of the last states in the union to exist without public breastfeeding laws. That means that we could theoretically be thrown out of anywhere because I'm feeding the Birdie. I'm not sure what to do about that. I guess I'll just go about my business and hope for the best. Here in Kansas I'm protected but I'll be legally exposed while on this trip.
Of course I'm totally psyched to be going to this event. I can't wait to get in on the training and to set new goals for my business but I'm wondering how I'll do without the Birdie all day and evening. I keep wondering if breastmilk will ruin my formal. Will I start leaking during a training session? Will I have time to pump in between sessions? What if she needs me while I'm away? I know these are things that working mothers deal with all the time, but they're new to me.
So, in closing, wish me luck! Hopefully I'll come home Sunday night energized, ready to build my business, and not having been thrown in jail for public nudity!
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