I love to travel, whether it's a day trip to western Ohio, a weekend in Louisville, a week in Washington, D.C. or a mission trip to Germany. So when Baby Ray Ray joined our family - clearly she would be a part of all of my little adventures. And course, it would be super easy and a wonderful opportunity to create new memories as a family. Whelp ... the memories part is right on, but the "super easy" part is not completely true.
At least not in my most recent experience to Cincinnati, Ohio. I have been wanting to go to
IKEA for I don't even know how long. So when my bloggy pals,
The Real Farmwives of America and Friends roadtripped to Ohio to see
The Pioneer Woman, making pit stops at IKEA and
Jungle Jim's International grocery store in Cincinnati - I wanted to go even more! So I made plans with one of my very best gal friends B to spend a Saturday in Cincy! I was pretty psyched for our girls' day, I'm not going to lie!
I woke up and got rolling Saturday morning - running about an hour behind schedule. I'm always running behind - fashionably late, right?! Every morning - it takes at least 2 hours to get on the road. I had no idea that having one baby would add 1 hour to my morning routine. I sure hope it isn't 1 hour for every child - because if we have three kids that would mean I'd have to get up at 4 a.m.
On the road, but wait we have to stop
Once I drove to Connersville to pick up my friend it was close to 12:30 p.m., we got on the road and of course 30 minutes in - RayRay woke up and wanted to eat. So we stopped for 30 minutes in some po-donk town in Ohio and I fed her in the back seat. We are almost to the point where I won't be able to nurse her in the car anymore because she's getting so big
So then we get on the road again and by this point - my gal pal and I are getting the hungries. So we stop at Chipotle in Cincy and eat a little grub. RayRay is still sitting chill in her little carseat. She is such a good little traveler - she really is!
Ok - so now it's about 2:30 p.m. and we find a parking spot at IKEA near the front, score! I figured since RayRay was in the car all afternoon she would like to get out and be held.
A baby sling, I sling NOT!
So I had used this Moby Sling Wrap at home before - I brought the booklet and picked out a wrap that I thought she would like. I don't have a particularly large car, but I was able to wrap myself up in the Moby and together my gal pal and I slide Miss RayRay in the sling. Alrighty ... good to go, right? Well, literally as we entered the lobby of IKEA, I noticed RayRay and the wrap were ever so slightly sliding down. My friend lifted her up and I tightened the wrap. Up the escalator to the showroom we went and RayRay is still sliding down. We made the mistake of not bringing the stroller in the store. Big mistake. We tightened the wrap again. It's not working very well. I'm getting a little frustrated at this point.
Eventually (about 10 minutes later), we give up on the Moby wrap and decide to just carry RayRay. Well ... RayRay weighs about 20 pounds now - that's alot to lug around no matter how you slice it.
I just can't do it, Captain!
About 1 1/2 hours after arriving, I think my arms are burning and I just can't bear to burden my gal pal with my 20 pound munchkin - so I decide to walk back out and get the stroller. Well ... IKEA is huge if you've never been there before - so it felt like I walked 5 miles just to get out the store and to the car - then another 5 miles in. Ugh ... exhaustion is starting to set in at this point. So I get back in the store and RayRay has her stroller to ride around in and I have feeling back in my arms.
Then about 30 minutes later, RayRay is hungry again. Ok ... so now I've got a screaming child in the middle of the store. Awesomeness. I go on the hunt for a restroom, a chair, bench ... something. I made the second mistake of leaving the stroller with my gal pal and carrying RayRay with the diaper bag strapped across my shoulder during my hunt for a place to nurse. Again, big mistake. I give up and head for the front of the store where I remembered there were some nice chairs. Again, it felt like it at least a 5 mile walk. Since I'm carrying RayRay - my arms and now, legs are burning ... and I'm sweating because I'm pretty sure IKEA had the thermostat set at 85 degrees.
Did I just flash you?
I finally get to the front of the store and RayRay is basically balastic at this point. In addition, I'm sweating and becoming growingly exhausted. Clothes are flying as I try to get things under control to nurse my screaming munchkin. I'm sure I probably flashed a few folks in the process. But at the time, I was so focused on RayRay - I could've cared less about a boob being exposed for a second.
Ahhh ... now I can relax for a minute. All is right in the world again as she is content to nurse her heart away. Then ... she falls asleep. Crud, I don't have the stroller! So I walk with a 20 pound sleeping baby in my arms about 5 miles back into the middle of the store. I get to the lights where my gal pal B and I agreed to meet and no sign of her. I'm beyond exhausted now. I give up and sit on a stack of floor lamp boxes. I'm thinking to myself if I break these lamps I don't even care - I'll just buy em if I have to. I'm able to get my phone out of my diaper bag without waking RayRay in my arms and text B to let her know where I am. I find out she is upstairs. Since I don't even know where the stairs are, I tell her to come down and find me. Have I mentioned IKEA is huge. It felt like it was 20 minutes later I see B and the blessed stroller. I lay RayRay down and of course she wakes up and started crying again.
I'm not a quitter, I'm not a quitter ...
B and I give up on our IKEA experience and check out. I made a couple great finds though such as the two new bedside lamps I bought for $5! Believe it or not, it's about 6 p.m. now. And we haven't even stopped at Jungle Jim's yet. I may be hot, tired and exhausted, but I'm not giving up just yet. I load and then un-load RayRay from the car and we make a quick stop at Jungle Jim's.
I'm starting to worry because I didn't bring any dindin for RayRay and she usually eats around 7. So since Jungle Jim's is a grocery store - I pick up something and now I feel a bit more prepared. I also found some yummy Gouda cheese from Switzerland and some German cheese and dark chocolate to satiate my love for both cheese and chocolate! Back on the road again for a 2 hour drive and RayRay falls asleep in the car. Ahh yes a swee sleeping baby! We arrived at the farm a bit after 9 p.m. and RayRay and I are both pooped. No better word to describe it. Thank heavens for Big D as he had dinner waiting for me when I rolled in.
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| My gal pal B, me and Big D |
What did I learn from this experience - that what used to be a day trip should probably be a two-day trip now if RayRay comes along for the fun. To always bring the stroller in and never plan to carry the munchkin everywhere - my arms aren't built for marathon baby carrying. Ahh ... it was a good time overall, but exhausting is also another word that comes to mind! Since the day was so crazy - I took zero photos - I know - I'll be better next time!
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