Now that that's out of the way, here's some filler: random thoughts on my journey to Port Orchard this last Thursday.
› I really should stop in Kingston and actually nose around the shops and marina some time, instead of just driving through. It's always very pretty, day or night - at sunset especially.
› Never detour through Bremerton on your way to Port Orchard during mid-afternoon. I can't believe I forgot about Ship Yard Traffic.
› Waitresses really do love babies.
› My baby loves strangers. Her inner-demon only comes out when she thinks there is no one else around.
› You can never bring too much milk for baby on a road trip. I always told myself that if I happen to run out, I could just go to any grocery store and buy more. This did not take into account that you would realize you had not brought enough milk when the baby started screaming in her car seat when you are at least 10-20 minutes away from your destination, minimum. You will have to then detour to a grocery store, lug the screaming baby around the unfamiliar aisles looking for formula, hoping they have pre-made bottles because it would be a whole lot more work to figure out how to clean your dirty bottles in the grocery store parking lot after which you would then still have to prepare the a bottle. Anyway, once you have formula in hand, you have to find someplace to feed the baby. Do you have time to just stay in the grocery store parking lot, or are you trying to make it to a ferry? So you press on to the ferry, hoping to feed her in line there. Except the ferry starts loading before you can even unbuckle your seat belt. So you have to wait to get loaded on the ferry. And hope you can park in such a way that you can actually get your car doors open so you can either sit in back with baby or take her out. Did I mention she's been crying and crying for food for the better part of a half hour now and you've got a splitting headache? Oh yah, bring extra formula ladies. Always bring extra formula.
› Singing your favorite love song to your baby may warm your heart, but it doesn't prevent the inevitable meltdown when you have to still put her down and buckle her in to the carseat because the ferry is docking. No pretty song can make up for the fact that she has been in that damn carrier all day and she now hates it and you and wants the entire world to know it.
› How do single-arm amputees use car carriers for their babies exactly? Unlocking the handle and removing it from the base are both motions that require two hands. I have two hands and I find this "feature" amazingly frustrating.
› Frustrated with lugging around my giant diaper bag, I condensed the diapering essentials into a much smaller, cuter travel case. But I still need to bring milk with me everywhere, so there's another case. I have another little insulated case for a bottle of warm water to warm the milk. Then there is the travel Boppy, a definite necessity with my thumb tendonitis. So I bought a "Mommy Hook", a giant caribener, to keep them all hooked to each other to I don't need to juggle a bunch of straps. All of this then gets hooked onto my messenger bag purse. And I'm suddenly a pack mule lugging around a string of unwieldy separate small bags that clunk into everything and no matter what I do, the lot just does not sit right on my shoulder so it's constantly smacking me too. I am officially an idiot.
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