Spontaneous Trip to DC!

Joe presented at the National APA (American Psychological Association) conference in Washington DC on Friday. At the last minute (like at noon on Thursday), I decided to join him with Lila. We left a few hours later and headed to Joe's brother's house in Maryland to spend the night and to introduce Lila to her cousins Dillon and Jacob. Lila was absolutely amazing on the 4 hour car ride, stopping only once to nurse. She also slept great that night, as she tends to do after a long car ride. The next day, we headed into DC, at about the time of Lila's typical morning nap, and arrived at the convention center. I was really impressed with APA because while Lila and I were loitering, we discovered a nursing room. It was so nice to have a private, quiet place to nurse. Most of the women who came in and out while we were nursing were pumping, and I am sure they appreciated a private, clean room, and not having to pump in a bathroom or something. It was a far cry from when I fed Lila later that day, sitting on the floor at the Air and Space Museum (which was absolutely crawling with people) by the exit doors to the IMAX movie, praying it didn't let out in the next 20 minutes! Later that day, when Joe was done with his conference for the day, we headed to the National Mall. It was interesting to be there with a baby, because I love DC, and couldn't wait to duck into a few museums, wander around the mall, people watch...and yet once we got there with Lila, she became our priority, and it was easy to make decisions that I wouldn't have made if I were by myself or just with Joe. She seemed to love being out of the Bjorn, looking up at the ceiling at the lights and planes in the Air and Space Museum. Any time we tried anything different (going into an exhibit hall, putting her in the Bjorn so she was upright) she began crying. But she would just smile at the ceiling. So Joe and I just wandered around the open floor, bypassing exhibits we might have otherwise liked to see. Later, we wandered through the sculpture garden, and discovered a free jazz concert starting soon. However, it was extremely hot, and at this point, Lila was very tired and getting fussier. We knew that the longer we pushed it walking around, the worse it would be later. So it became easy to simply leave and head for the car, rather than sprawl out on the lawn and order some wine! Despite the day in DC not being quite as eventful as we had planned, it was perfect just to spend time together with Lila, and talk about what we would do when we came back with her in the future. The car ride home was pretty rough, particularly because we left DC around 5pm, and Lila was overly tired. We are getting good at checking to make sure Lila has her needs met, then gritting our teeth and driving with a screaming baby until she tires herself out. We stopped in Hagerstown on our way home, after almost nonstop crying since we left, and walked around an outlet mall and grabbed some dinner. Lila loves being outside. As soon as we got her out of her carseat and into the fresh breeze, she began smiling. Every time we tried to go into a store, she began to fuss again. We were proud parents! An outdoors girl!! She finally crashed, and slept most of the way home, and barely woke up when we were home during the transition to bed. While it became a modified day as Lila's needs became apparent, it was another great trip with our little one, and we are so glad we have gotten so many opportunities this summer, particularly since I am mentally preparing for returning to work, and the busiest year yet for Joe. We are trying to enjoy our time while we have it!

Mommy and Lila in DC!



Daddy and Lila at Air and Space (Lila's still staring at the ceiling)



Probably the 5 minutes she slept for the first 2 hours of driving home from DC. A nice quiet moment!