Day 5

Today marks Day 5 since leaving San Diego. So far we have driven 1000 miles to Corvallis, OR, explored the city and surrounding areas a little, stayed in hotels for 4 nights, and found a place to rent. Oh, and I shouldn't forget to mention that we accomplished this amazing feat with a 5-year-old and 4-month-old in tow.

I have to say that Ivan cried LESS than I anticipated during the drive but this doesn't mean that he didn't cry! I tried everything to keep him happy while he was strapped in his car seat. Besides singing, dangling toys, making faces, and letting him grab my face and hair, I put all sorts of things in his mouth. I tried 2 styles of pacifiers, a bottle of breast milk, a bottle of sugar water, my pinky, my knuckle, his own hand, little tastes of applesauce... What finally worked several times was the fleshy part of the palm of my hand (you know, on the pinky side of your hand?). I guess it is a lot like a boob? Ok, maybe not. But I was happy to let him suck on my hand if it helped him stop crying and fall asleep.

Adelle was awesome as always. She never whined or complained but for one little comment somewhere around hour 18 in her car seat when she said, "my butt is uncomfortable." That's just amazing. I whined more than she did. In fact, it took 3 ibuprofen to get through that drive. More than my butt was uncomfortable...my hips, knees, and back ached from not being able to fully extend.

Where was Jesse? He drove the entire time and he never complained once. He's happiest if he's driving and I am too. It's not that I'm a bad driver (I've never been in an accident) but I tend to space out, daydream, miss exits, and have close calls as far as accidents. It's better for everyone if I not drive, especially after dark, pulling a Uhaul trailer through windy mountain roads.

I have more to write about our adventure and hopefully I'll have time for another installment soon.

P.S. The "cry it out" method won't work in the hotel. So, we're back to the "just keep him quiet" method which translates into the "just keep nursing him in bed with you" method. It was fun cuddling with him all night in our bed for the first night but now I can't wait to move into our own place so he can get back in his own bed, crying and all.