Vacationing with Baby

I've been focusing on the present recently, but I want to create a few postings about the first few months with Anna before the memories begin to fade.

We went to Maine for a week when Anna was five months old. We stayed in a cabin at the Kiwahnee Inn on Lake Webb for a week. We stayed there a few years back and had a great week. The weather had been unseasonably warm and we were hoping for a similar experience. Unfortunately no such luck. We had been bringing Anna to our town pool all summer long and had hoped to get her in the lake but instead we spent most of the week in jeans and sweat shirts. Dave and I each went in the water once but very briefly.

We still had a nice time. Anna hadn't found an exact routine but was beginning to settle into one so we relaxed in the living room or on the porch while she napped or just let her catch some rest in the car as we toured around the local area. It was nice not to worry about laundry, house work, cooking, etc. while we were away. The only chore was washing bottles and making formula since we had decided to wait for Anna to turn six months before beginning solid food. A great decision since it made for a lot of free time to read and finish a sweater I had been making for Anna.

She loved being outside. We put her in the Baby Bjorn and went on easy hikes. Or we would put her in her exersaucer on the porch and she would watch the lake - on windy days, the lake was pretty rough and she was thoroughly entertained.

It was very cold at night though and we were in a cabin without heat. So we bundled Anna up really well to protect her from the night air. Socks, a onesie, a sleeper, a sleep sack, some blankets in a pack n' play that was also well insulated protected her from the cold. But for some reason she didn't like to keep her hands under the blankets so although she barely moved at night, her hands never stayed under the blankets and were always cold in the morning. So we wound buying leopard fleece, no thumb mittens that she still wears! A great investment for sure! She slept great all week regardless of her cold hands - I think the mittens just made us feel better; she didn't seem to even notice!

One funny memory from that trip is the day we decided to take off as soon as Anna finished her morning nap and go to the waterfall we had visited a few years back. We hiked up a ways and sat and watched some crazy kids swim in the frigid water. Then we headed back to the car to find some lunch. Anna fell asleep in the car, and since she was kind of sensitive to the start and stop of the car as well as the slamming of the doors, we climbed out the window to get our food and eat it on a picnic table next to the car. We held our breath as we climbed back in and applauded our cleverness. Anna slept for over an hour, if not close to two hours - a big feat for carseat napping - she was not fond of it. We were grateful to have a little time to ourselves while Anna still managed to get the rest she needed.

Another great memory was our last night there - we went to the inn's restaurant for dinner. Anna enjoyed sitting and watching the people and she got a lot of attention as she cooed and smiled at everyone passing by. As we finished up our dinner (and Dave's two desserts!), Dave started to swing his cloth napkin around for Anna's enjoyment. She laughed so hard and so long that the people at the next table were compelled to come and check out the baby with the precious laugh. A baby's laugh truly is infectious.

We finished our vacation with a night at Kelley's family camp in Fryeburg, ME. It poured the day we arrived so we all gathered around the fire in the family room visiting and passing the babies around. It was fun seeing everyone but we were glad that we hadn't planned on staying long since the weather didn't cooperate. Plus, we had been away all week and were ready to get home and settled again. Definitely a good first vacation with the newest Withington. We decided that the next time we returned to Weld, ME, we'd have to go a bit earlier in the season so Anna can finally experience Lake Webb.