St. Louis to Dallas

So after 3 wks in st. Louis, we headed off to Dallas TX.  We drove the 10 hr stretch, stopping in Joplin, MO for the night.    We stayed at the Residence Inn in Joplin and it could not have been nicer.  The people were so nice and the hotel was super clean.  For only a few dollars extra than the Holiday Inn or Fairfield, we had a separate area for Sophia to sleep.  We did the 4 hrs to Joplin in one stretch and she slept the whole way.  The next day we did the remaining 6 hrs, with 2 stops for feeding.  One of us road in the back seat with her the entire trip, which made it easier for her.  It would be pretty boring to just face the back of a car the whole ride.  She does have a mirror And toys, but she still got a little worried mommy and daddy weren't there.  We arrived in Dallas at about 3 and were picked up for the rangers game at 5.  Oh yeah.  I forgot to say that Eric sang the anthem at the Rangers game and we got to sit in the Presidents box in Dallas too!  It was the coolest box.   We were able to bring Sophie because it was behind glass and had a big bar with a waitress and nice seats and TVs.   They even had 3 rows of outside seating that the glass doors opened out to.  Wow!  They really know how to do things in TX.  The people from the Dallas Summer musicals could not have been nicer.  It was a real treat for us and the 10 other people from the cast that joined us.  Miguel, Sophie's godfather flew in from NY   . He's a huge Rangers fan, since he's from Dallas and a huge Sophie fan, since he's her godfather.  So he got to have the Rangers and the Sophie experience rolled into one.

St. Louis Zoo

We heard that the St. Louis Zoo was one of the best in the country.  So, we went.  Haven, Eric, Sophie, and I all took the day and went to the zoo.  It was a great zoo because it felt as if you were really close to the animals.  Soph did great and the zoo had a nursing station where I could go sit inside and feed Sophie.  Nice, Huh. 

Meet Me In St. Louis

Sophie and I flew from Fl. to St.Louis on Sept. 11th.  Again, she was perfect.    An absolute travel pro.  From the moment we stepped into the Omni Majestic Hotel in downtown , they new our names and what we were about.  The staff was so amazing with Sophie.  They had even arranged for us to have a rocking chair in our hotel room.  It made a huge difference to get to rock Sophie to sleep each night.   Haven, Fiona in the show, was sick for the entire 3 wks of shows in St.Louis.  It was awful for her not to be able to sing, but Sophie and I sure enjoyed her company, while everyone else was at the show.  We also got a good dose of Ashlee, Brian G's wife, who is prego with a boy.  She had to leave us early though after a few preterm labor incidences.  The last one was during the show, while Brian was gone, so Sophie and I took her to the hospital.   I cant imagine having that worry at 19 wks.  She was okay, but won't be traveling with the tour.  That stinks cause I really liked her.  Sophie's favorite friend seems to be Mackenzie.  Mackenzie is the younger sister of one of the young Fionas.  She's 7 and her high pitched voice and playfulness with Sophie never fails to elicit a smile.   Tracy, Mackenzie and Madison's mom, has become a good friend and has watched Sophie a few times here, so that u can see the show.  Sophie clearly loves them and I think it's good for her.

Florida Trip

Sophie had a lot of firsts on her Florida trip.  She began spit bubbles.  Her new favorite pastime.  She went in the ocean for the first time and loved it!  We even got to be there for Uncle Trey's Bday!  It was a super fun wknd and I even got a chance to go out in the sun because there were so many hands eager to hold Soph, watch her while she napped, or feed her expressed milk.  Not that I was eager to throw on that bathing suit yet, but it was relaxing as it could be for a brand new mommy.  Sophie loved the bouncer and car seat my mom had on loan from a friend ( Thank you, Joyce.)  She gave the biggest smiles to the hanging flowers.  Their stand up routine must have been hilarious.  We missed Eric the whole time, but did a lot of Facetime and iChat.

First Flight

Sophie's first flight!  We decided on an early flight to Florida to visit my parents and grandparents and brother and sister-n-law.  The trip was coming on the heels of a big wknd!  We had to pack up to leave Chicago.  After being there 8 wks, we discovered we didn't need all we had brought.  We went thru all our things, in an attempt to streamline, and sent home 4 large boxes to my parents.  The last wk we had Eric's brother, Kyle and his girlfriend for 3 days, followed by my Aunt Cheryl and Marian for 2 days, and then our friend Michael from NYC for 3 days. 0h!  And just to make things more fun, the day before we left, Sophie got her first round of shots. Sophie, Michael , and I headed to the airport on Friday morning at 4 am.  She was out like a light.  Eric came in with Soph and I to get us checked in and situated, then left to take Michael to his airport.  So far so good. Everything went super smooth until we had to go thru security.  If u are ever traveling by yourself with an infant, don't, I repeat, don't take the stroller unless u have to.  We had to because we didn't have one in Florida.  Holding a baby and folding down a stroller is impossible.  The only thing that saved me was the Baby Bjorn.  It takes a long time to get all your stuff off the stroller and on the scanner, shoes off, computer out, liquids out, stroller folded thru the scanner and back together again... With a baby in arms.  I was like a circus act.  At least most airports have family lines now, where they are expecting people like me to take a while.  The business man behind me seemed to have not gotten the memo however.  As he sighed loudly, I hurried as quickly as I could.  Finally he asked to go around me.  Not to help me.  I informed him that this was the family line, which shut him up.  We finally made it thru! Not before they opened all my bottles of expressed breast milk and waved some sort of stick over them.  Once at the gate, I fed her.  We were flying Southwest, so after I chose our seat next to a window, the seat next to me was the last one filled.  No one wanted to sit next to an infant.  I totally understand. Sophie was an absolute dream tho.  She slept on the way up, she smiled and looked around while we flew and ate on the way down.  While all the other children on the plane created a chorus of screams and crying, Sophie didn't make a peep. I felt as if she had Olympic gold, I was so proud.  I'm sure she will have her quintessential baby on a plane moments, but I'm still so proud of her!

Six Week Post-Prego Check Up For Mommy

I was eager to go to the doctor at the 6 wk mark.  I am still bleeding and losing fluid and junk at this point, but it has really subsided a lot in the past week.  Mommy has to change her own diaper almost as much as Sophie's.  Now, that's something I didn't expect.  I was excited to be nearing the end of taking care of myself in that way, so that I had more energies to put toward Sophie.  Well, the doctor said I had some scar tissue that built up and she was going to have to cut it off.  What?!!!! I was supposed to be done bleeding and stuff.  So, she cut it off.  It hurt a lot and it's just more annoying than anything else.  Moving on.