On the road
We took a chance on traveling with Akira this past […]
We took a chance on traveling with Akira this past weekend by going on a mini-road trip to Athens, Georgia for a wedding. Granted, it’s only about an hour and 15 minutes from Atlanta, but a road trip is a road trip—and it’s a completely different experience when one of your passengers happens to be a 10-week-old infant. I hoped that Akira having a belly full of milk, a dry diaper and a simultaneous nap-time departure would work in our favor. Guess what: It did!
We made it out of Atlanta and arrived in Athens without having to make any baby-emergency pit-stops, and we also managed to avoid any sort of traffic we were anticipating. Akira slept through the whole ride there, and Anaïs was able to get a little catnap en route, too. Upon arrival, we checked into our hotel, got ready for the wedding and sat down for cocktails (for us!) and a snack (for Anaïs) before heading to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, where the wedding would be held. We’d never been there before and the drive up was pretty enchanting—it was located in a very wooded area and, with the fall season starting, the changing leaves provided a gorgeous backdrop for this celebration.
I was admittedly a little bit nervous about how Akira would do during the actual ceremony. He was doing great so far, but how would he do in the wedding chapel? Would he stay quiet and content? Or would he suddenly get fussy or have a dirty diaper? It was also my first time getting really dressed up in something that wasn’t exactly made for nursing, so I made sure to pump a bottle before leaving the hotel.
We arrived and made our way to our seats. A few minutes later, I could feel Akira’s body starting to wiggle and writhe in discomfort, but I just removed him from the situation before he could muster up the energy to really start crying. When I left the chapel to stand in the foyer, I was relieved to see that I wasn’t the only parent there with a baby who was a potential interruption to the ceremony. All of us were shushing and bouncing our babies while simultaneously trying to stay engaged and reverent as our friends promised themselves to each other for a lifetime. At one point, I had to run down to the dressing room to nurse Akira because he wasn’t taking the bottle that I had pumped (and really just wanted comfort). Luckily, it didn’t take too long to settle him down.
Shortly after the ceremony was over, we walked through a gorgeous garden to the reception. We caught up with old friends and made some new ones at our table and, as luck would have it, the sounds of glasses clinking, people talking and music playing lulled Akira back to sleep! I couldn’t believe it. Anaïs got to dance with her dad, and I got to enjoy some wine without a baby in my arms. We were all able to eat and drink without having to worry about him. It felt like a milestone to me! It was a completely different experience from that time my family was in town and we all went to dinner.
I have to keep reminding myself that Akira is still new here. I mean, really—he’s only been around for 10 1/2 weeks. That’s such a blip in the grand scheme of life! He’s still learning the ropes, but he’s getting it! Let’s just hope that he gets the memo on sleep pretty soon …