Vacation Part Two (or Why I’m a Bad Parent)
Well, as suspected, vacation with a baby is not really vacation at all. It’s simply moving your duties to a new location without benefit of all the things you need to perform your duties. It hasn’t been bad, per se, but just not what I had hoped for when I booked this trip.
So as not to ramble on incessantly with details no one wants to hear, here’s the skinny. I had what may have been a touch of food poisoining (although I think that is a bit of an exaggeration for what I had). We have a baby who hates the beach. We have a baby who both appears to be teething and also is refusing to take more than three ounces of formula at a time, which necessitated a call to the pediatrician. And I am still hearing that question I hope never to hear again - What do you want to do for dinner?
Jake and I were talking this morning and we both admitted to sort of wishing the baby was not here with us. And then we felt like monumentally bad parents. Or at least I do. I guess I had unrealistic expectations. I was sort of looking for an escape from my daily life, which in essence is motherhood. Except there is no escape from motherhood, even when they aren’t with you. Lesson learned.
I know that things will get easier as she gets older - she won’t always be afraid of the beach (she better not be), she’ll be able to walk herself rather than be carried everywhere, we won’t have to worry every second that we aren’t holding on to her that she’s found another item on which she could kill herself, she won’t always take two naps a day that we have to work around. In short, she’ll gain more independence from us which will free us up to do more of the things we want to do. Of course, when that day comes, I’m sure I’ll bemoan the fact that my little girl doesn’t neeeeeeeed me anymore. Waaaaah! Welcome to parenthood - centrally located between this rock and that hard place.
Filed under I Get Around, Mommy Zombie |7 Responses to “Vacation Part Two (or Why I’m a Bad Parent)”
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Our little secret to enjoying vacation: bring grandma!
Don’t feel guilty for one second. We take the mini with us just about everywhere and while it’s nice to have him with us, there are definitely times where I want a child free vacation. It’s called being a normal parent. Well, you know, whatever normal is. I have to wonder if the reason she’s not eating is because it hurts to eat. We’re battling that with the Mini too. He dawdles, plays with the nipple, sticks his thumb in his mouth while he’s eating, bites to one side. Etc. I still don’t see anything, but the last couple of days he’s been more aggro with the whole chewing bit.
I have been taking vacations with little ones for a lot of years. Since my husband and I traveled a bit before we had kids I guess the most obvious change we had to do was work our entire vacation around our kids. Now, granted, I realize yours is still a wee baby but it might help in the future to think about what she will enjoy…that meant for us, seeing things like fun museums, eating ice cream a lot, and visiting places that we knew the kids would love! That really has made the vacations we’ve taken with the kids a whole lot more fun. Then, while on vacation I excuse myself for a couple of hours and go to the hotel laundry room and sit with a book and a drink and do our laundry, quietly and sans children! LOL. It helps, I swear! The other solution to that would be to at least once take a little mini vacation just you and your husband. I’m sure none of this is lightbulb-ish news to you but I thought I would share…and, no you are not a bad parent for feeling that way…being a parent is a non-stop 24/7 job and it gets tiring at times! Plus, traveling with a baby in diapers and on a bottle and all the “extras” you need to bring with you is exhausting in itself! Traveling with little kids do become easier…good luck…
You’re by no means a bad parent.
I’ve got my thinkin’ cap on - - do you?
Been there, done that (with 2 dogs), have the t-shirt. My new dream is a vacation? A girly one away from the baby AND the husband!
I don’t think you’re a bad parent…I think you are a normal adult!
I like the idea of you & Jake getting away for a mini-vacay alone sometime…. might do the trick.
i don’t think anyone has ever summed up a “vacation with kids” better than you just did. sorry it’s… different. it will get better when she’s older. right now, we are trying to get in all the “vacations” we can (with the 3 yr old) while i am pregnant with #2 because vacationing pregnant is better than vacationing with 2 kids. :-/