Is this really my child?

Let me start by telling everyone about the first two times that we took Emerson out of town. The first time was to Houston to visit my family. Long story short, she barely slept, was extremely constipated and had her first 45 minute screaming fest in public. It was a terrible weekend. Lets just say that I was ready to give up traveling forever because it was that unbearable.

The second time we traveled was to San Antonio to see my husbands family. This time she screamed a lot in the car ride down, slept a little at night because we let her sleep with us and she took all her naps in people's arms. We completely spoiled her that weekend in order to make sure that she stayed rested and did "better" than the last trip. Needless to say, when we got home we paid the price for all the spoiling. Coming home ended up being miserable for a few days.

So, when we planned to go to Houston this past weekend for my birthday, Steve and I were completely dreading it. The drive down went well. She slept and played on her normal schedule. We got into town in time to have a couple hours of playtime and then bedtime as usual. She went to sleep in her pack-n-play just fine and slept through the night like she was at home! We were shocked to say the least. Saturday was pretty smooth. Most of her naps were in the car driving between destinations. The birthday party ran a little long, so she went to bed an hour later than normal. We were really worried about this, but she slept straight through until 5:30 am. This is where we hit our only snag- she was ready to go at 5:30. So, we let her lay in bed and play until it was time to get up for breakfast. We kept her on her regular schedule today, so she was a tad bit fussy at times. All-in-all the trip was a complete success with only one small snag of an early wake-up this morning (A tiny price to pay for such great behavior all weekend).

Basically what I am saying is that Emerson did AMAZING! She was well rested and it showed in her personality. She was smiling, chatting and even let a bunch of people hold her and take lots of pictures. I knew when we finished the sleep training that her demeanor had improved, but I had no idea that it would improve her ability to travel as well. Hallelujiah for a great weekend and a well rested baby!

Fingers crossed that she does just as great now that we are back at home:)

Love,
Sabrina