Driving my Life Away

Yesterday I left the house at 5:45 am to drive down to London to see our new ENT for an early appointment.  Although I was tired and a little grumpy, the appointment went well.  We now have a surgery booked for next week to insert tubes and take the fluid out of Gideon's ears.  They will also do a hearing test while he is under sedation.  This means that we should be getting the new hearing aids sooner rather than later.-  Good Stuff!!!  I also had an appointment with our eye surgeon to check up on Gideon's post surgery healing.  She thought that Gideon's eyes were looking great.  So far there are no little white specks.  She also gave us the OK to put his contact lenses back in.  I'm still nervous about the cataracts coming back.  I think it was just over a month post surgery when we noticed them coming back last time.  I didn't get home until around 8:00 pm and I was over done and over caffeinated.  What a long day! 

Days like this are hard for everyone.  I saw Alex for all of 5 mins, when I woke him up to sing him a lullaby, kiss him and explain to him that "yes, mommy will always come home".  Being away so much is hard on Alex.  It messes up his routine and makes him act out.  Poor Gideon spent most of his day in his car seat.  How is he suppose to work on his gross motor skills when he is stuck in that seat all day?  Also, it is really difficult to try and feed him solids while we are on the road.  I usually just stick with bottle feeding, which again is not helping us with our current struggle with new food textures.

These road trips are tiring but I have some coping methods for myself.  These include coffee - lots of coffee- and a stack of old CD's from my late teens/early twenties.  Bathroom breaks are also great.  Nothing feels better than emptying a full bladder when you think you might pee yourself... am I right ladies?  To be honest though, sometimes I enjoy the drive.  It lets my mind wander and being in motion somehow calms me.

My coping methods for Gideon though are sadly lacking.  I try to put a couple of toys in his lap and have Vivaldi's Four Season's available on hand.  (Vivaldi is like a light switch.  Full out inconsolable wail turns instantly to quiet soothed listening.)  Although I usually leave the house early so we can made a quick stop or two, I have to keep on trucking to make it to our appointments on time.  This means that pit stops can't last forever and Gideon has to try and console/occupy himself or sleep.

How do you deal with having young children on the road?  Any tips?