We Deserve a Vacation

Our last vacation was January 2010 where we went to Mexico with family, so not even just the two of us. We agreed not to go anywhere last year since I was preggers and didn't feel like leaving the country looking like a whale and not being able to take advantage of the all inclusive part of going to an all inclusive, the alcohol!

Our last true vacation together. January 2010 Cozumel Mexico

Now, it's 2012 and we have a baby to take care of. We love having a family, but what about going away? I've always believed we wouldn't have to kiss our dreams away just because we have a baby, but in September we tried travelling with Carson... here is what happened:


We were very hopeful about our first attempt at a family vacation. Many things got in our way of enjoying our time together. We tried to keep positive and we failed!

At the time, Carson was still nursing at least every 2-3 hours and taking about 45 minutes to eat. We were pretty tied down to his feedings not leaving much time to actually see or do anything.  Now that I look back, we were crazy to go to Montreal. It wasn't exactly the most baby friendly place. We also tried using a stroller on a cobble stone street.... not a good idea!

Babywearing in Quebec City. Much easier

 than a stroller.

Quebec City was also a write off. It rained a lot of course, so we had a lot going against us. We decided to just give up and go home after 2 nights, one of which we camped out in our borrowed hippie bus that had a leak in the ceiling.

Driving with a 10 week old had it's challenges as well. The sound of Carson crying was stressful for us when we were stuck in heavy traffic and couldn't do anything to help him. I remember just wishing I could take him out of his car seat and nurse him. It was hard!

After this horrible, horrible experience, Austin and I looked at each other and said "We're NEVER doing that again!!" This is why we haven't done anything this winter.

Since Carson was 10 weeks he has changed a lot. He's on a much better routine, he breastfeeds within 10 minutes, he's easily entertained, we can give him food to distract him and he's a great baby in the car. So, we've been thinking we deserve a break. Even if it's not a romantic vacation or one that we are partying every night, it would be wonderful to get away from Ottawa and our home for a week and just sit on a beach. No dishes, no cooking, no dog, no housework! We would love to take Carson in the ocean and let him play in the sand.

Are we crazy for even considering a trip after what we went through in the fall? I don't know what the answer to that is. I do know that Carson is a different baby now and we are also much more competent parents. We can handle it... right?

We haven't made any decisions, and we may not end up going anywhere. Time will tell, so keep on reading!