Babies really don't require all that much, right? When you're expecting, you have the pleasure of enjoying a baby shower, where you acquire much of what you need for the newest little human soon coming into your life. Some of the essentials include a crib, mattress, diapers, wipes, bath tubs, clothes (oh so many clothes), and toys.
Jerry and I managed to get by with the bare minimum. We asked for the essentials: a crib and mattress, crib sheet, blankets, burp cloths, bottles, diapers, and clothing. Honestly, what else could a child possibly need? We of course received much more than that, but we tried to pass on items like wipe warmers, amazing in theory, but in practice completely unnecessary. Who has time to wait to warm up wipes before cleaning a child's bottom?
For the first year, we really didn't use much more than the essentials. However, we started trying to go places overnight with Gardner. What a feat! It wasn't the amount of stuff he required, but the fact that he basically refused to sleep in the pack n play or in the same room as us. He is a creature of habit. He's never slept anywhere except his crib for his whole life. So really, who can blame him. But, I was determined.
We tried to take Gardner out overnight. Over the summer, we went to the beach overnight. I think our marriage nearly ended the next day driving home, where we had a "no vacation for the rest of our lives conversation... or at least until our child can sleep in a regular bed and in strange places." It felt like an "It's me or the dog" conversation. From that day forward I understood, if daddy doesn't get sleep then he's not happy. I thought if mom wasn't happy then nobody is happy, but Jerry surely proved me wrong.
Our latest attempt to take him overnight was to a friend's house for Halloween. It was just an hour away, and honestly thank goodness for that. At 2 a.m. we packed up our stuff and headed home because our terrorist son refused to sleep in the pack n play... again. He made it about 2 hours before he woke up screaming bloody murder. Jerry said, "So, do you want to go home?" I responded, "Yes, please." And off we went.
We decided to give it one last try and this time we went big! We decided to take Gardner to Williamsburg, VA for Christmastown. This trip has become a family tradition and it's almost 3 hours away. We again, packed up the pack n play for him to sleep in, but this time we were armed and ready with a portable, fold-able mattress.
We went on a prayer, just hoping that this would be the answer to sleepless nights in strange places. After all, we had a 9 day trip to NJ coming up and I couldn't go 9 straight days without sleep. Surely Jerry couldn't either, since he could barely get through one night at the beach.
We got back to the room that night and I put Gardner to bed. He was quiet. Was he asleep? Surely this wouldn't last.
Two hours went by and not a peep. Now we had to sneak into the room ourselves and get into bed. We did. Still nothing. About 30 minutes later he cried for a minute, surely it was over we were doomed for the rest of the night. But no, he went back to sleep.
The next thing I knew it was 6 a.m. He stirred at that time, but again went back to sleep until 7:15 a.m. He NEVER sleeps this late, even at home!
Wow!! I couldn't believe it!
We had survived an entire night and he barely made a sound. This mattress was not cheap, but I told Jerry I would have paid $175 for it knowing I had this kind of reassurance. Jerry said he would have paid $1,075. I can't argue with that. After months of anxiety about traveling with Gardner, we had actually conquered a night away!!
So, I stand by my theory that babies really don't require all that much, but sometimes, you just have to splurge for your sanity and your sleep! NJ here we come!