Kootenay Mom and Dad: Trip to Alberta

Rowan went on her first road trip with her momma. It was a LONG drive to get to Okotoks but we made it. We took lots of breaks along the way stopping in Nelson, Creston, Cranbrook and Fernie. From Fernie to Okotoks, we took many many stops in order to calm Rowan down. She had had enough driving by then. Momma was convinced that Rowan hated the carseat. In the ends, we made if safely to Okotoks. We stayed with Erin, Ryan, Keegan and baby Everett.

Taking care of Everett and Rowan at the same time. Yikes! Good thing it was just for a short time and Everett was happy in the stroller. It was interesting to see passerby's reaction to a mother having children so close together in age. Of course people just assume that they are both my children. Often people would stop and ask, "How old are they?" Sometimes I would lie and say that Everett was 10 months and Rowan was 3 weeks, just to see their reaction. In truth, Everett is 6 and a half months old than Rowan.

We attended a couple of mom and baby classes while in Okotoks and learned that babies peak in crying is at 6 weeks. This made quite a bit of sense since Rowan was 5 weeks when we started the trip and the next two weeks held quite a bit of crying, long nights and gripe water! Along with colicky crying, Rowan also had a few projectile vomiting episodes that scared her poor mother. I phoned the nurse health line to find out why this was happening and we narrowed it down to the fact that I have an overactive milk letdown. I was given some suggestions for feeding Rowan a bit differently and the vomiting stopped. Pheww!

The look of pure happiness and fulfillment after feeding.

While in Okotoks, Rowan and I visited the Calgary zoo. It was a zoo of babies, both human and animal. There was a baby giraffe, elephant and gorilla. So cute.

Baby Giraffe!

Strolling around the zoo.

We did a lot of walking around Okotoks. It's a great town for walking. There were tons of walking paths, both paved and unpaved, as well as scenic areas along the river or forest.

Erin helped me find some great consignment stores in Calgary where I bought up some cute clothes for Rowan to grow into. On my last visit here, March, I also toured the consignment stores. Mostly I bought sleepers, toys and useful baby things since I didn't know if I was having a boy or girl. It was a lot more fun now to shop for cute girly things for Rowan. I found some really great deals!

She is a fashion diva! Shopping at the consignment stores in Calgary proved some great finds.

We enjoyed an amazing Indian summer weather while in Alberta. Some days it got up to 30 degrees!

Enjoying the sunshine on a warm fall day.

One of the reasons for our Alberta trip was to introduce Rowan to her uncle Ian, aunt Chris and cousins Morgan and Payton. She just adored her cousins! I can't blame her for that, they are so smiley and fun to be with. We had a wonderful visit. We went camping in Ian and Chris' trailer at Christine's brother Mike's new cottage. Thanks for a great visit! AND all the fun new sleepers, clothes, blankets and stuffies! Rowan got spoiled with gifts from Ian, Chris and the girls.

Rowan meets uncle Ian.

Kisses from her cousin Payton!

Smiles for Morgan!

Our drive to Fort Saskatchewan went very smoothly. I thought Rowan was getting much better at driving in the car. However, our drive back to Okotoks was a long one with many stops to try to soothe Rowan. At this point I started to realize that Rowan might not hate car rides or her carseat so much but rather cries because she can't see me. She shows major attachment to me and wants to be held A LOT. So it makes sense that this may be the issue. Who knows...

On my last night in Okotoks, we went to visit a corn maze. I've never gone through one before. It was quite entertaining as we got lost in the maze with our strollers. Keegan especially loved the maze as most 10 year olds would.

Trying to get Rowan to smile for the camera.

A quick smile is hard to catch on camera.

On my drive back to Nakusp, Erin and Everett came with me. The drive was much easier with an alternate driver to take over so that I could be in the backseat with Rowan. With me sitting beside her, Rowan was more relaxed and didn't fuss so much. Once we arrived back home, Rowan has been much less colicky and more settled. Is it because she's home? or does it have to do with her development now that she's 8 weeks old? Or the mad soothing skills that I have learned and am mastering now?

A few great facial expressions caught on camera! Rowan: 5 to 7 weeks old is now SMILING!