First Night Away

Thanks to crappy weather I got to experience my first night away from E and JJ this week.  I was up in Ottawa attending a conference for work and we were all set for E and JJ to come with me and have a lovely time .  Then we got several days of cold dreary rain that made us rethink and I ended up going alone.

On the drive up I kept thinking "should I be happy about this?"  A night off from looking after JJ, uninterrupted sleep and the chance to chat with other adults about something other than babies...  Funny thing was, I wasn't happy, I was nervous (and not just for how E would handle having to look after JJ through the night after having him all day) and uncomfortable.

The conference distracted me well enough until right around when I would be having bath time with JJ and then it got worse.  I just hoped he would be good for E and Grandma and go to sleep easily.  Lots of texting and calling during the (slightly crazy) conference banquet ensued.  This accomplished at least two things, I felt a bit better having talked to E and I got out of some group dancing and conga lines (seems Research Administrator's are a repressed bunch and free wine helps them shed their inhibitions).  I also took comfort from seeing the other parents of young babies/kids pacing up and down outside the conference room.  We acknowledged each other (nod of the head, a little smile), we knew what we were all doing, ducking out during breaks in the meal to wish someone good night or get updates on how the day went. 

Bed time rolled round and I just couldn't settle.  I thought for sure that I would just pass out and wake fully rested.  Nope, I just couldn't get comfy and thought that every little noise would be my phone ringing and E calling to say JJ was being fussy and not sleeping.  In the end it went fine, E had support from Grandma and everyone got through the night without any incidents.  It was nice to hear JJ on the phone in the morning and I knew I'd be home later that day to resume my duties and give E a break.

Even though JJ woke three times last night I got much better sleep at home than at the hotel.  Its just nice to be home with my family, in my own bed.  Next trip, bad weather or not we're going as a family!  The experience should be good for JJ...  Actually, we'll get a nice trial run when we visit Toronto later this month for a wedding and visiting relatives...