Just as there are good days, there are also bad days. Terrible days to be precise. On this occasion, I would like to call it 'The Camping Trip from Hell and the Aftermath'.
The Queens birthday long weekend seemed like an excellent camping opportunity so my best mate and I organised a trip to Byron with our little families. What could go wrong camping with a 2 month old and a 6 month old in the middle of winter? I felt pretty proud of myself for getting out there and doing things with my little one and introducing her to the great outdoors. I am now feeling a little embarrassed by my over confidence and wondering if maybe everybody else perceived me as a complete idiot, rather than brave.
Firstly, there was packing. I had no idea what to pack for bub so I packed everything. We were taking my parents campervan so me and L could sleep in there with our babies, so I just threw all of V's belongings in there. This led to us having a caravan we could barely move in and I couldn't find anything, like rubbish bags for nappies (yep fun times there).
On arrival, the receptionist informed me that we had sites 40 and 48 booked. "That doesn't sound like they are next to each other," I said. "They aren't," was the response. Apparently these things are not guaranteed. I am a little confused by this as when I made the booking we made sure the sites were side by side and there was no mention that this could change.I didn't complain as I didn't think it would really matter too much.
The worst part came on the second night though, when the skies opened up. Note to self: ALWAY BRING A TARP. It does not matter if you are in a caravan and have an awning, as rain comes in sideways sometimes. We had about 1 square metre of space to sit outside (and remember we couldn't sit inside as I had packed the contents of V's nursery in there). We considered that we could all sit in the tent, but with the bubs sleeping in the caravan, it wasn't really an option. There was a suggestion from the dads that we just watch them on the monitor but this was quickly shut down by L saying "we can't Madeline McCann the babies".
Next up on the agenda, the caravan started to leak. Then V started to scream. V has always been a good sleeper but she used the camping weekend to teach me what having a bad sleeper is like. I think we battled with her for about 2hrs to get to sleep. She eventually wore herself out from screaming. I went to bed too, hoping the gaffa tape would keep the rain out.
The next day the sun came out and I thought things might improve. The gaffa tape had held up. Surely we could have a nice walk around Byron and then play cards in the evening. It turns out that having two babies on different schedules and one who is quite sleep deprived, means things take a while. We eventually got our walk in but had to turn back before the lighthouse as the walk was not too stroller friendly after a certain point. Oh well, we could look forward to cards I thought...
Of course the skies opened up again. Oh well, we still had that square metre of dry space I thought. Then of course, V started screaming. She had found a new peak in volume. It was another two hour battle. The highlight of the evening came when V spat her dummy out on the ground so I went into the caravan to fetch a new sterilised one. As I walked back out of the caravan to give it to her, my feet slipped out from under me on the wet step and I fell right out of the caravan, grazing my neck and hurting my knee. I lay on the ground crying. I'm really not sure if it was because my knee hurt so much, or the trip had just become such a disaster. Eventually V went to sleep and so did I. The cards were not used, the boardgames stayed in the truck.
When we got home late on monday, I thought it would be good to get V back into her routine, but she screamed worse than ever. I had no idea what was wrong or how to settle her. It went on for hours and hours and when she did eventually sleep, it was only for short bursts. I was convinced I had damaged her by taking her camping. The next morning it was more of the same so I made an appointment with the doctor. As we were driving there, V started to sneeze and sniffle in the back of the car and by the time I was parked, it was pretty clear that poor bub had a cold. Things were on the improve I thought, as now I knew what was wrong. I hadn't damaged my child. We could get through this.
I got out of the car and pulled out the pram, only to discover that it was broken. Icing on the cake there.
The last few days have been pretty crappy. V sleeps for about 20 mins at a time and screams most the time she is awake. This morning I managed to pay some bills and eat breakfast. This is a huge accomplishment compared to what I have in the last two days. At some point I plan to start running again and getting things done. I just have to get over this wonderful cold that I have caught.
Still though, I am already planning our next trip. We will take a tarp or two this time, and make sure the camp sites are next to each other.
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