Slightly OT - leaving 5 mo old for a day

My 8 yr old has a dance competition on the 3rd of April. Up until tonight I
was planning on it being a 2 day affair but I just found out that her team
only performs one of those days. We'd have to leave by 6am to get to the
site by 9am and she has to stay until the awards ceremony that night,
scheduled for around 8pm.

The thought of taking my 5 month old along makes me cringe. It's a 3 hour
trip first of all and he doesn't really like being in the car. Also with no
where to nap aside from my arms, trying to nurse him in a setting which I
know might be very difficult. It's not really a place for an infant.

He will not take a bottle so that is out of the question. I have started him
on cereal (he'll be 6 mos on the 1st) and he's taking a cup of ebm and water
but for the most part, he still eats every 3 hours.

So, do I take him? Do I leave him for the day with my parents - who will be
up anyway because we were planning on the 2 day affair and they are going to
be watching my middle son. OR do I stay home with the boys and let my mom go
in my place? Kaylie needs a woman along to help her in the dressing room,
with her makeup and she doesn't want another of the dance mom's to help her
(I asked)

My daughter doesn't care if I miss it. I dont want to miss it really, but I
dont know if Xander would be ok for over 12 hours with no momma. He doesn't
drink well enough from a cup yet for it to be near enough for the day. Plus,
he will not settle down for naps or bedtime without his nursies. My mom
would have a very hard time keeping him I think.

So, what would you guys do? I need to decide soon, like tonight.

Thanks,

Kari
mom to Kaylie (8) Noah (4) and Xander (5 mos)

Go for one day only and nurse blatently whereever you find a place
to sit down. Make sure all the little dancers get the drift!

:-)
Larry

In misc.kids.breastfeeding Kari wrote:
: My 8 yr old has a dance competition on the 3rd of April. Up until tonight I
: was planning on it being a 2 day affair but I just found out that her team
: only performs one of those days. We'd have to leave by 6am to get to the
: site by 9am and she has to stay until the awards ceremony that night,
: scheduled for around 8pm.

: The thought of taking my 5 month old along makes me cringe. It's a 3 hour
: trip first of all and he doesn't really like being in the car. Also with no
: where to nap aside from my arms, trying to nurse him in a setting which I
: know might be very difficult. It's not really a place for an infant.

: He will not take a bottle so that is out of the question. I have started him
: on cereal (he'll be 6 mos on the 1st) and he's taking a cup of ebm and water
: but for the most part, he still eats every 3 hours.

: So, do I take him? Do I leave him for the day with my parents - who will be
: up anyway because we were planning on the 2 day affair and they are going to
: be watching my middle son. OR do I stay home with the boys and let my mom go
: in my place? Kaylie needs a woman along to help her in the dressing room,
: with her makeup and she doesn't want another of the dance mom's to help her
: (I asked)

: My daughter doesn't care if I miss it. I dont want to miss it really, but I
: dont know if Xander would be ok for over 12 hours with no momma. He doesn't
: drink well enough from a cup yet for it to be near enough for the day. Plus,
: he will not settle down for naps or bedtime without his nursies. My mom
: would have a very hard time keeping him I think.

: So, what would you guys do? I need to decide soon, like tonight.

: Thanks,

: Kari
: mom to Kaylie (8) Noah (4) and Xander (5 mos)

Take him.Maybe take grandma to help?

"Kari" wrote in message
...
My 8 yr old has a dance competition on the 3rd of April. Up until tonight
I
was planning on it being a 2 day affair but I just found out that her team
only performs one of those days. We'd have to leave by 6am to get to the
site by 9am and she has to stay until the awards ceremony that night,
scheduled for around 8pm.

The thought of taking my 5 month old along makes me cringe. It's a 3 hour
trip first of all and he doesn't really like being in the car. Also with
no
where to nap aside from my arms, trying to nurse him in a setting which I
know might be very difficult. It's not really a place for an infant.

He will not take a bottle so that is out of the question. I have started
him
on cereal (he'll be 6 mos on the 1st) and he's taking a cup of ebm and
water
but for the most part, he still eats every 3 hours.

So, do I take him? Do I leave him for the day with my parents - who will
be
up anyway because we were planning on the 2 day affair and they are going
to
be watching my middle son. OR do I stay home with the boys and let my mom
go
in my place? Kaylie needs a woman along to help her in the dressing room,
with her makeup and she doesn't want another of the dance mom's to help
her
(I asked)

My daughter doesn't care if I miss it. I dont want to miss it really, but
I
dont know if Xander would be ok for over 12 hours with no momma. He
doesn't
drink well enough from a cup yet for it to be near enough for the day.
Plus,
he will not settle down for naps or bedtime without his nursies. My mom
would have a very hard time keeping him I think.

So, what would you guys do? I need to decide soon, like tonight.

Thanks,

Kari
mom to Kaylie (8) Noah (4) and Xander (5 mos)

Personally, I'd bring the baby with me. Bring a stroller if there will be
room for it backstage or in the dressing room. Otherwise he can sit in the
carseat/carrier at the times you aren't holding him or carrying him in a
sling/BabyBjorn type carrier.

Last May, my 2 month old son spent most of dance recital week backstage with
us. We go to a huge studio (almost 600 students) which puts on 4 shows (one
on Friday night, Saturday 10am, Saturday 3pm Saturday 7:30PM). Dress
rehearsal for show one on Monday night 4-10pm, Dress rehearsal for show two
Tuesday etc. Then the show Friday night, all day Saturday. I brought DS to
the dress rehearsals in some combination of stroller/sling/carseat/my arms.
He was there the entire time. Ditto for the shows. He wasn't a problem.
Again this year, we'll do the same thing.

I think DS will be much happier with you, and able to nurse as he needs to.
I personally would have been freaked out to leave my DS for that long and to
be so far away. As for nursing in public, don't sweat it. Start practicing
now if you need to. If our children see us getting freaked out about NIP
and they see us hiding it like we think it is shameful, then they won't grow
up with a healthy attitude about it.


Tracey in CT

\\
"Kari" wrote in message
...
My 8 yr old has a dance competition on the 3rd of April. Up until tonight
I
was planning on it being a 2 day affair but I just found out that her team
only performs one of those days. We'd have to leave by 6am to get to the
site by 9am and she has to stay until the awards ceremony that night,
scheduled for around 8pm.

The thought of taking my 5 month old along makes me cringe. It's a 3 hour
trip first of all and he doesn't really like being in the car. Also with
no
where to nap aside from my arms, trying to nurse him in a setting which I
know might be very difficult. It's not really a place for an infant.

He will not take a bottle so that is out of the question. I have started
him
on cereal (he'll be 6 mos on the 1st) and he's taking a cup of ebm and
water
but for the most part, he still eats every 3 hours.

So, do I take him? Do I leave him for the day with my parents - who will
be
up anyway because we were planning on the 2 day affair and they are going
to
be watching my middle son. OR do I stay home with the boys and let my mom
go
in my place? Kaylie needs a woman along to help her in the dressing room,
with her makeup and she doesn't want another of the dance mom's to help
her
(I asked)

My daughter doesn't care if I miss it. I dont want to miss it really, but
I
dont know if Xander would be ok for over 12 hours with no momma. He
doesn't
drink well enough from a cup yet for it to be near enough for the day.
Plus,
he will not settle down for naps or bedtime without his nursies. My mom
would have a very hard time keeping him I think.

So, what would you guys do? I need to decide soon, like tonight.

Thanks,

Kari
mom to Kaylie (8) Noah (4) and Xander (5 mos)

Kari wrote:

My 8 yr old has a dance competition on the 3rd of April. Up until tonight I
was planning on it being a 2 day affair but I just found out that her team
only performs one of those days. We'd have to leave by 6am to get to the
site by 9am and she has to stay until the awards ceremony that night,
scheduled for around 8pm.

The thought of taking my 5 month old along makes me cringe. It's a 3 hour
trip first of all and he doesn't really like being in the car. Also with no
where to nap aside from my arms, trying to nurse him in a setting which I
know might be very difficult. It's not really a place for an infant.

Hmmm...I might consider taking the baby *and* Grandma
along (could you get a nearby hotel room so that you could
get him down for a nap sometime when your 8yo could be
handled by one of the other dance moms?). When Genevieve
was five months old, I had her backstage for Nutcracker
many nights, which also isn't much of a place for a baby.
We managed, but it wasn't the most fun of all. The nights
that DH came and played with her out in the lobby until
she needed me went smoother ;-)

Best wishes,
Ericka

"Kari" wrote in message
...
My 8 yr old has a dance competition on the 3rd of April. Up until tonight
I
was planning on it being a 2 day affair but I just found out that her team
only performs one of those days. We'd have to leave by 6am to get to the
site by 9am and she has to stay until the awards ceremony that night,
scheduled for around 8pm.

The thought of taking my 5 month old along makes me cringe. It's a 3 hour
trip first of all and he doesn't really like being in the car. Also with
no
where to nap aside from my arms, trying to nurse him in a setting which I
know might be very difficult. It's not really a place for an infant.

I'm not sure what to say about the car. My kids were great in the
car at that age, so I'm not sure how big a deal that is. Dance competitions
are loud, and I've found little ones tend to just fall asleep in noisy
places.
Will it be too loud for him? Some competitions have the audience on flat
gym or ballroom floors, if this is one of them you could bring a stroller.
If it's in a theatre you might consider bringing the carseat in. There are
always plenty of empty seating at the competitions around here, so
getting him a seat isn't really a problem.

As for the breast feeding in public...I've seen much more exposed
breast on the dancers than you'll have breastfeeding, and the audience
is usually somewhat dark.

How many numbers is your daughter in? Will there be lots of sit and
watch time? Or will you mostly be running from front to do hair and
makeup and then back to watch? My daughter was in few enough
numbers there was tons of sitting and watching time, so you might have
lots of time to snuggle and feed.



He will not take a bottle so that is out of the question. I have started
him
on cereal (he'll be 6 mos on the 1st) and he's taking a cup of ebm and
water
but for the most part, he still eats every 3 hours.

So, do I take him? Do I leave him for the day with my parents - who will
be
up anyway because we were planning on the 2 day affair and they are going
to
be watching my middle son. OR do I stay home with the boys and let my mom
go
in my place? Kaylie needs a woman along to help her in the dressing room,
with her makeup and she doesn't want another of the dance mom's to help
her
(I asked)

My daughter doesn't care if I miss it. I dont want to miss it really, but
I
dont know if Xander would be ok for over 12 hours with no momma. He
doesn't
drink well enough from a cup yet for it to be near enough for the day.
Plus,
he will not settle down for naps or bedtime without his nursies. My mom
would have a very hard time keeping him I think.

So, what would you guys do? I need to decide soon, like tonight.

Thanks,

Kari
mom to Kaylie (8) Noah (4) and Xander (5 mos)

Can you bring a babysitter with you? Someone that could entertain baby
and bring him back to you when hungry?

Kari wrote:

My 8 yr old has a dance competition on the 3rd of April. Up until tonight I
was planning on it being a 2 day affair but I just found out that her team
only performs one of those days. We'd have to leave by 6am to get to the
site by 9am and she has to stay until the awards ceremony that night,
scheduled for around 8pm.

The thought of taking my 5 month old along makes me cringe. It's a 3 hour
trip first of all and he doesn't really like being in the car. Also with no
where to nap aside from my arms, trying to nurse him in a setting which I
know might be very difficult. It's not really a place for an infant.

He will not take a bottle so that is out of the question. I have started him
on cereal (he'll be 6 mos on the 1st) and he's taking a cup of ebm and water
but for the most part, he still eats every 3 hours.

So, do I take him? Do I leave him for the day with my parents - who will be
up anyway because we were planning on the 2 day affair and they are going to
be watching my middle son. OR do I stay home with the boys and let my mom go
in my place? Kaylie needs a woman along to help her in the dressing room,
with her makeup and she doesn't want another of the dance mom's to help her
(I asked)

My daughter doesn't care if I miss it. I dont want to miss it really, but I
dont know if Xander would be ok for over 12 hours with no momma. He doesn't
drink well enough from a cup yet for it to be near enough for the day. Plus,
he will not settle down for naps or bedtime without his nursies. My mom
would have a very hard time keeping him I think.

So, what would you guys do? I need to decide soon, like tonight.

Thanks,

Kari
mom to Kaylie (8) Noah (4) and Xander (5 mos)

I've been on several day trips, usually because I am involved in a sports
event. I take ds and dh with me, I've ended up breastfeeding in some very
unusual places, like perched on a boat trailer when it's snowing! If ds
needs to nap and it isn't happening easily, dh takes him for a walk in the
buggy, or carrier.

I think DS will be much happier with you, and able to nurse as he needs
to.
I personally would have been freaked out to leave my DS for that long and
to
be so far away. As for nursing in public, don't sweat it. Start
practicing
now if you need to. If our children see us getting freaked out about NIP
and they see us hiding it like we think it is shameful, then they won't
grow
up with a healthy attitude about it.

Thanks Tracey. I agree that he would be happier with me. And NIP is not a
problem for me at all, I do it all the time. It's just finding a comfortable
place. The competition is at a banquet hall so I can only imagine!!

I did take him to her Irish Step recital that was only a few weeks ago, and
the dress rehersal and it was kind of a nightmare. It was 4 hours long, at
the high school auditorium and he was miserable, even when i tried to nurse
him. I think that is what has put me off wanting to take him along.

Kari

Hmmm...I might consider taking the baby *and* Grandma
along (could you get a nearby hotel room so that you could
get him down for a nap sometime when your 8yo could be
handled by one of the other dance moms?).

I could get a hotel room I suppose. We had one ready to book when we thought
we were spending the night. I decided agaisnt it since we dont have to stay
now and I'd rather not spend the 70.00 if we dont have to.

When Genevieve
was five months old, I had her backstage for Nutcracker
many nights, which also isn't much of a place for a baby.
We managed, but it wasn't the most fun of all. The nights
that DH came and played with her out in the lobby until
she needed me went smoother ;-)

We did the Nutcracker too, back in Dec. He was just a wee thing then and
was a perfect gentleman Now he's this roly poly I want to look everywhere
when I nurse and squirm infant so Im thinking it will be a pain! Of course,
Im sure we can manage, but like you said, it wouldn't be very fun.

Thanks

Kari