Four weeks ago life pretty much consisted of growing our newest little addition. It was feeding (or preparation for feedings) around the clock, daily hour-long drives to the doctor for weigh-ins, hospital visits, tests. When I say there was no sleep, I really mean NO sleep. Not broken sleep, or a little sleep here and there, I mean not a wink. She required feeding every two hours, no exceptions. Breastfeeding wasn't an option because I had to quantify everything she was taking in. That meant feeding her through a syringe. By the time I would pump, mix the breastmilk with preemie formula (not my choice, but, hey, you'll do anything to grow your little pumpkin!), wake her enough to get her to eat (this was often the hardest chore), get her to actually take an ounce or so, mark it all down in my book (oh yes, there was documentation of every feeding, every diaper) then clean out all the pump parts . . . well, we were back to it being time to pump again. It was an exhausting couple of weeks, to say the least. But even among the worry and sleep deprivation, we felt so blessed to have our precious daughter at home with us instead of in the NICU.
Today life is so different. Only a few short weeks later our precious Kameryn is growing like a weed ~ well, a little weed. Daily weigh-ins are a thing of the past. Syringe feedings? No way! She is now breastfeeding like a champ. We're still up at night, of course. She's only 5 weeks old, people. But now our night time feedings are a special time for the two of us, not a time filled with worry and feeding calculations (how much math can one be expected to do at 3am?). Every day is such a joy.
So, my point (yeah, I'm actually getting there), is that had someone told me a few weeks ago that we'd be able to leave the house as a family, and actually take a mini vacation . . . well, I would've laughed out loud! But it has happened, and I'm so happy. Big sisters, Sierra and Makenna, have been through so much in the last couple of months. Having Mama hospitalized for two weeks was rough, and the couple of weeks following Kameryn's birth were equally hard. The girls really deserved a little fun. And I'm happy to say that we found it at the Great Wolf Lodge!
We made the trip to Grand Mound, Washington (about a 2 1/2 hour drive) on Wednesday. All the while the girls knew nothing of our plan. We picked up Nana and Grandpa to come along, and after about an hour in the car Sierra started getting suspicious. Imagine the looks on their faces when we pulled up to the Lodge. They were so excited! And rightly so, the water park was amazing! 84 degrees, water slides, wave pool, rafting, forts . . . it was just what we needed! Kam enjoyed herself too ~ come to find out, 84 degrees is just the right temperature for a little sugarplum to kick back and take a snooze!
Sierra and Makenna had Daddy and Grandpa running and playing all day, while Mama and Nana got to watch and take care of Kam. I did sport a bathing suit for a short while (which was brave of me considering I am in no shape to be wearing one at this point!), so that I could go on the raft ride with Jeremy and Sierra, and a few slides with the girls, and I must say it was too much fun! We will definitely be going back in the near future!
