This weekend we made our first of many trips to Minneapolis to see Aubrey's neurologist. This was a new trip for us as the neurologist had moved from Sanford in Fargo to Minnesota Epilepsy Group in Saint Paul. We had pushed it out and begged for refills without appointments for long enough and my pregnancy and a new baby could no longer be used as an excuse for not being able to travel. Usually we love to travel but, honestly, a ten hour car trip with a 4 month old and Aubrey during winter.... probably not the type travel I long for. We broke it up by staying in Fargo on the way down and in Grand Forks on the way back, so that did ease the pain a little. We started out a little late in the day because Seth worked the night before and I had clients that I really needed to see in the morning. Everything was going pretty smoothly until a little over 3 hours in. We stopped at a Dairy Queen for a little ice cream treat. I got Alexander out to change and feed him and he vomited everywhere. All over me, all over him, lots and lots of puke. Ice cream? No thanks. Aubrey was shuffled from the front seat to the back and front and back while we cleaned up, changed clothes and started all over with the changing and feeding. Keep in mind that at this point Aubrey hasn't worn pants in months, so we are dragging her in and out in shorts and it's around 10 degrees. Perfect parenting. Whatever, we get everybody in and settled, find a trash to throw all of the hazmat in and keep going to Fargo. We made it there without further incident and both kids had passed out by the time we got there. The next morning we got up fairly early and headed to the Cities. I had to move from the front seat to back a lot to keep Alexander content but otherwise that was a fairly easy drive. We stopped to see Seth's cousin, Lindsay, as soon as we got to town, which was a nice break and Aubrey got to chase some cats around. Then we made to to the hotel and settled in. I wanted to take Alexander swimming for the first time ever with Aubrey so we all got dressed and went down to the pool. Holy hell, there must have been 50 screaming, wild kids in that pool. He got in for like 30 seconds and we called it quits. Even Aubrey and Seth cut it short and Aubrey was glad to get out of there.
Sunday morning we headed to the Science Museum, which was awesome. Aubrey was so engaged and seemed to really take interest in a lot of the interactive exhibits. That was a nice treat for everyone. We stayed for a few hours and it was a nice place to take her. I didn't dare take my phone out to take any pictures because I definitely did not want to ruin the vibe by letting her catch a glimpse of a phone. We grabbed a bite to eat and then caught the shuttle to the Mall of America for Aubrey to push her limits on the rides. Again, screaming, wild kids everywhere. Two hours and only four rides later, Aubrey was over it. She definitely loved the rides that she did get to go on but the lines were just too long for her and Alexander was way too over stimulated - even though he did catch a quick break when he and I snuck off to Baby Gap quick. We caught a cab back, ran a few errands and called it a night.
We decided that Aubrey really needed to get some time on some rides, so we made another trip back to the Mall before her appointment Monday morning. We were the first in line and she was able to flip, twist and roller coaster her little heart out.
By the time we got to the doctor, she was exhausted. She cried or at was at least on the verge of tears for the entire appointment. The doctor was great, as usual. She made a few adjustments to the seizure meds and the sleep meds. She warned us that she is uncomfortable increasing the sleep meds anymore though and Aubrey will need a sleep study before any additional changes are made. Sounds easy enough but I already know that attaching 1000 wires to Aubrey and then thinking she will go to sleep, without meds, is absolutely not going to happen. I'll deal with that when the time comes though. First, we need to have her tonsils out and see if that improves anything and then she will do a sleep study in Minneapolis. We are already following up with an ENT in Fargo because Aubrey has had so many sore throats this year and refuses to eat, which turns into quite the ordeal. Anyway, we will follow up with all of those appointments and see neurology again in 6 months.
Okay, so back in the car and headed home. We make it to Grand Forks, which is about a 5 hour drive, and call it a night. We get to the room and Alexander just loses it. Poor little guy is just beat. Both kids pass out and all seems well. The sleeping arrangement for the whole trip was Aubrey and Seth in one bed and Alexander and I in the other. With the long days, and swimming and extra activities, Aubrey had been sleeping all night, but Alexander was sleeping so much in the car that he was up several times during the night. I suggested to Seth that we should switch for the night so I can sleep and that I'll drive the next day. I know in my mind that the doc has just increased her sleep meds and I should be guaranteed to get some actual deep sleep. He takes me up on the offer and I'm excited to not make bottles all night. Sucker, sucker, sucker. 4:00 a.m. and Aubrey is laughing her head off at nothing and rolling herself up in the sheets. Why did I rock the boat. At 5:00, I set her up in the living room with a blanket and cartoons. At 5:30, she's back in bed with me being a human burrito in the sheets. It's hard not to laugh at her because it's nice to see her so happy and entertaining herself. She would never have so much fun playing by herself at any other time of the day. Then Alexander gets up and I know playtime is over and we might as well get ready to go. 6:30, Aubrey passes out. Oh no sweetheart, not now. Then there it was, that moment that always hits me when I'm so tired and I just want her to comply, the moment when I have to help my 8 year old hold a glass of milk and slowly bring it to her mouth so that she can take a drink to wash down medications to keep her brain from seizing something like twenty times an hour and medications to help her control the anxiety that comes with the frustration of not being able to speak which leads to biting herself, sometimes until she bleeds. Yeah I can hold this glass of milk and yeah I'll be tired doing it, yeah I'll drive us home and yeah I'll still be tired tomorrow, but I'll do it again and again for these distant appointments because I still have to hold that milk for her, so I know she needs all of the help we can find her.
We head for home and she sleeps for 2 hours on the road. Made it home with no issues other than Alexander is still coming down from an eventful weekend and maybe a little too much to take in for such a small chap.
Back to school and daycare tomorrow and then two days out for Spring Break. I would say that for our first family trip, it was a good, but there is still a learning curve there with having two kids now. We will get plenty of practice with all of Aubrey's upcoming appointments though.
