Baby in the Bano

Several years ago, we went on a family vacation with my family to Aspen. My niece, Makenna was about 8 months at the time, so only slightly younger than Ben is now. I clearly remember one day when the housekeeping staff came by to clean the rooms and we had to tell them not to clean the bathroom because she was in there sleeping. At the time I was somewhat disturbed that my precious niece was sleeping in the bathroom....the place where we go to shower, wash our hands and.....you know. But my sister defended her sleeping location saying it was in a separate room from them and was quiet and dark. I admit....I was skeptical. The housekeeping staff apparently thought it was a bit odd as well because one woman pointed at the bathroom door and said "Baby in the bano???"

Well......Ben slept in the bano and Emily was 100% right. The only place where Ben would sleep on our trip. As soon as we moved him out of our room and into the bano, he slept much better. We had a lovely trip and Ben was a trooper. In 8 nights, we were in 4 different locations. We logged countless hours in the car, he was constantly surrounded by new people and new places and he did really well all things considered. There were days when he got no naps at all and the idea of a "schedule" flew out the window somewhere in Western Pennsylvania. The first few nights of attempting to "co-room" with our child were somewhat of a failure. The first night he was in his pack and play only a few feet away from our bed and we woke up at 3:00 a.m. to "mamamama" and "dadadadada" from Ben who was standing up staring at us from over the rail. Second night, we hung a sheet between him and us so he wouldn't see us thinking maybe that would do the trick. No go. Third night, after he was awake 3 times within an hour of us entering the room, mom and dad surrendered and went downstairs to sleep on the pullout. Ben had the largest room in the house all to himself. The next night we got to a hotel in Grand Rapids and thought "why not give the bathroom a try?" Worked like a charm. Who knows....maybe at this point in time he was so tired from lack of nap and good night's rest and he would have slept anywhere but I'm convinced the bano had something to do with it. Dark, quiet, separated from mom and dad by drywall and studs, perfect. Baby in the bano. I will say that Ben not only slept better but enjoyed the acoustics. He could shriek and go "ah ah ah" really loudly and the bathroom amplified his little voice and gave it a nice echo quality that only spurred him on to louder calls. A combination between a crowing rooster when the sun goes up and a hilarious hotel wake up call.

We had a lovely time in Michigan seeing family and friends. We also got to witness the marriage of dear cousins/friends who we love. So happy for them! Thanks to everyone who helped make it an enjoyable week. Thanks to Nana and Pop-Pop for their help with Ben. Thanks to all those who tolerated my AWFUL golfing skills (no skill at all). Thanks again to those who lent us stuff for the drive out and the drive back. Thanks to Ben for being a trooper. I'll post pictures later of Ben in the car....priceless.