Simply Sustar: Trip to Captiva, FL

3.3.13 - Henry's first visit to the ocean!

3.3.13 - Beach baby!

March 2-9th we traveled to Captiva, FL, which is and island off the gulf- coast of Ft Meyers, just north of Sanibel Island. We went with my parents and stayed at the beautiful and luxurious South Seas Island Resort. I was a little bit nervous about flying with Henry, but he was such a trooper! I was worried that the airplane ride would bother his ears or make him scared and that he wouldn't nap at all during our travel days. I was pleasantly surprised, as travel days went smoothly! Henry did better on the plane than he does in the car. I think it was easy because I could just hold him in my arms and he loved that. He nursed on the plane and took naps on each flight. I think all the white noise of the plane helped to soothe him to sleep.

3.5.13 - Henry on the beach with Grandma and Grandpa Horth

3.5.13 - Henry sticking his toes in the ocean with Grandpa

Unfortunately during the second day of our trip my dad got a bad stomach bug. At first we thought it was food poisoning but when Henry came down with it later that afternoon we knew it was a bug. Everyone got it, but strangely I never got sick, and only had a very mild stomach ache. LJ and Henry had it the worst. Henry got so sick that he couldn't keep anything down, including breast milk. We were worried that he was getting too dehydrated because he had gone over 12 hours without having a wet diaper. We ended up taking him to the ER in Ft Meyers at midnight. While in the ER the presiding doctor wanted to give him IV fluids and Zofran, which is a medication that prevents vomiting. Four different nurses tried for two hours to find a vein to give Henry an IV but none of them were able to get it. It was a traumatic experience to watch my baby crying and writhing in pain, even though I knew the medical staff were trying to help him. After eight or nine failed attempts at getting the IV in I finally asked that we review Henry's care plan. He had been able to nurse in between some the of the IV attempts and hadn't vomited in past hour. He even had a little bit of urine in his diaper, so they sent us home with a syringe and vial of Pedialyte, with instructions to give him fluids through the syringe every 30 min.

Thankfully, Henry made a full recovery, but it definitely put a mark on our trip.

3.4.13 - Poor sick baby.
Henry and I walking on the beach after one of bouts of vomiting.
This was before going to the ER later that night.

On the positive, we got to walk on the beach every day were were in Captiva. We stayed in a house that was literally right on the beach, so it was easy to get out of bed and walk out to the beach. The weather was a bit chilly most of the days, with temperatures in the 50s-60s, but sunny for the most part. We were lucky to have two nice days where it was in the 70s and sunny, so we made the most of those days by dipping in the ocean and going to the pool.

3.5.13 - Enjoying one of our warm weather days in Captiva by dipping in the ocean!

3.5.13 - soaking up some sun with my boys!

3.5.13 - Hooray for beach walks!
These guys look pretty happy for having spent most of the night before in the ER.

Also during our time in Captiva we had the joy of seeing manatees for the first time! We rented bikes through the resort which was great call, because it allowed us to get out and explore while being able to enjoy being outside. We rented a bike trailer for Henry, which he loved riding in, but did NOT like wearing the helmet. I am excited to use our Burley trailer at home with him this spring and summer!

3.7.13 - Biking around the island.

3.7.13 - Henry happy and feeling much better!

3.7.13 - a chilly but beautiful walk on the beach

3.7.13 -doing some beach yoga with Henry

3.7.13 - Beach walk with papa.

The most exciting thing that happened on our trip was Henry's first birthday! It was strange and a bit surreal to think back to being in the hospital giving birth to Henry as we lounged pool-side with our one year old! =) I still find myself in awe that we made it through the first year of being parents and that Henry is such an amazing and inspiring little guy. The day of Henry's birthday was our best day of vacation, and also our last. The weather was absolutely perfect; 75 degrees and sunny, everyone was healthy, and everyone was happy! We enjoyed the day by going to the beautiful pool complex right on the ocean and spent a good chunk of the afternoon there. After a good nap we went out dinner at the beautiful Harborview restaurant where we were finally able to meet up with my 92 year old grandmother, who lives in Naples, and my Uncle Jim and Aunt Tonya who live in St Petersburg, and Uncle Paul and Aunt Bridget who were visiting from Chicago.

3.7.13 - Hugs from Grandpa

3.8.13 - At the pool on Henry's first birthday!

3.8.13 - luck guy! Henry got to spend his birthday at the pool!

I knew taking a longer trip like this with Henry would be different than it is to travel without children, but even though we had some challenges, I am so glad that we made the trip. I love traveling (for the most part) and I hope that we can raise our children to also love visiting new places. We were very lucky to have my parents help navigating through the airports and just as extra pairs of hands to give us a break when we needed one. I look forward to our next family adventure, (and cross my fingers that we are healthy!).