Rest Stop Roulette

First lesson in parenting: never wake a sleeping baby.

This is a good rule of thumb when you're close to home, but on a road trip it gets a little tricky.

Take for example our recent visit to grandma and grandpa's house.

Doug and I were proud of ourselves for not stopping the car at the first hint of a cry, a rookie mistake we made on our first out-of-state excursion.

This time, we were a little more seasoned, and Mackenzie eventually found her thumb and soothed herself back to sleep.

But after that, we were two players in a game of what Doug dubbed "Rest Stop Roulette" where every exit with a Roy Rogers, Taco Bell, or Carvel was potentially deadly. 

Do we stop? Do we keep on driving?

These decisions were made at the very last possible second, with us often starting to take an exit ramp only to end up continuing our route.

If she's asleep, why risk it? We knew full well that Mackenzie would wake up as soon as the ignition turned off.

But... how long would she remain sleeping? Would she make it to the next stop? If she wakes up and has a meltdown will we be able to survive the next 19 miles?

We stared longingly out the window as we passed signs for Sbarro and and TCBY, all in an effort to buy ourselves a little more time. 

Four hours into our drive I broke down and reluctantly pulled into a service area. I'd had to pee since hour one.  Plus we could only starve ourselves for so long. 

Inevitably Mackenzie woke up, started crying, and needed to be fed and changed.

I suppose these trips will get easier in the future. 

For now, our little sweet pea rules the road.