in advance i apologize for spelling/punctuation/grammar problems etc. I'm nak occasionally during this post, I have a broken shift key on one side, and i'm trying to make sure my ds doesn't get injured...he's crawling everywhere...as i type this.
OK
On Saturday, my dh's friend from college and his girlfriend came up to visit us (we live in Vermont). The last time they had come up we went hiking and it was a really good time so we decided to go hiking again, this time on a little tougher of a hike and little longer...since we are such amazing hikers (lol). So anyway, we packed up some snacks, grabbed the ergo and drove to Mt. Mansfield...it happens to be the tallest mountain in VT. We chose to take the ''moderate'' trail called Long Trail which was an estimated 2.5 hour hike round trip. We knew it would take a little longer with baby in tow because carrying him obviously makes us a little more winded and we need more breaks.
Well anyway, we arrived at the mountain at 3pm. Started heading up the mountain. Let me make it very clear that my definition of a moderate hike and their definition on the map are VERY different. This trail was very steep and there were many many giant flat rocks that needed to be scaled...like no place for footing, etc. But i digress...
well...we arrive at this lodge area around 5:30pm. I am TRULY exhausted. TRULY starving, etc. The guy at the lodge says it takes an average person 40 more minutes to reach the top. I am thinking, this is nuts, with ds and everything it will take us another 1.5 hours there is no way we should do this because it will be so dark on the way back down. We decide we really should just head back down at this point. We notice some clouds out in the distance and decide to just stop, eat our snacks, rest a little and head down. my legs felt so wobbly and really needed a rest, etc. Well, as soon as DH takes out some fruit leathers, pistacios, and rice cakes a HUGE bolt of lighting strikes not too far off and the thunder was so loud. so now, after zero rest, no time for food, and now gettign wet, we have to head back down!
I have never felt so scared in my life as we packed everything back up and it begins to DOWNPOUR. I have ds in the ergo, but *and i realize now i'm incredibly stupid* he was wearing no pants...it was really hot when we were first hiking...i didn't want hiim to over heat...well now his legs are instantly freezing. oh and his pants...are in the car! He starts crying in the ergo, my dh decides to take off his socks and put them on ds's legs which work like pants because they are long enough. So poor dh has wet feet in his shoes getting a million blisters.
well, if you get the picture that going up that mountain was hard, please try to imagine what it was like trying to go down, in a thunder and lightning storm, with downpouring rain. i have never been so scared in all my life. My first thought though while trying to get down this mountain was THANK GOD FOR BREASTFEEDING. literally ds nursed all the way down the mountain in the ergo. he was gettign wet, but not crying, just nursing nursing nursing all the way. honestly there were times when i thought ''omg we're not going to make it, we are going to be stuck here, stranded, overnight, but at least ds will have my milk...no matter what he will be nourished..etc. We were scaling down the rocks on our butts, soaking wet, feet getting litearlly stuck in some mud puddles, falling down, getting scratched, sliding farther than we felt safe etc. but during all that time, my ds literally never peeped. he just nursed and nursed. i don't know if he could sense how scared we all were, but he was able to comfort himself at the breast.
we FINALLY made it down the mountain at 8:30 pm. i will NEVER forget this experience...i don't even know if i conveyed it well to you all how emotional/scary it was, but honestly, my biggest thought was how i believe breastfeeding helped save our lives. imagine if ds was on formula...imagine if i didnt bring enough along because i didn't know how logn we'd be on that mountain! imagine how uncomfortable he would have been that whole way down without my breast to comfort him. i truly believe it helped me stay focused, knowing he was okay and that it was okay to keep going down the mountain. it kept me motivated. i love
:breastfeeding.
thank you for reading all the way through if you did!
OK
On Saturday, my dh's friend from college and his girlfriend came up to visit us (we live in Vermont). The last time they had come up we went hiking and it was a really good time so we decided to go hiking again, this time on a little tougher of a hike and little longer...since we are such amazing hikers (lol). So anyway, we packed up some snacks, grabbed the ergo and drove to Mt. Mansfield...it happens to be the tallest mountain in VT. We chose to take the ''moderate'' trail called Long Trail which was an estimated 2.5 hour hike round trip. We knew it would take a little longer with baby in tow because carrying him obviously makes us a little more winded and we need more breaks.
Well anyway, we arrived at the mountain at 3pm. Started heading up the mountain. Let me make it very clear that my definition of a moderate hike and their definition on the map are VERY different. This trail was very steep and there were many many giant flat rocks that needed to be scaled...like no place for footing, etc. But i digress...
well...we arrive at this lodge area around 5:30pm. I am TRULY exhausted. TRULY starving, etc. The guy at the lodge says it takes an average person 40 more minutes to reach the top. I am thinking, this is nuts, with ds and everything it will take us another 1.5 hours there is no way we should do this because it will be so dark on the way back down. We decide we really should just head back down at this point. We notice some clouds out in the distance and decide to just stop, eat our snacks, rest a little and head down. my legs felt so wobbly and really needed a rest, etc. Well, as soon as DH takes out some fruit leathers, pistacios, and rice cakes a HUGE bolt of lighting strikes not too far off and the thunder was so loud. so now, after zero rest, no time for food, and now gettign wet, we have to head back down!
I have never felt so scared in my life as we packed everything back up and it begins to DOWNPOUR. I have ds in the ergo, but *and i realize now i'm incredibly stupid* he was wearing no pants...it was really hot when we were first hiking...i didn't want hiim to over heat...well now his legs are instantly freezing. oh and his pants...are in the car! He starts crying in the ergo, my dh decides to take off his socks and put them on ds's legs which work like pants because they are long enough. So poor dh has wet feet in his shoes getting a million blisters.
well, if you get the picture that going up that mountain was hard, please try to imagine what it was like trying to go down, in a thunder and lightning storm, with downpouring rain. i have never been so scared in all my life. My first thought though while trying to get down this mountain was THANK GOD FOR BREASTFEEDING. literally ds nursed all the way down the mountain in the ergo. he was gettign wet, but not crying, just nursing nursing nursing all the way. honestly there were times when i thought ''omg we're not going to make it, we are going to be stuck here, stranded, overnight, but at least ds will have my milk...no matter what he will be nourished..etc. We were scaling down the rocks on our butts, soaking wet, feet getting litearlly stuck in some mud puddles, falling down, getting scratched, sliding farther than we felt safe etc. but during all that time, my ds literally never peeped. he just nursed and nursed. i don't know if he could sense how scared we all were, but he was able to comfort himself at the breast.
we FINALLY made it down the mountain at 8:30 pm. i will NEVER forget this experience...i don't even know if i conveyed it well to you all how emotional/scary it was, but honestly, my biggest thought was how i believe breastfeeding helped save our lives. imagine if ds was on formula...imagine if i didnt bring enough along because i didn't know how logn we'd be on that mountain! imagine how uncomfortable he would have been that whole way down without my breast to comfort him. i truly believe it helped me stay focused, knowing he was okay and that it was okay to keep going down the mountain. it kept me motivated. i love
:breastfeeding.thank you for reading all the way through if you did!
And breastfeeding is amazing, beautiful and well awesome!!
I'm glad you're all OK. That must have been terrifying.
