Leaving tomorrow

aaa
We're leaving tomorrow morning. We have to be at the airport at 8.30 am. NYC and Miami, here we come!

I am surprisingly nervous about leaving R this time. This is the third trip we take without her since she was born. When she was 4 moths old we went to Paris for a week and last year, when she was 15 months olds, we went to Cuba for 10 days. We left her with my parents both times, as we will this time too. She is very used to staying with my parents, she has her own room in their house, with her own bed, her toys, her bottles. It is a familiar environment and she loves staying there.

So why am I nervous this time? Probably because she is starting to realize we're going somewhere and she will definitely feel our absence more than she did before.
When she was 4 months old and we went to Paris she didn't notice anything at all. There was still someone she was familiar with around who fed her, played with her and put her to sleep, and when we got back she didn't have any reaction whatsoever.
Last year when we went to Cuba she noticed our absence but it didn't seem to bother her too much. My mom says she was happy as ever. We would call everyday but she hardly said anything on the phone and when we got back she simply ignored us. She almost seemed offended. But she got over it in a matter of hours and by the next day everything was ok.
This time she will definitely notice our absence. She has a more defined concept of time and she knows that when we say we will be back to get her the next day, she will sleep over at grandma's and the next day mommy and daddy will pick her up. So we will have to explain to her that it will be a bit longer this time and that mommy and daddy will not pick her up for a few days.
We will call everyday. And I'm sure she'll be fine with my parents. But I'm nervous that she will miss us, that she will be sad, and that she will be angry once we get back.

I think it's a good thing that children get used to spending some time away form their parents. I think it's good that she has a place she feels at home, other than our house. I think it makes her more independent, and it is really good for us, because we need the time alone. It's also good that she has a place she can stay for a few days when the baby is born.
I know we will enjoy this vacation, we will come back happier, more relax, less cranky. And I'm pretty sure she will enjoy this time with my parents. They are even taking a week off work to spend the entire time with her, and they'll do all sorts of fun programs, they'll take her to the zoo, to the park, to the beach. I just have to keep telling myself it will be ok.

PS: I will probably not update the blog until the 18th. Sorry about that.