Trina Orlando

We started today with breakfast in the lobby. Jarmon and I each had coffee and a breakfast sandwich, while Arabella kept cool in the AC. DD and MJ joined us. They took Arabella out to the pool while Jarmon and I went back to the room to get ready.

Mimosas were the drink of choice today. I think we went through three bottles of prosecco.

MJ spent a good bit of time inside with Arabella. Baby girl is struggling with the heat- and MJ is happy to accommodate. I had been a little afraid of taking her in the pool because she hadn’t pooped since Saturday- today that changed. She was sitting in my lap when she started to make the signature grunting noise following by an explosive and undeniable gurgle. After that I felt much more confident taking her in the water. We played for about a half hour and chatted with little Olivia from Dallas and her parents. Watching 18-month old Olivia play in water made me VERY excited for next year’s trip.

Tonight we had dinner at the Naked Crab. Jarmon’s choice. It was honestly one of the worst meals of my life. $300+ and everything was awful. I felt bad that DD was paying for it. My medium steak came out well done– and when I sent it back came out raw. It seemed as though the “chef” had never cooked a steak before. And don’t get me started about the salt blocks the steaks were served on. I’m pretty sure we all took a few years off our lives from excessive salt intake. The only way to explain how the place had customers is that none of them had dined there before. We all left feeling a little salty (sorry not sorry, ha!)– and won’t make the same mistake again.

It was mama Joan’s birthday today, but it was Jarmon and I who got the present— Arabella slept through the night until 9:30am… AGAIN. Not sure how it happened, but we were grateful. Needless to say, we got a late start. And so did my parents who were catching up from their early arrival yesterday.

We got a cabana again today. Despite the shade, it wasn’t providing quite enough climate control for Arabella so we took turns walking inside with her. DD and Jarmon had chicken sandwiches for lunch, while MJ had fruit. I of course had French fries. I ordered some champagne mid afternoon and took some to MJ and DD in the pool. Bubbly really is the best drink at the pool.

When the sun went down behind the hotel and the pool was in the shade, we finally took Arabella into the water. She was slightly more tolerant than yesterday, but still not in love.

Tonight we went to Coconuts for MJ’s birthday dinner. We had a crab claw appetizer that was delicious. Jarmon got a pasta dish with lobster, chicken and sausage. I got crab cakes. DD got snapper and MJ got a steak. We asked the waitress to bring my mother a birthday dessert and she got the most ridiculously amazing chocolate chip cookie sandwich I’ve ever seen. Like, I want one right now. (And again every day for the rest of my life).

Right before our food came, Arabella started to stir. She drank a bottle and ended up staying up for the rest of dinner. I think she just didn’t want to be left out of MJ’s birthday celebration.. which was totally fine with MJ who relished every second. And we got some adorable photos- so a win all around.

Real question asked today by my dear husband: “Baby (me), does the ruffle on this reusable diaper go in the front or back?”

I get why it could be confusing, but… ?!

Anyway- Day two at the beach started in a panic. I opened my eyes at 9:38am immediately wondering why I hadn’t heard from my daughter all night- was she alive? She was… and she was swimming in 12+ hours worth of pee. Turns out all those hours of uninterrupted rest can’t be contained in one diaper. So, I pulled apart the bassinet and started scrubbing. Then I also tackled the less pleasant task of scrubbing the poop stained car seat insert and outfit from the day prior that had been soaking overnight. Oh how vacation mornings have changed. By the time I was done cleaning that along with bottle and pump parts, it was no longer morning.

We eventually made it to the pool, where my parents- Daddy Don (DD) and Mama Joan (MJ)- joined us. We got a cabana today and it was a great decision. Arabella could hang in the shade and we could have sun. She was very hot at one point so my mom walked inside with her— then I dipped her in the pool. We also put her in her raft again, this time inflating the center. She was still disinterested, but still not crying.. so I guess it’s a win. My parents loved seeing her in the pool.

My parents had burgers for lunch and jarmon had a chicken sandwich. I had some fries late in the day.

The dining options near the hotel aren’t what they used to be. Our kitschy old favorite, Bahia Cabana, closed shortly after we visited last year. It was allegedly damaged in the hurricane and never reopened. A developer wants to turn the site into high end condos— the complete opposite of the dive we loved. Oasis Cafe- the restaurant about a 1/2 mile away where you could eat in giant swings- is also gone. Their lease was up and they couldn’t afford the increase in order to renew. So, we went for the next closest option— Bubba Gump’s. The food was good, but the service was dreadful. We had a 45 minute wait even though the place was empty. My parents sat outside with Arabella, while Jarmon and I got a drink at the bar. I had white wine, Jarmon ordered a beer. Much to my mother’s disappointment, Arabella slept like an angel through dinner. Jarmon and I walked to the restaurant- despite a light rain- so Arabella could stay sleeping in her bassinet. At dinner, I had crab stuffed shrimp with broccoli, Jarmon had gumbo and coconut shrimp, DD had a fish sandwich and MJ had ribs. All very good. When we got back to the hotel we decided to take advantage of our sleeping child and sit in the lobby for a bit. I ordered key lime pie for dessert, which the waiter turned into a birthday treat adorned with a candle for DD and MJ.

Arabella stayed sleeping the entire time… and didn’t wake up until 930am. And even then she didn’t cry. I only know she was awake because I woke up and went looking for her. I’m beginning to think we should move here- I mean, 13 1/2ish hours of sleep?? Just add this to the list of reasons why I love the beach.. and I love Ft Lauderdale.

Today was a big day. It was Arabella’s first Uber ride, first flight, first taxi ride and first time in my favorite place- Ft Lauderdale.

We left Chicago VERY early. Jarmon and I- as is typical the night before vacation- didn’t get any sleep. Jarmon fell asleep on the couch reading something on his iPad. I powered through until our 3am alarm- determined to execute Arabella’s first travel experience with supreme organization. I was successful.

Jarmon got in the shower at about 3:15a while I pumped and fed Arabella. At 3:45a we called an Uber XL to get our load to the airport. Amazingly it all fit- though our driver seemed a little concerned about how many people would be coming out of the house to get in the vehicle to go with the luggage. He seemed both relieved and horrified to learn it was just the three of us.

When we got to the airport, we thought we may have to rent a cart, but being the travel pros that we are somehow managed to be mobile. It was no small feat considering we had a stroller, car seat, bassinet, diaper bag, two carry ons and three large suitcases.

The full service line (necessary for checking in with an infant) was LONG. So long, that it completely negated our early arrival and quickly crushed our dreams of a celebratory glass of champagne before boarding. But we made it to the gate with about ten minutes to spare before boarding. Victory!

I pre-boarded with Arabella, while Jarmon stayed back to disassemble and pack the stroller and car seat. When I got to our seats- carefully chosen in the back of the plane for easy access to both the restroom and the trash can- I dealt with the most pressing issue: Arabella didn’t just have a wet diaper, she had a wet outfit. I laid one of our disposable hospital grade changing pads across the seats in our row and got to work. By the time I finished, Jarmon was on the plane— and so was everyone else. My diaper changing had managed to scare off any potential row mates. The only empty seat in the entire plane was- mercifully- in our row.

The flight went about as well as we could have hoped. No meltdowns, but also no sleep. (At least for Arabella.. and by default, me).

Upon arrival in Ft Lauderdale, we were feeling like pros. We quickly assembled the stroller and strolled through the airport like we had been traveling with a baby for years. I claimed our bags while Jarmon held Arabella. Then we proceeded to the cab stand— Jarmon pushing the stroller and pulling a suitcase, me pulling two suitcases. Our carryons were on the stroller hooks and the bassinet was stowed on the bottom of the stroller in its travel bag. We probably looked like the Beverly Hillbillies, but we felt like champs.

We got to the hotel quickly. And that’s when I had the most memorable moment of vacation so far. Our room wasn’t ready, so faced with nowhere to pump I headed to a little known restroom— known to me because of repeat visits to the hotel. There were no chairs around, so I plopped myself on the ground in the handicapped stall and got situated. Thirty minutes later, I had four whole ounces of milk. Hashtag- momlife. Hashtag- thingswedoformilk …Oye.

We decided to get some coffee and breakfast sandwiches in the lobby before heading out to the pool. Thanks to my previously touted supreme organization, this went smoothly. Even jarmon was impressed— no small feat there.

It was a busy Saturday at the pool, so there were no chairs to be found. We cozied up to a table with an umbrella at the pool bar/restaurant. Arabella parked in the shade, Jarmon and I soaking up some sun. Eventually we put Arabella in her raft and took a dip— it wasn’t the magical first swim we had imagined, but it wasn’t bad either. She was unimpressed, but she didn’t cry… so I’m calling it a win. Plus, there is something magical and awesome about seeing your kid play in the same pool you grew up playing in on vacation, so it was going to be a win for me regardless.

The pool manager remembered us from last year and since we booked a cabana for Sunday, let us have one late Saturday afternoon. We ended up hanging out until about 6pm. We only had one pool(side) mishap. We were sitting at our table when some kids came over to admire Arabella. Cute, right? It was about this same time that I smelled something amiss and noticed that Arabella’a diaper indicator hadn’t just turned blue, but the diaper itself had turned brown. It was clear we had a shitstorm approaching. Poop. Copious amounts of it. I let the kids fuss over my cute baby until I noticed the poop starting to seep (pour?) from the diaper. It was at that moment I felt the need to intervene and save my $500 car seat. I picked up Arabella only to have the kids ooohs and ahhhs change to ewwws when the realized the poop situation. I went on to change my kid- who at this point had destroyed her second outfit of the day- on the pool deck. I guess it was a good excuse to get her into her swimwear and a reminder- motherhood is endlessly glamorous.

At night, we decided to venture out for dinner. Arabella was sleeping happily in the bassinet attachment for her stroller- so we snapped it to the stroller and headed out. She rode happily to dinner at the G&B Oyster Bar- next to Coconuts- and continued to sleep happily through dinner. Jarmon and I enjoyed some crisp white wine, yellow tail ceviche and an oyster sampler. For our main courses Jarmon had a crispy yellow tail with a decadent crab sauce and arugula salad. I had shrimp skewers with an Asian sauce over fried Brussels sprouts. We shared chocolate pecan pie a la mode for desert. It was all every bit as delicious as it sounds.

We decided to walk off dinner with a stroll to CVS. We were desperately in need of diapers— and something to clean all of the outfits and baby gear Arabella had soiled during the day. CVS was of course farther than I remembered (guess that happens when you are walking at night instead of running in the morning). And it involved walking past all of the bars on the Lauderdale strip… which were hopping on a Saturday at 11pm. No need to go into details on this- it’s pretty much exactly what you are imagining- but we got our diapers and Oxi-clean stick. Arabella slept the whole time. And we felt like parents of the year. I mean hey- it took me 34 years to experience the Lauderdale strip at 11p on a Saturday— it took my kid less than 4 months. Not surprisingly, she is already cooler than me.

When I said she slept the whole time, I wasn’t kidding. She never stirred until 10am. At which point we realized her bassinet was filled with pee that had collected during her 12+ hours of uninterrupted sleep. (Hey, you win some you lose some, right?) And so began our second fun-filled day as a family of three in Lauderdale.