Road Trip ~~Ride on Time~~

Earlier this summer we took a little (ok a big) road trip with Ryan. We drove from our home first to Kelowna, BC then to Seattle, WA and back. Ryan traveled quite well but there were a couple of small meltdowns on the road and no where to stop. It was heartbreaking to have to listen to him cry and not be able to do anything about it (especially when trapped in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic or stuck in construction in the mountains). On the way home we discovered a magic button of sorts, a song that would help soothe Ryan.

Even though this song was a magic button for us during our road trip we somehow manged to forget about it until a couple of nights ago. On Tuesday we took a much shorter road trip into Edmonton. We had a couple of errands to run, visited with great-grandma P and did some shopping. About half way home Ryan woke up and was incredibly fussy. We tried everything. I gave him good fish crackers and water, I nursed him, I changed his diaper, I gave him a teething tab, I took him out of the car and we ran around in a deserted gas station parking lot, I gave him toys and I even got into the back of the car with him. But it was no use. Each thing would soothe him for a few minutes only before he started screaming again. Brad continued to drive on as best he can, stopping when I asked so I could try something new.

Ryan cried pretty much non stop for the better part of an hour (I don't think the CIO method for sleep will be effective with Ryan) and we finally arrived in Bonnyville which is only about a half hour from home. We stopped at the 7-11 and I took Ryan out of the car and carried him around the store for a good 10-15 minutes trying to soothe and calm him. Brad washed the windshield and lights and added more windshield wiper fluid to his car. I took Ryan back to the car and nursed him again. Then I had an idea and I asked Brad to put on the magic song from our Kelowna/Seattle road trip. Brad put the song on and between it and nursing (and the previous meltdown I am sure) Ryan finally fell asleep. I transfered him over to his car seat, he cried a little but I got back into the front of the car and we kept the magic song playing. By the time we were out of the 7-11 parking lot, Ryan was calmed and almost asleep. He slept the rest of the way home, let us take him out of the car and bring him into the house.

The magic song? Let's say this about it first, it shows how much Ryan is like his parents. Perhaps he heard the song so many times before being born that he finds it comforting. But it is a song that Daddy loves that happens to be in one of Mommy's favorite movies. It's a dance/techno song by Black Box called Ride on Time. My newest thought is to make a cd with multiple versions and copies of the song on it and play it on a cd player at bedtime/nap time. We know it works in the car, but maybe it is the combination of the movement and the song. I'll let you know how this new experiment with the song goes!