a bridesmaid mama.

When I was 8 or 9 months pregnant a good friend of mine, Lisa, asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding after her original bridesmaid found out she was pregnant and backed out. On a hormonal high, I was more than ecstatic to accept and be a part of her big day. Lisa, being the smart and beautiful mother of an adorable almost 2 year old little lady, encouraged me to take some time and think about it, but all I needed was about four seconds to commit. I remember saying these exact words to her the day she asked me, "Oh my baby will be four months by then. We'll be ready to leave him for the night and come to the wedding."

I seriously cringe with embarrassment when I remember saying things like this. How naive was I??!

Kale is now four months and I've left him a very small handful of times. When he was a tiny newborn I left him with my mom and Kris's mom to run 20 minute errands while he slept once or twice. Last Thursday I had no choice but to leave him in the middle of his epic meltdown with Kris's mom while I went to get my dress fitted for the wedding (although I totally needed the 20 minutes it took to collect my sanity). I've left him with Kris for a couple hours here and there for hair appointments and Kris has taken him out for a couple hours to visit friends and family. But overnight? Not a chance. So - Kale was coming to the wedding. Which isn't a big deal at all - the big deal was the fact that I was going to have to be away from him all day long while I got ready with the rest of the bridal party.

Let's just say that I was a tiny bit stressed about this for a week or two (or maybe three) leading up to the big day. I was worried about the drive there (2 hours away), whether he'd take a bottle for the whole day or not, if he was going to have an epic meltdown for Kris, if he'd scream during the wedding. Honestly, the list was nearly endless.

But....we drove up Friday evening and he slept most of the way. We checked into the hotel and I went to Lisa's and Kris put him to bed without any problems. Then I left Saturday morning at 7:30am and we planned to stay in touch throughout the day and meet up a few times if Kale needed to nurse. But.... he took bottles all day without any problems. Kris and Kale went to visit their Aunt and Cousin, went to the mall to buy shoes, took a swim in the hotel pool, and had zero meltdowns. They came to the reception around 5pm and Kale was on his best behaviour during dinner, the speeches and the dancing. At 9pm Kris, Kale and I hit the dance floor to get the party started and then made a quiet exit. Kale was fast asleep in a matter of minutes and Kris and I stayed up, drank a 6 pack, ate Burger King and watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It was the closest thing to a "date night" we've had since Kale was born and it was utterly awesome.

I guess it just goes to show that when I stress out and worry about Kale in a certain situation, he tends to pull through and be the best baby ever.

It was a great weekend. It was fun to get all dressed up and hang out with friends and be a part of one of the biggest days of their lives. I do love a good wedding.