I'm happy about the whole experience:
- happy to take Bryce to see new places;
- happy for everything I packed;
- happy for all the choices I've made;
There's only one thing I wish it wouldn't exist: jet lagging. :)
Can't hardly wait for the next one: TRIP.
The first's week challenge in Sofia was, of course, the jet lag. It's annoying for a grown up, imagine how annoying this can be for a baby. Add to this the teething and the unhappiness is there.
Anyway, the first days he would wake up like in the middle of the night, and be all wake and ready to play. The funny thing about it is that he would not sleep throughout the day as if it would be the night. He would rather have naps or maximum a 3 hours long sleep.
With the help of grand ma' Myrna, we've managed to somehow survive (we would take shifts, like she would sleep more in the evening and be wake for him in the night, while I would be awake during day time and sleep during night time). But, all in all, if you travel somewhere where the difference hour is significant (more than 3 hours) then you need to take in consideration having someone with you to help you with the shifts, otherwise is just 1 week of sleep depravation.
By the end of the week, he started sleeping a little bit better: he would go to sleep somewhere around 9-10:00 pm sleep till around 4:30- 5:00 am ( with some little waking for the feedings), stay awake for another 2 hours or so then go back to sleep for another hour. All in all, around 7:30-8:00 am he is totally awake, ready for a new day.
The city challenges:
- no sidewalks for pedestrians or/and strollers ( I mean the sidewalks exist but they are full of parked cars);
- the remaining sidewalks are full of holes making the stroller stride a real adventure;
- smoking everywhere ( in the streets, on the terraces, in the parks, in the restaurants, even in the hotel- I smell smoke coming under the door of our apartment); basically, it's smoke everywhere, you can barely smell the nice breeze of the spring;
- no high chairs in the restaurants ( so far, the first one that we found was in the Hilton), but for one week we didn't find any restaurant that would have a high chair for the baby; (this was kinda of hard as we are going out a lot in LA and Bryce would always have his highchair, basically he would sit with us at the table and eat with us, one of the concepts of BLW); here, instead, he would either sit in his stroller or in our laps;
- not so many but still here and there some stray dogs and you never know how they will react so, you just need to be cautious when you pass them by;
- stairs, stairs, stairs, lots of stairs and no other choice for people with disabilities or moms with strollers; even the shops have lots of stairs but no ramps or some other access ( malls not included, as they do have elevators);
As for the food and water: to be on the safe side, we are drinking only bottled water, even Bryce's fruits and vegetables I wash them with the same bottled water; I still do a little bit of BLW ( I don't cook too much but I offer him carrots, apples, bananas, grapes etc) and I also bought some little bio Hipp jars that he eats from time to time; he was only one day constipated right in the beginning but after I gave him some prunes puree, he started pooping on his daily routine.
It turned out to be great to have a a lot of Orajel tubes with me, as he started teething right here and right now; so, having the Orajel helped a bit as well as cold cucumber and apple finger cuts.
My hubby was free for the weekend, so we spend some time just the three of us as we needed it so much. It was just great.
Now, the first week is over, we're looking forward to the 2nd one and some more things to discover.
The whole flight I found quit easy. Probably the night flight helped but anyway I can not say that it was a big struggle for any of us.
We checked in at LAX, very quick process, got the tickets, they weighed the luggage, I didn't have to pay for anything extra, so, basically, I could travel with two big suitcases ( max weight 23 kilos/each).
Having the baby helps as you don't have to stay in the long line, you're directed towards an express line, but the security check-up is a big pain in the b..., as you have to basically put everything on the x-ray conveyer belt (even the stroller), the baby shoes etc. Ughhhh.....
We had the bulkhead seats ( I highly recommend them especially when you travel with small kids, infants); the people from Lufthansa were great, they gave Bryce a little toy and they were very, very nice with all of us; half an hour after the plane took off, Bryce fell asleep in the nice bassinet that the airline provided us with (btw, great thing this bassinet - really helpful for both the parents and the baby) and he slept for about 7 hours out of the 11 that the flight had. We ate, played, napped and finally we got to Munich.
In Munich, we had a very little layover just enough to have a good cup of expresso and change Bryce's diaper and clothes, and after that we've boarded on the plane to Sofia. Short trip, only 2 hours, small plane, a little nap for Bryce.
And finally Sofia: but wait, we got to the Balkans and the change was so obvious: we got there and there was a huge line by the custom booths and no organization what so ever. And it the midst of all this mess, a police guy sees us and let us go in front. DONE!!
So, after around 13 hours of flight and 1 hour layover we've managed to get there safe and sound and to hold and give million kisses to our papa.
It was nothing planned. My husband was working on this Tim Burton's project in a VFX facility 2-3 hours away from LA (BTW, very hard not having him home all this time) but as this week was his last one, we thought why not make a small trip out of it?
So, mama Clara loaded her small beetle ( I don't want to give you details about the way I travel - just 2 words - NOT LIGHT-:)) and on the road for the small adventure.
Mr. Clifford - the doggie - on the front seat, little Bryce in his car seat. He slept all the way, no issues, no problem.
We got to the hotel around 6:30 pm and he was all fresh and awake and ready to play. Which he did for about 2-3 hours ( while we enjoyed a fresh Domino pizza - oh, life on the road) and probably @ around 9:30 pm he was ready to go to sleep again. We had a smaller bed than the one we have home ( Queen size as opposed to the Cal King from our bedroom) but we shared it gladly, didn't ask for a baby crib and just cuddle the three of us, Bryce kinda of taking up the whole bed. :))
Things we enjoyed on the trip:
-being all of us together ( I feel so complete when I see my husband playing and adoring his son)
- going out and visiting new places ( we particularly loved this little danish town, called Solvang, as it made me feel like being home, in a way, back on my Old Continent);
-interacting with people and seeing new faces ( Bryce was just adored everywhere we went) ;
- shopping :)) ( I admit- my guilty pleasure)
- experiencing new foods ( and in this way, watching Bryce's reaction and behavior in a restaurant - he sat gladly in a high chair and we shared with him whatever foods from our plates were appropriate for him);
- BEING ONE LITTLE HAPPY FAMILY - OMG, having a baby is giving so much sense to your life, I love him from the bottom of my heart and THANK him for enriching my life every single day.
That was our little trip. I look forward to the longer ones. :)))
My journey as a mom began on August 18th 2009 at 7:27 am when a handsome baby came out from my womb and intoxicated me with a lot of love.
This is the story of that journey.
EVERY TIME I HOLD MY SON I MEET THE ABSOLUTE HAPPINESS
First and foremost, I'm a MOTHER.
I was born in Romania, studied foreign languages (French and English), worked in the movie making industry, fell in love with the most amazing guy, moved to the States, became a MOTHER.
That's just for telling the story short.
Posts
