dec, 5th - flying...not quite what it used to be....

[the effects of jetlag....this is 9:30am....but don't be fooled, these two were both up at 2am and ready to play]

day 1025 / 24:

we have gone ahead to spend Christmas with family in Asia and A. will join us later. Limi and i have flown together quite a few times (it's a fact of our lives when we have family and friends spread far and wide) and she's always been a pretty good flyer (i wrote about our very first long-haul flight on day 84). this was Claya's first time. i was a bit worried that she would be the 'non-flyer' in the family but she was generally brilliant (by brilliant i mean i didn't spend the flight with a screaming baby or have to do laps of the plane....by no means am i suggesting that i was reclined, sipping a chilled glass of wine and watching a movie...).....seriously, flying is just not what it used to be.....anyway, it was made a whole lot easier by my sister flying at the same time (on a different airline) and helping us on each end....

so, a couple of things (besides what i mentioned on day 84) that i have learnt (through friends, family and my own experiences) about flying with kids under three......

* for babies, the well known fact of feeding on take take-off and landing to decompress their ears. for Limi, i make sure that she has her own bottle of water to sip as the pressure changes

* i get all our hand-luggage down and stack it to make a ledge at Limi's feet so that she has more of a bed to sleep on and it helps to stop her from rolling off the seat

* for this trip, even though Limi only watches T.V. occasionally, we introduced her to two movies (Sound of Music and Happy Feet) for weeks in advance and made sure that we had uploaded them onto the iPad. we packed some kids headphones and although she slept for most of the flight (hooray!) when she did wake up, she was happy to watch a movie that she knew so well (i knew that this would really help if i was dealing with Claya)

* i also never hesitate to ask an air-steward to watch the girls if i need to go to the bathroom or take one of them

* and finally, on this trip, we also let Limi pack her own backpack of toys and snacks to take on the plane (she used her school bag....sweet)

so, besides the airline leaving the bag containing Claya's nappies and travel cot on the tarmac in London (something about a broken carousel) and just starting to change an especially tricky nappy when we hit bad turbulence....we are here safe and sound and looking forward to a festive season with family.......

next step: how to persuade two children that it is sleep time when their bodies are saying that it's midday and time to play.....

p.s. things may be a bit quieter than usual on the blog for a few weeks.....but i'll be back in the new year with plenty of pics to share.

apr, 30th - end of the holiday....

day 447:

this is Limi in the back of a black cab on the way home from the airport......this is exactly how we all feel at the end of a good holiday.

apr, 22nd - bye bye cape town....

day 439:

nov, 8th - wrangling a wild kitten....

day 269:

flying with a 9 month old is like trying to wrangle a wild kitten in a coat-cupboard....

so a big sorry to:

- the man in front of me for two small feet that kicked your chair....continuously.....(i promise i tried my hardest to cushion the blows)

- the man in front of me for small hands that grabbed your hair

- the girl next to me for having to hold a bottle, a wayward sock, a book and even a baby at one stage.....

- the person behind me for the endless game of peek-a-boo

- and finally, to the person across the aisle for having to wave and smile (about 100 times) at a tiny, grinning upside down face

i think that i aged about 5 years in two and a half hours. at least the grandmother of another child flying along with the mother, came up to me afterwards as i was hauling my bag off the carousel to say 'you're terribly brave and well done!'

ps. during the flight limi bit me on the neck....BIT ME....she only has two small teeth but they are razor sharp! ouch!

pps. don't let this put you off flying with, next to, behind, or in front of a baby......but i say go long-haul all the way...these short haul, small planes are a nightmare!

ppps. i'm here....in italy! whoohoo....definitely worth being bitten for.

nov, 5th - packing for a chilly trip....

day 266:

even though we've survived a couple of flying trips now (day 84/ day 102 / day 169) i'm still a bit daunted by the thought of packing for two. so now....instead of being a last minute throw-everything-in-packer, i'm all organised and use my packing list (slightly tweaked depending on the season) to tick things off. but with bags almost packed three days in advance, i just don't feel like myself.

may, 20th - 1st family holiday....

day 102:

against the odds....with new threats of volcanic ash.....British Airways strikes.....economic meltdown in Greece.....we still managed to make it to Athens for our very first family holiday!!!

.....only to find....

 that the connecting flight to the tiny island of Kithira was cancelled due to transport strikes in Greece....

-----------------------------------

the strike is only expected to last a day but the next flight with availability is Monday….so we’ve decided to spend a night in Athens and figure out our options from there…..

before I had Limi…I used to have a recurring nightmare where I had given birth to a baby and either, kept forgetting their ‘unique’ name that I’d chosen (I would continually end up writing it on my hand) or kept leaving them in a shop/restaurant/ the car…..I would wake up in a sweat thinking that I was obviously not responsible enough to have a child and should start with a pot-plant instead….well, trying to keep track of all our bags and Limi through the airport, taxi queue and safely into our hotel room….i broke out in the same sweat!

but....3 hours later and we were sitting on the roof terrace of our hotel drinking in this view....

although Lissom was more interested in her toes.....so much for showing her the world....

ps. just before i fell asleep, British Airways texted to say that our flight home next week has been cancelled!

may, 19th - advice......

day 101: 

it seems that having a baby, opens you up to everyone’s opinions on how to feed, clothe, care for and raise this new person. some advice is not helpful and seems to be a criticism...especially when you are taking tentative steps into this new, crazy world…but I have also received some really amazing, welcome advice over the last 100 days….so here’s a thanks to:

-       a midwife at Chelsea and Westminster who explained the art of feeding to me on day 3

-       Alexa, who reminded me not to rock Lissom to sleep and start a pattern of rocking-sleep association…Limi can now put herself to sleep without any help….a truly wonderous skill!

-       my sister, who not only gave me the confidence to trust my instincts but also revealed the secret that blue around her mouth means wind

-       Bonnie, who said to try and start each day at the same time...definitely helped with understanding Lissom's patterns

-       Colwyn, who encouraged me to go to Hong Kong even though I was nervous about Limi’s routine  becoming topsy-turvy. she made me realise that even though we had managed to create a good routine….many things can, and will, disrupt it (her vaccinations, teething, illness, growth) so, amazing opportunities should not be missed because of fear of disrupting her routine…

-       my mum, who told me to feed Limi on take-off and landing…but who has also reminded me to enjoy every second       

and Finally, one of my favourite .....from Melissa, who has a fantastic baby blog....:

"People have their opinions on sleep schedules, on vaccinations, on weaning, on discipline - but remind yourself that your baby is one of a kind and no one else on this entire planet will intensely research, pray about, lose sleep over or debate what is the best option for your family more than you will."

may, 16th - jet-lagged....

day 98: 

[video to follow....stuck in the editing room]

struggling to keep Limi awake at 4pm UK time…..

may, 2nd - in the skies....

day 84:

so i was feeling equally excited and terrified about the thought of flying internationally with limi. i say internationally because generally a short-haul flight would mean a limited period of crying whereas long-haul could mean 11 straight hours of screaming (in this case). i have been on flights with babies in the past where there has been extended wailing and the parents have reached the other side looking like they have spent 11 hours in the eye of a tornado: hair dishevelled from running their hands through it (whilst thinking 'what the hell WERE we thinking'); mouth dry from making constant soothing sounds; clothes in disarray from clutching, frantic small hands; head pounding from the high-pitched vocal in their ear and arms in cramp from 11 hours of rocking....the only plus i can see is that they had no chance of DVT because they paced the aisle for the entire flight! a friend even warned that she had locked herself in the plane bathroom for four hours rocking her baby son and limiting the noise to a confined space....

i was also concerned about the logistics of flying solo with a 12 week old who is not yet able to sit up: how would i juggle holding limi and putting my bag in the overhead locker; what about when i needed to use the bathroom; would i be able to hoist my bag off the carousel, whilst holding limi and keeping the trolley from doing that annoying wriggle just out of your reach.....

my usual plane experience is to push the limits of the hand luggage allowance and cram in as many mindless movies as possible.....but with limi's supplies taking up the majority of the hand-luggage and me only being able to concentrate on limiting my intake of liquids...i knew that this one would be different!

so, here is the report from the inaugural flight....

highs:                                                             

- we were allowed to board the plane first. no more trying to squeeze your hand luggage in to the last available space (something i could have used more effectively when my hand-luggage contained fragile must-have finds from far-flung place....not nappies, change mats and cotton wool)

- we had the bulk-head seat and in fact the whole row of bulk-head to ourselves.

- the crew were really amazing, friendly and so helpful, some pluses were carrying my bag to my seat, helping me to put my bag in the overhead locker, watching limi whenever i needed to use the bathroom and bringing me a bottle of water.

- limi slept for 8 of the 11 hours; wasn't bothered by the take off and landing (i listened to the recommendation to feed her during both and in fact started 20 minutes before we landed as that's when we started descending); was full of smiles for the crew and other passengers (which won us plenty of sympathy..go limi!); and only needed two nappy changes

- in Hong Kong, the ground staff met me at the door and helped me through immigration (carrying all my bags and whisking me through the fast lane) and then took my bags off the carousel, found the buggy and walked me through security all the way to the arrivals hall

so...not a bad way to travel!

lows:

- limi wasn't so keen on her sky-cot so it took a few attempts to get her to sleep

- i wasn't keen to fall alseep (we've all watched Flightplan) but did drift off for about 90 minutes...so total time slept, 90 minutes.

- never quite realised how tiny those bathrooms are when you have the change table down and are trying to juggle a baby, a change bag, yourself....and trying not to drop any of it on the disgusting-plane-bathroom floor. next time you are on a flight, squish yourself against the door and unlatch the table!

summary:

limi appears to have inherited the travel bug and proved a good companion...earning us plenty of perks (although, i may just have to accept that i'll miss out on some of those gem-plane-movies for awhile)

may, 1st - leaving on a jet plane....

day 83:

limi...tagged and ready to fly! first boarding pass below....