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Thursday, December 17, 2009

One of the three of us does not have jetlag

And it's neither Jude nor I. Believe it or not, Sophie's internal clock pretty much re-calibrated itself and she's already back to her regular schedule since Day 2. Her Daddy & Mama on the other hand are still groggy by 7pm and up and about at 4 in the morning checking mail and uploading photos. She's clearly made of sterner stuff than us both...

Which is also why I think the flight home went better than we expected. Oh, there were the shrieks at take-off and landing despite my dutiful attempts to nurse her, and that one time during the Detroit-Tokyo leg when she decided to time a fuss moment with meal time and Jude and I had to maneuver a Cirque du Soleil while trying to finish our very dismal teriyaki chicken with fried rice while not squirting cocktail sauce all over each other and Sophie. Yes, we did have the bassinet for both legs of the journey, but No, our daughter did not take to them very well. She slept for about an hour in the first, and barely at all in the second. Basically, for the entire time between Tokyo and Singapore, Sophie slept in "Mama's Arm" Class and there was barely any feeling left between by left shoulder and elbow by the time we landed. But honestly, Sophie did good and only cried probably about 30 mins spread across the entire 21-hour journey, which I guess is more than can be expected for a child who has the lungs of Kiri Te Kanawa and isn't afraid to let you know.

I have to say though that landing in Changi Airport this time has got to be the most exhilarating of the many times I've done so in the past 6 years. Not only was the family jumping for joy at first sight of Sophie, our brother-in-law, Piao, was armed with his fancy camera, documenting each emotion, from anticipation to delight. It's been wonderful being home and just watching everyone from Jude's and my parents, to my grandparents fall in love with Sophie. Our little girl has everyone wrapped around her teeny little finger and with just one smile and gurgle from her, in my dad's words, "...the heart just melts" :)

1. The grandparents wait in anticipation, 2. Sophie has been spotted!, 3. Through the looking glass, 4. IMG_7055, 5. Smothered with love, 6. IMG_7080, 7. It was 2.30 in the morning and the whole house was up, 8. Sam's first diapering experience, 9. Auntie Sam LOVES Sophie!

5 comments:

Debra said...

Aww such a heartwarming series of pics - everyone looks so eager to meet lil Sophie! We have to meet up one of these days (maybe when you guys are less jetlagged) :)

serene said...

For sure, Debra! I think my sister might be organizing a popiah party or something... Looking forward to seeing you, PY, and Sean!

Liz said...

Thank you Piao. #3 is my all-time favorite. I find the airport is one place that is rather difficult for me to keep my camera easily accessible, yet it is one place where you can easily capture a myriad of emotions

Jan said...

Hi, I've been reading your blog since I was pregnant and my baby's turning 9 months in a few days' time. I'm making a trip back to Singapore from Canada and I'm fearful of how she's going to survive the flight! Do you have any tips or advice to share? :)

serene said...

Hi Jan-
Thanks for reading the blog :) Sophie was much younger when we flew home from Detroit (4.5 months) but we also flew cross country to California when she was 10 months, although the trip isn't as long as the one you're going to take. Does your baby have his/her own seat or will you have her/him in your lap? We bought Sophie a seat and installed her car seat in it so she would be more comfortable. I also made sure to have some of her favorite toys and books on hand so she'd be distracted.

With such a long trip, your baby will probably get squirmy quite a bit, esp. if they're crawling already. If you don't have a problem with it, I'd recommend letting him crawl around at the exit area of the airplane just to expend some energy.

Also, their ears get tight with the air pressure upon take-off and landing so you might want to either nurse, give the bottle, or use the pacifier.

We also made sure to back quite a big diaper bag- diapers, extra clothes, ziplock bags, nursing cover, medication, toys, etc. It was quite a hassle to carry around but if you're going to be on the plane for so long, you really want to be prepared for everything since you might not be able to count on the airline to have everything you need.

This site was quite helpful to me when we were planning to fly:
http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com/

Hope it will be for you too- sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck!

-serene