Greetings from Hawaii! I swear this is the first free minute I am getting since being here in Hawaii (for officially 24 hours now). I knew this time change thing sucked but it's sucking really bad! Honestly, I think Brady is doing better than all of us! Chris, my Dad, & I are all still on EST - my Mom on the other hand... She NEVER sleeps so she feels fine.
My computer is still set on "home time" so it's 1AM - that makes it 7PM here! Brady is sleeping, my parents are in their room and Chris and I are on the couch about to pass out for the night!
Well now that I told you how much the time change sucks - lets talk about our day yesterday. Our day started at 3:30AM. We used this time to get our last minute stuff together - the car picked us up at 4:15AM!!! I waited until the last minute to get Brady from his crib. We had the car all packed and it was time to get B! So I went into his room and he looked so cute sleeping on his belly with his butt sticking up in the air, his little arms were tucked under him in a cute little ball! I really really really didn't want to wake him, but I knew if I didn't then he wouldn't be on the vacation of his lifetime (that he won't remember anyway - terrible parents we are!!).
Of course as soon as I picked Brady up he was WIDE AWAKE - I do not have that kid that you can pick up sleeping and they just stay asleep. Brady is just like me... nosey, scared to miss anything, and fearless to the world! I guess I only have myself to blame for this one, huh!
Well - the ride to the airport was typical but Brady was getting a kick out of being the ONLY car on the road. Since Brady goes to bed so early he has NEVER been on the road in the dark with NO other cards on the road. When he did see a car he would point to it and go "ohhhhhh!" We got through the airport with no issue, the line at security was a breeze! Chris and I are an amazing team - we got all our stuff in the bins, shoes off, computers out, liquids ready, stroller folded up, and car seat to the TSA agent. It was like we were pro travelers! Well, we did have my parents help as well so I guess we aren't that "super hero" like... but if we had to do it again I would feel confident that we could handle it!!!
We got to the gate and Brady was fascinated with the airport - the planes, people, and all the stuff to look at kept him VERY occupied! We got some food and snacks and just hung around until it was time to board. We were flying United Air and we were able to board the plane first since we were traveling with Brady. I felt so cool to be able to get up when the "families with children under 4" category was called. They also let my parents board with us at the same time so again that was a big help! But it all went so smooth!
So, now we are on the plane and my anxiety was definitely in full force. I just really didn't want to be looked at as "that Mom" with the screaming kid. I was prepared! I had books, toys, snacks, candy (that I thankfully did NOT have to resort to), juice, coloring books, movies, iPods, iPads, iPhone, and a lot of other trinkets and trash for him to get his hands on! We decided to travel with Brady's car seat and this was the best decision we made. Brady doesn't nap very well so having his car seat was a safe place for him - he sleeps in there a lot so we knew he would be comfortable there. We had it strapped in and I was ready with the pacifier and bottle in hand to help with his little popping ears. Well, we are getting ready to move back from the gate and I look over at Brady (sitting in the aisle seat) and he's sleeping!!! WHAT!?!?!?!? REALLY!? could this be? I was certain that we had an "Uncle Nathan" on our hands since he was sleeping the second he got in his seat. Now i was just praying that he stayed that way for the entire flight!
Well, I was wrong! The nap only lasted about 30 minutes. The pilot wanted to give us an official welcome and that woke up Brady. I wanted to give that pilot an official knuckle sandwich but it was ok. I really don't have much to report on the flight - he was GREAT! I mean was he perfect and just slept and let me read my magazine, or play a game on my phone, or even have a cup of tea? NOPE! But he was excellent! I was pretty much certain that he was going to be a little monster! Boy did he show me wrong - my little boy is really growing up! We did have to do some shuffling around at times on the plane... Chris did have to stand for a while because Brady decided he no longer wanted to sit in his car seat he wanted Chris' seat. We walked up and down the aisle, sang songs, watched movies for 5 minutes at a time - besides 1 more 30 minute nap it was a NON-STOP 5 hours! TOTAL EXHAUSTION!!!! Wow - how full-time stay at home moms do it i have NO IDEA!!!!
The layover in San Francisco was longer than I hoped for - it was a long 3.5 hours - but we at lunch, hung around, and they had a little play area for kids so that was helpful. Brady has a new love for those people mover things in the mall... we must have walked up and down those things at least 100 times. At this point I am beyond exhaustion - Chris really stepped up and took care of Brady so much, it was non-stop running around after him!!! Of course Brady started to get really heavy eyes about 10-15 minutes before we were about to board the plane. So, Chris decided to take him to walk/run around the airport again to keep him away so that he hopefully sleeps on the plane.
Thankfully there were A LOT of kids on this leg of the flight. I was wondering if we were going to Hawaii or Disney World?! This calmed my nerves a bit because at least there were a lot of kids maybe they wouldn't know which kid was screaming? The horrible part about this leg was that we sat on the runway for OVER an hour! Once again Brady slept as soon as we put him on the plane.... and what woke him up???? That damn pilot again! Arghhhhhh!!!!! But at this point Brady did NOT close his eyes again it was 5.5 straight hours of overtired Brady. Still overall Brady was excellent on the plane (for an 18 month old). We even tried to make him a bed by using my parents 2 seat trays and covering them with blankets to make them comfy. Brady just would not give him! I hope he has this determination the rest of his life because then he will succeed in anything he puts his mind to! The poor baby was so tired (along with the parents) but he just wouldn't shut his eyes. He didn't shut his eyes until we put him to bed at 6PM hawaii time (so MIDNIGHT EST). This was the longest day EVER but once I got back on this volcanic island I was so excited the beginning of this day was a total blur!!!
I couldn't even make it through dinner (we ordered room service). At about 7PM I just got up and went to bed. Brady woke up at 2AM and we gave him a bottle, he didn't sleep very well after this point. The crib that the resort has is very small - he pretty much takes up the whole crib. So, we did something that we normally don't do... we brought him into bed with us. The main reason that we usually don't do this is because Brady will NOT sleep, he thinks its playtime. I knew this decision could turn awful, but I was still exhausted and I could tell that Brady was too! Well he went back to sleep as soon as he hit the bed (which is one of the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in). We all slept until 4:30AM then we were up!
So this concludes day 1 - LOOONG SUCKY TRAVEL DAY!
XOXO
Mahalo
- Jill
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