Andrew and I made it safely to Taiwan. I think the journey went better than I even imagined. Before going I had a few fears that I could not shake, and thankfully Andrew didn't force me to face any of them in reality.
1. Andrew will cry inconsolably and I will get death stares (threats) from other passengers.
Actually he was amazing. Honestly I think he may have cried for a total of 5 minutes for the whole journey. To be fair, I intentionally avoided situations that would upset him so I ended up holding him a lot more than I planned to. I figure this was a fair trade-off to avoid the mob of angry transpacific sleepers.
2. Andrew will not be able to nurse on the plane because the situation is too different than what he is used to.
He definitely had no issue with this. I was able to successfully feed him on take-off and landing which evidently cures the annoying ear popping problem. He wasn't too squished on the long haul flight into Hong Kong because the seat next to us ended up being unoccupied! Woot woot!
3. There will be a messy blow out either from the little boy's bum or from my airsickness.
Without going into too many details, we were quite successful at reigning in all types of unwanted messes. At the eleventh hour I found my motion sickness wristbands and had no travel related nausea. Andrew enjoyed our trips to the bathroom for diaper changing because he could pull out the paper towels positioned over his head.
I not only avoided fears but also was pleasantly surprised about a few elements of our journey. It is always great to be blessed beyond your expectations!
1. People are really nice when you have a baby.
I already knew this to some extent but I was encouraged by the smiles and comments as Andrew and I took this first journey together. From flight attendants to random ladies in the bathroom, I felt very supported. On the leg from Hong Kong to Kaohsiung I was not even in line yet but a gate employee lead me to the front and we were one of the first people on the plane.
2. Time flies when you are with a baby.
Typically on flights I get restless after awhile and get very very eager to leave the plane. I love watching all the movies we never seem to see and all that, but I tire of it quickly. This time I was not really that restless at all. Taking care of Andrew gave me a big distraction and in some ways it wasn't all that different than a normal day at home with a little less wiggle room.
3. We had a great seats on the plane.
I knew on paper where our seat would be but it turned out to be some pretty swanky digs. We were in Row 30 seat C. This is the first aisle seat in the bulkhead middle after business class. Andrew's bassinet was positioned on the wall in front and the bathroom was on the other side of that wall. I felt like we had our own private suite. The flight was not too full so there was never a big line or a lot of people bothering us in this location. As mentioned above seat D was free so I spilled over into that seat with extra baby gear and when I took my naps. The only downfall was that seat E was another solo mama/baby combo. Young
Benjamin was good for the most part but I would wake whenever either baby made a peep. Below are some pictures of Andrew's bassinet where he slept some, played some, and drooled a lot!
Me and my baby chilling in 30C before take off!
Andrew checking out his bassinet.
I don't know if Andrew really liked watching Midnight in Paris but the screen was quite intriguing!
You can never go wrong with a nice hand after 8 hours of flying.
Andrew looking sleepy after making his first landing in Hong Kong. The bright reading light adds a nice effect don't you think?
At our gate in HK, notice the sign behind says "Kaohsiung now boarding". Even though our flight was a little delayed it was easy to get through to our transfer in time.
Creepy Art House shot of Andrew's double reflection in the window of the plane in HK. It was raining a bit but didn't deter us.
Andrew got to play in the adjoining seat for a bit before another passenger came to occupy it.
Waiting for our baggage in Kaohsiung, it came so quick Grandma and Grandpa weren't even out there when we arrived!
We travel in Swiss style!
Grandma's first hug! I didn't think we would ever leave the parking lot!
Andrew eyes Grandpa with a smile as I try to tackle the stinky diaper he thankfully produced as we pulled into the parking garage.
All in all fun times. Andrew slept ok last night, although I would have appreciated a few more hours. Today we are going to explore a bit and I think we are heading out to Stephen's school in Taichung tomorrow! No rest for the not to weary travelers.
Oh and check out Super 8 and X-men First Class if you haven't seen them!
-rachel
1. Andrew will cry inconsolably and I will get death stares (threats) from other passengers.
Actually he was amazing. Honestly I think he may have cried for a total of 5 minutes for the whole journey. To be fair, I intentionally avoided situations that would upset him so I ended up holding him a lot more than I planned to. I figure this was a fair trade-off to avoid the mob of angry transpacific sleepers.
2. Andrew will not be able to nurse on the plane because the situation is too different than what he is used to.
He definitely had no issue with this. I was able to successfully feed him on take-off and landing which evidently cures the annoying ear popping problem. He wasn't too squished on the long haul flight into Hong Kong because the seat next to us ended up being unoccupied! Woot woot!
3. There will be a messy blow out either from the little boy's bum or from my airsickness.
Without going into too many details, we were quite successful at reigning in all types of unwanted messes. At the eleventh hour I found my motion sickness wristbands and had no travel related nausea. Andrew enjoyed our trips to the bathroom for diaper changing because he could pull out the paper towels positioned over his head.
I not only avoided fears but also was pleasantly surprised about a few elements of our journey. It is always great to be blessed beyond your expectations!
1. People are really nice when you have a baby.
I already knew this to some extent but I was encouraged by the smiles and comments as Andrew and I took this first journey together. From flight attendants to random ladies in the bathroom, I felt very supported. On the leg from Hong Kong to Kaohsiung I was not even in line yet but a gate employee lead me to the front and we were one of the first people on the plane.
2. Time flies when you are with a baby.
Typically on flights I get restless after awhile and get very very eager to leave the plane. I love watching all the movies we never seem to see and all that, but I tire of it quickly. This time I was not really that restless at all. Taking care of Andrew gave me a big distraction and in some ways it wasn't all that different than a normal day at home with a little less wiggle room.
3. We had a great seats on the plane.
I knew on paper where our seat would be but it turned out to be some pretty swanky digs. We were in Row 30 seat C. This is the first aisle seat in the bulkhead middle after business class. Andrew's bassinet was positioned on the wall in front and the bathroom was on the other side of that wall. I felt like we had our own private suite. The flight was not too full so there was never a big line or a lot of people bothering us in this location. As mentioned above seat D was free so I spilled over into that seat with extra baby gear and when I took my naps. The only downfall was that seat E was another solo mama/baby combo. Young
Benjamin was good for the most part but I would wake whenever either baby made a peep. Below are some pictures of Andrew's bassinet where he slept some, played some, and drooled a lot!
All in all fun times. Andrew slept ok last night, although I would have appreciated a few more hours. Today we are going to explore a bit and I think we are heading out to Stephen's school in Taichung tomorrow! No rest for the not to weary travelers.
Oh and check out Super 8 and X-men First Class if you haven't seen them!
-rachel
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