We made it home sweet home! And it was a decent journey, Im guessing it's the last easy trip to/from Africa we'll have for many years to come. Morgan was a doll and slept most of the way. When he was awake he kept lifting his head to look around and at people. He was so curious and smiley, and I swear he was flirting with the flight attendants! We only had one fussy episode during one landing and I think it was because he wouldn't eat or take his pacifier to relieve the pressure in his ears from the air pressure changes. Our poor kidogo cried it out for a moment and then was all good. I thought I might be embarrassed for the other passengers if my baby started crying, but when it actually happened I forgot all about everyone else and was only focused on Morgan.
Okay, I have two hands free now. Woo hoo! Anyways, on the first flight we sat next to another couple with a 9-month old, and got a general idea of the WORK having an older child is!! The other baby was adorable but had so much energy, and the couple spent the 9-hour flight trying to keep her occupied and distracted. She didn't sleep at all and wasn't crying or fussy, but she was crawling and toddling all over the plane and visiting all the other passengers, and required constant supervision and attention. it was a non-stop play-a-thon that just wore them out! We watched knowing that this will probably be us on our next trip home.
Flying into Amsterdam we had the bulkhead seat and used the bassinet. That was cool but we only used the bassinet for about 2hrs of the 9 hr trip. But for the trip to Africa we had different seats. So in Amsterdam we went to try to change. But we then learned that I didn't even have the bassinet, Mike was sitting alone in the back of the plane, and somewhere in there the airlines decided we had TWO infants with us. Luckily, the ticket agent was actually not unpleasant, and the flight wasn't full, so she gave us seats together and blocked off the seat in between us so that we could lay Morgan down. We had the whole row to ourselves and it was a great arrangement, actually!
We arrived in TZ at 11pm and proceeded to swim, eat, and stay up alllllll night long. Then today we were able to sleep some because Morgan was pretty zonked as well (jet lagged, like I said) and finally got our asses out of the bedroom in the evening to get some food and do emergency diaper shopping. It was Morgan's first excursion into TZ, and again he's happy looking at new things. It's probably good that we spent so much time in the bedroom because now Morgan knows that it's his "safe" place. Tomorrow Mike has to enter the real world again and go back to work. So sorry for him! And so sad to see him go!!
Morgan is sleeping in the bassinet component of our stroller under a mosquito net. THis is working well, but we need to get the pack n play up for his bed as soon as we manage to stay awake a full day. Morgan is running around nearly naked. The moment we landed in TZ I stripped him in the immigration office while waiting for his visa because it was so hot. He loves being nekkid, clearly naked babies are happy babies, and we finally get to see how chubby he's getting! (I loves me some chubby babies!) He is sweating a little when he sleeps (he turns into a baking oven when he sleeps hard, just like his mama) and we wipe him down before bed to cool him a little. But he'll be fine. Can't wait to take him swimming this weekend with dada!
Coming home after a 3 month absence has been nice for me, and of course there are always some issues to resolve immediately. The water pump is screeching and will break soon, the ceilings in two rooms and our bathrooms are leaking water and will probably collapse during the raining season and our electricity is suddenly costing us $10/day, which is obviously wierd. We suspect someone is stealing current from us. On the bright side, Mike did a lot of unpacking the house while I was in Seattle (you'll recall our household shipment from Congo finally arrived only a few days before I left for Seattle to have Morgan, so everything was in total disarray!) The house looks great with furniture and art on the walls! But I'm realizing how much stuff we have. Too much - normal, I'm sure after 7 years of living together, but I don't know how to get this all home one day.
The cats are trying to decide if they should forgive me for leaving them for 3 months, and whether they like Kidogo. Cappy's been silently observing Kidogo and Canelo seems perturbed. Neither is willing to come hang out with me yet. When we moved from Congo, Cappy was so angry with us that he didn't sit with me for 3 months! I wonder how long it will take him to forgive me this time.
Tomorrow, I plan to test out our new stroller on the roads to the mini-mart to buy some ice-cream. Wish us luck!
So glad to hear you guys made it back with no incidents! You better put up some videos and photos soon. I bet he's growing everyday. Especially when he starts getting really chunky and has rolls of fat. That's the best!!
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