The Trip and Home

Monday, November 17th, 2008: Day 3 at Home

Thanks so much for the well wishes from all. The support from family and friends and those who have “popped-in” with comments on the Blog have kept me going over this entire process. I can’t express my gratitude enough! Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

It is now 4:25 a.m. and Kairat and I, along with Kineo our dog, are enjoying some quality early morning time together. Jet lag has turned its ugly eye upon the both of us. My excellent sleeper is now having problems resting throughout the night and is completely comatose during his daytime naps. Think about it; it is now 5:30 p.m. in his little body’s time clock and instead of an early breakfast, he is gearing up for dinner. I can’t say that I blame him. His 2 a.m. waking coincide directly with my thoughts of, “I wish I could just fall back asleep.” This morning he was WIDE AWAKE at 3 a.m. and everything I tried was not going to convince his internal clock that he should be going back to bed. I’m sure it will take a week or so to work this out so for now, I’ll just be tired.

The week in Almaty and the trip home is really what disrupted his wonderful sleeping pattern established back in Kostanai. During our hotel stay afternoon naps were interrupted by sporadic appointments so evening hours were unbearable, but he did still sleep throughout the night. The trip was what really messed up any pattern familiarity.

Kairat was woken at 1 a.m. on November 14th, Almaty time, in order to get to the airport for our flight. [Our hotel on the left.] We and another family with the same itinerary were promptly picked up from the hotel at 1:15 a.m. After checking our bags through, we headed to the Lufthansa waiting terminal where we visited with our new friends who would be returning for their court date sometime in December. While there Kairat took a very short nap while being held in the Ergo carrier.

Our flight left promptly at 4:20 a.m. and, overall, went well. Because I decided to purchase a lap-seat I had made reservations for the bulkhead area where they able to attach a baby bassinette to the wall in front of the seat. The flight was not full so we had two full adult seats with an attached baby bed. Very nice! We were also one step away from the lavatory, which came in very handy with a child. I have to check and see what type of plane we had because the seats and the leg areas were very roomy. It actually was a very comfortable flight. Kairat had no problems with take-off or landings and slept in the bassinette for the first three or so hours from Almaty to Frankfurt.

While not sleeping, he was sure to charm the stewardesses as well as a gentleman sitting across the isle with his stares, smiles, and chatting. Not realizing it until near the end of the flight, we were seated in the same row as another woman and her newly adopted son. They were traveling home to Paris and, although we had interacted and talked a little during the flight, it wasn’t until almost the end that it was discovered we were both new moms.

Having a toddler as a traveling companion is certainly much more challenging than a 9 month old who is easily entertained with objects such as a paper cup, plastic spoon, and anyone walking by to use the bathroom. The other new mom certainly had her hands full with a fussy little guy who wanted to move around every waking moment.

Once in Frankfurt, we found the couple we started our journey with earlier and spent our morning? afternoon? sitting at the McDonald’s Café taking turns walking around the airport while the others watched carry on luggage intermixed with learning more about each other and our adoption processes. They were also wonderful baby assistants as they held and played with my little guy when I needed to take a short break. It was a long but pleasant six-hour layover. Once again, Kairat had only a short nap in the Ergo as there was just too much going on in the airport terminal for his curious mind to rest.

The last leg of our journey was a little more difficult. A crowded 747 with less legroom (even with a bulkhead seat) and more crying children proved to be exhausting for everyone. The hour-long delay on the tarmac didn’t help, either. Because he was so overtired, Kairat screamed for the first 5 or 10 minutes just before take-off. Rocking him the best I could, he finally fell asleep and I plopped him in his little bassinette where he stayed for the next five hours. Yes, he slept through most of the entire flight.

The company of a very nice gentleman who happened to work for Hasbro helped the passing of my time. We spent the trip talking about our families, children, traveling, and the ins and outs of daily life. He was great company and very helpful and patient with Kairat. I’m sure he is a wonderful dad, himself.

Our trip was very long but bearable. However, if I hadn’t had the bulkhead with the bassinette seat I may have lost my mind. I’m not one to sit for extended periods of time so any flight is difficult for me. To spend so many hours in an airplane on my butt is torture enough. With an almost 19 lb kid on my lap the entire time would have been unbearable. If I couldn’t have reserved the bulkhead seat I definitely would have purchased and additional ticket for my child.

Here’s the breakdown:
4.5 hours- Checking out of the hotel, going to the airport, and catching our flight.
7.5 hours- Flight from Almaty to Frankfurt.
6 hours- Layover in Frankfurt airport.
1 hour- Hanging out on the runway in Frankfurt.
7 hours- Flight to Boston
2 hours- Drive from Boston to Freeport
29 hours= Total Traveling Time to Get Home

Customs and registering Kairat at the Passport Control in Boston went quickly and we were soon out the gate and in the arms of Pa-pa. Ahh…what a feeling. I missed Doug so much I can’t describe it. Seeing him was just, well, wonderful.

Both Kairat and I slept most of the way home, arriving in Freeport around 7 p.m. Maine time. Our bed never felt so comfortable and Kairat settled into his new crib quickly, until around 2 a.m.

Jet lag is tough but it must be even tougher on a 9 month old. I’ve been waking up at around 2 a.m. every night unable to fall back to sleep and so has Kairat. Although he is ready for bed at his typical time of around 7:30 p.m., his internal time clock keeps waking him up in the early morning hours. Yesterday during the day all he wanted to do was sleep and today he woke up at 3 a.m. all chipper and cheery-eyed and refused to take a nap until almost 12:30 p.m. I’ve been trying to wake him and follow his typical schedule even though he may not be ready to get up from a nap, but it just hasn’t kicked in yet.

I think this week has been the toughest week with our little one so far. He is tired and out of sorts and Ma-ma is his main focus. Along with the mixed up sleeping patterns he has a bit of separation anxiety when I am out of sight. Right now I’m the only one that can seem to soothe him. That is to be expected and he is warming back up to Doug already, but it has been a tough few days. That is why I haven’t posted anything…just too darned tired and busy. [Kairat hanging out in his little toy box.]

We’ve also had company our first two full days home. It has been wonderful to see everyone but we are looking forward to a few quiet days this week to get back on track with our sleeping patterns and to have Pa-pa become as much as a focus as mom.

Being home is the most wonderful feeling I’ve ever imagined. Kazakhstan was wonderful but I was definitely ready to leave. The comforts that we all take for granted are so welcoming; English speaking people every where you go, drinking water from the tap, a large washing machine, brewed coffee in the morning (around 3 a.m. the past two days), sitting on a couch that doesn’t slope downhill, family and friends, and being back with my husband. I could go on and on. Being away for 73 days really took its toll and I’m so excited to be back.

I can’t wait to get out and about in a few days and show off our little charmer. Unfortunately, I’m going to need a little more recovery time than I expected but we should be knocking on doors and catching up with friends very soon!

At this point, I’m going to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity to nap while Kairat is taking his. I have some other posts I wrote while in Almaty that still need to added to the Blog as well as more on our acclimation to home.

I’d love to hear any advice other adopting parents may have on how they got their little ones back into their sleep patterns after such an extreme change in time zones. I’ve tried soothing him by patting his bottom in his crib (a typical sleep-inducing rhythm he likes), a bottle for at least one of his wake-ups, letting him cry, rocking, waking him up during the day to set a pattern, etc. Is there something I’m forgetting or, maybe, it is just going to take some time.

Thanks for any information you’d like to share.