Made it to Hong Kong in one piece!
I’m writing this from Hong Kong right now and am happy to report that our trip over was a lot easier than we expected. At first, I thought it was going to be hellish as Natalie would NOT sleep and had this sudden burst of night-time-owl energy. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise and made her transition to Hong Kong time a cinch.
Our flight left Seattle at 11pm to go to Vancouver. We thought for sure that she’d fall asleep on the way to the airport as it was past her bedtime and she sleeps in the car easily….but nope. Then on the airplane, she was hyperactive. In Vancouver, we had a 2 hour layover from midnight – 2am. Well, unfortunately, our first mistake was completely forgetting to bring the stroller which she sleeps easily in. Without that, she was bouncing around the airport. Yes, she was literally up til 2am and wasn’t cranky at all. We boarded our plane at 2am and at that point, it hit her that she was super tired. For the next 15-20 minutes, Miss Crankypants came out and she was soooo upset, but by 2:40am, she fell asleep, sprawled out on our laps. She then slept for the next 7-8 hours. Upon waking, she ate, watched and played with the iPad and was generally pleasant. Then, 2 hours before landing, she fell back asleep until we landed. Sweet! I mean, it was soooo much easier than we expected. Matt and I each got to nap and even each watch 3 movies on our own!
We arrived in Hong Kong at 7:30am…and with that 2 hour nap at the end of the flight, Natalie was feeling great…and practically rolled right into her regular routine, but on Hong Kong time! Her afternoon nap was longer than usual (12-3:30pm) but then she woke to go out, have dinner, meet her great grandmother for the first time, and then was back in bed by 9pm…waking up at 7am the next day. Ever since, her routine has been completely normal, amazing.
PS — after one day of using only the Ergo and walking blocks and blocks, we decide to get a stroller here. We had to choose between super cheap with a brand no one’s heard of, and a bit more $$ with a more well known brand. Due simply to weight (which is a huge factor when folding strollers constantly for getting into taxis or lifting to go up many flights of stairs), we chose the Maclaren Volo. It’s pretty awesome although I wish there was a recline but that would’ve been more expensive. Natalie naps really well in it and we’ve been using it a lot. We will try to resell it when we get back to Seattle
2 Comments
Aileen
Wow, Natalie’s transition to Hong Kong time sounds amazing– it’s like she knew what was coming. Glad to hear you’re having a great trip. 🙂
sandra
omg, i’m trying to get Eric to shift his schedule by 2 hours, and it’s a nightmare! so glad things are going well. and natalie just keeps getting cuter and cuter!