Where do I even begin?! First off in times past I
have loathed flying. On a flight my body tenses up, I practice deep
breathing, squeeze my husband's hand, and drink a little to take the edge off.
Since deciding to travel to Japan once again we have prayed (and had others
pray) a lot about the flight when knowing that on top of my fears and
anxieties, I would be taking care of a baby... A baby who is very in tuned to
how mommy is doing.
The night before the flight Chris and I got maybe
four hours of sleep, but Gabriel got around 11! When it was time to leave home
he was well rested and in good spirits! On the way to the airport he slept and
while in line to check our baggage he flirted with the other woman in line.
This of course was our first time traveling with a child and learned quickly
that that makes it a little bit different. We went to where we always did to go
through security and were immediately sent to a different checkpoint for
'families.' This was the first big task. Between a computer, liquids, shoes,
diaper bag, jackets, and backpacks we had at least eight trays to go
through security in addition to our carry on luggage and stroller! This is
were the grace with each other, for others, and for us that we prayed for came
into play; the nicest security people we have encountered... and by 'nicest' I
mean not cold and grumpy. One of our bags seemed to be concerning and/or
confusing the man watching the x-ray machine. I was juggling a baby under one
arm while sliding around on the tile trying to get our trays out of the way as
to not be that person taking up all the space! The security guy
sternly asked me, "Is this your bag?" As he pointed to the screen.
When I said yes in a chipper tone told me ‘okay’ and continued on.
The rest of the SeaTac experience up until boarding
was uneventful, fortunately. When we got to the gate I nursed a hungry baby.
Chris stood in line for 20 minutes to get a tag for our stroller because
another passenger was disgruntled about not being able to upgrade to business
or first.
No matter how smoothly travel goes over all, there
are bound to be a few hiccups. Our first came during boarding. There is a piece
of luggage we always use as carry on and have never had an issue, last time we
had it filled with 70lbs of books! This time around all we had in it was our
camera bag, a blanket, pillows, a change of clothes, stuffed animal and some
diapers. The ladies at the gate through a huge stink about the size when
visually we saw other carry on luggage bigger than ours. We eventually took the
camera bag out and then they were okay with the size (no difference) but still
wanted us to check it due to number of bags (taking out the camera bag made us
have one bag over the limit for carry on)... What we figured this was all about
was that since our flight was over booked, they were nervous for space in the
overhead compartments and wanted some people to check some of their carry on and
we were targeted. We eventually just got on the plane with all our items.
On the plane Chris and I had one passenger between
us who immediately changed places with Chris so we could sit together! Gabriel
was wonderful during take off, flight, and landing. The 10.5 hours seemed to
fly by too! Little man basically nursed and napped the entire time! He was taking
complete advantage of nursing to sleep and getting to sleep in mama's arms! If
he wasn't doing one of those two things he was being dotted on by the flight
attendants who called him 'Romeo' and showered him with cuddles and 'I love
yous' at the back of the plane after diaper changes!
We decided at the beginning of the flight that we
weren't going to try and rush off the plane with everyone else, instead we
waited until most were off the plane to gather our things and leave. This
worked out nicely since we needed to still wait a bit for our stroller. The
Narita airport was my first introduction to how baby friendly Japan is! I
needed to change his diaper after the flight so I went into the women's room
and waited for the stall that had the diaper changing table symbol next to the
door. When I got inside I wasn't met with an eyesore of a gross hard and cold
cream-plastic-pull-down-from-the-wall changing table but rather a built in,
leather covered, soft, cushioned table! In the bathroom was also a mini sink
and a garbage can specifically for diapers! As we walked to customs we passed a
room specifically for diaper changes, nursing, and making bottles! Events after
the plane went rather quickly; we were rushed to the front of customs because
we were a family, Gabriel fell asleep during customs, Chris grabbed a cart then
we piled on our luggage and headed to huddle with the rest of the Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard people.
Two years ago we rode the train to Sakura (our
apartment complex) but this year we decided to take the bus to base because
this time around we were going to be driven up to Sakura (before we would have
had to catch a taxi) and supplied with groceries we asked for ahead of time!
Last trip I remember being so exhausted and hungry when we got to our place and
not having food... It was kind of miserable having to walk up the road to the
Family Mart (convenience store) to pick out food to eat when we didn't know
what anything was... The bus wasn't as comfortable as the train would have
been, however the bus wound up being much more convenient and Gabriel napped in
my arms the entire time. The only time during the trip G cried was as we were
getting off the bus on base. When we entered base Gabriel woke up and was
hungry. I began nursing him but had to stop to exit the bus and he did not like
that! Understandable, it was midnight in the States, he was cold, hungry, and
tired. Fortunately Chris got me in a car pretty fast so I was able to nurse
Gabriel a little more and after that he was full of smiles!
Entering our apartment gave me a small feeling of arriving back at home;
the familiarity was comforting. Not sure if it was hunger, exhaustion, or past
association (or all three) but as soon as I entered the apartment I felt like I
was swaying... This feeling continued until I managed to fall asleep. Two years
ago we were up for quite a bit before finally going to sleep which really made
the transition hard. This time we wanted to go to sleep as soon as we could. We
decided we would only unpack enough to get Gabriel and us set up and ready for
bed. Gabriel went to sleep fast and easy and we went to bed soon after. The
little man's first sleep stretch was 6-7 hours long! Followed by another 3-4
and woke up smiling and happy. It was great getting such a nice night of sleep
after a long day of travel.
A special thanks to Chris’s mom Sharon and my sweet friend Wendy for
getting us to the airport Thursday morning! Also, thank you to Tim and Caroline
for getting us up to Sakura with groceries and thank you to Hallie for the car
seat! So thankful for all the help and support we have received to make this
transition as smooth as possible.
Wonderful story! So happy everything went ok! It is really cool to be able to travel along with you and experience your time there. I look forward to more adventures with the Voth's in Japan!!
ReplyDeleteTHANKS Mary! Excited to share!
DeleteI'm so happy to hear how smoothly it went. Rest up and I enjoy hearing about all of your wonderful adventures.
ReplyDeleteLove and Prayers,
Megan Sexton
Thanks, Megan!
Delete