We're in St. Petersburg. And no, I'm not kidding. There was "bad" weather in Moscow (what bad weather, my DH asks, a light northeast wind?) so they let us circle for a bit then sent us off to sunny St. Pete. And it's another hour plus flight back to Moscow once we re-fuel. Frigging PERFECT!!! After an hour on the ground we are cleared to take off again. At any point do we see a flight attendant? No water, no apologies. They're sitting in the galley, yucking it up and sipping BonAqua. My son is getting grumpy, we're out of food for him.... and us.
When we finally land, our simple four hour flight has evolved into a seven and a half hour ordeal. We get in contact with all the right folks and they agree to meet us at the rental apartment to give us the keys.
Baby boy finally falls asleep in Mommy's arms on the way to the apartment. We get in the building go up to the apartment... no one is there. We call them back. Oh she'll be there in twenty minutes. Now if you recall, in our last baggage check, we were minus one stroller. A twenty pound sleeping baby is like holding twenty pounds of wet sand.... and we wait.
She gets there with the keys and lets us in... ooohh, balloons!! How sweet!! They decorated for us!! What a sap!! No, they had a party in the apartment last night and this is the aftermath. Beer bottles and cigarette butts, food on the floor and flies buzzing some left over grapes. Nice, very nice. The good news is that Jack is awake. The bad news is that Jack is awake. I have nowhere to set him down. The floor is filthy. So I hold him some more. Those of you that have held onto to an active one year that doesn't wish to be held know what the next 45 minutes were like. I'm still trying to block them out.... it's hard.
(His first bath... and he's digging it!)
Okay, apartment is clean, baby and parents are fed... life has resumed a fairly steady course. We spend the next couple of days just enjoying our beautiful son. We nickname him "howler monkey" because every time I leave his sight he cries and launches himself at me upon my return. Daddy just doesn't do it for him anymore. This is good for attachment, but very hard on Daddy. I can tell he's trying to take it in stride, but he's been waiting for so long for this moment... to have your new son scream when you touch him is unbearable.
Except for this, things go very well in our apartment. Jack naps twice a day, he's sleeping pretty well. He is funny and sweet and adorable... more than I ever imagined. One afternoon, he was sleepy and we lay down together on the bed, face to face. He laid there, touching my cheek, my nose, my mouth... all the while staring right into my eyes. I was afraid to breathe, but absolutely captivated by his gaze. Those beautiful blue eyes were curious and questioning. It was almost like he made a decision to give it a try... to try and trust me. It's a very scary thing to have someone believe in you.
The flight home was exceptionally painless. He slept six of the eleven hours and the other five was so pleasant and cheerful, passers by commented on his lovely disposition.
We've been home now for six days, and things are settling out well. He's definitely a two nap a day boy and in bed every night at 7pm to sleep until 6 or so. He's eating everything in sight, the pediatrician thinks he looks fabulous and he still loves his Mommy. Unfortunately Mommy came down with Giardia the day after we got home. The good that came of it was that he HAD to let Daddy take care of him while Mommy worshipped the porcelain Goddess. Upside is that now Daddy can play with and hold him... he still only wants Mommy for boo-boos, bedtime and bottles. It's pretty cool to have someone that thinks you totally rock!!
We've had two more injuries... any more and DFACS is coming to my house. There was an incident with the bookshelf... the bookshelf won. Add a matching bruise to the left eye. Then there was an altercation with the IKEA table and chairs set we had... they came out the winner as well. Score one badly bitten lip with blood on my baseboards. Quite theatrical. The table and chairs have been temporarily relocated to a less dangerous locale.
I've been at this for about two hours now, listening to him snore on the monitor. I'd better get in bed before it gets much later... tomorrow is going to be another great day!! I will keep you posted on the good, the bad and the ugly. The honeymoon will have to end eventually. We will attachment parent this baby forever, because he has suffered an unimaginable loss... his birthmother, his country and the only life he's ever known.
I'd like to end this by saying that this has been the single best experience of our lives. Please continue to believe in miracles, because they really do happen every day. I've got proof.... lying right upstairs.
Current day...
Man, oh man does that bring back memories! He's still our miracle, and it still ranks up there as the single best experience of our lives. Here's looking forward to new experiences, new miracles and many, many new memories.
Jack-Jack, we love you sooooo much!! You are everything we've hoped and dreamed of. You are smart, funny, kind and thoughtful... not to mention one of the cutest darn kids I know. We are proud and blessed to be your parents.
We love you Buddy... MUAH!
Jack-Jack, we love you sooooo much!! You are everything we've hoped and dreamed of. You are smart, funny, kind and thoughtful... not to mention one of the cutest darn kids I know. We are proud and blessed to be your parents.
We love you Buddy... MUAH!
Wow - great story! And he's as cute as ever! What craziness with the flight, but in the end as you said it was all worth it - thanks for sharing his story!
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