Happy father’s day! If I’ve been a little quite on the blog, it’s because little Alex joined us just a few days ago, and I’ve been spending some time helping Megan change his diapers and run errands.
Fortunately Alex is healthy, well-behaved, and 100% adorable. He’s even letting mom sleep through most of the night!
I can’t nurse him myself, so I just get up when I need to calm him down or change his diapers. Alex’s favorite song is “The Girl from Ipanema,” so I see a trip to Brazil in our future.
Every parent’s birth experience is different, but I found some parallels with a long-distance mileage run. After rushing to get to the hospital on Monday morning (getting to the airport for our flight), we then waited 16 hours until it was time to push (about the time from Los Angeles to Dubai). There wasn’t a whole lot to do except sit, talk, and watch TV while the epidural handled the pain.
Megan couldn’t eat while on medication though I’m not sure she would have wanted to. Catering at the hospital is a far cry from Emirates first class so like any seasoned traveler I brought my own from the trendy cafe down the street.
Once the baby was born there was a lot of commotion, switching rooms, and a desperate attempt to sleep in an uncomfortable chair (not unlike a early morning nap in the airport terminal). At this point, a shower is the most wonderful thing in the world. Then it was two days of round-the-clock monitoring. Alex and Megan passed all their tests with flying colors, but of course it was hard to get sleep with the constant interruptions (flight attendants, take note).
This summer I’ll be working on a few posts about traveling with children. This blog has always been partly for the reader, but also partly for my own records and education. After he gets his vaccinations and passport it will be time to introduce him to his dad’s favorite hobby!
