The Joys of Moving... Internationally (Part 1)

It's hard to believe it's only been four days since we left the US. We've been so busy this week that it feels like we've been here forever! So here's a quick run-down of our travel experiences, and some observations I have made so far:

First MAJOR hurdle – the flight here! Our biggest worry at this point was the weight of our luggage. I know, this probably sounds silly as there are so many other much bigger things we could worry about. But moving our entire lives (as much as we possibly could fit) inside of four suitcases and 3 carry-on bags meant some VERY heavy bags!! On international flights, this is not a big deal as long as they stay under 70 lbs each. But our last flight was a domestic flight bought separately from the others. The baggage weight limit for domestic flights = 50 lbs PER PERSON. With unknown charges for extra weight. Yeah. But we decided it was worth it to us to pay any extra fees in order to take as much as we could anyway, and hope for the best!

Well, thanks to some VERY generous grandparents (who I think were willing to do just about whatever it took to get their granddaughter closer to them) Elissa had her own seat on each flight – which, incidentally also meant we could bring more luggage! :) The first flight began with a teary-eyed goodbye to my dear mommy who was SO nice to drive us to the airport (and in such nasty, snowy weather conditions!!! Yeah, she's pretty much the best. :)). We had a quick connection to Miami, during which Lissie enjoyed looking out the window and exploring her new surroundings. She had a great time, so much so that we did not even have to get out our secret weapon yet – the portable DVD player with various “Wiggles” DVDs. In Miami, we had a bit of a layover – about 3 hours I think. Have you ever tried to keep a toddler happy in a busy airport for that long?! I was thinking “If only airports had playgrounds...” and shortly discovered that in a way, they did. :) They're called “Moving Walkways.” They provided hours of entertainment going around and around in circles! At first I thought we had made such an original discovery, but after a while we noticed another mother and her toddler doing the same thing. Lissie and the other baby squealed with delight upon seeing each other, and ooooh what cuteness!! They were even wearing matching outfits! (Awwwwww!) I think the airport personnel were glad when our flight finally loaded...

Anyway, on to the next flight – 8 hours over night from Miami to Rio de Janeiro. By this time, Elissa had not had a nap all day and it was her regular bedtime when we took off. One would think that, especially after all the conveyor belt fun, she would instantly drop off into Never-never land within minutes of being seated. But noooo, not this baby. How much did she sleep? About 4 hours, total. And where did she sleep?? On her mommy's or daddy's lap! (So much for the extra seat, and car seat!) Therefore, how much sleep did WE get? Well, I'd say we did well to get about 3 hours each. We enjoyed watching several in-flight movies including “Best of the Wiggles” and “Kids' Favorite Songs” (Elmo). Oh what fun... On the up side, we managed to keep her entertained enough that she did NOT scream the entire flight, which I think some people may have appreciated. :) After we landed and were taxiing to the gate, apparently the air/motion sickness hit Lissie hard, and out of nowhere she coughed and vomited apparently everything we had fed her in the past eight hours, managing to get both herself and me icky. Since we couldn't find a 'barf bag' in the seat pockets, we decided to use the next best thing for clean-up: the airline's blanket. I'm sure they enjoyed their little treat. (They have to wash them between flights anyway, right?...) Luckily we did pack an extra outfit for her, so she didn't have to be soaked for the next flight. I was less lucky and had to clean my clothes the best I could until we finished our trip. Since she got the worst of it on herself, I couldn't feel too bad though.

The airport in Rio was the trickiest part – getting all of our luggage + baby and carry-ons through customs with only two sets of hands. Let me just say, thank goodness for baggage carts and the kindness (or maybe impatience) of strangers! Tiago pushed the heavier cart while I had the second one and baby stroller, which were both difficult to steer at best with one hand. And just when it was all becoming too difficult, a lady behind us offered to push a cart for us. :) I think partially she offered because she and her husband couldn't get past us and we were going so slow, but we appreciated the help all the same. We also appreciated the man at the check-in counter who honored our international flight luggage weight limits and did not charge us for extra weight at all! After having so little sleep and a tired baby who was getting increasingly grumpier by the minute, these acts of kindness really meant a lot to us. The last few hours of our trip were thankfully uneventful, and we were very relieved when we arrived at the home of Tiago's parents and were able to go to bed somewhat early.

It was a long trip and we were very grateful that nothing went horribly wrong, overall. In fact, we thought Lissie did MUCH better than expected. There were some tears, but none lasting more than 5 minutes (that I can remember... Of course I could just be blocking those times from my memory.) and while nearby passengers may have been complaining about her under their breath, most of them congratulated her on being so good when the flight ended. We're keeping fingers crossed and hoping that she continues to travel so well in the future, of course preferably with less vomit!