Thursday, February 3, 2011

Blogging from Tokyo: Our Trip

I have been quite deficient in the blogging area this week due to travel and jetlag. Baby jetlag is no joke! But I am hoping to catch up and share what has been happening the last few days (other than lots of naps). So, here goes:

We left early Monday morning after bittersweet farewells to our families over the weekend. On Sunday night, I felt like it was the night before a big exam - full of butterflies. But we all slept well and got up at 6 to get ready to leave. Mom made us homemade egg mcmuffins and we packed the car. Amazingly, we had minimal traffic on the way to Dulles. Philip dropped off Matthias and I and our luggage off at the terminal and then returned our rental car. He quickly reconnected with us and we got our boarding passes and checked four suitcases and the carseat base without a hitch. Now for security! It was quite a process going through the security line with a baby, a carseat on a stroller base, a diaper bag, a boppy pillow, two backpacks (containing 3 laptops), and two winter coats, but we made it. I think we used 8 of the little gray bins! Unfortunately, I had to wake M up and carry him through the scanner, but he didn't even fuss. Because we traveled business class (thanks to the company's >8 hour travel policy!), we got to hang out in the red carpet lounge, which doesn't actually have red carpet, but does have snacks, drinks, nice bathrooms, and comfortable chairs for nursing! So we chilled out a bit and Matthias nursed and then charmed everyone around him.

When we boarded the flight, I was amazed to see how much room we had! I nursed M through takeoff and he didn't even fuss. He played with us, walked with Philip around the cabin, charmed more ladies, got his first diaper change at 36,000 feet, then ate again and fell asleep.

Here are cute pics of M playing:



He slept for 3 hours in his carseat at our feet, then woke up midflight. I changed him again, and then tried to feed him. He got super fussy (I think his tummy was hurting) so Philip tried to walk him, but was told to sit down because we were having some turbulence. What timing! I started to worry he was going to have a major meltdown and disturb all the passengers around us. But he did "bicycle legs" on Philip's lap, I gave him a paci (which he usually won't take), and he calmed down. When the fasten seatbelt sign turned off, Philip walked him for a bit and then brought him back to me to nurse. He ate and then played and walked with Philip until he fell asleep again, giving Philip and I some time to rest. He slept until we had to pick him up for the landing, at which time he fussed as if to say, "my ride is over?" He only fussed for a total of 10 minutes out of our fourteen hour flight. What a good little traveler and what an answer to prayer!



When we walked into the airport in Tokyo, we found a nursery room that was well equipped with two changing tables, comfortable seats for nursing/feeding, and a big sink for washing up or preparing bottles. What a nice place for moms!




Matthias got changed again and got a full tummy. We claimed our baggage, went through customs without a hitch, sent most of our bags home with a delivery service, and bought tickets for the express train into town. We rushed down to the platform only to realize that we bought tickets for the wrong time and would have to wait an hour unless we could change them. A woman on staff who thankfully spoke perfect English saw us trying to figure out what to do and was incredibly helpful. She escorted us back to the counter, explained our situation to the clerk in Japanese, and even got us a refund for M's ticket, which was unnecessary due to his age. We got on the correct train and got settled. It was set up like a nice coach bus in the US, with places for luggage and comfortable seats. At this point, my measly 1.5 hours of sleep during the flight was catching up with me, but I couldn't fall asleep because I was too excited to be almost there. A lady on staff brought a cooler cart full of snacks through our car, and I bought a riceball, which was basically sushi rice surrounding smoked salmon. It was really tasty!

After about an hour and 15 minutes, we arrived in Shibuya station, one of the busiest subway stations in Tokyo. This is where I really caught a glimpse of the hustle and bustle of the city. The station was full of people on a mission, mostly on their way home from work. It was pretty noisy, but Matthias had fallen asleep on the express train and slept peacefully through the whole experience. We had to buy a farecard for me and get on a train headed to Daikanyama, our new neighborhood, just one stop away. This proved a little tougher than we thought when we had to go down a steep flight of stairs with the stroller, carseat base, one small suitcase, and our backpacks. I waited at the top with Matthias while Philip took a load down to the bottom, trusting that no one would steal our stuff! Two people saw me waiting and gestured to help me carry the stroller down. Very kind, but I thanked them with one of the few Japanese words I know and pointed to Philip, waiting for him to help me with our precious cargo! He picked up M in the carseat and I carried the stroller, and we were almost home. The train was pretty crowded, similar to Boston at rush hour, but soon we were getting off to begin our new life. We had a short walk through our new neighborhood and saw several stores with names in English, which was very comforting amidst all the unfamiliar Japanese characters. I have so much to learn! In just a few minutes, we arrived at our new place, safe and sound. During my next post, I will share about our new apartment and my first impressions of Japan.

4 comments:

  1. Awesome! Thanks, Katie! These blogs are so very welcomed. Matthias looks very happy in the pics. He seems ready for his new experience. We love you and miss you immensely! Love, Mom C

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  2. Agreed- Matthias looks awfully calm, cool, and cheerful on his big trip! )He also looks like he's continuing to be a good little nurser and getting all roly-poly!) Furthermore, he seems like a smart guy to me as he has already realized that the best place in the whole entire world is wherever your whole family can be together. Also, I'm very impressed by how relatively incredibly smooth the whole thing went! Sounds like good planning to me! Ok, so obviously, I'm gobbling up every word of your adventure and cannot wait to hear more! Love to you all!

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  3. Matthias looks so sweet in the pictures! I praise God you made it through so well. I will continue to pray you catch up on sleep. God bless you!

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  4. I love hearing about your new home/adventure. Love that they had a "nursery room" in the airport. Can't wait to hear more about Japan and how little Matthias is doing

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