Ella's First Long Plane Trip (and ours with a child!)
Ella did GREAT! We couldn't believe how much fun she was having despite hardly sleeping. It seems that many kids (and adults), understandably, get really grouchy when they lack sleep or are woken up from a deep sleep at odd times of day, but as far as Ella was concerned, there was just too much fun to be had. She didn't whine or complain or get super grouchy (save a few moments in her sleep when we had to move her). She stayed up till 2am Cebu time before sleeping a good portion of the first four hour flight and stayed asleep through the transition to the Seoul Airport. Then to our surprise she only slept about 3 hours in two chunks on the one long 12 hour flight from Seoul to Atlanta. She didn't get annoyingly manic at any point, only alert and active. I had tons of new little toys, activities and snacks packed and I didn't even need them all. It really wasn't that bad!
Ella loved having her very own "phone" on the plane. It was great as it kept her occupied for short bits of time. The only problem was that darn attendant call button!
Jet lag wasn't too bad either. We did what we could to keep Ella awake during the day and we lost that battle in the afternoons on the first days in town but even so, when she woke up in the middle of the night we just stayed in bed and turned off the night light so it was pitch black to reinforce that it's still nighttime and each time she fell back asleep. I think the earliest we had to get up was just before 5.
Ella's First Entry into the United States
What a significant occurrence for us bringing Ella through the immigration line for the first time. I got a little emotional but I think part of that was how tired I was. The immigration officers were so nice to us. We were sent to a back room where we waited for about 15 minutes before they handed us Ella's Philippines passport with a smile and said "Okay, you're all set." We celebrated our little immigrant with a few chocolate treats I had on hand.
Ella did GREAT! We couldn't believe how much fun she was having despite hardly sleeping. It seems that many kids (and adults), understandably, get really grouchy when they lack sleep or are woken up from a deep sleep at odd times of day, but as far as Ella was concerned, there was just too much fun to be had. She didn't whine or complain or get super grouchy (save a few moments in her sleep when we had to move her). She stayed up till 2am Cebu time before sleeping a good portion of the first four hour flight and stayed asleep through the transition to the Seoul Airport. Then to our surprise she only slept about 3 hours in two chunks on the one long 12 hour flight from Seoul to Atlanta. She didn't get annoyingly manic at any point, only alert and active. I had tons of new little toys, activities and snacks packed and I didn't even need them all. It really wasn't that bad!
Ella loved having her very own "phone" on the plane. It was great as it kept her occupied for short bits of time. The only problem was that darn attendant call button!
Jet lag wasn't too bad either. We did what we could to keep Ella awake during the day and we lost that battle in the afternoons on the first days in town but even so, when she woke up in the middle of the night we just stayed in bed and turned off the night light so it was pitch black to reinforce that it's still nighttime and each time she fell back asleep. I think the earliest we had to get up was just before 5.
Ella's First Entry into the United States
What a significant occurrence for us bringing Ella through the immigration line for the first time. I got a little emotional but I think part of that was how tired I was. The immigration officers were so nice to us. We were sent to a back room where we waited for about 15 minutes before they handed us Ella's Philippines passport with a smile and said "Okay, you're all set." We celebrated our little immigrant with a few chocolate treats I had on hand.
3 comments:
You appear to have a good little traveller on your hands!! That is great especially since the flights are soooo long. Rafael seems to be a good traveller too and we are so happy because we like to travel. I'm so happy to hear that all went well. When do you guys plan on heading back to the US again? If you're ever in eastern Canada let me know because if at all possible, I'd love to get together!!
Wonderful! I am glad that your flight went to so well! We are leaving the Phils tomorrow for our trip to Canada. I think I will follow your example and get Emmaus some new toys for the trip.
Hope that you have a wonderful time in the US! Bless you guys!
Love the picture of Ella on the "phone" on the plane. She looks so comfy and happy.
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