Juan, Colin and I flew to Madison 2 weeks ago now and we must have passed on our "good traveler" gene because Colin did great. He slept most of the way on both legs of the flight over and fussed very little. However, I can already tell that we'll never make it to 2 years old with him on my lap ...he's a big boy and he'll need his own seat sooner rather than later. And with all of the stuff we had, I am a little nervous about making the trip without Juan in the future.
We're staying at a Homewood Suites hotel while in Madison which is like a small 1-bedroom apartment with kitchen (minus an oven), living room and separate bedroom. It's small (very!) but has more of a home-like feel than a regular hotel room. The first night wasn't too great with Colin waking up several times (he had been sleeping through the night in Mass). The next few sleeping nights were better though and he's now only getting up 1 time.
My first day back at work was quite difficult. It was hard to leave Colin that first Monday morning as we haven't been apart for more than a couple of hours since he was born. He was with his daddy though which comforts me and each day has been a little easier. I often wonder if we've made the right choice, but he seems happy and is doing better than I am with the change. He's awfully glad to see me when I get home though! The folks at work have also been very supportive, Accenture and client both.
Juan and I interviewed 4 qualified, very sweet women to be Colin's nanny, adding to this trip’s craziness. It was a tough choice and will certainly be another big transition point for us all.
We had a nice family weekend here in Madison and celebrated Juan's first father's day. This really is a lovely city, as you may expect near a large Midwest university, and the weather cooperated. We visited a Mexican restaurant for breakfast (outdoors) and checked out the farmer's market on the capital building common. Colin especially liked getting out of the stroller and playing on a blanket in the shaded grass.
The trip home was not nearly as calm as the trip out. Our flight was delayed to the point where we missed our connection in Detroit back to Boston. In addition, the storm which had caused the delays also knocked out several power grids such that our hotel, and all surrounding hotels, were without power. But at midnight, we didn't care and just wanted to sleep!
We have a week of vacation now and are enjoying the chance to recuperate after these first 2 weeks. At the end of the week we head to Elmira for the 4th and then back to Madison. We'll have pictures soon ...we only brought a disposable and not the nice digital so we have to wait until the pictures are developed. Old school :)
