Alex mostly looked around the plane curiously, and was fairly content to be held on our laps. He cried some, but because he was so tired and just couldn't fall asleep. During the first flight he fussed for a long time before Navid grabbed the longest blanket we brought with us, and used it as a mini hammock to rock Alex to sleep. It only took about 30 seconds the first time, but the law of diminishing returns kicked in after that, and it never again worked as well or as quickly. He didn't eat very much on the plane, but did deign to suck a pacifier during lift off and landing on the way to Ohio. On the way back, Navid had to hold his hand over Alex's face to keep the pacifier in his mouth. It was the only way to keep his poor little ears from hurting! After every flight people commented to us about how well he did, so I guess he didn't bother the people around us much. What a good baby he is! Probably the worst thing about the flights was that there were no changing tables in the bathroom. So when Alex soiled his diaper, Navid had to try to balance Alex on the closed toilet lid to change the diaper. Of course, the first time he did so, the plane hit turbulence. Let's just say that many wipes were used, and quite a bit of hand sanitizer afterwards!
We stayed with a couple who attend the church who hosted the conference. Their daughters both got married within the last year or two, and I think they are really looking forward to having grandchildren! Charlotte especially loved Alex. She was volunteering at the dessert reception the first night of the conference, and after a while she came to me and took Alex away so that we could mingle. I'd go check on him every few minutes, and each time he was happy and playing with someone else.
The first night Alex was so tired that he slept about 6 hours before waking up hungry. That's a record for him! And after that he slept straight through until I woke him up at 7 to eat again. That was one of the best nights of sleep I've had since he was born! Of course, it helps that I had only gotten about 2 hours of sleep the night before.
On Thursday I was surprised as we walked in the door to the conference by a lady who was waiting to show me where the childcare room was. I had no idea that they would have childcare! There was an 8 month old boy at the conference, and each day there were two workers staffing the baby room. So Alex had his first day care experience! That was the first time I left him with someone who wasn't related to him, and it was also the longest I had ever been away from him. Of course, I checked back every few hours and came to feed him. The first day he scratched the skin near his eye, enough to draw a few drops of blood. Poor little boy! I felt so bad for him. The ladies watching him felt bad, but there wasn't anything they could have done to prevent it (I clipped his fingernails again that night, though). I hated seeing him hurt, but after eating and some hugs, he seemed just fine. He seemed happy when I went in to feed him, and it was a great first experience with childcare for both of us. Once when I went in to check on him, I saw both the ladies in rocking chairs, each holding a sleeping baby. It made me feel good to see other people loving my child as they took care of him.
The conference was good, and was very encouraging, especially for Navid. I'm glad that we went.
We got back home at about 11:30 on Saturday night, and napped a lot yesterday. Alex caught a cold, so has been very tired. His nose was running yesterday, but thankfully he was still able to breathe through it. It seems to have dried up today, but he's still very tired. He slept for about 13 hours last night (waking up to eat several times, naturally). Today he has been on a schedule of being awake for one hour, then napping for two. I hope all the sleep helps him to get well soon!
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