Oh the Places We'll Go

We're back.  To say that we're exhausted is an understatement.

Wednesday
Our flight to DC was bright and early on Wednesday morning.  We had everything packed the night before, so that the only thing left to do was load up the car and feed/dress Charlotte.  I woke her up at 5 AM and she was dead to the world.  I found her lying perpendicular in the crib, her head resting up against the crib bumper. Despite some gentle nudging, she refused to wake up.  I was hopeful that her sleepiness would translate into a long nice nap on the plane, but alas, once she did decide to wake up it was almost impossible to get her sleeping again.

The flight to DC was rather uneventful, apart from going through security and being told that I had to take off Charlotte's shoes.  Now, these are tiny, leather moccasins, hardly what I would consider "shoes."  But I took them off, shaking my head, wondering what in the world I could possibly store in those shoes that I couldn't just as easily hide in my pockets.  Charlotte slept just a little bit, but was otherwise calm and happy.  This United flight (unlike Charlotte's first plane ride to Chicago last August) did have a changing table, so that helped immensely.

When we got to the hotel, I was dismayed that my request for a room in the old part of the hotel was denied.  This was the third time I've stayed in this hotel, each time in a different "tower." I had specifically requested a room like the one I stayed in last year with a king-sized bed and a little sitting area, which I thought would be a perfect place to put the crib (where Charlotte wouldn't be able to see us after we put her to bed).  Instead, I was assigned a small room with two double beds and literally nowhere for the crib to go that was out of sight.  Although I complained to the front desk, they told me the hotel was sold out and that "requests" were just "requests" and not guaranteed. So what's the point in making a request at all?  The funny thing is that when I checked in they handed me a gift bag for showing "loyalty" to Marriott.  Inside the gift bag was a bottle of water, a Marriott color-themed bag of generic M&Ms, a pad of Marriott stationery, and a Marriott pen.  I may be loyal to them, but apparently that loyalty only extends to some red and white candy-coated chocolates.

We dealt with the small room by pushing the crib into the corner and draping a blanket over the side.  Still, Charlotte did not sleep well all four nights we were in the hotel, which meant that we did not sleep well.  She would whimper and scream out loud, most of the time not being able to find her pacifier.  Two nights in a row I pulled her into bed with me, one night Chris pulled her into bed with him -- Chris and I decided that with two double beds, we might as well be out of the '50s and not sleep in the same bed.

Thursday
Thursday was the only day that Chris really had to single parent it the entire day.  I left the room at 7:30 and made my way via the Metro to Capitol Hill.  I love riding the Metro, at least I did when I didn't have to worry about babies and strollers.  While I was walking miles and miles of marble floors, Chris decided to take Charlotte to the National Gallery of Arts at the Capitol Mall.  This of course required going up and down the elevator a thousand times.  I mentioned it before, but you really get a true understanding of what disabled Americans must go through every day.  The Metro (and most places in DC) was constructed before the Americans with Disabilities Act required ramps and elevators at every stop, so in most cases, the elevators are all the way at one end of the Metro platform.  You're fighting against the current of a river of fast-moving locals on their way to work. A normally 20 minute trip takes double the time because the slow-moving elevators cause you to miss your train.  Luckily for us, we really were never in any sort of hurry.

Anyway, as I mentioned Chris took Charlotte to the National Gallery.  Apparently, everyone would stop and talk to him because I guess it's such a novelty to see a father out and about with his baby sans the mother. He didn't explicitly say so, but I suspect Chris was reveling in the attention. :)  Nonetheless, Charlotte had the beginnings of a meltdown on the way back to the hotel, so Chris had to hold her and carry the stroller all the way up dozens of escalators and elevators.  Luckily, the stroller, once folded, has a very handy strap that allows you to carry it not unlike a golf bag. 

After my meetings ended at 6:30 that evening, I was able to weasel our way into a dinner reservation with some colleagues at an Ethiopian restaurant.  I was assured that it seemed baby friendly, so Chris and I walked Charlotte in her stroller about a mile away to the Adams Morgan neighborhood, only to find that the restaurant, being Ethiopian and all, did not have tables and chairs, but cushions.  Not only that, but the restaurant was so tightly-packed that there was no where we could keep Charlotte in her stroller.  Instead, Chris and I took turns holding her while the other used the spongy bread to eat the Ethiopian food.  The food was good, and Charlotte loved trying the bread, the cooked lentils and other bits of sauce.  The walk back to the hotel was a bit dicey as it had become extremely windy.  In fact, as we were walking the metal sign from a nearby post came off and went flying into a car.

Friday
On Friday, I only had one meeting from 12:30 until 2, so we were all able to sleep in.  We went out to breakfast at this really great cafe near the hotel -- the coffee was great, and Charlotte loved having bits of hashed browns.  After my meeting, we decided to bundle Charlotte up in this fleece snow suit I bought at REI and hit more museums.  It zipped open, had a hood and coverings for the feet and hands.  This turned out to be such a great purchase because it kept Charlotte warm, and we didn't have to worry about her pulling off mittens or kicking off the blanket.  At the Natural History Museum, we took off her snow suit and pushed her around in the stroller.

I love the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.  I try to go every time I'm in DC.  The exhibits are fantastic and the docents are nice and knowledgeable.  Charlotte loved the fish from the Great Barrier Reef.  I found the special exhibit on the people of the Chesapeake Bay Colony to be particularly interesting.  It's actually a forensic study of the remains of these 17th century colonists.  What was really interesting to me were the skeletal remains of an infant that died of rickets.  I guess that it was very common at the time to swaddle babies at all times to keep them warm.  As a result, however, these babies were not getting the necessary Vitamin D from the sun and would develop rickets.  It was an eye-opener and made me really understand the medical breakthroughs we've had in the past four hundred years for both children and for women in childbirth (another skeleton was one with a 26 year old women with a late-term fetus in utero). Yes, kind of disturbing to show all these skeletons, but also so informative.

The great part about DC are the free museums.  By being free, we didn't have to feel like spending the entire day in the museum to get our money's worth.  Instead, an hour or two was plenty.

After the museum, Chris, Charlotte and I met up with Chris' childhood friend from Chicago at this great Lebanese restaurant.  Unlike the Ethiopian restaurant, the Lebanese restaurant was truly child-friendly with an actual high chair!  Charlotte busied herself by banging her rattle on the table and sucking on her mittens.  She also loved the pita bread and hummus!

Saturday
On Saturday, I only had meetings in the afternoon, so we decided to visit the National Zoo, also run by the Smithsonian Institute.  The National Zoo is located only a few blocks from the hotel.  Unfortunately, because of the remnants of the DC blizzard a few weeks ago, only a few animals were outside.  We saw lions and tigers, and the male lion roared and roared, which neither of us had ever seen before.  It was pretty cool.  Although we didn't get to see a lot, it was nice to be outside.  Charlotte enjoyed herself for the most part and was warm inside her snow suit.

Sunday
Sunday was an extremely long day.  I had a meeting from 8 until 10 (on a Sunday morning!), so I had to get up early while Chris and Charlotte slept.  We were only able to stay in the room until 1 o'clock as another large group of conferees were checking in that afternoon.  Chris and I were hoping Charlotte would take a nice long nap until we had to check out as our flight wasn't until 6 that evening, but instead she had an hour-long meltdown, complete with all-out screaming, coughing and spitting.  We couldn't figure out what was wrong as nothing worked, not even nursing or giving her the pacifier.

At 1, we checked out and sat in the lobby bar until 3.  Charlotte finally fell asleep, only to wake up half an hour later.  The Washington Dulles airport is an absolute zoo, as everyone checks in at one terminal, goes through security at the same place, and then is transported to these remote terminals via a tram and a LOT of walking.  The folks at the United desk were plain rude and unhelpful, and the TSA staff made me take off Charlotte's jacket in order to go through the metal detector.  Are you kidding me?  Their response was that "these people would stop at nothing, so we can't leave any option out."  I don't know what we possibly could have fit under her tiny jacket that is probably the same size as some large woman's underwear!

The flight back to Sacramento was apparently the plane for small babies as I counted no less than five other babies.  Two of those babies were twin boys seated in the aisle across from ours, and I was amazed by the organizational skills they had, juggling two small babies at once!  Directly behind us was another baby, who screamed and screamed until we took off.  Her mom, who was defiantly unapologetic, simply explained that they were coming back from Germany (!) and that her baby was just overly tired.  No kidding.  Luckily, Charlotte had already gotten her fit out of her, and only whimpered from time to time.  She slept for maybe one hour total on a six hour flight, so Chris and I were just about dead by the time we landed.

When we finally got home, we witnessed the most surprising reaction from Charlotte. Excitement.  She was, I'm not kidding, ecstatic to be home.  She just looked around and laughed and laughed as she recognized her room and her toys.  And don't get me started at how excited she was to see Tandy.  And Tandy, who had been all by herself, was more than willing to let Charlotte pull her tail.  Apparently, we have clear signs that Charlotte has a memory!  It's pretty cool to witness that level of recognition.

Which leaves me to reflect on the trip as a whole.  Did I like having Charlotte with me?  Yes, she is an amazingly sweet and happy baby.  You can't help but just feel happier being around her. And despite (or in spite of) the sleep deprivation, I really did not feel as tired traveling to DC as I usually do.  That first morning having to get up at 7 AM despite it being 4 in Sacramento, was actually easy.  I guess I must have learned to function on little sleep.  Will I take Charlotte back next year?  Unlikely.  Despite Charlotte being such a sweet and well-behaved girl, this is hard work.  From going through security to dealing with a baby in your room at all times, to finding restaurants that are baby-friendly, it's really tough!  Plus, it's obvious Charlotte does better at home.  If we can avoid having to take her, we will.  And I think Chris, who has never spent every waking second with Charlotte since she was a week old, would agree.