Our flight over was very full. Even though we got an aisle seat, Ava was terrified of all the strangers in such close proximity of her. The flight attendant was nice enough to move us where an extra seat existed, but Ava was not in any mood to spread out. She was attached to me like a barnicle, arms thrown around me so tightly, I thought she'd give herself sore bicepts. She was also exhausted (we had about 4 hours of sleep from the night before). She actually managed to quietly fall asleep in her barnicle state and I tried to make her more comfortable by laying her cross-ways to better support her head/neck. "No," she managed to whisper from her slumber. I waited a bit longer in the hopes her sleep would get deeper and tried again..."NOOO!!" followed by lots of kicking a back-bending - which knocked the drinks off the tray-table and made a big mess. Fine...sleep in your barnicle position, which she happily did.
(Ava mindlessly waits on Mom's back with a sucker given by another patient during Grandpa's cath scan and stint procedure)
Things were easier once we got into the rental car. Ava's always been a good car-seat sleeper; one of the many reasons I chose to bring her rather than Bettina. Seeing Grandpa with all the leads on him in the ICU made her nervous and she chose again to stay close. The hotel was great, especially since it was large and had a flat-screen DVD player with a couple different Wiggles videos on display. She came with us early the next morning to the ICU where we waited for doctors' rounds. Ava started to get bored and, to keep her from visiting other people in other rooms or getting us otherwise kicked out, Ainsley and I start challenging her to say new and familiar words (she loves this game). We start out with words she knows: apple, pony, nose, etc., move on to newer ones: Ainsley, window, rain, etc. My sister and I are taking turns with suggested words; it's Ainsley's turn to think of a new word. "Can you say, 'pain in the ass?'" We're floored when she repeats it back, clear as day! She was good for Juanita, a friend from Dad's church who soon after came by and offered to help the family by watching Ava, allowing me to attend important doctor visits and meetings. She ate a lot less than usual and it seemed that even in sleep she was aware that she wasn't home. She'd contantly wake asking where I was (which was always in the bed beside her). Finally, I just brought her in with me; it was easier than reassuring her every hour and a half.
She ate whenever I remembered to feed her and slept on the go and in a different room every night. What an angel.
The plane ride home left near her bedtime and was unfortunatley delayed and was also completely sold out. 20 minutes before the scheduled take-off, Ava had come to the end of her rope. Tired and bored with the toys we had, she entered into a state where nothing was going to make her happy. Temper tantrums sprung up at every topic and I was powerless to improve her world one bit. I had been told just a few days earlier of a three-year old whose tantrums got her entire family kicked off their flight at their transfer point, and nightmares of a similar situation ran through my head. "Come on, Ava, lighten up for Mommy...only 15 more minutes and we can board." Just then, the gate attendant approached me advising where the "family waiting area" was, suggesting I bee-line it over there. I implored, "If you can just show me where a power-point is, I can plug in my computer and she can watch her favorite video." The Wiggles save the day; I have a distracted and happy kid within 3 minutes...at least until we need to power-down for boarding.
Amazingly, she is happy again while we settle in onboard. After watching the land disappear beneath us at take-off, she starts to relax and sleeps for the first hour of the flight. We play the Parrot Game again for the second half and she is very excited to see Bettina and Daddy waiting for us in the car.
She still has problems sleeping. Last night, she woke up every half-hour needing to know where I was and at church today, she was inconsolible at being left in child care. They though she wasn't feeling well, but I explained her prior week and just took them both to the "mothers' room" to watch the service via TV. I wonder how long this re-adjustment at feeling comfortable at home will last and hope that by sleeping with me for a few nights, it will hasten the process along.
Things were easier once we got into the rental car. Ava's always been a good car-seat sleeper; one of the many reasons I chose to bring her rather than Bettina. Seeing Grandpa with all the leads on him in the ICU made her nervous and she chose again to stay close. The hotel was great, especially since it was large and had a flat-screen DVD player with a couple different Wiggles videos on display. She came with us early the next morning to the ICU where we waited for doctors' rounds. Ava started to get bored and, to keep her from visiting other people in other rooms or getting us otherwise kicked out, Ainsley and I start challenging her to say new and familiar words (she loves this game). We start out with words she knows: apple, pony, nose, etc., move on to newer ones: Ainsley, window, rain, etc. My sister and I are taking turns with suggested words; it's Ainsley's turn to think of a new word. "Can you say, 'pain in the ass?'" We're floored when she repeats it back, clear as day! She was good for Juanita, a friend from Dad's church who soon after came by and offered to help the family by watching Ava, allowing me to attend important doctor visits and meetings. She ate a lot less than usual and it seemed that even in sleep she was aware that she wasn't home. She'd contantly wake asking where I was (which was always in the bed beside her). Finally, I just brought her in with me; it was easier than reassuring her every hour and a half.
She ate whenever I remembered to feed her and slept on the go and in a different room every night. What an angel.
The plane ride home left near her bedtime and was unfortunatley delayed and was also completely sold out. 20 minutes before the scheduled take-off, Ava had come to the end of her rope. Tired and bored with the toys we had, she entered into a state where nothing was going to make her happy. Temper tantrums sprung up at every topic and I was powerless to improve her world one bit. I had been told just a few days earlier of a three-year old whose tantrums got her entire family kicked off their flight at their transfer point, and nightmares of a similar situation ran through my head. "Come on, Ava, lighten up for Mommy...only 15 more minutes and we can board." Just then, the gate attendant approached me advising where the "family waiting area" was, suggesting I bee-line it over there. I implored, "If you can just show me where a power-point is, I can plug in my computer and she can watch her favorite video." The Wiggles save the day; I have a distracted and happy kid within 3 minutes...at least until we need to power-down for boarding.
Amazingly, she is happy again while we settle in onboard. After watching the land disappear beneath us at take-off, she starts to relax and sleeps for the first hour of the flight. We play the Parrot Game again for the second half and she is very excited to see Bettina and Daddy waiting for us in the car.
She still has problems sleeping. Last night, she woke up every half-hour needing to know where I was and at church today, she was inconsolible at being left in child care. They though she wasn't feeling well, but I explained her prior week and just took them both to the "mothers' room" to watch the service via TV. I wonder how long this re-adjustment at feeling comfortable at home will last and hope that by sleeping with me for a few nights, it will hasten the process along.
