Adjusting In Japan

We made it to Japan safe and sound!!!

We left our house in Michigan for the airport Friday morning, September 17th, about 11:40. I was nervous from the moment I opened my eyes that morning. And yes, I started drinking at 8:30 too. I had 3 mimosas before we left and it was just the right amount of alcohol to calm my nerves. Ha!

Scott's parents took us to the airport and walkedd us in so we didn't have to carry all our luggage with us. Getting through security with a baby was a breeze, mush easier than I anticipated. We had a small snack and shortly after boarded the plane.

We started with Carter in his car seat in the middle of 3 seats, but were later told that in case of an ER I had to be able to get around the car seat, so he had to be moved to the window seat. The flight was a direct, 13 hour flight to Nagoya, Japan. We took of at about 4:30pm and arrived on Saturday night, 6:18pm. The bus ride form the airport to our hotel was an hour and was brutal because we were all soooooo tired. Carter only slept from 9-1030pm on the plane and Scott and I didn't sleep at all, so had been awake since 8am the previous day. Ugh!

Our hotel was nice, but pretty tight. Two twin beds and just enough room left for a crib for Carter to sleep in. And we had a nice view of Toyota City. We were in bed, lights out at 10pm and Carter woke us up at 2am. We were up with him until 5 and then laid him back down hoping he would fall back to sleep. He did and slept until 8. (Mommy and Daddy were very happy about this as we were NOT ready to be awake yet!) We got up and had breakfast downstairs in the hotel. That was interesting for Carter and myself. I was starting to get worried because the last time Carter had a meal was dinner on the flight at about 6pm Friday night. It's now breakfast time Sunday morning. :-/

After we ate (well, kind of ate) and checked out of the hotel, we walked to our apartment to check in there. Pretty nice apartment! Alot nicer and cleaner than I expected. We unpacked a few things while Carter played for a bit and then left to walk to a grocery for a few things. It was a long walk, about 30 minutes, and was no fun. I started feeling the effects of not eating and I was having random crying meltdowns because I didn't want to eat but was so hungry and Carter still hadn't eaten. I was a mess, so we came back home and I laid down for a bit.

After I felt a little better that night, I gave Carter his first bath in Japan. He was so beyond tired because he didn't have a nap this day either. Poor thing!

It's now Thursday morning, 11:05am, and Carter has adjusted beautifully. He is eating his meals and actually asking to eat by going to his high chair himself and is sleeping through the night now (about 6:30pm-7am). He loves taking walks and looking around, watching people. I know this because he also climbs in his stroller all by himself and tried to strap himself in. Haha, they are funny creatures! His favorite thing to watch are the trains that pass by outside our balcony door. We don't let him stand on the sofa, but it's the only way he can see the trains pass. So, he climbs up, watches, points, and yells in an excited tone, "G-Gock, G-Gock!" Sounds retarded, right? Ha, so we're trying to teach him to say choo-choo instead.

I, myself, have also started to adjust. I feel I've gained more confidence in walking around and exploring more. I've been eating meals when it's time to eat. Trying to stay away from snacks as I figure there should be some sort of advantage to being here (losing some weight), so hopefully I can reach my goal of losing 10lbs with my diet and exercise. :) We found a library with English children's books yesterday and a play place that Carter loves. So I feel good about being here!

I look forward to updating my blog while we're here. There are so many interesting things here and I don't want to forget a single one of them.