I can't even begin to tell you how much anxiety I had over taking a baby on a plane. AJ loves her own bed and really only sleeps there. When she was a teeny wee one she would sleep in my arms but as soon as she got used to her crib that was the end of that! So needless to say I was very concerned about what would happen on the approx. 7 hours we had in the air. The flight to Vancouver was not that long and she did really well. But there was still the longer trek to Maui. To sums things up .... she did awesome! She cried when she was really tired but soon fell asleep and pretty well slept right till we landed. Her ears didn't even seem to bother her at all! Mine on the other hand really hurt, but I chalk it up to taking on what pain she may have encountered. That's what a Mom does.
We arrived in Maui late in the evening which meant it was even later for our internal clocks. We were all exhausted. My Mom and Grandparents had already been there for a couple weeks so we were greeted excitedly with leis! Poor AJ had deep bags under her eyes and was so ready for a good sleep. My Mom found an awesome company in Maui where we could rent a crib, highchair and toys, all of which were waiting for us in our condo. I had hoped AJ could feel at home with a nice crib to sleep in.
AJ ended up sleeping with D and I for the most part, as she just couldn't get herself settled in an unfamiliar crib. I didn't mind the snuggles though :) Due to the big time difference AJ woke up every morning around 4:30AM. Kinda sucked but when you can open up the patio doors and see palm trees outside you really don't mind. She would eat and I would drink my coffee. We spent the first day just relaxing and getting ourselves settled. It was my Grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary so we had a nice dinner and turned in early. We had a Luau to attend the next day!
And que the projectile vomiting. AJ was sick. D, Maggie and I spent sometime in the pool while my Mom spent sometime with AJ. When we came in from our swim we found AJ bathing in the kitchen sink and vomit all over her highchair. She was quite happy so none of us really were concerned. I went ahead and changed into my new dress for the Luau. I was sitting on the couch with AJ and blaaaaaaaach ..... puke all over me. To the shower we go.
It was so confusing because she didn't seem ill. She would puke then smile and play with her toys. D and I stayed home from the Luau which was sad, but my baby was sick. AJ would get sick every half hour or so until she drifted to sleep. We made it through the night and everything seemed back to normal the next day.
AJ was a very sleepy girl, so we stuck close to headquarters. Since she was seemingly better I took her for a swim in the pool. We had been swimming before so I thought there would be no issues. She hated it! She cried and screamed. Ok fine we will get out. Let's go to the beach! She cried and screamed. Ok we will leave. That basically left us with not much to do but sit around at the condo.
Another day passes and there is more projectile vomiting accompanied by diarrhea. My baby is sick all over again. Yay me. Saturday night rolls around and D gets sick. I wake up on my very first Mother's Day and I am sick. My Mom and Maggie are even sick! That day was pretty much a write off as we all spent the day either in bed or in the bathroom. I thank the stars and all the powers that be on this great earth that AJ slept all day. I could barely keep my eyes open let alone get out of bed.
Monday, the day before we were scheduled to depart, was a good day. We were all feeling about 80% better so we took a tour of the aquarium and the north shore of Maui. Finally we go to see more of this heavenly place!
Then comes our last day :( I wake up to AJ gabbing in the crib. Finally she slept a whole night in there! I get up and walk past her to the bathroom. I look at her with blurry eyes and notice dark patches in the crib. She managed to poop so much that it was ALL OVER the place. To the shower we go for the 15th time that week. We didn't leave until that evening so we were lucky enough to have lots of time to do multiple loads of laundry, pack up, and take advantage of the pool one last time. Again AJ did not want anything to do with the water, so D and I decided to go for a drive in the nice air conditioned van. As we were cruising around I heard a noise similar to someone shaking a bottle of water. I unbuckle my seat belt to peer over AJ's car seat and yes you guessed it! She was covered in vomit. Unfortunately it was a 5 min drive back to the condo. The smell was awful and poor AJ was right in the middle of it all. Straight into the shower she went (number 16 I believe).
What the hell was I going to do with a sick baby on a plane?! I decided to take her to a walk in clinic to get some advice. I needed to know I was doing everything right because just when I thought I was ... she would be sick again.
Now if you ever get that thought in your mind that you can get away with being on vacation and not have to worry about medical insurance ..... think again. We have great coverage through D's work so we were not worried but the thought of "it won't happen to us" did creep in. It was not something I assumed we would need. And look what happened.... we needed it! The clinic was the best idea I had that whole week. The doctor reassured me that AJ was fine and I was doing all the right things. She suggested I just fill her with Pedialyte and crackers for the trip home as it would be better coming up than milk. So that's what I did. She never got sick vomit-wise again but that didn't stop her bum from being runny. I had to change her clothes due to leakage 3 times and she pooped probably 156. So I guess we did ok.
It may not have been the most relaxing trip away, but it certainly was an adventure. An adventure in Mommyhood.
