Sleeping Through the Night in Seattle

Whew! We made it! Our first cross-country trip with the little guy is now officially in the bank. And, what's more, we lived to tell about it!

Fionn and I just arrived back to DC last night after a wonderful weekend in Seattle for the wedding of our dear friends, Jon and Emily. Conor stayed behind for the next three days in order to take some business meetings in Seattle. Although it is great to be home, I am thrilled to report that the trip went very, very well overall. It was certainly exhausting and stressful at times, believe me, but also strangely exhilarating somehow. I think it was important for me to see that it can be done. We can travel and live our life with a baby, and actually still have fun!

It definitely helped that, all in all, Fionn was a fantastic little traveler. Before the trip, I had all sorts of concerns about how he would tolerate the flight, how he would sleep once we got to Seattle, how he would react to all the events and constant activity that the weekend demanded.

Well, as it turns out, I could have spared myself a lot of unnecessary stress had I known that the trip would go so well (crystal ball, where are you when I need you?). First of all, Fionn was a fantastic little flyer. He slept or nursed pretty much the whole time (all 5 hours of it) on both legs of the trip. He got a little fussy as we landed in Seattle and put his little hands up to his ears to show that the change in pressure was bothering him (which, promptly, broke my heart into two pieces). However, Conor was able to quickly whip out a pacifier which helped alleviate any discomfort, and we were good to go after that.

One of my biggest concerns regarding last weekend's trip was sleep. Fionn has been a pretty good sleeper in his short little life, sleeping about 4-5 hours at a time at night before waking to nurse. Then he usually sleeps another 3 hours. I was very concerned that the change in time zone coupled with the absence of his creature comforts (such as the all-important Nap Nanny contraption that helps with his acid reflux) would create a perfect storm of dreaded INSOMNIA for the little guy. Of course, Conor and I would just be along for the terrible, terrible ride.

Boy, did he prove me wrong! Would you believe that Fionn slept better in Seattle than ever before? He slept SEVEN hours straight the first night and had similar performances the other two nights of of our trip. I was absolutely amazed. My best guess is that we wore him out so much with all the socializing that he was powerless to the allure of Dreamland once it was time to go to sleep. Either way, I am desperately trying to recreate the conditions of his hotel room now that we are home. Seven hours would be mighty nice!

The reason for our trip, Jon's and Emily's wedding, was so beautiful and so much fun. Em was a gorgeous bride, and the weather could not have been more perfect in Seattle for all of the festivities. I will make all East Coasters sick to their stomachs now by telling you that it was 70 degrees and sunny the entire time! It was fantastic.

Conor enjoyed playing golf with the other groomsmen on Friday while I celebrated my birthday with a college friend, Elisa, who took Fionn and I to the Market for a delicious lunch. Conor had the "good camera" on his golf trip, so I'm afraid I don't have a good photo from my outing with Elisa. Just imagine a bustling marketplace overlooking the water, cobblestone streets, and two ladies pushing a stroller through a throng of people. And you've got the right visual.

The fun continued that night. Jon and Em's rehearsal was aboard a large boat on Friday night, so we got to enjoy the beautiful water as we dined and chatted. This is us on the boat with Fionn in between us. Can you tell that Conor forgot to put on sunscreen for his golf excursion that day?



The wedding itself was just lovely. The ceremony was at the Kubota Gardens which was lush and green. We dressed little Fionny up in his Sunday best for the special occasion. Look, he matched Daddy!



After the ceremony, I went back to the hotel to meet up with the babysitter who cared for Fionn for 4 hours or so while I joined Conor at the reception. It was tough to leave little Fionn with a stranger for such a long period of time, but I think it was an important milestone. And he did great for the sitter. Apparently he slept pretty much the whole time, so she made herself some easy money.

Meanwhile, Conor and I enjoyed being sans Fionn for a few hours. The reception was at the Edgewater Hotel which overlooked the water. Gorgeous! The dinner was delicious, and it was followed by...ICE CREAM CAKE in lieu of a standard wedding cake! I nearly died. And I totally fell off the non-dairy wagon. Like I was going to pass up Ben & Jerry ice cream wedding cake? Have you lost your mind?

I have to give a special shout-out to our dear friends, Jon and Jen, who traveled with us to Seattle and provided so much help to us along the way. I really could not have made it back to DC without them. They are amazing friends. Thanks so much, you guys!