Amsterdam

So, we took Maddie to Amsterdam for a week since Brad had a business meeting to attend there and it was quite an experience.

On the way there Maddie slept for a total of about 1 hour which left Brad and myself in an awful place without sleep. It was stressful keeping her quiet while we watched everybody around us sleep. Right before we were about to land, Maddie threw up in her car seat which left us with a baby and a car seat soaked with spoiled milk! It was great fun. Once we landed we were able to change Maddie's clothes and put a blanket down on the car seat to prevent re-soiling of her new outfit. With everything in tow we made it to our apartment around 9am, but couldn't check in until 2pm. UGH! So, we left our stuff under the stairwell at the apartment and hit the city. Maddie slept so peaceful in her stroller, most of the day. Somehow, Brad and I managed to stumble around the city for the next 4+ hours without completely losing our minds. It's strange because funny things start happening after you only have a hour of sleep. As soon as we were able to get into the apartment, Brad let me take the first hour of sleep minus the times that Maddie would hit me in the head trying to wake me up. He took the next hour. Enough to give us strength to finish the day. We went back out for groceries and dinner. That night Maddie woke up screaming bloody murder and refused to go back to sleep without sleeping on me. We were thinking that she was going thru some separation anxiety and probably just scared that she was in an unfamiliar place. This happened every night for the first few nights and then all of the sudden, she slept alone all night!! :)

The days were great, she would sleep in her stroller as we pushed her thru the streets of Amsterdam or a museum. We tried to give her at least one nap a day in her "cot" which also allowed me to get some rest and Brad time to answer work emails. Maddie seemed to really blossom while we were away. She started to become more vocal and Brad thinks more mature. She is a very sweet little girl who just rolled with the new experiences.

On the way back she was a champ on the first flight. We think it had everything to do with the fact that we checked her car seat and just put a harness on her to connect her to the seat belt. The second flight we weren't so lucky. She didn't have her own seat and just got over tired. Brad and I were so wiped that we kept falling asleep with Maddie climbing all over us. She did finally fall asleep, but it was during landing! She slept all the way thru the airport and home in the taxi, only to wake up when I was putting her in the house. She has been sleeping like a champ ever since.

I would say that it was a difficult vacation, but we had a really good time. AND it was FABULOUS spending so much time with our little family, that I treasure so much!