April ends with the FD Linges in Cedar Rapids and Chicago in temporary housing.
Bobby did not like his 12 hour flight from Tokyo to Chicago. He slept most of first night back in Chicago. We arrived in Chicago the afternoon of Tuesday, April 11, and by Friday night he was more or less back on schedule. The period in between was terrible for all of us: Bob regularly woke up in the middle of the night and just cried and cried until he was hoarse. We needed him to get back on schedule. During the day I woke him up from his naps so that he wouldn't get too much sleep during the day. Baby jet lag is terrible.
But after the heavy jolt of the time zone switch, I no longer had to bounce Bobby to bed. He's been falling to sleep on his own in his crib. Maybe he just wasn't sleeping well in Singapore. Or maybe he just got in the habit of being bounced to sleep when he was recovering from jet lag upon arriving in Singapore. But he didn't need it anymore once we were back. My quadriceps had really been growing so sore in Singapore. Maybe it was good for me, but I miss the days when we just lay Bobby down in his bed and he fell asleep on his own without our begging and prodding.
By Friday night, I had taken Bobby to dinner with my Chicago coworker (and he melted down by the end of dinner, just too tired), and on Saturday morning we drove back to Cedar Rapids. Bobby was very upset while we packed the car, and it was difficult to console him. With all the running around to the loud, atonal music of Bob's screams, I was stressed and distracted; my cell phone popped out of my pocket, onto the sidewalk, cracking the screen.
During the flight from Tokyo to Chicago, Bobby apparently discovered he enjoys screaming. There was a short period around January where Bobby decided he enjoyed screaming during moments of unhappiness, but this lasted only a little more than 24 hours. He rediscovered the joy of screaming on the plane, and since then he's been into screaming when upset.
We had to come back to Chicago for two and a half weeks so Christine can finish her obligations to her firm and we can say our good byes. Having moved out of our North Dearborn apartment in February, we rented an Airbnb in Wicker Park for our new (and short) Chicago residence. Once Christine is done working and all the good bye parties have been attended, Christine and I explore Pacific Northwest wine country in search of Pinot Noir and Bordeaux blends. In the meantime, I am working with Bobby on getting his sleep schedule back on track. While Christine goes to work, I am still enjoying being on paternity leave.
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| Bob and Dad at Starbucks (at North and Damen) waiting for Mom to get home from work. Dad spent the day trying to force babe onto a CDT sleep schedule. |
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| Soon, even while waiting for Mum, babe succumbs to jet lag. I'm sorry you can't pound some of this dark roast with me, Bob. It almost works. |
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| Sitting at the bar of a trendy "Hawaiian" restaurant (really just a restaurant serving poke and variations thereof). I ordered "Hawaiian ramen." Seems I didn't get enough ramen in Tokyo. We were sitting at the bar while waiting for our takeout. Poor Bob looks a bit tired. |
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| Sure enough. Bob succumbs to his jet lag while Mom and Dad eat our poke and ramen dinner. It is fine if he falls asleep in the evening, but we tried to keep him from sleeping too long during the day, lest he think he's having his big evening sleep during the middle of the day. |
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