And we're back!

Well, here I am, back in Malawi. This blog’s title is once again relevant. Let mishaps and mayhem ensue!

So, we survived the seemingly endless trip to Africa. Our journey started last Friday morning at 4 AM, when we awoke to head to the airport. From Seattle we flew to New York, and Milo was charming and sweet throughout the whole trip. We then transferred to our flight to South Africa. I had to go mama bear on a bunch of travelers who tried to move ahead of me in the security line when I stopped for a couple seconds to adjust the brake on the stroller. One couple made it past me, and the others behind them made a dash for it, even though we were already trying to move ahead again. I had to block the throng with Milo’s stroller and yell, “We’re in line here, people!” They didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed. Freaking Europeans.

The 17 hour flight to Johannesburg (yes, you read that right) was not so bad. Milo slept for most of the trip, and although we only were able to use the airplane bassinet for a couple hours because of turbulence, we managed to rest a bit.

On Sunday evening, we stayed overnight at a hotel in Johannesburg. As we were landing, congratulating ourselves on how smoothly everything had gone, I suddenly realized I had a much greater challenge to contend with: baby jet lag.

Why has no one warned me about the hell that is trying to get a baby to sleep 9 time zones away from his usual home? While Jorge and I were ready for a full night’s rest, Milo thought he was just taking a nap. He decided to play all night, and by 6 AM I was sobbing with exhaustion, having had little sleep for 3 nights in a row.

We’re all still a little off since then. Milo wakes up even more often than usual during the (last night he was a twitchy little ball of energy from about 1:00 to 4:00,) and he’s more tired and cranky than usual during the day. Things are slowly improving, though, and he’s at least napping regularly again. I haven’t managed to stay awake later than 7:30 since we got to Lilongwe.

Today I am back at work, but I don’t have much to do yet, because most of my colleagues are out of the office, so I don’t know what’s needed. There’s been a lot of positive change and progress since I left, so I am excited about getting back to work.