International Dinner Follow Up

FIASCO!

We left our house at 5:30 to make it to the dinner at 7:00. Markus fell asleep in the car, and woke up when we got to our friends house (after 7:00 -- traffic really sucks). He knew he was in a different environment with different people. At first it was okay, but then he wanted his bottle around 8:30 or so, which was normal, but he didn't go to sleep right away. He then started to get upset and crying. I told Sandra that she should go eat dinner and I'll try to get him to sleep. It wasn't working and then I started to get upset as well. Here are the factors that were at play:

• He normally poops two or three times a day, but hadn't done so all day
• We were in an apartment that had an oven on all day (cornish hens - WOW so good) and it was very hot.
• New location and he just slept an hour or so before we got there

Sandra then came into the room to help and Markus promptly spit up a few ounces as he was choking on his own tears from crying. Now we were both uncomfortable and wondering if this was a good idea. How do parents do this?

Then he let out a massive S-bomb, which made us feel great! lol. We could then eliminate an upset stomach as the problem. We fanned him and consoled him and it seemed to work. Sandra stayed with him and I went to finally eat my dinner. The dinner was pretty amazing, but it was difficult to focus. I felt embarrassed, but in no way was I made to feel that way. Everyone was so supportive.

As if that wasn't enough, after 10 minutes, Markus started crying again. This time Sandra was with Ericka and Diane and I stayed at the table. Again, it was hard as hell to stay focused when my little guy was in the next room crying. It was at 10:30 that Sandra decided to put him in the car seat and give him one of his favorite toys -- Henrietta. It worked. He finally calmed down enough to fall asleep. We enjoyed the rest of the night until about 1:00. Well, by enjoyed I mean we were interactive while having a giant anxiety pit in our stomachs from time to time.

Afterward Sandra and I were glad that we went through the experience because we learned a lot. We have to continue to take Markus out to different places, but we should probably get there a little early. Markus doesn't like to mess around during his bedtime. In fact, we went to a birthday party the next day for a few hours in the early afternoon and it was fine.

So, that was the experience. Slightly different from our plan (have him fall asleep soundly at 8:30 in the pack n' play). =)

Here's a picture of Markus with Henrietta: