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We finally joined the ranks of overseas parents who travel with their babies to other countries! For J's first flight we give his performance a B and ourselves a C.

He went to sleep at his usual time in the evening and remained asleep on the way to the airport at 9:30 pm, but woke up as soon as we got out of the van. He was bright-eyed alert since, drinking every scenery around him. When we finally boarded the plane at midnight he was tired and fussy again. Because he hates sitting and not being able to see much he started fussing and began crying when the plane engines came to life as we started to taxi down the runway. I raised him up as he usually likes to play "up and down," and when he saw the other passengers behind us, particularly the guy in the next seat he started to chuckle and calm down a bit. He was okay when the flight attendants finally brought out the bassinet. J played with the lock for another hour then fell asleep.

We had about 15 hours to kill in Bangkok so we promptly checked in Novotel Suvarnabhumi airport hotel to get some much needed sleep. We all loved the big bed and soft sheets, even J. Then it was time to meet some of our former students and colleagues for late lunch at a nearby restaurant. J started to get bored and fussy again at the witching hour, between 6-8 pm, during which time we were at our old favorite hangout, the German Bier Haus for wheat beer and pork neck with Viennese sauce (for Brian) and yam plamuk or spicy squid sala (for me).

J was more relaxed and slept during the flight to Cebu. We're not sure if the Panadol we gave him earlier made him drowsy or maybe he was just tired. But we still didn't get much sleep on the plane because Cebu Pacific does not have bassinets. Luckily for us it was not a full flight so J was able to lie down on an empty seat, while we took turns keeping an eye on him.

In Cebu we stayed at the Cebu Midtown Hotel. Because we arrived at 5 am they didn't have a room with king size bed available for us. We were so tired we accepted the only available room and pushed the couch against one of the double beds so J could and I could both sleep. We were at least able to move to another room, which was smaller, but had a king size bed, after lunch.

After that we were all okay. We had fun taking J to the mall and showing him off to relatives and friends. Eating out was a bit sticky because he hates sitting down, gets bored being indoors, and gets cranky from 6-8 pm, always. At least there are restaurants that have couches, soft chairs, and high chairs where we can give our arms some rest although he still prefers to be walked around.

The latest ordeal came when it was time to take the overnight ferry to my hometown of Surigao. Three months earlier I e-mailed my family requesting for a suite with a king size bed and private bathroom. But the shipping company changed the boats that week. The only cabin available was no bigger than a bathroom, with two bunk beds. Even after we left our bigger suitcases with my brother who was sleeping in another section, our carry on bags left us with maybe two square feet of open space, so the door can open. Brian slept on the top bunk, J on the bottom one, which was practically on the floor, and me ... well, I tried sleeping sitting up, lying on the floor, and sidways next to J. It didn't help that the light and AC didn't work at all times. Preparing his milk and changing his diaper in the dark at 3 am was a new challenge. He freaked out when he opened his eyes and couldn't see anything familiar in the dark. And because our cabin is right by the 3rd class section, we had the privilege of hearing a pre-dawn concert of all the roosters on board the ship at 4 am. I can't believe we left the comfort of our hotel room -- which was cheaper -- for this!

Needless to say I was cranky when we arrived until I got a few hours of sleep in my old bedroom. J, at least, was fine and enjoying himself. We'll be here for a week, probably long enough for us to recharge our batteries until the next leg of our trip comes: the flight from Manila-Taipei-Seattle. The main thing that kept or keep us going is the look on the faces of our parents and relatives when they see J for the first time.

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