On the Ship

We are now between Spain and Scotland with four days at sea.  This is the longest amount of days at sea for this voyage, unlike fall 2010, which had a stretch of 11 days from Japan to Hawaii.  For Quinn and I, the time goes quickly.  Chris would not say the same given the extraordinary amount of time and effort it takes to teach two classes daily.  A few seasoned professors have admitted just how challenging it is, and they have the foundational knowledge and information of their courses perfected by now.  On top of teaching two classes every day for over an hour, the material must be tailored to the countries we are visiting.  Needless to say, Chris has been working like a dog every day at sea and many days while at port, but thankfully, we do have most meals together and see each other sporadically throughout the day as Quinn and I come and go from the cabin.

~ Note in the picture, the crib and curtain are in the background.  The space is definitely cramped as we try to get in and out of the bathroom and cabin while she is napping, and Chris has to pick out his clothes the night before since the crib blocks the closet.  Quinn absolutely loves playing on the bed.

As mentioned previously, Quinn and I are settling into a nice routine on the ship, which looks like this:  

-       7:45 (or so): wake up

-       8:00-9:00 am: breakfast with just Quinn and I, which often includes some crying, staring off into space, and a million waiters doting on her.

-       9:00-10:15 am: hang out with kids program where kids ages 4-10 maul Quinn.

-       10:30-11:30 am:  Quinn hangs out with Mary (often includes sitting on her favorite bench and examining the gym equipment) and I go to the gym.

-       11:30-12:30 pm:  lunch with the whole family (aka, more forcing food down Quinn’s throat)

-       1:00-4:00: feeding Quinn more before nap, nap, and then feeding Quinn more after she naps.  Sometimes, I get a competitive game of bananagrams in during this time.

-       4:00-5:30 pm:  wandering around the hallways being stopped by voyagers who adore Quinn, hang out in the cabin waiting for dada to come back from class, go in the pool if weather permits.

-       5:30-7:00 pm:  another long meal of shoving food into Quinn’s mouth, doting waiters, and Quinn trying to get into the kitchen with the crew so badly.

-       7:00-8:00 pm:  running around the ship, with many students wanting to play with her, including a great group of women on our hallway (Katie, Kristen, and Paige).

-       8:00-9:00 pm:  try to tame the now wild beast to prepare for a night’s rest.

-       9:00-11:00 pm:  Chris works to prepare for his 8:00 am class while I contemplate facing the social anxiety of going up to the lounge without my wingman.

Chris and I are really struggling to get Quinn to eat during lunch and dinner and it is taking a toll.  Thankfully, we weighed her again and she has not lost any weight.  However, per the nutritionist, she should weigh 24 pounds versus the 21 pounds that she ways.  In addition, she really needs to be weaned off these purees but it is what she wants to eat most with yogurt and bananas.  It doesn’t help that with every mealtime, she is completely distracted (which means she forgets to chew) with waiters hiding behind poles, making bird chirping noises, and a constant flux of visitors. 

Many people are also commenting on how much more “comfortable” Quinn seems.  Quinn has always been social and has never refused anyone a high five, but now even more so, she engages with people and let’s them get closer to her.  I have mixed feelings.  Of course, I want Quinn to be comfortable with people, socially intelligent so to speak.  Yet, Quinn was in an orphanage just five months ago where other children and caretakers were ubiquitous.  I have concerns she will associate the ship environment to the orphanage and view these individuals, many of which are now trying to pick her up, as caregivers.  We need to be sure she doesn’t lose sight of the understanding that Chris and I are mom and dad and not just caregivers, as the others.  While the foundation has definitely been established, I don’t want to take it for granted that the attachment work is complete as research indicates it can take a year or more.  So, we are still trying to keep babysitters to an extreme minimum, which can be hard as we get offers daily. And as more people attempt to pick her up, we will just need to explain the circumstances. Because in the long-term, Quinn’s attachment to us is the priority versus one individual’s desire to hold a two year-old and our desire to avoid an awkward conversation.

A blog post on ship life turned into a diatribe about mealtime and attachment, which does make sense since we are feeding her and socializing about 95% of our waking hours on the ship. J  In a nutshell, Quinn LOVES the ship and we are definitely getting into a nice routine minus those mealtimes!