Off to the States + Dalgona Coffee
- May 18
- 8 min read
Thursday
Arthur woke up at 7:10, and devoured the rest of the scrambled egg before his first breakfast on the boob. He was a bit restless during the morning, although that may have been because we were trying to get things done while holding him at the same time. It also could have been simply tiredness after an early rise. So, I was happy when he almost immediately fell asleep during his 10:00 nursing session, and stayed that way for a while.
Unfortunately, he didn’t do the same during his 1:00 nursing session, which was right before we were planning to head out, but was still in pretty good spirits when we set off to Amsterdam a bit before 2. The little bug devoured an entire pack of peach-banana corn puffs on the train, then enjoyed people-gazing and blowing raspberries. And, happily, fell asleep soon afterwards, and since it was such a long train ride, got a good nap in!
Honestly, he was great for most of the train ride and bus trip afterwards, which all told, took about 3 hours in total. He was cheerful at the hotel when we checked in, and in a pretty good mood at the little hole-in-the-wall restaurant we grabbed dinner at. Our first restaurant dinner experience with Arthur! I think we’ll be able to do it again; he was lovely. I fed him a purée of zucchini, potato, and pea, which he was content to eat, but seemed more interested in observing his surroundings.
Then it was back to the hotel for a nursing session, and at this point Arthur started getting a bit fussy and worked up. Not that I blamed him - it had been a very long day and he was due some fussiness at this point. I think he was pretty burnt out; he had been a trooper the whole day! Finally, it was time for bed in a new place! The hotel gave us a massive old crib that looked like a cage, and I was apprehensive about how well Arthur would go down in it.
It didn’t go well. He really freaked out when Miklós put him down in it; I’m not sure whether it was the different location, the crib, or being overtired. Miklós says he rarely starts up right as he’s being lowered into the crib, so the location probably played a big role in it. Luckily he did eventually go to sleep, and his parents were very happy to do the same.
Afterwards, happily, he fell asleep on me, and since it was a long train ride, he got a decent nap in.So, on our exciting Thursday, Arthur ate:
egg
spinach
broccoli
bell pepper
onion powder
turmeric
paprika
garlic-infused olive oil
puffs (made of corn flour, sunflower oil, peach and banana powder)
zucchini purée
pea purée
potato purée
Friday
Arthur woke up when his dad went up to go to the bathroom - around 6:45. He was pretty sweet and chill for nearly half an hour; I picked him up drowsily and snuggled with him on the bed, and he was actually smiling and content like that. Miklós came and joined us, and Arthur tolerated family snuggle time for longer than I would have expected!
Then it was time to drink some breakfast. Arthur’s new favorite way to nurse, if he’s not very tired anyways, is to sit in my lap and suck from one boob and then the next, alternating nipples between sips. I can’t say it’s my favorite style, but it is funny to watch.
Arthur got a bit of a nap in during his second breakfast, and was in high spirits as we took the airport shuttle to Schipol and checked in to our flight. Arthur’s Tía Kata was very sweet, and came out to the airport just to have a quick coffee with us before we left. And I have to say, she seemed much more charmed by him than she had the previous time she saw him, when he was only a couple weeks old. Arthur was a bit unsure about being held by a new person, but wasn’t too fussy and definitely warmed up to her by the end, smiling in her arms. So that was really nice.
The airport was also amazing. It had a free baby lounge which was dark and consisted of curtained nooks with cribs and comfy seats in them, where you could nurse or let your baby nap. It also had a nice diaper changing section, and a microwave, which I guess was for preparing formula. It was pretty sweet, but unfortunately we didn’t have much time to spend there - just a quick nursing session, a catnap, and a diaper change. Then it was off to the plane!
We were very happy that the plane layout was such that we got two seats next to each other, with no other connected seats. So Mikós got an aisle, I got a window, and there was no middle! The flight itself was delayed by about an hour, which was challenging. Arthur was tired and restless and didn’t really want to nurse. Sonja was a godsend though, and was able to pacify him. He also went through two fruit purée pouches while we were waiting to depart - I’ve never seen him so into them! Apparently I should have packed more.
Anyways, the dude finally crashed pretty soon after takeoff, and slept for a good two hours, which I was very happy about - he really needed it! I guess a long nap meant he had extra energy afterwards, because Arthur then stayed awake for maybe 3 hours or something, which is quite long for him. He was pretty sweet and cute during that time, though, so I really couldn’t complain. And he did fall asleep on the boob eventually, and actually slept the remainder of the flight, a good 3-4 hours, sleeping through transfers between parents and landing.
He also slept through the 2 hour drive to Bellingham, but putting him down to bed was a nightmare. I think he wasn’t terribly tired after just having had a full night’s sleep, and combined with the jet lag and separation anxiety, was a mess. We ended up having him just sleep for stretches at a time in the bed with us, one of us napping with Arthur while the other kept an eye out to make sure our first, unintentional co-sleeping experience was a safe one. It was cozy though - I get why people do it.
Anyways, it was a long day, so I won’t go into details about Arthur’s solid intake, but it was basically a lot of fruit/veggie purée pouches and different flavors of puffs. No new foods or allergens today.
Saturday
Ok, I’m writing this entry at the end of the day, so I’ll try to make it quick. We had a lazy morning at Tante Mika’s house with Tante Mika and G-Dawg, and a quick visit from Tante Mika’s friend R.J., who is baby-obsessed. Arthur was a hit with everyone, but he had some serious stranger anxiety. He even cried when Mika held him, which was surprising, given she’s so similar to me.
Arthur napped a very little during the morning, but was in good spirits throughout the morning, which he spent walking around the farmer’s market in downtown Bellingham. He then napped the entire car ride from Mika’s house to the Anacortes ferry terminal, about an hour.
The little dude started getting a bit restless on the ferry, but was still manageable. In Friday Harbor, he was greeted by a very excited Oma, who he smiled at a number of times, but was still nervous about being held by. Hopefully he’ll warm up to his grandparents soon! He was completely exhausted by the end of the day, and, blessedly, crashed almost immediately in the crib. Miklós and I were thrilled!
And, over the course of the day, Arthur ate:
puffs
scrambled egg (prepared with spices in olive oil by his Tante Mika)
black beans
lemon juice
Sunday
Arthur woke up around 5:00 on Sunday, but at least he slept solidly until then! He was pretty chill for a lot of the morning, although fussed quite a bit when I wasn’t holding him. He seems to be getting worse and worse with his stranger anxiety; now he often gets upset even when Miklós is with him.
We gave him a bath in the cooler (during which he seemed to really discover and be fascinated with his wiener and ballsack) and changed the little guy into some new clothes from Oma! Afterwards, Arthur got a bit of a nap in while I nursed him, though it was a short one, and after a walk in the neighborhood, played with some blocks Oma on the carpet. He was pretty into them, and kept babbling dadadada while he inspected, shook, and swatted them.
Oma cooked Arthur some Malt-O-Meal up as an afternoon snack; it consists of wheat and malted barley, and is a cream of wheat type of porridge. She made it with soy milk and mixed some peanut butter in, so it was full of allergies and things that he liked. And, surprise, surprise, Arthur did really like it!
Arthur was starting to get sleepy by the early afternoon, and Oma suggested another walk, hoping he would fall asleep in the hiking backpack. So it was off to the fire trail, and Arthur did nap in the backpack for a good hour! And, for the initial stretch of the walk in which he was awake, Arthur seemed content in there without his parents in sight; his grandparents walked ahead with him and he didn’t fuss at all. So that was the best he’s coped with strangers yet - it seems like the backpack is a good hack.
When we got home (and Arthur had a full post-nursing belly), Oma filled up Arthur’s pack-n’-play with plastic balls, and he got to experience something new! He seemed very content in there with the balls, examining them in turn, both on his back and on his belly.
But he was pretty exhausted for most of the afternoon, and didn’t get any other naps in. His stranger danger was at an all-time high, and he wasn’t even content with Miklòs, so I basically didn’t get a break from him the whole evening.
At dinner, Arthur pretty much ate unseasoned bits of what the parents were eating: roasted eggplant, zucchini, and quinoa, the last of which was a new food for him! He was pretty enthusiastic about all of them, and ate a decent amount.
So, on Sunday, Arthur ate:
cream of wheat (new food!)
soy milk
peanut butter
quinoa (new food!)
eggplant
zucchini
Ok, I haven't been cooking since we left Maastricht, but I have a bunch of recipes I want to post, from quite a while ago. Here's one that's barely a recipe, but that I've been obsessed with lately, and want to remember: dalgona coffee! I remember this recipe being viral all over the web during Covid times, and trying it then, but I think I didn't have an electric whisk at the time, so wasn't able to make it properly. But now I have one, and oh man, I love it! Here's how I make it:
Dalgona Coffee (serves 1)
Ingredients
2 tbsp instant coffee (I usually use decaf)
2 tbsp granulated sweetener of choice
2 tbsp boiling water
optionally milk of choice/yogurt/quark/other base, to serve
Instructions
Add the coffee and sweetener to a tall mug or bowl.
Add the boiling water.
Using an electric whisk, whisk coffee for 1-2 minutes, taking care not to splatter (I often end up splattering it).
It will get thicker and thicker as you whisk it. Usually after a minute or two, it is pretty thick.
Enjoy plain with a spoon, over hot or cold milk, or, my favorite (which I think is unique to me) as a topping for plain or vanilla yogurt or quark!
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