First Auto Travel, First Train Travel, and my learnings -- All 'bout lil Kuku Part 1 -- XI

Just when you think you can really post everyday, something will change that. Well, the trip changed it for me. It was Kuku's first auto travel and he was quite surprised that his Dad was not driving. He kept looking up at his Dad. It was funny :) It was also his first train travel. He seemed very enthusiastic and waved at the train. He was for most part well-adjusted and had a lot of fun but it was either too warm or too cold and so he was unable to sleep which meant most of us slept badly. I received a lot of unsolicited advice but took it well.

Of course, I have been in situations where I am thinking: "Oh gawd! They are traveling with a baby - bloody hell - I can as well kiss my sleep goodbye. The baby will squeal and scream through the night and I have to act as if it is all part of the decision I made when I opted to book tickets on this train. If the baby does not cry, the baby decides to be friends with me, while I am openly ignoring the baby by covering my face with a big paperback. And then, I have to go "hullo, hullo, kootchie kootchie etc." while the baby shrieks with laughter. Now, I was in the opposite end of the spectrum.

Anyway, train travel with Kuku was absolutely uncomfortable because:

• While it is absolutely stuffy, dirty, and smelly in the train,  Kuku wanted to explore every nook and corner by crawling to it or somehow reaching for it. When we did not allow him to crawl, he threw a tantrum and shrieked so loudly, people came to our seat to see why we were torturing the poor baby.
• The berth which is just 'bout bearable when you are the only one lying on it, can become absolutely impossible when you are sharing it with a baby. Especially since Kuku likes his space. He has his own bed at home that occupies almost half our bed. And he likes to sleep with his arm flung out and does not like it if his arms are moved closer to him.
• When I finally managed to get him to sleep, he slept for 1.5 hours and woke up crying because he was too warm. This continued till we reached our destination. 
• Trying to calm a baby in the lower berth while the middle berth is put up can be a very painful experience. It is a miracle that I do not have a permanent neck crick. 

And this was only the onwards journey. I think I was running on some adrenalin rush because apart from saying "This is hell.." out loud, I just looked at comforting kuku and trying to grab some shut-eye. Interesting!!