Four Principles of Transition post Travel

Returning home from an international trip with a confused and exhausted baby is both a joy filled occasion and one wrought with stress. Here are a few simple tips to ease your transition after travel from the completion of an international adoption


1. Surrender your schedule.

Instead of finding routine in your daily schedule, find routine in normal daily activities. For example, my husband takes our son out for breakfast on Saturdays. This was an easy activity which did not require our daughter, whose internal clock was completely out of whack, to fall into our old routine. Choose one activity like this per day. It gives you the basis for finding consistency.

2. Ease into work.

My husband took 2 additional days off or a Thursday and Friday, so there were five additional days to recover. This might sound like common sense, but it is worth mentioning. I personally have returned to work the day after an international trip. We did not have children at the time, so I cannot imagine having a newly adopted child, in this situation. I outsource writing projects, and I did not agree to complete any new projects for the first few weeks home.

3. Bar the door.

Family and friends are elated you are home, and if given the chance will stop in to visit. And why wouldn’t they? After all, you have just come home with a beautiful child! Communicate your expectations about visitors prior to travel. I am lucky. Our families are very respectful. If you sense this might be an issue with family and friends have a conversation prior to traveling. Communication was not my strong suite after hours on a plane and having experienced something as profound as the adoption of our daughter. Let people know your expectations, and educate family and friends.

4. Avoid making assumptions about your child’s behavior.

Our daughter functioned well, given the circumstances. However, thinking back on her behavior, I know it was a very stressful emotional period. Do not draw conclusions on your child’s behavior based on the first few months home. I parallel the experience to being dropped on Mars. I found it best to journal daily. When it was a rough day, I looked back and read about our daughter, giving me the opportunity to see her progress.