Last week we took a weekend trip to Beijing. Artemis spent her first night in a hotel, which did not go as well as we had hoped. We had a standard room, as a opposed to a suite, with a crib set up in the corner. Artemis had to go to sleep as soon as we arrived, but Josh and I were both hungry and needed to get dinner. I sat reading in the bathroom while Josh went out to get us fast food. We ate, also in the bathroom, and then went right to sleep.

What do other people do while traveling with a baby? We could have booked a family suite, but that would be much more expensive. We could have taken her with us to a restaurant, but she might have thrown a fit and that would be no fun for anyone.

One high point of the trip was passing through Terminal 3 of the Beijing Airport. We were among the first to use the new building and it is swank. It was like walking through a planetarium that went on for miles.

And the service was spectacular. As soon as we stepped out of our shuttle bus we were greeted by sweet, young girl in a sash who directed us to our check-in window. We had time to spare, so we stopped at a Thai restaurant for dinner before our flight. Our hostess first directed us to a table with a view of the terminals grand, arching ceilings. We told her we wanted more privacy so that I could nurse Artemis. She happily showed us to a more secluded table. It was bigger than we needed, but no one seemed to mind. We had a very nice meal. Two waitresses stood far enough way so as not to bother us, but close enough to dive to pick up Artemis’s toy keys when she dropped them on the floor.

When the Olympians pass through this airport, they’re going to be impressed.