Monday, April 20, 2009

It begins....

Being a new mom, I was ready for each new challenge. And this was a big one. We were taking our son on his first flight. He was 7 months old, still small enough that he didn’t need his own seat (yeah! I felt like I was getting something free!), but big enough that I thought we all could enjoy it. We picked an easy trip, Seattle – Phoenix to visit Grandma and Grandpa. I put off packing that week as it usually only took me about 30 minutes to pack my own bag, how much longer could it take me to pack G? As I found out.… quite a bit. Unfortunately we all had been sick that week, so the motivation was even more lacking. We had a car picking us up at 11am, so I figured after breakfast was a good time to start packing. Well, after G’s breakfast. I still couldn’t keep anything down.

I raced around trying to remember everything we needed to bring. Lastly, I packed the diaper bag for the flight. He was still nursing, so I didn’t think we needed much. Diapers, wipes, changing pad, blanket, binky, bottle (just in case), Tylenol, and of course, an extra outfit just in case. A small book to keep him entertained. We even had a brand new stroller just for traveling. I was VERY prepared. So I thought.

I started to realize we were going down that road less traveled pretty quickly into the trip. I waited until just before we left the house to give G a new diaper (see, I’m thinking clearly!), and we were off to the airport. Our driver dropped us on the curb, and I put G in his inaugural ride in the new stroller. We were off! Security is exciting with a baby, you have to practically strip down yourself and the baby – with baby in arms since the stroller goes in – and make sure your traveling nursery gets through too. (Tip: travel off peak business hours to avoid the eye rolling and sighs of business travelers that I used to be guilty of myself pre-baby). When I picked up G out of his stroller, my stomach dropped. I could see the brown spot leaking through his outfit. Then I glanced and saw the wet spot on the brand new stroller. Oh dear.

We hurried through security and I breathed to my husband the words every new parent dreads - “blow out”. We gathered our things and headed to the nearest family restroom to survey the damage. Yikes. One of the worst yet… damage all the way down to his socks. (I realized I forgot to pack a second pair of socks. Oh well, at least we were going somewhere sunny.) We got him cleaned up, changed, and back in the “as clean as possible” stroller quickly, with only minor damage to ourselves. As we headed to the gate, I honestly felt a little relieved. That had to be the worst thing that could happen, and at least it happened in the airport instead of in the air! I couldn’t imagine the alternative.

We boarded the plane no problem, and were on our way. Take off was easy, he nursed just perfectly and seemed like his happy little self – already making friends with everyone around him. I thought – this flying thing is easy! Then it happened. I felt something wet on my leg. I lift up G and notice the big wet spot on my thigh. Oh no. It happened, again. The smell hit me next. As I’m holding him up inspecting the damage, he reaches over and dumps a full glass of water in my husbands lap. Oh what I wouldn’t give to just have WATER in my lap right now. I realized the gravity of the situation when I remembered that G was already in his backup outfit. No new clothes for him, or for me. We both had to just sit in our damaged clothes for the rest of the flight. The walk down the aisle to the bathroom was a little nerve-wracking, hoping no one would notice the spots on either of us. When I got back to our seat, I sat there and prayed that the smell wouldn’t waft too far. G just smiled and giggled at everyone he saw, without a care in the world. It reminded me that nothing was as bad as it might seem when you have a beautiful little baby looking at you like you are their hero (which likely, you are). And I knew then that I was fully indoctrinated into the secret club of moms… those of us that walk around with every sort of bodily fluid on their clothing…. and are able to just brush it off. Two hours later, with a smile, and a sense of relief, we walked off the plane and into the sunshine – our travels with baby had begun.

1 comment:

  1. Yah!! I love that you're blogging!! Let's pimp out our pages together! :P

    ReplyDelete