I know exactly what passengers think when they see a baby on their flight, "Let's sit as far away from them as possible." I know this because Drew and I have always been those passengers. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE kids, but a screaming baby on our flight was never ideal. Funny how life takes a turn and I am now in the shoes of the baby carrying passenger. I tried to rearrange Bella's schedule a bit so that she got a small nap before we got to the airport and then, assuming she would be so stimulated by our fancy Louisville International, she would be wide awake until the plane ride.
With our toy stuffed suitcase, stroller, and diaper bag in hand, my mom and I were prepared for anything that could happen in the airport or better yet, on the plane. I really did anticipate the worse, even though Bella is a pretty laid back kind of girl. On the flight to Maryland, my mother and I waited patiently off to the side with another mother who had her 5 month old girl she was traveling with for the first time as well. What a spectacle we were as we tried to entertain and distract our babies! I can imagine the thoughts of our fellow passengers as they looked on in dismay, I am sure. We struggled to feed Bella as she was tired and distracted by all the new sights, sounds, and people around her. She also made sure she showed her fellow plane mates that she had the best set of lungs.
Boarding the flight was chaos, partly because families no longer board BEFORE the other passengers--at least with Southwest--unless you get a special pre-boarding pass. My mom and I were NOT aware of this, but thankfully she has always gotten the pre-boarding pass because of her physical impairments. Well, little did we know the pre-boarders had already boarded and they began to take on Group A. My mom and I were dumbfounded when we discovered we were still in line and people were boarding before us. Thankfully my mom jumped up front and spoke with the ticket collector, mentioning she had a pre-boarding pass and she did not hear the announcement for us to be boarded. Well, wouldn't you know that ticket lady said, "You must have it because of the baby, right?" My mom's response, "No actually I have had double knee replacement and a rod in my back." Ha! That silenced that woman quick!
So down the little hallway we went, Bella fighting between hunger and sleep. Collapsing the stroller was easy peesy, and my mom maneuvered down the aisles, with Bella in her arms, with ease. I on the other hand, pulled and shoved and finally, carried our carry on toy bag in an effort to squeeze it down the narrow pathway of the plane. Finally I make it to the seat and with Bella in arms, we settle into the flight. Exhausted from all the stimulation, sounds, force feeding and more, she quietly fell asleep in my arms after the safety instructions were given. And for the next hour and ten minutes, it looked like this.
What a blessing it was that my baby was sleeping on the flight, so much so, I could even do this.
She did wake up the last 10 minutes of the trip and couldn't have been any happier! I am sure she was thinking, "This plane stuff is fun, when can we do it again mom?!" Little did she know we were repeating the process all over again in only two short days. Good news is, she did the same thing on the way back.
Looks like we have a little flyer on our hands!
No comments:
Post a Comment