baby's first flight

Our flight to Mississippi was really not so bad. The TSA folks were very helpful in getting my car seat & stroller on the conveyor belt, which was difficult for me since I was carrying Cate. One of the TSA guys even talked to her and called her adorable. Shocked the heck out of me, since I have never known them to be even remotely polite. I guess that shows what traveling with a baby can do for you.

However, we were running a little late, so once we got through security, we had to go straight to the gate to board. No time to stop and use the bathroom, which was unfortunate for me since I had downed two Diet Cokes already. Hmm.

We got on the plane, and I immediately whipped out the Baby Tylenol plus Cold medicine. I figured the decongestant would help Cate with the ear pressure, and maybe it would also make her sleepy, which would just be a bonus. I gave her a half-dose, and she dribbled half of that onto her outfit, so I figured it probably wasn’t enough to do any good. Five minutes later, she went from bouncing and laughing on my lap to being totally zonked. She proceeded to sleep for the next 2 hours. She’d occasionally wake up and look around, and she seemed completely stoned. I know it’s wrong, but it was completely hilarious.

Oh, back to that other issue. So as soon as we were in the air and the “fasten seat belt” light was turned off, I got up and bolted for the restroom. There were 3 flight attendants: two women and a very obviously gay man.* I asked if one of them could please hold Cate while I went to the bathroom, and they all looked at me like I had three heads. Absolute disgust. Finally the guy stepped up and said he was afraid of babies. I told him that Cate didn’t have teeth, so she couldn’t bite, and I’d go as fast as possible. He held her out in front of him like she was an hors d’oeurve tray. Yeah. Totally natural. I peed at lightning speed and got us back to our seat.

*Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

But Cate did really well – she fussed a little bit when the plane started its descent, so I popped a pacifier in her mouth and she was fine. Oh, and she did indeed poop on the plane, but there was a changing table in the bathroom, so no big deal.

Our connection was in Houston, and the flight from there to Jackson was one of those tiny little 35-seater planes. I didn’t realize until we boarded that Cate and I were in one of the bulkhead rows, which is great for legroom, but that means there’s no seat in front of me to put my diaper bag under. I asked the flight attendant if I could please keep the bag behind my legs, so I could reach bottles/pacifiers/etc., and she said that was fine. I thanked her, and then muttered to the guy next to me, “That’s the first nice thing a flight attendant has done for me all day.” She overheard me, and said, “Really? Oh, bless your heart!” (God, I love Southerners for that expression.) After that, she kept coming over to check on us and see if we were ok, and she helped me with my bags after we landed, and she was just generally awesome. I really hope she’s on our return flight, although I know the odds are pretty slim.

Anyway, my folks picked us up, and everything’s gone well so far. The weather’s been nice, my dad and I took Cate for a walk around the neighborhood, my mom made an awesome dinner (fried shrimp, steamed sugar snap peas and baked potatoes… yum), and we’ve just been hanging out. Cate slept pretty well last night, probably because she was exhausted after such an adventure-packed day.

Oh, and tonight we get to have dinner with Sally. And maybe Larry Ferrari too. Yay!

4 thoughts on “baby's first flight

  1. Now you’re a pro at travel with a baby! The return flight will be even easier because you’ll know what to expect. 🙂

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