In October Foster traveled to Connecticut and back on his first plane ride. He slept most of the way there and back, but did open his eyes for a while and share his smiles with airport staff and of course all the ladies! He also enjoyed the company of the nose hair growling wildly out of our airplane row neighbor's nose. He was quite impressed with it! Yuck!
Flying with a baby was a completely new experience for me, and I actually learned quite a few things during the adventure.
#1- Traveling with a stroller gives you special privileges:
(I flew out of Atlanta, so that mom and dad could watch the dogs for me- Thanks guys! And so that we could just fly directly to Providence, the closest airport to Noank, CT)
Upon arrival at the airport, we were actually greeted with smiles and helping hands. The Skycap came around his desk to help place my checked luggage on the scale, an act which anyone who has ever flown out of Atlanta would know to be foreign! Then, when we got to the security check, we were directed to a special line for strollers, a line that had absolutely no waiting. I was excited since the regular line had a Disney World length wait time. The TSA workers were very polite and even made a joke about testing the breastmilk I had stored in my carry on luggage! Who knew they were capable of being friendly?
#2- Stewardesses are just for looks!
So, a mom with a baby in a stroller obviously traveling alone with a diaper bag, a carry on bag, a stroller, and a carseat certainly does not need any help, right? Wrong! Even someone who is as independent as I am cannot do it all! However, I must look like I can, because as I arrived at the plane door, two stewardesses continued to carry on their obviously important conversation instead of offering to help me. Some may say, "They must not have seen you there." I believe eye contact would prove that to be false. I even shot them my best " I need help" look, but clearly it went either unnoticed or they just didn't feel like helping. I finally had to ask one of them to carry my bags down to my seat so that I could separate the carseat and stroller, while holding a baby and make it to my seat without breaking a serious sweat!
#3- A Stinky diaper is just a way of life on an airplane:
After getting situated on the plane in a space smaller than my linen closet, with a baby in my arms, I asked a very important question that all new moms ask when on their first plane ride. Where do I change a stinky diaper? The response was not what I expected from a Delta stewardess. She said in a very matter of fact tone, "There is no changing table in the lavatory." Am I mistaken or did that not even come close to answering my question. When I asked again, she said I could put the seat down and change my baby on the seat of the toilet in the lavatory. Are you kidding me? Have you ever been in an airplane lavatory? You can barely stand in a lavatory, let alone attempt to change the diaper of a squirmy baby on top of a toilet seat that is small enough that a tiny kitten might roll off. So, the next time you catch a whiff of something a bit fowl on an airplane, chances are, someone is doing exactly what I had to do about an hour into the flight...Changing a diaper on my lap. How I came out of the exercise without poop on any part of my body is a miracle! Equal rights for all? Not for babies who need changed on an airplane!
Well, I came out of the adventure no worse for the wear, but with an whole new attitude towards all those people I see traveling with diaper wearing mini-adults!
