Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The First (and Last) Flight For A While

Ok, first let me say that I'm sorry. I cannot believe that it's been 8 days since I last posted something on the most exciting blog in the world. My bad. This whole being-a-mom-thing takes a little more time than I originally anticipated.

ANYWAY, I am so thankful that my sister decided to make the trip to Columbia with us because I really don't know if I would've survived without her. Some babies don't mind flying. And, to be perfectly honest, after our flight TO Kansas City I would've told you Connor fits into that category. After our flight back to Atlanta, though, I am confident when I say that we do not have one of those children.

When I say that the flight to Kansas City went well, I am simply saying that he didn't really cry while we were in the air. I have never felt as un-welcome as I did when we boarded the plane and everyone looked at me as if to say PLEASE, PLEASE KEEP WALKING. DO NOT SIT NEXT TO ME.

The first problem is that the people at Delta Airlines suck. All that we needed was a microwave or some means to warm up Connor's bottle before we boarded the plane but OH NO they didn't have one of those. In fact, Kelly took the lead on our search and we somehow ended up in a Delta breakroom. She asked if they had a microwave and the guy gave her a blank stare. She said, "y'know, one of those things that heats things up?" Needless to say, he didn't end up helping us out. The nice people at Starbucks gladly took his bottle and zapped it in the microwave. Ahhh....finally. A bottle that Connor would accept.

In what seemed like an eternity later, Kelly, Connor and I boarded the airplane and found our seats. Right next to a nice - but weird - lady named Pat. She was fascinated with EVERYTHING that we were doing with Connor but she didn't seem to be a big fan of ours when we needed to change his diaper. She quickly started waving her hand in front of her face and kept saying, "PU" as she looked around the airplane for moral support. Yes, you read that correctly: we changed his diaper right in the middle of the plane. Seats 14A and 14B, to be exact. He had a poopy diaper and man-oh-man did it stink. I haven't checked to confirm that airplane bathrooms do not have changing tables but I think that I'm safe to say that the worlds smallest bathroom is unlikely to have any type of changing table in it. So, we did what we had to do. The worst part was that it was not only poopy but it was green, messy and smelly. Nice. Way to go, Connor.

We managed to survive the remainder of the flight and when we exited the plane, we walked into the welcoming arms of Connor's Nana. I gladly handed him off for a few minutes and we continued on our never-ending-adventure as we drove 2 hours home.

Once we got home, we were ecstatic to learn that the electricty had been cut off from our house. Suh-wheat. It's not like we wanted to actually be able to relax and SEE each other after the days events. So, we did what any normal family would do: we sat in our living room and talked. In the dark. As I held Connor in my lap, I felt some movement and knew that he needed another diaper change. So, being the great mother that I am, I changed him. In the dark. By candlelight. I wasn't too excited to use the flashlight because I noticed a new spot on my shirt that was right where Connor was sitting. Again, suhh-wheat.

The electricity eventually came back on, but we were all ready for bed by that time. I mean, it was almost 9pm. And we were still awake?

The next day seemed to be off to a better start as we did have electricity and we didn't have to fly anywhere. Connor was able to meet one of his Great Gradma's, Megan and her daughter Georgia, a few of his aunts/uncles, and tour his Grandpa's office. What more could a little man want?

Our trip on Saturday to Peach Tree Farm was a spectacle, as well. We saw billygoats, pumpkins, "midget horses" (aka donkeys), chickens and Connor was introduced to the cold Missouri weather.

Sunday was our final adventure. All that we needed to do was to survive a 2 hour drive to the airport and then a 1.5 hour flight to Atlanta. It sounds so simple when I type it but in reality it was the most exhausting event of my life. I'm not being dramatic - - just truthful. He cried, fussed, and complained the entire flight. I bounced him on my lap, blew on his face, sang (yes, SANG) to him, but nothing worked. The bad weather and turbulence that we encountered probably had something to do with it, too.

As much as I say it was crazy and a true adventure, I have to also say that it was so much fun. It's always great to see good friends and family. And I absolutely loved introducing my grandma to her very first great grandchild. Connor didn't ruin the trip. Instead, he made it more fun. More challenging and more eventful but definitely more fun.

2 comments:

Trish said...

And just so you know, there is a changing table in the bathrooms on planes. I haven't used it, but noticed it yesterday on my flight from Tampa. It pulls down out of the wall above the toilet. I was quite shocked as I didn't realize there was changing tables either!

josie said...

i enjoy reading your blogs.. u capture what a lot of moms go thru .. fun fun fun .. thank you for sharing :) made for a great day!