Earlier in the month, we took our precious toddler on her very first plane ride! We went to visit her Grandparents and Great Grandparents in New England, and it was an experience.
Let me preface everything by saying that nothing about the trip was nearly as a bad as I had anticipated. The only real problem I had with the whole trip (and SuperScott, I love you, but I'm going to pound on you just a little bit here) is that Scott was fairly adamant that he did not want to bring the stroller. His mom had a spare for us to use when we got there (as well as a spare carseat, crib, changing table, etc...his second cousins (twins) live very near by and are only about 18 months older than Angelica so we borrowed some of their stuff), so he decided we would just carry Angelica through the airport.
Let's just say...sleepy toddler + crowds + strange place = one unhappy child. And that was just the trip up there!
I was also worried that Angelica would not tolerate the plane ride well. Two days before our trip, she was sent home from daycare with a 102 degree fever and a really, really bad cold. I was sure her ears would bother her, but much to my surprise, she did incredibly well on the plane. She sat in my lap during takeoff, and by the time we were in the air, she was sound asleep and slept for over half of the plane ride.
Flying with a tired toddler = bliss. She slept! On the plane! For over an hour!
For nine days she had a blast at her Grandma and Grandpa's house. She encountered big dogs (they have two Great Danes), other kids (SS's three second cousins, ages 5 and 2), a new shopping mall, new shopping mall playground, lots of new friends, and stairs!
Site Note:
Angelica now loves stairs! She sees a flight of stairs and it's like...Oh Mommy! Mommy look! Stairs! I want to climb the stairs! I want to run up the stairs! I want to give you a heart attack by climbing up stairs too fast for you to keep up!
So the flight home...that was the fun part. We flew back in the afternoon, after she had taken a nap, so she was wide awake. Sleep was out of the question here. She did NOT want to sit still in the airport (again, no stroller!), so we entertained her by giving her pink lemonade. Give her a sugary substance and she's your best friend.
Then on the plane, we felt horrible for the people in front of us. Angelica's favorite airplane passtime? Kicking the back of people's seats and reaching through and poking them in the arm. I like to think we both did a good job of restraining her but she somehow grew extra limbs and kicked and poked anyway. She also played a lot of musical parents. If SS was holding her, she wanted me. If I was holding her, she wanted him.
And then came the fun part. That 20 ounces of pink lemonade she drank at the airport? Yeah, that diaper was no match for the amount of pee she had stored up. She was sitting on SuperScott's lap and just let it go....and out of the diaper it went. All over her. All over him.
Karma for him not wanting to bring he stroller, maybe?
So of course, we had packed all of her spare clothes in the suitcase that got checked. Fortunately, we did have diapers in the diaper bag, so she got changed, and took the rest of the flight wearing a t-shirt and a diper. (We dressed her when we landed.)
The moral(s) of the story:
1. Bring a stroller to the airport. It will make managing the in-and-out of security check and waiting to board MUCH easier.
2. Travel early so your toddler will sleep on the plane.
3. Do not give them copious amounts of liquid prior to boarding a 2 1/2 hour flight.
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