A Tale of Two Flights ...

Flight #1 - San Antonio to San Francisco

This weekend, Trip and I flew to California to visit my best friend Kelli and her 3 month old little boy Riley. Although I have flown with Trip several times, I was a little concerned about how the 4 hour flight would go now that he is a squirmy and very vocal 6 month old. So, I packed my carry-on with all of the essentials: diapers and wipes, oatmeal, a bottle, swaddling blanket, pacifiers, stroller, etc. I remembered every detail ... except for the toys! I left them in the back seat of J's truck.

Getting through security at the San Antonio airport was a breeze. They allowed all of the parents with young children to go through the priority access lane and the airport security people were all friendly and helpful. A nice gate attendant for United Airlines helped me to change my seat so that Trip and I would be in a row by ourselves, which meant that I didn't have to hold him on my lap the entire time.

With the exception of a minor meltdown just before boarding the plane, Trip couldn't have behaved any better on this flight. He smiled at all of the people sitting around us, laughed at the man's funny faces in the seat behind us and flirted with the flight attendants as usual. He even got to sit in his own seat with his seat belt buckled and everything.

What I learned from this flight is that anything can become a toy for a 6-month old. So, don't waste your money on expensive store-bought toys. Trip's favorite "toy" was the top of his sippy cup.

(Trip sitting in his seat on the first flight)

Flight #2 - San Francisco to San Antonio

(Trip drinking water out of his sippy cup)

The security process at the San Francisco airport was extremely disappointing. For living in such a beautiful state, the people in the California airport sure did have bad attitudes. The woman who checked my bag for United was unpleasant and rude. Once inside the airport, the security people were pushy and unhelpful.

Once on the plane (seated in the very back row next to the bathroom on a puddle jumper airplane) Trip started to fuss. It was near his nap time, so I spent the first 30 minutes of the flight trying to get him to fall asleep. He slept for two hours, which was amazing! When he woke up, he seemed hungry so I tried feeding him, but he wouldn't take any milk or cereal. After the attempted feeding, Trip really started to squirm and fuss. I could tell that his stomach was bothering him.

Three hours and 45 minutes into the flight, with the landing in sight, I felt a warm goo oozing onto my arm. Looking down, I saw that Trip had diarrhea ALL OVER me and the seat. I jumped up, wrapped Trip in a blanket and tried to get into the bathroom as quickly as possible. It was occupied. Once inside, I found that this particular Jet did not have a changing table. I put the toilet seat down and put Trip down on his blanket on top of it. (I won't even describe how dirty the toilet top was .. I will only urge all men to please take careful aim next time you pee in an airplane restroom).

Seconds later, over the intercom came the pilot asking everyone to please take their seats because we would be experiencing some turbulence. My poor baby was screaming and crying bouncing around on top of the toilet while I attempted to use the last of my wipes to clean us both up. Luckily, I was wearing a nursing tank top underneath my top, so I could remove the soiled shirt and the poo was limited to my blue jeans. A stewardess knocked on the door and asked that we take our seat. With poo on my arm and still all over Trip, we took our seat.

The woman sitting next to me helped me to laugh about the situation, but I'm not sure anyone else on the flight appreciated the humor in a screaming baby and the smell of poo.

What I learned on this flight ... sometimes there's just nothing you can do but laugh. And, I hope to never travel again without my husband!

(My clothes after the incident)