First plane ride

Brooke took her first plane ride last week. My mom, sister, Brooke and I all flew out to Virginia where Brooke was able to meet her great grandmother and great aunts. I was a little nervous about flying with a baby. As we were boarding the plane I was making jokes about how everyone was watching me get on with an infant and was praying that I wouldn't be sitting near them. Several people were smiling at me and I could tell they were thinking just that. But then another guy said he'd love to have us in his row (. . . sounds creepy I guess but he looked like a dad that was probably missing his own kids)! Anyway, the flight out went great. Brooke slept the entire time (besides nursing on the way up and the way down). She didn't make a peep! While waiting for our baggage in the terminal, several people came up to me and couldn't believe what a great baby she was and others said they didn't even know there was a baby on the flight until they saw me get off. Of course I beamed under the compliments . . . like I had anything to do with her being so well behaved!

The return flight home turned out to be slightly more eventful. Since the way out was so easy I figured she'd probably cry the whole way back, which would be a frightening prospect for me since Brooke hardly ever cries I don't know that I would be all that adept at calming her down (hey, I don't claim to be an experienced mom)! But on the way home crying wasn't the issue . . . her bowels were!

Luckily we ended up being some of the last few people to board because the plane felt like an oven. After we got in our seats my mom pulled off Brooke's pants . . . which proved to be a fatal error for my shirt! So I nursed Brooke on the way up and was burping her against my shoulder. Nana was napping peacefully next to me when I felt a rumbling in Brooke's diaper. I started to giggle! Then I felt more rumbling and the giggle turned into a chuckle. Then Brooke pretty much blew the doors off and I was laughing out loud. I leaned over to Nana and told her what her little granddaughter was up to. With all the action going on in her diaper I figured there was going to be a mess on our hands and sure enough . . . I picked Brooke up and found a giant yellow splotch of baby goodness on my shirt! Since the flight was 2 hours long and we were only 15 minutes in I didn't think it would be prudent for me and my smelly daughter to endure the rest of the trip as we were. So my mother suggests that I change her on my lap! I look at my mother like she has two heads because I'm thinking it must be logistically impossible to change a messy diaper within the confines of a cramped airplane seat. The stewardess is headed our way with the drink cart so I said I wanted to ask her if there was a place to change the baby.

Sure enough, the stewardess said there is a baby changing station in the bathroom. So I tromp to the back of the plane juggling the baby, her pacifier, a changing pad, a new change of clothes, a diaper, wipes and a ziplock bag to put her dirty clothes in. I struggle to get the door open and luckily the passenger sitting one inch to the side of where I was standing helped me with the door!

Whoever called it a "changing station" must have a flair for the dramatic since a changing station to me implies that there is a nice comfortable area with a place to get organized and set down your wipes and paraphernalia with plenty of room to change your darling infant. This consisted of a small board over the metal toilet! Since the plane we were on was a small plane (with 2 seats on one side and a single seat on the other), the bathroom wasn't even the size of a small closet. So I get in there and don't even have enough hands to lock the door. So I get the board down and get Brooke up there and am looking around thinking that if any of her clothes or the pacifier hits the floor or the shiny stainless steel toilet then they'll be a goner! Brooke's eyes were as big as saucers and it was like she was stunned because a) the noise of the engines was pretty deafening and b) everything in there felt like it was vibrating. So I got her changed and got back to my seat.

About 15 minutes later I felt the rumbling again and smelled a suspicious odor! Luckily this time the diaper did it's job and contained the mess! But I went tromping back to the bathroom for a second round of fun. This time while I was changing her, Brooke wasn't quite so shell-shocked so she was smiling and kicking her feet like we were at a party . . which made things a little more difficult! But thankfully we all made it safe and sound and since the worst thing was having to endure the afternoon with a yellow stain on my shirt, I consider myself blessed!