Friday, November 18, 2011

Air Travel

Recently I took a trip with my DD and my Mom to go to a wedding. Unfortunately, my husband was not able to come with us. The trip required 3 plane trips - one on the way down and a two parter on the way back. I'm not gonna lie - this trip scared the crap out of me. So I did what I always do when I am scared - I planned. I bought these little ear plugs that reviews swore Whit would wear and were supposed to help with the pressure change. I got Whit a book called the "Noisy Airplane" and read it to her several times before we took our trip. I packed her diaper bag full of snacks she loved and her current favorite toys. We were ready. Or so I thought.

Fast forward to the first trip - we got through security no problem - even with the bottle of milk I packed for her. Whit was so excited by all the activity at the airport that I swear someone must have slipped her some crack. Ok, not really - but I was not prepared. She was all over the place! We tried to let her run around a little, but there were so many people I wanted to keep her close. This was precisely the opposite of what Whit wanted. No big deal - right, we would board soon. Except that we didn't, the plane was delayed and delayed and delayed. When the plane finally got there we found out it had hit a bird and we had to change to a new plane at a new gate. By this point Whit was wound tighter than top. On the plane I couldn't even get the ear plugs near her - all she wanted to do was explore the plane - which was overbooked so there was no way she was going anywhere. Cue crying and screaming. Yup, I was that parent. At least it only lasted about 10 min. She had a hard time with landing as well - and I swore I would try the ear plugs next time.

The second trip was actually worse. I had this brilliant idea that we could survive without a stroller - since we also needed a car seat and I didn't want to carry all of that. Big mistake - you need a stroller in an airport - period. So the transfer between flights was not my favorite. Also on this flight, Whitney's bottle raised all the alarms at security. They had to search our bags and they tested the milk itself to make sure we weren't planning to make a bomb or something. On the flight Whit freaked out. The ear plugs were a failure - all she wanted to do was play with them. As we sat on the tarmac she made sure everyone on the flight heard her scream. She was so tired - all the excitement of the trip was just too much. The only saving grace was that she finally fell asleep and slept through most of the second plane ride.

End result - I'm not sure if all my preparation did anything. It might have actually made it worse. One thing is for sure - we will not be taking another plane ride until Whit is a bunch older - unless we absolutely have to.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Ditching the Bottle

My son just turned 2 years old. He still drinks milk from a bottle before bed. Now, I don't think this is a bad thing, but I'm curious about what others think.

Let me explain why I don't think this is bad. First, he's not going to be 10 years old and still drink from a bottle. So I think it just doesn't matter right now. There are some battles you fight, and there are some battles that aren't even worth thinking about.

Second, it's part of our bedtime routine that we all love: potty (optional), bath, diaper, pj's, milk in the rocking chair, 2 stories, good nights, and 2 songs. Many times that bottle is the only time of snuggly peace that either myself or my DH gets with him.

So is it selfish? Maybe. Do I care right now? Not particularly. Tell me I'm not alone.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad