First things first, the flights. Im just going to talk about the flight there and back in the same post. I got so lucky when I scheduled our flights. There were some cheaper options that we could have gone with, but the times were crazy, especially for a 5 month old who has a schedule. They either left super early in the morning, or arrived super late at night. Instead, I found a little more expensive flight that happened to coordinate with her nap and eating schedule perfectly. She would eat while in the airport and sleep during the flight.
Besides worrying about having a screaming baby on a flight with no help, my main worry was going through security. There is already so much to worry about as it is when you are by yourself. Having Jane and all her "stuff" was a nightmare!
I checked 2 big bags and then I had a whole bunch of stuff with me while I walked through the airport.
Stroller
Car seat
Car seat Base
Boppy
Diaper Bag
BJorn
I'm not even going to go through what all was in the diaper bag, but just try to imagine a HUGE bag that was filled to the top and stuff spilling out everywhere. With the new rule that all liquids need to be in a zip lock bag while going through security, I had stuff everywhere! Then since I had Jane in the BJorn, I had to get my hands rubbed down by some paper!
On my way there my flight schedule looked a little like this (not exact)
11: get to airport
11:30: Get to gate
11:45: Feed Jane food and a bottle, change her diaper
12:30: Board Plane
1: Leave
4: Land in ATL (remember time change)
4:30: Get to new gate after hanging her diaper in the family bathroom
4:45: Feed Jane Bottle
5:30: Board Plane
6: Leave
7: Arrive in SAV
So as you can see, we had everything planned out pretty good. We had no delays, Jane was a angel, and everything was a breeze. We did have a rude gate attendant, a strange lady sit next to us on the long flight who was obsessed with touching Jane, and just a nervous mom, but it went as well as I could ask for. Of course we had the many people call Jane a boy and ask how old "he" was, then proceed to tell me how well she behaved and how shocked they were that she didn't make a peep the entire time. I was so proud!
This was us on the plane together!
Fast forward 1.5 weeks and we are ready to head home. Bean is getting so big in the Bjorn!
I'm not even going to type out what our schedule was SUPPOSED to look like. Yeah, it didn't happen. My worst nightmare came true (well, it could have been way worse, but when I was in it, it was horrible). My mom dropped us off at the airport and according to the screens, it showed that our flight was still on time, so she gave us big kisses and we went through security. I could talk about the difficulties going through security again, but just picture what I discussed before, plus that wasn't even the hardest part.
As soon as I got to the gate, it said "delayed 15 minutes." I started to freak out a little, but it wasn't to bad. I was calculating the time we would get to ATL and making sure we would still have time to feed Jane. We originally had 1.5 hours to get to the new gate, feed her food and a bottle, change her, and maybe get something to eat for me. Plenty of time. Now I had 15 less minutes. Then I noticed that the plane wasn't even there. What the heck? OK, now I was starting to freak. That's when the gate attendant came on and said that the plane hadn't even left ATL yet so they weren't sure how long they were delayed. They were working on rescheduling people's connecting flights. I almost had a heart attack! Not only did I have a great schedule around Jane's schedule, I also only packed one more bottle worth of formula (perks of breastfeeding I guess), and I also paid a little extra for the economy comfort seats (a little extra room) and I knew that if I had to reschedule my flight, it would be likely I didn't get the economy comfort seats.
I took a few deep breaths and started to put Jane down for her nap. She originally was supposed to sleep on the flight, but since it was now her nap, I had to go with the flow and let her nap. While doing that, I walked up to the counter and talked to the gate attendant. She told me that we were now scheduled to land in ATL at 1pm and that since my next flight boarded at 1:30pm, then she thought that I could still make the flight, but just in case, she booked me on the next flight at 4:30.
We finally got on the plane and while boarding, I tried so hard to keep Jane asleep, but she woke up. I was also in the middle seat which I'm not sure how that happened. After she fussed for a few minutes even before we took off, she fell asleep again and stayed asleep for the entire flight. When we landed it was 1:25!!!! My next flight was supposed to board at 1:30. I had to wake Jane up and stick her in the BJorn. Once we got off the plane, I got the stroller and car seat at the gate and took off. I had to use the restroom really bad, but I tried to get to the new gate first to see if I even could make it. I was that person RUNNING through the airport, but I was worse. I had a baby strapped to me with her legs flinging around, and was pushing a stroller with a car seat on it and had a HUGE diaper bag. At this point, I didn't even care what I looked like. Once I got to the gate, I ran into the restroom and changed Jane's diaper the fastest Ive ever changed a diaper. Then I made her bottle. Jane started to cry probably because I was flinging her around and was acting frantic. I put her back in the BJorn and ran to my gate which was of course at the very end of the terminal! I MADE IT! I'm not even sure how to be honest!
Once we got on the plane, I quickly gave Jane her bottle. At this point it was an hour after she usually eats and I had to skip the food all together. She sucked it down and then one little beam of light occurred when I realized that we were getting ready to leave and the middle seat in my aisle was OPEN! Hallelujah.
My next little worry was that Jane wouldn't be good on this flight. She always gets a huge burst of energy after she eats and she also doesnt like to just sit on my lap. She played for about 15 minutes and then I think the hum of the plane made her super tired and she passed right out with no problem. Again, I had a angel baby. I even got to take a 10 or 15 minute little snooze on that flight and eat a little snack since I hadn't eaten all day and it was already 3pm.
We finally made it to Austin and I was for sure there was no way my bags could have made it from the first plane to the second. I had to RUN to the gate so I wasn't going to be surprised if my bags got "lost." We were so excited to see Mr. Hunt and we walked right outside to meet him. I went back in and found my bags! Yes! Then I sighed a huge sigh of relief that I somehow made it home.
If I wasn't flexible before (I wasn't), Ive now learned that sometimes you HAVE to be flexible and its OK. I wont die.
Love,
Jennifer
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