To squeak out a few more hours out of Thanksgiving, I stayed in GA a day longer than Drew. This meant I would be traveling alone with lovely Miss Ella Ann. Drew did this very thing himself not but a month before and he used the word challenging when he described it. Well, what he really said was more along the lines of " I am so sorry that you will be traveling alone with Baby Girl". You would have thought I would have taken that as a warning. I thought, well I will just make sure and prepare. I mean the flight is only two hours top, what is the worse that could happen in two hours? Actually, I was more concerned with getting through security then anything else. I thought juggling a baby, luggage and putting on and off my shoes would be the biggest issue. But at the Atlanta airport they have a line just for us baby toter's. There is a sign with a picture of a baby at the start of it and everything. More than 8 ounces of fluid, no problem, slow because you are juggling a baby, no problem. There is a sign, you are either in this line because you have one or you like babies. After security, I thought I was home free. Before getting on the plane, I made sure Ella had a clean diaper and one full bottle. I should have made sure that she had bio hazard tape surrounding her. My only hope was to get two folks sitting on either side of me that like babies, or at least do not mind the high shrieks that come from babies. As I sat down, the lady on the right of me informed me that she had 9 children and 15 grandchildren, I took this as a good sign. The lady on the left fell asleep immediately, I hoped she was deaf or had earplugs in. Ella proceeded to snack and then like a model baby, fell asleep. Just as I was getting out my list of things to ask a woman who has 9 kids, Ella wakes up and finishes her bottle. This is the one thing I had been worried about. Ella's only real demand in life is ready food source. About this time I realized that Ella's diaper was a quitter. Now, I have had Ella's poop escape her diapers before but I have never had a diaper just up and quit on me. Warm pee was just seeping on through and soaking my pants. As I was trying to wrap up Miss Ella in my coat to contain the leakage and figure out how to change a baby on an airplane, Ella starts vomiting everywhere. The lady on the right of me, got a good dose as well as me. Only a mother of 9 would have handled a strangers baby throwing up on them as blase. In the end I was holding a soaking wet, crying Ella, who looked like she had gotten in a fight with yogurt and lost. Ella soon went from unhappy to thrilled because she found out that she could tilt her head to the side and see the passengers between the seats. I had reverted back to the mantra that I use to say in all my math classes, this too will end, this too will end. As the plane landed the lady to left of me woke up and complimented me on how she never heard a peep out of Ella. It occurred to me that sleeping pills are way better than earplugs. So as well as being thankful for good food and family this Thanksgiving holiday, I am also thankful that of all the folks that sat next to me on the plane, one was a lady with 9 of her own and a water-repellent jacket and the other used more than turkey to put herself to sleep.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Plane Thankful
To squeak out a few more hours out of Thanksgiving, I stayed in GA a day longer than Drew. This meant I would be traveling alone with lovely Miss Ella Ann. Drew did this very thing himself not but a month before and he used the word challenging when he described it. Well, what he really said was more along the lines of " I am so sorry that you will be traveling alone with Baby Girl". You would have thought I would have taken that as a warning. I thought, well I will just make sure and prepare. I mean the flight is only two hours top, what is the worse that could happen in two hours? Actually, I was more concerned with getting through security then anything else. I thought juggling a baby, luggage and putting on and off my shoes would be the biggest issue. But at the Atlanta airport they have a line just for us baby toter's. There is a sign with a picture of a baby at the start of it and everything. More than 8 ounces of fluid, no problem, slow because you are juggling a baby, no problem. There is a sign, you are either in this line because you have one or you like babies. After security, I thought I was home free. Before getting on the plane, I made sure Ella had a clean diaper and one full bottle. I should have made sure that she had bio hazard tape surrounding her. My only hope was to get two folks sitting on either side of me that like babies, or at least do not mind the high shrieks that come from babies. As I sat down, the lady on the right of me informed me that she had 9 children and 15 grandchildren, I took this as a good sign. The lady on the left fell asleep immediately, I hoped she was deaf or had earplugs in. Ella proceeded to snack and then like a model baby, fell asleep. Just as I was getting out my list of things to ask a woman who has 9 kids, Ella wakes up and finishes her bottle. This is the one thing I had been worried about. Ella's only real demand in life is ready food source. About this time I realized that Ella's diaper was a quitter. Now, I have had Ella's poop escape her diapers before but I have never had a diaper just up and quit on me. Warm pee was just seeping on through and soaking my pants. As I was trying to wrap up Miss Ella in my coat to contain the leakage and figure out how to change a baby on an airplane, Ella starts vomiting everywhere. The lady on the right of me, got a good dose as well as me. Only a mother of 9 would have handled a strangers baby throwing up on them as blase. In the end I was holding a soaking wet, crying Ella, who looked like she had gotten in a fight with yogurt and lost. Ella soon went from unhappy to thrilled because she found out that she could tilt her head to the side and see the passengers between the seats. I had reverted back to the mantra that I use to say in all my math classes, this too will end, this too will end. As the plane landed the lady to left of me woke up and complimented me on how she never heard a peep out of Ella. It occurred to me that sleeping pills are way better than earplugs. So as well as being thankful for good food and family this Thanksgiving holiday, I am also thankful that of all the folks that sat next to me on the plane, one was a lady with 9 of her own and a water-repellent jacket and the other used more than turkey to put herself to sleep.
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Hahaha! What a story! That will be one for the grandkids!
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