We decided to fly out of Chicago instead of Cedar Rapids (which we typically do) because it was cheaper and we also wanted to minimize Eli's fly time. If we flew out of Cedar Rapids, there would be a layover/2nd flight and we didn't want to do that. Eli did so well on the drive to Chicago. It was really the last 20 minutes that he started to melt down because he just wanted to be out of the car. Luckily we got to the airport and to our gate with an hour to spare to find that our flight had been delayed. We can count on at least one of our flights being delayed with any plane trip we make from Iowa to WA. Eli was having a hard time. I knew that he was exhausted and hungry. I had to make the decision of nursing now (about 5 minutes to boarding) or wait until we got on the plane. I decided to wait until we got on the plane so that he could fall asleep and hopefully sleep for a good portion of the flight. I also thought that because we had a small child that we would be able to board first. To my dismay, we were NOT able to board first. Instead, we were the LAST to board. Eli was sooooo HANGRY at this point. Who could blame him? He was SCREAMING as we walked down the aisle to our seat. Any every parent knows that when your child is hangry, they have to calm down first before they accept food from you. So I sat in my airplane seat, with my nursing cover, a poor twenty-something boy on my other side staring up so that it was very clear he was not looking my way while I wrestled with my screaming baby to try to get him to nurse. Luckily about 10 minutes of that he calmed down enough to start eating. He slept the rest of the flight. Haha. THANK HEAVENS.
Poor exhausted baby!
We flew to Las Vegas before we went to Washington. David's uncle owns a dental practice in Las Vegas and we are planning on going there to work for him after Dave graduates. This trip was necessary because I needed to know if I could see myself living in Las Vegas. At first I was extremely hesitant and frankly, didn't want to even entertain the idea of living away from family at all let alone in Las Vegas. Though, after the visit, I found myself at ease with the idea of living in Las Vegas. There is endless entertainment, always cheap and quick flights to Seattle, and it is an amazing opportunity for David.
The flight to Seattle was actually one of the reasons I felt at ease with the decision. It was so quick and so easy!! Eli did amazing!
Our trip was so nice and I was so grateful that Eli didn't get sick and did really well during the whole trip. Dave had only one week to spend before he had to get back to school and I decided to stay an extra week and a half. It was so fun to spend time with my sisters and my parents. Everybody couldn't get enough of how big Eli had gotten (really, how much weight he gained haha!)
Ryann was obsessed with Eli!! She was such a great cousin! It was so cute!!
Grandpa making Eli giggle!
The flight home by myself with Eli was absolutely terrible. It started out really positive, too! I knew that Eli had a bought of diarrhea, but I was really hoping that it would only mean a few poopy diapers and that was it. In fact, right before I even got into the TSA line Eli had a stinker. That was number 1. I thought this meant he possibly would be fine for the whole day. Oh boy was I mistaken. I smelled another one before we got on the plane. That was number 2. Then I was seated all the way in the back of the plane with 2 guys on my left and 3 guys on my right. I was hoping I would be seated next to some ladies to make the whole breastfeeding on a plane easier. That was not in the cards! As soon as we started to taxi I smelled stinky number 3! Even worse, I FELT it. He blew out. And there was nothing I could do about it for at least another 20 minutes. Worst thing? He fell asleep nursing as we ascended. SO, I had to wake him up and go change him. (PS, the changing table in the lavatory is terrible). After I changed him, he was upset (overly tired) and didn't want to nurse anymore so I didn't have a way for him to fall asleep. I wrestled with him for 20 minutes before he decided to nurse again to fall asleep. AND THEN! HE BLEW OUT AGAIN!!!!!! Luckily Eli had been sleeping for 2ish hours at this point (flight was 4 hours). So, went to change his 4th poopy diaper and change him a 2nd time. He did fine the rest of the flight. Until we landed. and NO joke. BLOW OUT NUMBER 3 and POOPY DIAPER 4. I was such a mess at this point. This was his last change of clothes and I was running out of diapers. I got out of the plane and found that my flight was delayed by two hours. I called dave just sobbing because I didn't know what to do. I was out of clothes, all of his blankets had poo on them, and I had just a few diapers left. (BTW, he pooped 2 more times after this.) Luckily I went to customer service and they took pity on a sobbing new mother and got me on an (somewhat) earlier flight to Cedar Rapids (20 minutes away from home) instead of my original destination, Moline (1 hour away from home).
Well, when all is said and done, I am happy that Eli was really a trooper throughout the travel. He could have been REALLY fussy because of his diarrhea but he was really pleasant the whole time!
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