To say I was a little apprehensive about flying with a three month old all the way from Hawaii to Virginia would be an understatement. I was nervous about how Christian would react, especially on the redeye to Las Vegas, since it was right smack in the middle of his bedtime. And I worried about his ears popping. I've worked enough flights to know that if babies are going to scream, it's going to be for take off and landing due to the pressure change. I did
not want my little guy to be in pain. Thankfully, with nursing and the fascination of the seat back inflight entertainment screen, he never seemed bothered.
{hanging out before takeoff on his first flight, HNL-LAS}
But our little guy is super laid back. So why did I worry? Fear of the unknown, I guess. But obviously Christian has flying in his blood (like his Mommy and Daddy) because he was a champ! I couldn't believe my eyes when I woke up during the redeye and according to the "moving map" we were already almost over land. Christian had slept almost the entire way in his car seat! He did cry out once, but once I nursed him, he was good to go. Thankfully, we also had Mimi and Papa along for the ride. A HUGE help! And the rest of the way to Virginia, he was fantastic. Flirting with the flight attendants (future pilot??) and smiling at everyone who looked his way!
{Las Vegas to Charlotte}
On the way back from Virginia, I was on my own up until I landed in Las Vegas, where Rob was going to meet me. I was a little nervous about not having any help, but honestly, it was fine. I have never experienced the kindness of so many strangers. I don't know if I looked completely out of sorts (probably) and they felt bad for me, or what, but everyone was so nice! Businessmen carrying my bags, gate agents yelling for people to clear a path for my stroller, random guy helping me lift my stroller out of the "gate connector" bus, random woman asking if I needed any help, and the list goes on.
When we got to Vegas things went from bad to worse to completely fine, as they often do. Since we were flying to Honolulu as standby passengers (non-revs as we airline people say), there had to be open seats for us to be able to get on that flight. Technically we only needed one seat. Rob could ride in the cockpit and Christian could sit on my lap. But soon we went from numbers eleven and twelve on the standby list (with sixteen open seats) to numbers forty-four and forty-five (still with sixteen open seats). Crap. And if things couldn't get any worse, all of a sudden we were two hours delayed, which turned into twelve hours delayed. Off to a hotel we go for a now 5:45am departure. Christian had his first night in Vegas! After a long night of gambling and seeing the shows, he slept the entire way to Hawaii.
{baby snuggles in Las Vegas}
{MGM Grand Hotel & Casino}
Thirty-two hours after leaving Richmond, we were home and Christian did great the entire way!! So great that we're hoping to spend this New Years in Japan! Kanpai!
