Flying with a baby

Is not very fun. But it is doable.

We flew with Drew when he was 4 months. Key word..WE. I had help. It was chaotic enough with the two of us. To say I was a little nervous about flying with him this time.. alone.. is an understatement.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be though. Turns out - people are very friendly and helpful. And encouraging. See.. most people have been there. They can empathize. Each and every time I had to drop my purse, unfold the stroller, lock it up and get all my crap back together all while holding a baby (4 times btw.. before getting onto each plane) I was offered help by someone as they passed by. For the record - I never needed their help. I am Mother, hear me ROAR :) When he would go through his fussy periods on the plane - one of the flights is almost 4 hours, fussiness happens - there was always someone willing to play peek-a-boo or make silly faces. And getting off the place, sometimes a kind soul would stop and tell me what a wonderful baby he was, which never fails to make my heart smile.

In Drew's *almost* 7 short months of life he has been on 8 planes, so I consider myself somewhat of an expert. Or at least getting there. Lucky you... now I will share my expert tips:

*If your baby is formula fed, they have little packs of formula that look like the Crystal Light packs you dump in your water. Buy them. If you breastfeed I am clearly no help. Just hope that you are not as modest as I am. Those planes don't have much space!
*If the babe is at the stage where they are eating solids - buy 1 or 2 of those food pouches. Squeeze it right into their mouth.. no spoons or mess necessary.
*Make sure you have all of the extra necessities handy. Poop doesn't wait for the plane to land and sometimes - ahem - it will be a horrendous one and it will seep through his clothes and onto yours just as the seat belt sign comes on and the plane is starting it's descent.
*Give him/her a bottle for take off and landing. They can't chew gum.. swallowing helps their cute little ears.
*And mostly - just go with the flow. There is only so much you can do to comfort your baby on a plane. Have toys, be willing to make silly sounds and faces, walk the aisle.. all of that helps. But sometimes they are just going to cry. What'r ya gonna do?

We made it through and ya know what? The look on my parents faces when we spotted each other through the crowd and they saw their precious grandson... I'll fly 100 days straight to see that sweet moment again.

In other, totally unrelated, but important still news:
We had his appointment with the Pediatric Ophthalmologist Friday morning. She is under the impression that everything is fine for now. She is very sure that the difference in the size of his pupils is physiological. She is not convinced that he is blind in his left eye, but probably just doesn't see as well. Nothing they can do at this point. She gave me trouble signs to watch out for and wants to see him again in a year.

He also rolled over from his back to belly for the first time. I was getting worried, not gonna lie. He's been rolling the opposite way from 4 months. Nonetheless.. We have ourselves a full blown roller! Let the fun begin :)