Bloody Marys for everyone

Sorry Sheila!! I have been a bad blogger. We continue to have house guests and a busy travel schedule and a baby who can't seem to shake his cold.

We jet off again tomorrow for B's 4th trip to California and 4th flight in first class (it's bad when your frequent flier baby gets upgraded). What a life. Generally B is a fantastic traveler since being on a plane involves smiling at and flirting with many strange women. I am hopeful this trend will continue but there is the small issue of his chronic congestion. My understanding is that babies who are congested have horrible ear pain on flights and share their suffering with fellow passengers through continuous wailing. Our only consolation is that nearby passengers are allowed free drinks. Thank god for that paper thin privacy curtain, amirite people in steerage? That should block the noise!

I remember our first trip with a baby in tow. I believe I compared the packing and planning to preparing for battle. It really did feel like that but my god what an amateur I was. B was barely 2 months old, had no desire to move around, and although he wasn't one of those sleep-the-entire-flight babies, he could pull together a few naps even on a 4 hour flight. He required no toys because simply looking at lights and people was entertainment enough. Everyone told me that was the easiest age for travel and I couldn't imagine how that was true.

Actual in flight image. Flirting with every flight attendant is exhausting.

Now I can. I also know that 6.5 months is not even close to the worst age for travel so I am working on appreciating the still relatively small challenges he poses. At least from a packing standpoint, I can tackle this in my sleep (as I tackle everything lately). It is now second nature to include all of B's things with mine. Where the business traveler would never forget a power suit and toothpaste, I automatically put diapers, wipes, and a spare Marcus (scary monkey-binky hybrid obsession) in my checked bag. No longer do I worry about having magazines, books, or headphones for the flight, but I do make sure to include a blanket to make an attempt at modesty while nursing, and an extra outfit for B for the inevitable in flight poosplosion.

"I'm definitely going to throw this on the floor of the plane which we know is caked with fecal matter. Hope you packed a spare!"

I don't know where I'm going with this really, so in conclusion I'll just say that I hope last night's constant screaming was an aberration and a sign that B's cold is disappearing and not turning into a painful flight ruining ear infection. I'll also hope that my sore throat and congestion are merely sympathy pains and not me getting this stupid cold again. Gah.

P.S. Look for me in the airport with our fancy new car seat stroller travel thingy! No more traveling with the billion pound BOB for me thankyouverymuch. 

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