We'll....be home....for Christmas....
Monday morning we are ditching this town and its infernal greenness for Indianapolis, our hometown, where it is supposed to flurry ALL WEEK LONG. Bring it. Among the many reasons we are excited to go home:
*Snow. And introducing Buster to it.
*New toys for Buster.
*New toys for big people.
*Buster gets to meet his "Aunt" Jean for the first time.
*Handing off Buster to random family members and running.
*Bob Evans. We plan to go at least once a day. Seattleites just don't understand the importance of B&G. Or bagels, for that matter.
*People who can drive. Related to this: traffic that moves and road layouts that make sense.
*Sleep.
*Not being at work, or even obligated to work.
*Seeing high school/college buddies, family, everybody.
*Other people will cook; free, edible food available at every turn.
*Other people will clean, and probably even volunteer to clean things we should be cleaning (like a baby).
How can you not dig it? Well, there is the matter of the flight there, and it will certainly suck, for many reasons. First, there is the baby factor, which I think I do not need to elaborate upon. However, because we are pain-gluttons, we are also traveling with the cat. He is not usually one for causing us concern, but still he is another warm body to keep track of. Perhaps practice, if you will, but another Dad or Claire Jr. Then there is Dad and his discomfort with flying, though he has obtained some unbelievably small anti-anxiety pills from his doc that may help in that regard. Then there is the car seat. When we check it, does it count as one of our allowed bags? Let's hope not. And when we check in for our flight, will the flight be overbooked such that we won't get that uber-luxurious extra seat between Dad and I, needed for all things baby? How will I control the mess from my messy eater when it is time for him to chow? Will I have to whip out the boob in front of a passenger with delicate sensibilities? And then there's the matter of packing up a whole baby lifestyle to take with us. For example, he can't eat with big people spoons -- we gotta take those, along with bibs and drop cloths. I could go on, but I don't need to, cause I have a list. I will probably be wearing zebra-striped hotpants the whole time, but my baby will have all the necessary accoutrements. Wish us luck.
*Snow. And introducing Buster to it.
*New toys for Buster.
*New toys for big people.
*Buster gets to meet his "Aunt" Jean for the first time.
*Handing off Buster to random family members and running.
*Bob Evans. We plan to go at least once a day. Seattleites just don't understand the importance of B&G. Or bagels, for that matter.
*People who can drive. Related to this: traffic that moves and road layouts that make sense.
*Sleep.
*Not being at work, or even obligated to work.
*Seeing high school/college buddies, family, everybody.
*Other people will cook; free, edible food available at every turn.
*Other people will clean, and probably even volunteer to clean things we should be cleaning (like a baby).
How can you not dig it? Well, there is the matter of the flight there, and it will certainly suck, for many reasons. First, there is the baby factor, which I think I do not need to elaborate upon. However, because we are pain-gluttons, we are also traveling with the cat. He is not usually one for causing us concern, but still he is another warm body to keep track of. Perhaps practice, if you will, but another Dad or Claire Jr. Then there is Dad and his discomfort with flying, though he has obtained some unbelievably small anti-anxiety pills from his doc that may help in that regard. Then there is the car seat. When we check it, does it count as one of our allowed bags? Let's hope not. And when we check in for our flight, will the flight be overbooked such that we won't get that uber-luxurious extra seat between Dad and I, needed for all things baby? How will I control the mess from my messy eater when it is time for him to chow? Will I have to whip out the boob in front of a passenger with delicate sensibilities? And then there's the matter of packing up a whole baby lifestyle to take with us. For example, he can't eat with big people spoons -- we gotta take those, along with bibs and drop cloths. I could go on, but I don't need to, cause I have a list. I will probably be wearing zebra-striped hotpants the whole time, but my baby will have all the necessary accoutrements. Wish us luck.
posted by Claire at 10:16 PM
2 Comments:
I believe the carseat does count as a checked bag. But everyone gets three, so you should be fine, right? (I've been reading up because we're flying with boy in March... but we got him a seat, so we're not checking the carseat) On the bright side, if you are bringing the stroller, you can usually check it at the gate and it does NOT count as a checked item.
As for your hubby and flight anxiety. Wish him luck for me. I completely understand how he feels because I am slowly getting over a paralyzing fear of flying. It was so bad three years ago that I sobbed for almost an entire two-hour flight to disneyworld. (maybe I was worse than your hubby is hrm..) I started getting involved with a fear of flying message board (fearofflying.com) and am SO much better about it now. Although Tylenol PM helped me along on my first few flights after I found it! LOL! If you're sleeping, you can be worried about the plane crashing! Wahoo!
I've also been reading about keeping baby calm on takeoff and landing... apparently if they aren't asleep you are supposed to give them something to suck on (boob, bottle, binky) to keep their ears from popping. So you just might have to whip the boob out... LOL. If someone is offended, smack them. I'm no breastfeeder, and not a huge fan of seeing nipples in public, but I do understand that it's natural and normal. So do what you have to do to keep little man happy! ;) If anyone acts offended, ask them if they'd rather your baby scream in their ear for the whole flight. That should shut them up. Hee hee...
Have a great Christmas visit home! Let me know how the flight goes... I'm so nervous about flying with Ben in a few months! Pass along any good tips you discover!
OH, and amen to the Bob Evans comment. They don't have those in Seattle? AH! Bob Evans = YUM.
We are flying United, and I just called to check, and the car seat DOES have to count as one of our meager TWO checked bags per person with a ticket. Way to help out your customers with kids, punks! As Isaac does not have a ticket, this means that Dad is out shopping this morning for a bigger suitcase to hold our crap.
Erin -- I am fortunate enough to enjoy flying, but the hub has experienced a breakthrough after revealing to his regular doctor at a checkup that he has some flying-related anxiety. She prescribed him some lorazepam, and it is like a 10 mg miracle. He just takes one when he starts to feel anxious about flying, and it basically cuts out all the anxiety and tosses it in the garbage. I haven't taken any myself, but I'm sure it would come highly recommended from DH as an alternative to sedation. Aside from that, hopefully I'll have some tips to pass on when we're done with all this.
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