L.J.’s Amazing Airport Adventure

In my previous post about our trip to Philadelphia, I said that the travel portion of our trip was such an adventure that it warranted its own post. So here we go!

(The way back is far more interesting than the way up, so feel free to skip down to that section)

ATL > PHL

Our trip up to Philadelphia was relatively uneventful. I checked my suitcase even though it was carry-on size, which was a very smart decision. We were then waved into the special assistance security line, which trimmed our wait time from the posted 30-40 minutes to about 12. Awesome!

Since I had checked my suitcase, I was traveling with the following items: infant seat, stroller frame, large diaper bag, Baby Bjorn and two Gate Check bags for the car seat and stroller.

When it was time to board, I put L.J. in the Baby Bjorn (at which point I realized that he was too big for it and thus hated it) so I’d have free hands to put the seat/stroller in the gate check bags once I got down the jetway. All I can say about that is thank goodness for helpful gate attendants!

Once on the plane, I waited for the other two people in our row to get seated before giving L.J. his bottle (thankfully Puffs proved to be a great distraction!). He finished it before takeoff, but the ear pressure didn’t seem to bother him. Whew.

He fell asleep while the plane was taxiing, and (wrongly) assumed that his 10-minute snooze counted as a full-fledged nap. He was a little squirmy once we got up in the air, but his favorite Fisher Price animal app on the iPad was a great distraction. Shortly after that, he fell asleep for the duration of the flight. #babyrockstar

Once we got to Philadelphia, the older lady across the aisle insisted on carrying my diaper bag off the plane so I could focus on carrying L.J. (who was once more unhappily stuffed in the Bjorn). It was very sweet. After thanking her, I realized there was no gate attendant to help with the Gate Check bags. Hmm…what to do??? There were still people streaming off the plane, so I couldn’t hold up traffic while undoing my bags. I slung the diaper bag over my shoulder, grabbed a bright-red Gate Check bag in each hand and waddled up the jetway and into the airport. I’m sure the entertainment value I provided to the people waiting in the gate area was priceless.

Once I got into the airport, I quickly spotted the nearest unoccupied corner to get everything organized. It took me less than 10 minutes, and gave L.J. an opportunity to stretch his legs for a bit. Our first flight was over – and a success! – so it was time to go find Jess!

PHL > ATL

Jess drove me to the airport in the middle of a thunderstorm. That should have been my first clue that I was in for an adventure. Our flight was already delayed when I arrived at the airport, but only by about 30 minutes. No big deal.

I made it through security and down to the gate with no issue. There was a lot of uncertainty and announcements from the gate attendant, but it was still looking like a 30-45 minute delay. I walked L.J. around for a little bit to keep him occupied and calm. Unfortunately, the delay did not time well with his bottle and I ended up having to give him a cold bottle in the gate area. L.J. is used to very warm bottles at school and will no longer take a cold bottle. He makes the world’s biggest mess with them! I gave up three-quarters through and fed him some bananas instead.

I was mid-way through the bananas when the gate attendant made a big announcement: our plane had circled so many times it effectively lost its place in line and was being diverted to Baltimore to get gas. It would be back to pick us up around 6 p.m.

Our 30-45 minute wait had turned into a 3-hour wait. Apparently I had a look of sheer panic on my face because the lady sitting next to me said, “Oh honey I’m so sorry. I hope he does ok for you!”

L.J. finished up his bananas and then we went on a tour of the Philadelphia airport. Good news: We passed a PGA Tour store and bought daddy a U.S. Open polo shirt he wanted. Bad news: L.J. was quite finished with the car seat and insisted that mommy carry him on the tour of the airport. Knowing how much “butt time” he was in for, I wisely picked my battles and carried him around for a little while.

We meandered back to the gate eventually, and after checking to make sure nothing had changed, I ventured off to find a good spot to let L.J. stretch and change his diaper. I found a little corner near a window and away from most people that was perfect. It was at that point that I discovered that L.J. had a complete diaper blowout. Good job, little buddy. Fortunately his clothes were spared.

After changing him, I let him kick and play until he wore himself out and fell asleep. Score! Mommy leisurely ate her now-lukewarm Chick-fil-A and relaxed for a few minutes.

Closing in on boarding time, I walked back the gate just in time for pre-boarding. I was happy to see another family using the same red Gate Check bags (I felt a little “first time mom” using them, but didn’t want my stuff ruined). Said family was also very nice and helped me load the car seat and stroller into them.

We got situated on the plane, ending up near an exit row and a flight attendant jump seat. I lucked out and got the best seatmates ever – a UGA college student and a Grandpa. As you will soon see, they were amazing.

By the time we got on the plane, L.J. was 100% completely done with the day. He was beyond exhausted and (recurring theme) peeved that the Bjorn reappeared. We sat down and he threw a screaming fit. It wasn’t time to eat, but I knew that would calm him down. I asked the flight attendant for some warm water, but she wasn’t able to get to the front of the plane to get it because fellow passengers were boarding and in the aisle. L.J. screamed at the top of his lungs for 10 minutes until she was able to go get the water. My two wonderful seatmates made his bottle for him.

The bottle instantly revived L.J.’s good humor, and after he finished he promptly made up with everyone nearby. About this time I looked at my watch and realized we had left the gate but hadn’t made a whole lot of progress. Probably just a backlog on the runway, I thought.

Backlog on the runway? That’s putting it mildly. Try 50-60 planes on the tarmac. The captain came over the speaker shortly thereafter and said that he was very sorry, but we no longer had a time of departure. There was a complete ground stop in Atlanta, NYC and Chicago due to weather, there were 50-60 planes on the tarmac (so we couldn’t go anywhere) and he had no idea when we’d be on our way. The good news? Atlanta planes would be the first ones out. He turned off the seatbelt sign and told everyone to, basically, do what they wanted until he told us otherwise.

My nice seatmates were basically begging to hold L.J., so I decided I better use the bathroom while I had the opportunity. I was able to see him until I went into the restroom and the flight attendant was sitting right there, so I didn’t love the idea but wasn’t too worried.

I got back from the bathroom and they said they hoped I didn’t mind, but L.J. was so cute and smiley that they couldn’t resist taking a picture with him.

Finally, after almost two hours on the tarmac, the pilot came back over the speaker and said we were ready for takeoff.

(Yes, it was longer than the TSA-mandated 90 minutes, but I don’t think we could get back to the gate due to all the other planes on the tarmac.)

Once we were up in the air, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Grandpa quickly fell asleep. Then the UGA student fell asleep with her head on Grandpa’s shoulder. Then L.J. fell asleep, sprawled on my lap with his feet resting on the UGA student. I sat there half-dozing in a completely exhausted stupor. It was a Kodak moment if there ever was one.

It was an uneventful albeit bumpy ride back to Atlanta. We finally made it and were about to touch down when all of the sudden the plane pulled back up and began ascending. In my dazed stupor, I looked over at the flight attendant and simply said, “We’re going the wrong direction?” All she said in reply was, “I know.”

According to the pilot, a plane was “encroaching on the runway” so he pulled up and we did a nice big circle of the Atlanta airport.

Finally, FINALLY, we landed safely on the runway and made our way to the gate. L.J. woke up and had a field day with all the attention he got as people were waiting to deplane. He was such a ham and flirted with everyone in sight. He was so distracted he didn’t even fuss that much at the Bjorn.

I got off the plane and practically tripped over the amount of Gate Checked luggage and baby equipment. There were gate attendants helping – and the pilot! The pilot, who by that point had to be the most exhausted person on earth, had gotten off the plane and was helping passengers get their gate checked luggage. Ladies and gentleman, that’s customer service.

At long last, 8 hours after it began, our Amazing Airport Adventure had come to a conclusion. With the exception of his fit when we got on the plane, L.J. was a complete and total champion flyer. He was absolutely awesome and I was very proud of him!

Epilogue

Mike and I made it home around 11, planning to quickly change L.J.’s diaper and then put him to bed with his clothes on. We’d give him a much-needed bath in the morning. We went into his room and discovered his second blowout of the day. As we were addressing that, he proceeded to pee all over us, his changing table, his face and his helmet. Of course that woke him up and he was not a happy camper. We wiped him down, calmed him down, put his p.j.’s on and off to bed he went.

And mommy? I collapsed into bed after decompressing a bit and was pretty much worthless for the next two days.