Baby Bean In Flight

Baby Bean has successfully made her first flight. Thursday afternoon we boarded a plane to go home and visit my parents. All of my siblings were also there, and for less than 12 short hours, my parents had all of their kids and grandchildren under one roof. My little brother flew out to play military before the butt crack of dawn Friday morning. I was so glad I got to spend some time with him before he had to go.

The flight out of here wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. Baby Bean handled it like a champ. She was a bit fussy at takeoff until I gave her a bottle, a bit fussy afterward, and then fell asleep for the rest of the flight. It was awesome. The rest of the day, however was not so awesome. The poor child was overtired within an hour after getting to my parent's house, but she refused to sleep. It took me forever to get her to settle down enough to stop screaming and take a bit of a nap.

That night I left her in the care of my parents while I went to see the new Ha.rry Po.tter movie with my siblings. (It was awesome, can't wait to see it again with Hubs!) We went to the 10:00 showing and didn't get back until after 1:30 a.m. I didn't get to sleep until 3:00 Texas time, and then only got a few hours of intermittent sleep throughout the night. The rest of the weekend wasn't much better. By the time I got home on Sunday, I was overtired.

The next couple of days got better for Baby Bean as she got used to being at her grandparent's house as well as all of the new faces. By the time we went home on Sunday she was all smiles to everyone at the house. She was toted around a lot over the weekend, mostly by me, but every now and then someone else would be willing to take her for a bit so I could take a break. Her grandma loved holding her the most. She was showered in affection by her aunts, uncles, and cousins most of the weekend.

Friday afternoon one of my best friends came up to meet Baby Bean and go to lunch with us. I felt so bad because the Bean was tired by the time S got there, even though it wasn't her nap time. S got to say hello, hold her for a few minutes, and then I had to put Bean down for a nap under the watchful eye of her aunts while S and I went to lunch with her 2-year-old son. We had such a good time chatting face-to-face after months of only talking online. S, you look fantastic! It was so good to see you.

Sunday afternoon we headed back to the airport and were preparing to board the flight when an announcement came over the PA saying it had been delayed two hours. I was so upset. I had chosen that flight because takeoff coincided with Baby Bean's feeding and then got back home in time for her last feeding of the day and then bed time. I ended up having to feed her an hour late, and then giving her her first taste of water upon take off. That didn't go over so well. She ended up screaming for the first 20 minutes of the flight before she fell asleep. An hour and a half before landing, someone woke her up by slamming an overhead bin, and she spent the next 45 minutes screaming bloody murder. She also decided it was time for a poopy diaper, which didn't help matters at all. I got her calmed down about 5 minutes before her Landing Bottle, and then thank sweet merciful heaven, we landed and it was all done. Hubs met us at the baggage claim, happy to see his little girl, and took us home.

All-in-all, I think we both handled the trip very well, although I think she missed her daddy. I am glad that it is behind me though and that I can be done stressing out about it. I am quite bumped and bruised from the adventure, but it was worth it to take her home to meet the last of my side of the family and get some great pictures as well as videos. It was a very memorable trip.

Baby Bean sitting up all on her own in grandma's front room.