Izzy's first flight

This past weekend Izzy went on her first plane trip out to New Hampshire. No longer could CP and I throw stuff in a bag 30 minutes before leaving for the airport.  No, we made a list a few nights before we left to make sure that we didn't forget anything.

Izzy was quite the trooper. I was worried that her month-long cold would result in a painful flight for her and her ears, but it went better than I expected. I was also ready to nurse on the plane (with a nursing cover of course), but CP thought that it would be easier to just bring bottles.  We gave Izzy a bottle as we left the gate and she chugged away without a peep as the plane took off.  After a 10 minute nap, she was up and awake for the entire two hour flight.  No crying, but smiling and happy to play with us the entire time.  The only hiccup on the flight was the blowout that happened mid-flight with a disposable diaper.* We had to wait until the beverage cart finished service and then I headed back with Izzy and the diaper bag, not quite sure where exactly I was going to change her in the tiny airplane bathroom.  Turns out (at least in this particular plane), there is a changing table the folds out above the toilet.  As I'm changing her we (of course) hit turbulence and I not only have to change her diaper, but also her outfit.  Fun times, but it all worked out. The descent went fine as well- we gave her a bottle with about 5 minutes left to land and had no problem.

Izzy ready for her first flight

The rest of Friday and Saturday we hung out with CP's mom, her husband, and grandmother.  Izzy has only one great grandparent left and we were determined to have them meet as soon as possible.  She is a little fragile these days after breaking her neck a few years ago, but she got a lot of time holding Izzy (while sitting in a chair because she has balance issues).  We also got a lot of pictures- including a picture of the 4 generations together.  Saturday night we went out to dinner and I totally overate, but the steamers were seriously delicious and how could I pass up lobster while on the East Coast?  Yum.

Sunday we hung out with CP's dad and wife before getting on our return flight.  Izzy hadn't napped well earlier in the day so we were worried about her crankiness.  Sure enough, she was cranky when we got on the plane and we had to give her a bottle before we even took off from the gate!  Thank goodness we had milk for three bottles as she finished a bottle and a half when we left NH, passed out the entire flight, and then took the next bottle and a half before we touched down in Chicago.  The flight home was miserable for us- about 90 degrees in the cabin and even hotter for CP because he held Izzy in his arms. Overall, she cried a total of maybe 4 minutes through the flight and we got compliments on her from people on both flights (go Izzy!).

So what did we learn from traveling this weekend with a 4 month old?

*Take the car seat and stroller through the airport.  The stroller is handy for storing coats, bags, etc.

*Make sure to bring 3 bottles for each flight (we brought a combination of milk pumped the day before and frozen bags to use on Sunday's flight).

*Keep the diaper bag handy in case of blowouts- and make sure to pack an extra change of clothes!

We have another flight coming up next month for a family reunion in NJ so hopefully not much changes with Izzy's travel temperament!

*We decided not to bring the cloth diapers for the weekend.