Bean’s First Airplane Trip

 

I desperately did not want to miss my Godson Luke’s 1st birthday celebration in Maryland, so I decided to fly up for the weekend.  His birthday was Friday and the big family party was Saturday afternoon.  I, of course, had to bring a kid with me. I decided to bring Daniel because he would get more out of the trip.  He loves to play with his cousins and, I will admit, I didn’t think I could handle a two year old little girl with “crazy” tendencies. 

I’m not a great flyer.  I have a fear of flying which I try to repress because, well, I want to GO PLACES.  I’ve had some really bad flights where I’ve dug my nails into my husband’s arm and screamed into his ear about how I hated him for making me fly and I swear I will never fly again.  (Sorry, ONCE AGAIN, about that, Baby.)  I get super irrational when I’m high up in the air and I feel like I’m having an anxiety attack.

But the desire to have my kiddies NEVER feel the same way has really helped me.  I have calmed down A LOT and, to be honest, there is NO WAY I can show my fear in front of my son.  He would get too freaked out.  He has flown with me before when he was 6 months old.  It was great because all he did was drink a bottle and sleep.

But I consider this time his first real airplane trip.  When we were heading to the airport on Friday morning, Bean was a little confused, a little nervous, but also excited.  He asked a million questions and he could not wait to see the airplanes.  Every experience was fascinating.  He loved when I got the boarding passes right from the computer check-in screen.  He loved that he could take off his shoes and put them in a bin that zoomed down a giant belt to the other side.  He loved the moving walkways.  He loved the pizza lunch.  He loved looking out the giant windows for our airplane to arrive. 

The trip up would be the big test and he was a champ.  He was a little nervous with all the loud noises during takeoff but I was there to explain everything.  I was so distracted by his questions that I really did forget to be nervous.  I was just enjoying his curiosity.  He loved the drink cart and thought it was super cool that he could order a juice with ice and a straw.  They even welcomed him aboard over the loudspeaker because I was sure to tell every flight attendant that it was his very first flight. I guess I just thought they would take extra special care of us.  I think it was a mental help for me.  It was like I was putting a final push of good vibes into the air.

Bean sat by the window.  He couldn’t see out when his seat belt was on, but when he could move about he would check out the clouds and the big airplane wing.  I had a small backpack filled with lots of books, coloring books, triangle crayons (so they would not roll off the tray.  Special thanks to a Facebook friend who recommended them), stickers, new cars, his favorite stuffed animal, and LOTS of snacks. 

I brought him juicy fruits to chew on in case his ears needed to pop, but it didn’t seem to be a big problem.  The best part was landing in beautiful Washington, DC and looking at all the monuments.  Bean could not believe we were there.  I think he was still processing the whole thing.

On the trip home, he was a PRO.  He was ready for security and he already knew what he wanted for his airport lunch. (A Five Guys cheeseburger. I had NO problem with that.  Ha.)  

He even started chatting with people. The flight home was great except there was a lot more turbulence.  I loved that the pilot actually gave us warnings when we would feel the bumps so I could explain to Bean that we were riding through clouds.  Again, this experience helped ME so much.  I was able to talk him through it and talk ME through it too.  When we landed, the pilot (who was informed by the flight attendant that this was Bean’s first time flying) invited us up front to sit in the cockpit so I could get a photo.

I could not ask for a better memento from the experience.

 PS: Please note tattered seat in cockpit photo.  I think that’s equally funny and disturbing.

PPS: On a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOTE, this is the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of PopMommy.com!  I just can’t believe it.  Thank you to all my family and friends who read this website and a very special thank you to those visitors who I don’t know.  It means a whole lot to me that you join me here.  I’ve had a blast documenting my PopMommy life and I’m excited to continue doing it.