This is going to be a two-part (at least) series. I am quite sure that no one will want to read this level of detail about our trip, but I want to remember it all, so you’re stuck with it. It won’t hurt my feelings one bit if you decide to skip it. But do check out the pictures—they’re pretty stinkin’ cute.
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Back in April, we took the boys on their first airplane ride to visit Mimi and Poppy (Ryan’s parents) in Atlanta. We found a great deal on tickets and knew we wanted to go before I went back to work, so we pulled the trigger before we could talk ourselves out of it.
I fretted for weeks about what and how to pack, what should go in our carry-on vs. checked bags, how many outfits to bring (this was, after all, the boys’ Georgia debut!), how to time their bottles for maximum sleeping potential on the flight, what would be the easiest way to carry them through the airport, and on and on and on. I researched umbrella strollers that were lightweight but still reclined. We bought Baby Bjorns. I made lists. I revised lists. I lost lists and had to start all over. (I should add here that all of the planning was made MUCH easier by the fact that Peggy went all out to get the house ready for our visit. She borrowed pack-and-plays, bottles, an activity mat, a bouncy seat, a swing and bought formula, diapers, nipples, wipes, bath stuff, and more. She even bought two carseats at the garage sale hosted by my multiples club back in March when she visited us.)
The time finally came and I was a packing machine. I managed to pack all four of us in one medium-sized (47-pound) suitcase—no small feat considering that included the boys’ encyclopedia-sized apnea monitors and my breast pump. And 3 outfit changes per day for our 4-day trip.
(Yes, I just used 200+ words to talk about packing. See what I mean?? It was a big job, and I was a woman obsessed.)
Our flight was at 10:15 a.m. on Friday, April 8, so Ryan and I woke up before 5 in order to get the last-minute things into the suitcase, get ourselves ready, get the car loaded, and get on the road by 7:00. Or maybe I just stayed up after the boys’ last middle-of-the-night feeding; I can’t even remember at this point. We woke the boys up around 6, fed and dressed them and set off for the airport. Ryan drove, the boys slept, and I did what any sane mom who found herself with 45 spare minutes would do. I pumped. On the Beltway. In the front seat.
We made it to the airport and Ryan dropped me off at the curb with the boys and our luggage and then went to park the car. At this point the boys were WIDE awake and taking everything in. I expected to get lots of stares and pitying looks, but people could not have been nicer. Within minutes, a kind police officer stopped to talk to me and admire the boys. As soon as he left, a pilot hurrying by looked at us and our pile o’ stuff and said, “This makes my morning.” And the whole time, the boys just sat like little sweet peas in their strollers, looking around and flirting with their Mama.
Once Ryan got back over to us, we checked our one bag (a fact I’m still proud of, in case you couldn’t tell), breezed through security without a single hitch — save countless remarks of “Y’all are brave” and “Wow, you have your hands full” — and headed to the Presidents Club. We kept thinking the boys would fall back asleep, but there was no chance; they were way too interested in all the hustle and bustle.
(Side note: It was so funny to watch people’s expressions as we strolled through the airport. They would see one of us pushing one baby, then a second later they would see the other one pushing another baby, then they would look back at the first baby, then back at the second, and you could actually see it registering on their faces that these two babies belonged together. Reactions ranged from big grins to pointing to looks of horror. Apparently we are quite the spectacle.)
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| Traveling in style: Chillin' in the Presidents Club (Grant L, Reid R) |
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| They could get used to this Elite status business |
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| Reid requesting another free bagel |
The time came to board the plane, and after Ryan, bless his heart, got the strollers folded up and gate checked—all while wearing a baby, mind you—we made it to our seats. We had booked seats across the aisle from each other (little known fact: there are only four oxygen masks on any given row in a plane, so only one lap-baby is allowed per row), but Continental changed our reservations so Grant and I ended up sitting directly behind Ryan and Reid in a window seat.
We gave the boys their bottles as we were taking off, and that went off without a hitch. We really lucked out because the plane, though completely booked, was full of people heading to the Master’s, so they were in good moods and pretty friendly. So friendly, in fact, that about 45 minutes into the flight, the woman sitting at the end of my row asked if she could hold Grant… and then ended up keeping him for the entire flight!
Once again, the boys both did great for the whole flight. (Are you noticing a theme?? We don’t give these kids enough credit!) Reid got a little fussy at one point, but Ryan was able to calm him down after a minute or two. Despite being prepared with bottles and pacifiers to help relieve the pressure in their ears, neither one made a peep as we made our descent and landed in Atlanta.
To be continued…
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