Flying Lessons

I am anxious about many things, but flying ranks very close to the top of my list, preceded only by clutter and going to Babies R Us. Fear of flying is problematic for several reasons, the major reasons being: A. I love to travel, and B. My friends are scattered all over the country. So, every so often I am forced to face my anxiety, board a plane, and jet off to a faraway destination, all the while staring out the window praying gravity does not take hold.

Flying solo is nerve-wracking enough, but flying with Baby causes my anxiety level to skyrocket. I postponed flying with Caitlin for almost eight months, but two weeks ago we took our first trip together to Asheville, North Carolina. The week leading up to our trip was plagued not only with excessive over-packing and compulsive toy-buying, but also with night terrors and moderate hyperventilating.

I heard many things about flying with baby. "Buy new toys and present one and only one every half hour." Hence, the compulsive toy-buying. "Nurse baby at take-off and landing. They will sleep the whole way and their ears will not hurt." Not sure about the ears, but nursing soothed Caitlin to sleep for a mere fifteen minutes on our return flight to Boston. "Give baby some Benadryl. It will knock her right out." Ask me again later, but as of right now I do not endorse drugging my eight month old baby. As with any advice, I listened to each piece politely, then decided what would work best for us.

Before boarding our two hour flight to Charlotte, I had a game plan. First, I would nurse Caitlin at take-off. If she fell asleep, I would sit back and enjoy Jet Blue's in-flight television, or catch up on my US Weekly. If Caitlin remained awake, I would present fabulous new toys at different points during the flight and offer ridiculous amounts of Puffs, which keep Caitlin occupied for quite a while. Planning helps me cope with anxiety, and this game plan relieved some of my stress.

Of course, making a game plan for a baby is about as pointless as putting socks on Caitlin's feet each morning. My good intentions always end up thrown all over the floor. As soon as we boarded our flight to Charlotte, Caitlin went crazy, totally excited by the jet's cushioned seats, tray tables, seat belts, and individual televisions. As we took our seat, Caitlin stood in my lap, jumping up and down, yelling "Oh ah!" and "Ah ma ma ma ma!" to the other passengers as they made their way down the aisle. To the great annoyance of the couple in front of us, Caitlin slammed the tray table and seat back over and over again. I could not contain her excitement! I tried nursing Caitlin as the jet taxied toward the runway, which was incredibly awkward due to my inappropriate coverage. After many failed attempts to nurse discreetly, I resorted to the bottle, which most definitely did not soothe Caitlin to sleep. After take off, I tried the new toy trick, which worked for a little while. However, Caitlin's favorite game is I Am Going to Throw All of My Toys on the Ground and Make Mommy Pick Them Up. At home, I do not mind this game. On an airplane, it was an annoyance. Thankfully, we sat next to a lovely older couple who gladly picked up Caitlin's toys over and over again. After I could not tolerate the toy throwing for another minute, I took out Caitlin's Puffs, which are also known in our house as Baby Crack. Caitlin LOVES Puffs and eats them with such exuberance, she is totally addicted. The Puffs kept Caitlin quiet and happy, however she repeatedly banged on the tray table as she impatiently waited in between treats. Again, my apologies to the couple in front of us. Thank goodness I will never see them again.

Toward the end of the two hour flight, Caitlin became restless and fussy. My game plan went out the window. Caitlin became interested in my empty soda can, which I normally would remove immediately. However, I was desperate. The soda can provided entertainment and quelled fussiness, so I let it go this time. After about 10 minutes of soda can fun, I noticed some blood on my arm. Sure enough, Caitlin sliced her index finger on the soda can. The soda can immediately went into the trash and I spent the next several minutes performing baby first aid in the airplane bathroom.

Finally, the bleeding stopped and our flight made its final approach to the Charlotte airport. Caitlin contentedly drank a bottle as the plane landed and our flight ended without further incident. On our way off the plane, Caitlin received Jet Blue wings reading, "Junior Crew," and the flight attendants congratulated us on our first flight. We made it. Despite Caitlin's finger injury, the flight went better than expected. I was so busy entertaining Caitlin, I did not have time to feel anxious. And I learned some lessons which hopefully will make future travel easier. First, I learned to bring a cover up to help me nurse privately. I learned most people love babies and will happily help a mama in need. Last, I learned soda cans are not toys. We fly to California on Wednesday. Let us hope my flying lessons will make for smooth, safe travel on our six (gulp) hour flight.

Newsworthy

Caitlin and I made our television news debut on Charlotte, North Carolina's evening news. We spent the weekend in Asheville, NC (which I will write about in a different post), and arrived early at the Charlotte airport for our return flight to Boston. As we waited at the airport, I decided to give Caitlin some wiggle time before boarding our two hour flight. After touring Concourse D for several minutes, I found a nice, open space with rocking chairs and windows looking over a runway. Caitlin and I sat quietly, watching planes take off and playing with stacking cups.

As we sat in our quiet corner of the terminal, I noticed a slick, glossy news reporter and his camera man skulking around uncomfortably nearby. I pretended not to notice the men filming planes just a few feet away from us. Then, I accidentally looked up and made unintentional eye contact with Mr. Slick and Glossy. He waved to Caitlin, I gave him a half-smile and quickly looked down, pretending nothing in the world was more interesting than stacking cups. Next thing I knew, Mr. Slick and Glossy and The Camera Man were standing right over us. "What a beautiful baby. I'm guessing she is......eight months old?" said Mr. S and G. "Yes, almost eight months," I mumbled, all the while giving most of my attention to Caitlin's toys. "Where are you flying today?" he asked. Great, I could see where this conversation was heading. Friendliness by a member of the media could only mean one thing: a request for an interview.

Sure enough, after some small talk, Mr. Slick and Glossy asked if he could interview me about airport security. At first, I politely declined, but next thing I knew, a microphone was attached to my sweater and Mr. Camera Man was ready to roll. Mr. Slick and Glossy asked me a few questions about my thoughts on the new body scanners now in use at major airports around the country. I mumbled a few semi-articulate sentences, while Caitlin went right on playing with her stacking cups. Mr. Slick and Glossy assured me we did a great job and told us to look for the story on the Charlotte CBS website. I am thankful the camera man stood far away and Mr. S and G only used about 15 seconds of footage. I am also thankful I did not say, "like," or "um" during the interview. Caitlin played with her toys during the whole interview, totally unfazed by the giant camera nearby. I am attaching the link to our news debut below. Please enjoy!

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12339861

On Strike

The strike began on Sunday. I left Caitlin with Daddy for the afternoon while I sipped mimosas and ate chocolate cake at a friend's bridal shower. As I watched my friend open new wine glasses and flatware, I received a text from my husband, "C's a little grouchy. Drank an ounce of the bottle, then refused the rest. I will try again later." No big deal, I thought, as I ordered my second mimosa. About an hour and a half later, I headed home and called my husband en route. Caitlin still refused her bottle, which meant no breast milk since 6:30 a.m. It was now almost 3:00. Fearing impending starvation, I pushed down a little bit harder on my accelerator. When I returned home, C immediately burst into tears. Before I removed my coat or set down my bag, I nursed Caitlin on the couch. After eating, she seemed happy and the rest of our Sunday passed without incident.

Monday brought the dreaded beginning of my work week and Caitlin to Nana's house for the day. After a busy Monday morning, I all but forgot about our bottle troubles from the day before. Around noontime, I received another text from my husband, who checked in on C during lunch, "Still not taking the bottle, but she ate breakfast and lunch." Two days in a row of bottle rejection is atypical for my little milk guzzler. Every once in a while, Caitlin refuses a bottle but usually relents later in the day. Again, this meant no milk since the early morning. When I picked up Baby C later that afternoon, she burst into tears once again. As I struggled to get out the door and run home to nurse, my mother-in-law kindly mentioned, "She was happy all day until you came." Just what a worried mama needs to hear.

Tuesday brought more of the same: bottle rejection, shorter naps, grouchiness, tears upon pick up, and sprinting home to nurse Baby. When things go amiss with Baby, I typically do two things, neither of which are helpful or productive. First, I over analyze the situation and propose several made-up hypotheses, none of which come close to identifying the problem's root cause. Maybe Caitlin has an upset tummy. Or, maybe she is eating too much food during mealtime. Or, could it be that the milk flows too slowly from her bottles? Wait, maybe she is teething. Caitlin cannot tell me why she is unsettled, therefore I make up reason upon reason until something seems sensible. If hypotheses do not work, I turn to self-blame. If C is not happy, obviously, I have done something wrong. Maybe I ate something spicy that spoiled my breast milk. Maybe I've had too many Halls cough drops and they are affecting my milk. As I went to bed on Tuesday night, I feared an endless bottle strike which would lead me to resign from my job, stay home, and nurse Baby.

Wednesday arrived and Caitlin went to day care where she finally drank two bottles during the day, thereby ending her bottle strike.

While I still do not know the reason for the strike, I am thankful Baby finally gave up the fight.

Happy Easter!

Caitlin celebrated her first Easter last Sunday. The day began with 7:30 mass. She whined a bit toward the end, but overall was on her best behavior. Following mass, Caitlin even witnessed Papa get into an argument with a fellow parishioner over a bad parking job! Alleluia!


Every Easter, Matt's uncle Paul hosts an Easter lunch (a.k.a. feast), complete with a massive egg hunt for the kids. Matt has about 25 cousins, most of whom have at least two children of their own. Almost all of these children attend the McCabe Annual Easter Egg-Stravaganza. Picture approximately 50 children in their Easter finery tearing through the yard in an effort to find as many eggs as possible. It is not pretty. Every year somebody ends up either in tears or in the emergency room. But, Easter is always fun and we looked forward to exposing Caitlin to the chaos.

Sadly, Matt's aunt passed away the Thursday before Easter, therefore the festivities were cancelled. I was disappointed, but understood and respected the need for a quiet holiday. Instead of rolling around in the grass with her cousins, Caitlin spent the afternoon at Nana and Papa's house. Nana cooked a delicious ham dinner and Caitlin played with her gifts from the Easter bunny.

Caitlin was a little disappointed to miss the egg hunt. She really hoped to find the egg with the $20 bill inside! Maybe next year.


Enjoy some pictures from Caitlin's special day!

Caitlin with her cousin, Keira, rocking the green and white checked silk. Nobody believes me, but the matchiness was unplanned. My sister-in-law and I just have incredible taste.

Caitlin with her Easter basket from Nana. Try to estimate how many times I put on Caitlin's headband. If you guessed one thousand, you are getting close.

Being a nice mommy, I let Caitlin take a break from her poofy dress and sport some sweats for most of the day. Here she is checking out her gifts from the Easter Bunny. Like her mama, Caitlin loves new clothes. Daddy already knows this could only mean trouble!