And This Little Piggy Went "Wah Wah Wah" All the Way Home

I now realize why parents do everything in their power to not travel by plane with their toddler (heaven help them if they have more than one!). Up until this recent trip to Ohio, Ellie had been an awesome air traveler. I chock most of that up to the fact that she was still nursing the last time we flew to and from Ohio and she was only a year old. She would always conk out for at least a portion of each flight.

In the days leading up to our flights back to Tucson this time around, Ellie's nap schedule got thrown out of whack. She dropped a couple of naps and cut a few others short. She was still sleeping well at night, but was more fussy than usual. It also seems as though all of her molars are coming in at once leading to a lot of drool and a runny nose. Not a good combo, even when you're not flying!

Without much deviation, our flights from Tucson to Cleveland and back always seems to connect in Chicago (a three-hour flight from Tucson to Chicago and just over an hour from Chicago to Cleveland). The flight out of Cleveland was easy enough -- Ellie was content to sit and eat Cheerios one at a time until we landed in Chicago. Our two hour layover gave us enough time to get some dinner. Ellie had her first (and what I hope is an extremely rare) taste of the golden arches -- and she was a complete maniac about it, bucking in her stroller, arms waving and eyes wide as can be every time I gave her a french fry. We also stopped in the airport's USO lounge, where I was able to drop our carry-on bags and the stroller for a while and Ellie could run around without me having to worry too much about her.

This is the only picture I have from our travels that day (in Chicago). Take a good look at that smile, because that was one of the last few I saw for the rest of the night.



If the flight from Cleveland to Chicago was easy, the flight from Chicago to Tucson couldn't have been more to the contrary. Three hours is a long time to sit no matter how old or young you are (not to mention we crossed three time zones on this trip), but Ellie was so tired by the time we got on the plane that we made less than halfway through the flight when she started crying. I was that parent -- on the flight with a crying/screaming child. I felt worse for the man sitting in the aisle seat of our row, but we were lucky to have the middle seat empty which I tried countless times to get Ellie to lay down on, with no such luck. I was fairly exhausted myself, having stayed up late one too many times (okay, every night) visiting with my parents and siblings. At one point a woman came up to me offering her iPod that had "lots of kids songs on it," which only ramped up my kid all the more. A flight attendant came by and asked if Ellie wanted apple juice (thanks, but no thanks). I walked her up and down the aisle of the plane -- she cried the whole time. Now this wasn't just a whiny cry, this was a "I'm so tired all I want to do is be in my own bed where it is dark and quiet" cry.

There was no consoling my little girl. :(

I was holding it together okay until a woman came up to the man sitting in our row and said something to him, to which he replied, "Oh, it's okay, I don't mind it that much." Even though I don't know what was said or implied, I gave in to my emotions and exhaustion and started crying. It's not like I board a plane hoping my child will become hysterical! My mom (she's so wise) said later, "Just remember, no one was more miserable on that flight than you." Maybe Ellie was the most miserable.

It finally got so bad that, as she sat in my lap facing me, Ellie started swaying back and both while she alternated between whimpering and moaning as I stroked her face. I don't think I've ever felt so bad or helpless as a parent. At long last, she gave up and crawled into the empty middle seat and fell asleep... 15 minutes before the pilots came over the loud speaker announcing the beginning of our descent (sigh). I let her sleep until the last possible minute and she understandably lost it when I woke her up right before we landed. I don't think I've ever been so happy to be done with a flight, although our fellow passengers might give me a run for my money. I told Brian this would probably be the last time I fly with Ellie on my own for at least a couple of years. Poor thing fell asleep as soon as we laid her down in her crib when we got home.

Always trying to accentuate the positives, I have to say I'm so glad I brought along the BOB (our jogging stroller) for this trip. It was perfect to have in the airport and even though I was very nervous about possible damage... we didn't have any damage to it that I originally feared. Also worth noting -- I didn't lose our cameras this time (and I even went into the same bathroom where I lost them last time!).

So after all this insanity, are we crazy to get on an airplane with Ellie again in two days? At least I won't be on my own this time! :)