PDX, 3 October 2006 -- off on Jordan's first big adventure -- why do they always seem to involve a hospital?!
I packed and repacked until the last minute, making sure that we had what we needed for at least a day, incase my checked bag got lost along the way (I am due for that!). I tediously reviewed the TSA rules, and packed all the medicines accordingly. And a cooler full of frozen breastmilk. I had just enough time in Portland to get through security calmly, knowing full well they were going to open everything. Of course, because I was prepared for the worst, they were very helpful & accommodating, and practically let me breeze through. I still had to unpack a bunch of stuff, but believe me, it could have been much much much worse. Then I was reminded yet again how it pays to be friendly and patient: The guy behind me got his hand lotion confiscated. I don’t think they would have bothered him if he hadn’t been so rude along the way.Our 4 hour flight to Chicago was PACKED. It was brutal! I traded a middle seat for an aisle with a UNC sophomore who was incredibly nice & generous the whole way. Oddly, I thought, was the woman at the window. In stead of the nice old granny she looked like, she was a crotchety old bat. Glad I didn’t have to sit by her.
Propped up at the end of the flight, when everyone else was gone!
The logistics were a nightmare. Despite my seemingly excessive packing efforts, when it got right down to getting onto the plane chaos ensued. I got to the gate early, went to the desk to try to get a bulkhead seat or something, and asked to be able to get on ahead of the crowds. Good old American Airlines. The flight was overbooked, and they didn’t let me on ahead. Because there were no extra seats I couldn’t take the “bucket” on the plane. And, as you probably know by now, Jordan is 21+ pounds of flop. I couldn’t just set her in a seat and walk back to get the bags. And don’t forget that this was a fully packed flight, so 120 others were all trying to get on, while I was trying to shuttle things back and forth to 12D. I was just about to break out in tears, but managed to keep my cool and get sorted out, with the help of 3 flight attendants & the complete cessation of boarding passengers until I was situated with her. What a nightmare. One flight attendant was pretty pissed off at me, and when I tried to explain she griped that they should have let me board first. Duh!!!! I tried!!! Thankfully we had a 2-hour layover in Chicago, so I was the last one off the plane, and didn’t seem to bother anyone.
The other really hard thing about traveling with Jordan is her hypotonia. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times, she’s a complete wet noodle. It was really hard just to keep her on my lap, until I decided to get out the new sling/wrap I made this weekend. Even though it’s 15 feet long I put rings on the end to make it adjustable. I had lots of extra fabric to wad up and use as a pillow, after I literally strapped her to me. It was GREAT!
Jordan slept most of the way, but even when she was awake she hardly made a sound, as usual. People kept asking me what my secret is for such a quiet baby on long flight. Severe developmental delay & an undiagnosed neuro/genetic disorder just didn’t seem like the conversational answer they were looking for, so I just smiled and noted that she’s a good sleeper.
She did have one bump, though. I was wandering around towards the back, and a woman in the almost-last row offered to hold her while I went to the bathroom. I hadn’t planned on going, but I capitalized on the opportunity and handed her over to the motherly 40-something-ish ga-ga-ing woman. Within a minute Jordan had unloaded her lunch all over. People were diving from nearby seats to help contain the mess. Luckily I was still waiting for a turn, so I jumped into action and was able to contain all the barf on her own shirt, sparing everyone else the “treat” of what is usually my daily perfume. It was okay, I got to put on her orange kitty shirt and take off the blue striped Old Navy shirt that looks very girl-like in the drawer, and very boy-like on Jordan (she was a “he” all day until I changed that shirt).
After a relaxing 2 hour layover in Chicago, the flight to Detroit was exactly the opposite: I boarded first, we got an extra seat for the “bucket”, the flight attendants were helpful & nice, and the flight was only 41 minutes short. Yippee!
The logistics were a nightmare. Despite my seemingly excessive packing efforts, when it got right down to getting onto the plane chaos ensued. I got to the gate early, went to the desk to try to get a bulkhead seat or something, and asked to be able to get on ahead of the crowds. Good old American Airlines. The flight was overbooked, and they didn’t let me on ahead. Because there were no extra seats I couldn’t take the “bucket” on the plane. And, as you probably know by now, Jordan is 21+ pounds of flop. I couldn’t just set her in a seat and walk back to get the bags. And don’t forget that this was a fully packed flight, so 120 others were all trying to get on, while I was trying to shuttle things back and forth to 12D. I was just about to break out in tears, but managed to keep my cool and get sorted out, with the help of 3 flight attendants & the complete cessation of boarding passengers until I was situated with her. What a nightmare. One flight attendant was pretty pissed off at me, and when I tried to explain she griped that they should have let me board first. Duh!!!! I tried!!! Thankfully we had a 2-hour layover in Chicago, so I was the last one off the plane, and didn’t seem to bother anyone.
The other really hard thing about traveling with Jordan is her hypotonia. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times, she’s a complete wet noodle. It was really hard just to keep her on my lap, until I decided to get out the new sling/wrap I made this weekend. Even though it’s 15 feet long I put rings on the end to make it adjustable. I had lots of extra fabric to wad up and use as a pillow, after I literally strapped her to me. It was GREAT!
Jordan slept most of the way, but even when she was awake she hardly made a sound, as usual. People kept asking me what my secret is for such a quiet baby on long flight. Severe developmental delay & an undiagnosed neuro/genetic disorder just didn’t seem like the conversational answer they were looking for, so I just smiled and noted that she’s a good sleeper.
She did have one bump, though. I was wandering around towards the back, and a woman in the almost-last row offered to hold her while I went to the bathroom. I hadn’t planned on going, but I capitalized on the opportunity and handed her over to the motherly 40-something-ish ga-ga-ing woman. Within a minute Jordan had unloaded her lunch all over. People were diving from nearby seats to help contain the mess. Luckily I was still waiting for a turn, so I jumped into action and was able to contain all the barf on her own shirt, sparing everyone else the “treat” of what is usually my daily perfume. It was okay, I got to put on her orange kitty shirt and take off the blue striped Old Navy shirt that looks very girl-like in the drawer, and very boy-like on Jordan (she was a “he” all day until I changed that shirt).
After a relaxing 2 hour layover in Chicago, the flight to Detroit was exactly the opposite: I boarded first, we got an extra seat for the “bucket”, the flight attendants were helpful & nice, and the flight was only 41 minutes short. Yippee! My Favorite Public Toilets: Chicago O'Hare Airport. Why don't we have these everywhere?!?!?! (The plastic spins around the seat with the wave of a hand). 
Note: I didn’t lose my checked bag, knock on wood.
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