We're in Arizona!

My sister lives in Arizona and she’s only seen Blake for a visit when he was about 6 weeks old and another around Thanksgiving.  It’s been SO long since she’s seen him so I’m super excited for them to spend some time together.  Blake flew to St. Maarten when he was two months old and he was so good that the people in front of us did not even realize he was behind them until we landed and they saw him.  We still talk about that today as if we are the greatest parents ever when it really had nothing to do with us.  Like, "Remember when Blake was so good on the plane that the people in front of us didn't even know Blake was there?! Bahahaha! We are so great!" Um, no, Blake was two months old and an easy baby!  The same thing happened on the way home.  He didn’t make a sound.  The problem right now is that Blake doesn’t like sitting still.  He’s definitely my son.  

This flight was also 4 ½ hours as opposed to last years 3 ½.  In case you didn’t know, an extra hour with a one year old is a lot!  We will be in St. Maarten 2 weeks after we return from Arizona so this was our trial run. Going into it we figured it would either be awesome and we would do everything exactly the same, or the entire plane would hate us by the time we landed and we would hang our heads in shame as we walked off. An hour in we were thinking we were great. Then another very slow hour passed and we were already beginning the head hanging. Finally Blake passed out for almost two hours and woke up as we were landing. Blake doesn't nap like that so it was a game changer.

 

Luckily I impulsively bought this Hungry Caterpillar neck pillow the night before leaving and it ended up saving my back while Blake slept!

 

We left for Phoenix at 8:30 AM and We didn't give Blake breakfast until we took off.  Breakfast can easily take an hour and we were good for about that long. I’ve read a thousand things about flying with a one year old, but ultimately every one year old is different.  We packed up Blake’s backpack with toys and books.  I mean, shouldn’t he have to carry some stuff?! He’s one now.  The first time I packed his backpack I put it on him and he literally fell backwards because it was too heavy for him.  We did what any good parents would do and fell over laughing.  As previously mentioned, Blake does not watch TV.  On the plane I was seriously hoping TV would be a huge treat for him.  He had no interest and part of me was happy. Blake travelled on our laps because I truly didn’t feel like spending another $1,000 between the two flights this summer if I didn’t have to.  I know, I know, it’s “safer” to fly with him in his own seat.  I’m clearly missing something because if my plane goes down I don’t think it matters whether he is in his own seat or on my lap.  Ignorant? Morbid?  Whatever, enlighten me...

I called asking about a lap infant months ago and I was told that I could add Blake on at the airport. Of course we get there and we are told that there is already an infant in our row and two infants can't sit in the same row. Apparently we were supposed to do it in advance which is why I called and I was clearly about to lose it. She tells us we will probably not get two seats together now. She said she would look. About 10 minutes went by and she hands me two tickets as if she saved my day. They said "seats assigned at gate." What!?!? What was I standing here for?! I zipped through the TSA pre-check line with Blake and ran over to the gate. I nicely explained my situation and I was told that if I was willing to sit in the last row, we could have an extra seat and take the entire row. Things were looking up. Then on the plane we had THE. NICEST. CREW. EVER. I mean, seriously, these people were the sweetest. They talked to Blake and danced with him, played peek-a-boo with him and took him for walks up the aisle. We couldn't have gotten luckier. Most people would hating sitting next to the bathroom but Blake waved at EVERYONE. We even got extra snacks. Shoutout to the crew on Delta Flight 2819 - they took all our stress away. Such sweet people.

All things considered Blake was SO GOOD. He was good enough that one of the flight attendants said she wanted a baby now so I'll take that as a compliment!  

 

We decided we were also going to do this trip without checking a bag. Looking back it was probably not a smart decision, but here’s what we packed for Blake:

1. Skip hop backpack filled with Blake’s favorite things. See above photo. It's so cute that I almost want one for myself, but then I realize it wouldn't be cute on me, it would just be weird. I wore it through the airport anyway. I'll shove the rest of his entertainment in my diaper bag along with two changes of clothes for Blake, Keith and myself. You can never be too prepared for diaper explosions and when said diaper explosion can happen while traveling with Blake on our laps, it becomes everyone's problem.
2. Lotus Everywhere Travel Crib - I was super pumped for this.  I hate the pack and play as a crib, but I also don’t ever want to use a hotel crib, not to mention when we won’t be at a hotel.  The pack and play is a pain to travel with and does not even seem comfortable.  This is a crib that you can carry as a backpack!  I saw it advertised on Facebook because I clearly look up baby things constantly, and I decided I needed it.  They make these advertisements for people like me. Blake was exhausted so he slept well...hopefully he will continue to like it.
3. Babymoov Up & Go Booster - see previous post with Blake in seersucker pants reading a book at a tea room.  He loves it.  It allows him to sit at the table like a big boy and makes any chair into a high chair while still folding up into something small and portable.
4. iPad with baby headphones - He had no interest. We did have other toys, of course.
5. Snacks - most importantly, Puffs. These got us through that rough hour.